- Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Ashtanga Quotes, Teaching Ashtanga, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
Yoga Practice in Good and Bad Times
“Your toothache is impermanent, but your non-toothache is also impermanent. With that insight, you look at birth, death, old-age, ups and downs, suffering, and happiness with the eyes of a sage, and you don’t suffer anymore. You smile, no longer afraid.” – Thich Nhat Hanh The Sutras does not say that, “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of life.” It says that “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. ” The world turns, burns, rises and falls. Teachers come and go, hamstrings tear and heal. In yogic terms, the gunas will keep interacting with prakriti and, while I play in this world, I can’t stop it.…
A Yoga Practice to Wake Up To
In order for our practice to work, it has to be stronger then our negative ideations. If not, Self Hate will say, “is that all you got?” Addiction will say, “come at me, bro.” Suffering will say, “I can do you one better.” I truly love the idea of a soothing languorous practice. But I know me. If my mind and my body is not given a challenge, it will be an hour of negative thinking with incense, pretty lights and singing bowls. This does not mean doing strong sweaty asanas either. It just needs to be something that effectively stops the mind, and perhaps, turns it in another direction. …
- Adventures in Mysore India, Ashtanga Adaptability, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy
Ashtanga Community or Your Community?
Your circle of friends and acquaintances does not represent the whole human race. A few weeks ago, my daughter talked about how she doesn’t understand how McDonald’s is still in business because no one eats there. I explained to her that just because her vegan upper middle class friends don’t eat there, it does not mean that no one eats there. I see similar conversations about Ashtanga. Big blanket statements about what is going on in the Ashtanga community. Ummm…maybe that is happening with your circle. It is not necessarily happening in mine or India or Chicago or down the street at the next yoga studio. We draw to us…
Social Media and the Freedom to NOT Hear Your Speech
I often see people angry on social media because someone deleted a comment off their page. Usually, the person, whose comment got deleted, moves the comment to another page and says, “I put this comment on so and so’s page, they deleted it”, Followed by one of these statements “but I think people have a right to see this.” “and so many people agreed with me.” “it must be because they were offended/knew I was right/didn’t want the truth to get out.” Here is the thing. That page belongs to them and they have every right, for whatever reason, to delete your comment. Yes, it is public but so is…
Discipline and Punishment
“Without practicing discipline, one cannot gather his scattered energy, and all his goals will remain dreams that never materialize. Discipline is not a punishment but a part of growth, without which mental and physical health cannot be maintained”-Swami Rama Getting on the yoga mat everyday can sometimes feel like punishment. It is…depending on how you use it. If practice is used as a penance for eating pizza and cake, as a way to beat the mind and body into submission, or a way to shame ourselves into changing what we think is bad about ourselves, it totally is punishment. Google defines discipline as “train (someone) to obey rules or a…
Bad Apple in Every Bunch
I know this sounds obvious but it isn’t. This week, I came across two articles where really intelligent people, I am talking about a PhD and a well known teacher in a non dual tradition, took a few bad examples from dualism traditions, and used them to sum up the whole tradition. We all know that a few bad apples don’t necessarily mean we need to throw away all our apples. Even though a few people had car accidents today, we all continue to drive. Even though a few planes have fallen out the sky lately, we still fly. Even though we have had a few horrible relationships, we still…
Why Practice 6 Days A Week or Every Day?
To become grounded in practice. “Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.”-Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:14 What is practice? “Effort towards steadiness of mind.”- Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:13 You practice 6 days a week, or whatever your tradition requires, to become firmly grounded in a steady mind. I recently read an article that stated, not practicing every day is an act of compassion. I think the opposite. Yoga was created to alleviate suffering in ourselves and in the world. Therefore, doing our chosen yoga practice is the ultimate act of compassion. Doing your practice not only serves…
- Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Interviews, Pose How To, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Videos
Get the Help You Need For Your Ashtanga Practice w/ Jen Rene
Meet Jen Rene Jen ran a successful Mysore group in DC and is now practicing with and assisting her teacher, Tim Miller, at the Ashtanga Yoga Center in Encinitas, CA. Jen Rene has created Ashtanga and Pilates courses on her site, Jenrene.com, that provide helpful tips on backbending, hip opening, muscle recovery and much more. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jen about her online Ashtanga courses as well as pick her brain about working with new students, backbends, hamstring injuries and more. AYP: What was your vision and purpose for releasing video courses? JR: I want to share what I know and love with more students…
Happy Guru Purnima
Today is a day for giving thinks to the gurus of your life. What is a Guru? Interesting enough, there are a lot of different etymologies. As a noun the word means the imparter of knowledge (jñāna; also Pali: ñāna). As an adjective, it means ‘heavy,’ or ‘weighty,’ in the sense of “heavy with knowledge,”[Note 1] heavy with spiritual wisdom,[16] “heavy with spiritual weight,”[17] “heavy with the good qualities of scriptures and realization,”[18] or “heavy with a wealth of knowledge.”[19] The word has its roots in the Sanskrit gri (to invoke, or to praise), and may have a connection to the word gur, meaning ‘to raise, lift up, or to make an effort’.[20] Sanskrit guru is cognate with Latin gravis ‘heavy; grave, weighty, serious’[21] and Greek…
Dear Physically Gifted People
Dear Physically Gifted People, Please stop using words like “easy” or “simple” when doing a demo, teaching a student or posting a video or picture. Why? It is too subjective. Just because something is easy for you does not mean it is easy for someone else. Using the words “simple” or easy, with a student who finds the movement to be difficult, can make them feel like there is something wrong with them, that their efforts will never be good enough, and that they are inadequate. It can make them feel shame and question whether or not yoga is for them. I understand that this is not happening on purpose. …
Ashtanga Yoga For the Modern World
