Lessons From a Drunk Spiritual Teacher
There is a story about a drunk spiritual teacher told in some tantra and wisdom traditions. For the purpose of this blog, I will paraphrase it and make it super westernized. There was a student who was in line to take over the lineage when his teacher died. He had been studying with his teacher for over 20 years and had never once been invited to his teacher’s house….until now. He was super excited. He dressed up in his best clothes and picked the perfect gift for his teacher. Probably some prayer shawl made of unicorn tears. He knocked on the door. When his teacher opened up, cigarette smoke was…
- ableism, Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Guru, History, Privilege, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga
“Calling In” the Ashtanga Community
“Calling in” is a term coined by Ngoc Loan Tran, a Viet/mixed race disabled queer writer who champions for justice in oppressed communities. “Calling in” is holding members of the community responsible for their actions, not as an act of punishment, but as an act of accountability. “I start ‘call in’ conversations by identifying the behavior and defining why I am choosing to engage with them. I prioritize my values and invite them to think about theirs and where we share them. And then we talk about it. We talk about it together, like people who genuinely care about each other. We offer patience and compassion to each other and…
With Me or Against Me
People are asking, “Why is there a culture of silence in Yoga?” Something that often makes people go silent is “all or nothing” and “with me or against me” thinking. It is the idea that everything is black or white and you have to choose a side. If folks don’t want to choose a side, they will often just go silent. When the person speaks up, they get crucified by both sides for not choosing. This results in shutting down the conversation and shutting down the person. You can hate someone’s choices around a particular event but totally still love and respect everything else about them. You can love your…
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Taking Away Attention, Taking Away Power
- ableism, Ashtanga Adaptability, Diversity, Privilege, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
My Answer To Kino: Would You Still Love Me If I Don’t Handstand Anymore?
Kino posted an article today, “Would You Still Love Me If I Don’t Handstand Anymore?” My answer is “yes” because I do not choose teachers based on the poses they can do. Even though the yoga world at large has not followed suit, I outgrew that years ago. If someone believes that achievement in physical asana constitutes dedication to practice or greater knowledge of yoga, they either don’t really practice that much or they change studios, styles of yoga or teachers too often. It only takes a few years of hanging around in the same yoga rooms with the same students and the same teachers to see that this is…
- Adventures in Mysore India, Diversity, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
It Is So Much Easier To Tell You To Change
It is so much easier to tell someone else or an organization to change than to actually change ourselves. How many times have you made a statement that Ashtanga, the government, your job, your yoga studio should change but you cannot even clean out your closets without having a meltdown? For most people, switching careers, cities, boyfriends or hairstyles is a harrowing ordeal, but your democracy, that should change overnight. Not only should everyone change but they should do it smoothly and quickly without disrupting YOUR life. Hmm…how realistic is that? I have been yearning for change in my own life and I have made no steps in any direction.…
Yogini’s Path To Motherhood
Guest Post by Liat Pakes As of today, I have been practicing one year of motherhood. I never thought that this role would suit me or that I would find in it such contentment. We are a wandering family and currently we are living in Andalucía Spain. I would love to say that “I am a wandering yoga teacher” but honestly I am mainly a “wandering mother”. Here and there I teach but for the most part I am my own teacher. I am learning to let go of the “Yoga teacher” image and accept that my physical practice has changed. Today I practice Asanas 3-4 times a week for…
The Real Shit
Guest Author: Aude Moatti I am disappointed with the Ashtanga community. Which is hard to admit. Struggle is polished by a fake glow of expensive leggings and post-practice diet talk. An image of non-suffering, of, “ it’s all behind me now. “ Seriously. And what was it like when it wasn’t? Why aren’t you telling me? Did it just all happen in one night? Of course not. Then how long? What helped? I want answers. I’m 23, recovering from eating disorders, severe insomnia, paralyzing anxiety and, on top of that, I smoke. Soon I will have had three years of practice. Former rock-climber, now in the circus, I am hyperflexible…
- Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Diversity, History, Ladies Holday, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
What You Don’t Know, Makes You Dangerous
Before you make that statement on social media, before you write that blog post, stop. Ask yourself, do you have all the information? Do you understand the subject outside of your own cultural biases? Are you listening to only one side? Every day, I gain more of an understanding of why some teachers and Patanjali tell us to pick a method and stick with it. Reason 1-so we don’t dig shallow wells. Reason 2-so we don’t get confused. Yoga is not one long unfractured story where the facts perfectly follow one after the other. That is like saying that American history is White history and just following the line of…
Diversity in Yoga: The Follow Up
My mind was blown yesterday by the amazing conversations this post prompted. I got phone calls, e-mails, DM’s and not to mention all the conversations on Instagram and Facebook. If you are interested in the conversations on Facebook, including a response from Mark Robberds, one of the conference presenters, go here. Also, feel free to look me up on Instagram, wellness_yogini, to see the conversations there and the InstaStory. One of the conference organizers reached out to me as well. Apologies were given and so were explanations. I won’t put any of that here because it defeats the purpose which was to bring awareness to the lack of representation of…
How Can You Have a Unity and Diversity Conference W/ No Diversity!!!!
I am not a confrontational person. That is not what Ashtanga Yoga Project is about but dude….I almost fell off my chair this morning when I clicked on a link for an Ashtanga Yoga and Diversity Conference in Bali that had all white faces. Are you kidding me? We all know Ashtanga Yoga originated in India. Not even any Indian faces!!!! Like seriously, are you kidding me? It is 2019. Why are we still doing this!!!!! Yes, I cannot tell someone’s ethnicity just by their picture but if everyone on the presenter list can pass for White, you didn’t reach far enough!!!! These people are not my global leaders. Stop…
Making the Philosophy and Poses of Ashtanga Accessible for All
