Ashtanga Yoga Project

Making the Philosophy and Poses of Ashtanga Accessible for All

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shanna Small
  • Submissions
    • Blog Submissions
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Instruction
    • Workshops
    • Classes
    • BIPOC Mentorship
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shanna Small
  • Submissions
    • Blog Submissions
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Instruction
    • Workshops
    • Classes
    • BIPOC Mentorship
  • ahimsa,  Justice,  Privilege,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    The New Spiritual Slavery

    January 25, 2020 / 3 Comments

    “We are all one”. “There is no you”. “That is just your ego”. “That is just their/your pain speaking.” All these sayings have become the opiate of the spiritual masses. The new religion. A new way of getting people to shut up and allow injustice. They are being used in the same way plantation owners used Jesus to placate slaves. It is being used in the same way that missionaries used God to sooth Africans as they stole their land and their children. I am not saying these aphorisms are not true. I am saying they are being used to pacify the unrest that people feel deep in their bones.…

    Read More
    Shanna Small
  • ableism,  Diversity,  Jesus,  Justice,  Privilege,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Forgiveness + Responsibility

    October 12, 2019 / 2 Comments

    You can forgive someone and hold them responsible. You can love someone and seek justice for that person’s abhorrent actions. People often use Jesus as an example of forgiveness. Well, there is the “turn the other cheek” Jesus and there is also the revolutionary Jesus. The Jesus that spoke up against a corrupt system and was hated and eventually killed for it. The Jesus that went into a temple with a whip, made by his own hands, turning over tables and kicking out charlatans. This Jesus spent his time with people that normal society had cast aside. If you agreed to change your actions, he would heal you. If you…

    Read More
    Shanna Small
  • Guru,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy

    Lessons From a Drunk Spiritual Teacher

    October 1, 2019 / 1 Comment

    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…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Taking Away Attention, Taking Away Power

    November 30, 2019

    Random Ashtanga Stuff That Has Been Driving Me Up The Wall

    December 7, 2018

    Happy Guru Purnima

    July 27, 2018
  • Diversity,  Guru,  Privilege,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    With Me or Against Me

    July 3, 2019 / 2 Comments

    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…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Taking Away Attention, Taking Away Power

    November 30, 2019
  • 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?

    May 21, 2019 / 8 Comments

    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…

    Read More
    Shanna Small
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Diversity,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    It Is So Much Easier To Tell You To Change

    April 20, 2019 / 3 Comments

    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.…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Tough Yoga Practices: When Doubt Touches the Heart

    October 27, 2016

    A.P.P Goes To Mysore: New Beginnings, New Start Times, New Jokes

    November 1, 2016

    Follow Lina’s Trip To Mysore

    January 22, 2014
  • Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yogini’s Path To Motherhood

    April 10, 2019 / 1 Comment

    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 AndalucĂ­a 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…

    Read More
    Liat Pakes

    You May Also Like

    Random Ashtanga Stuff That Has Been Driving Me Up The Wall

    December 7, 2018

    Does Your Yoga Teacher Really See You?

    March 28, 2015

    APP Goes to Mysore: Short Shorts and Bra Tops Are Banned

    October 8, 2016
  • 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

    March 9, 2019 / No Comments

    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…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Strength and Grace: 10 Quotes From Female Greats of Ashtanga Yoga

    March 14, 2016

    What do Kapotasana and Swimming Have in Common?

    October 16, 2018

    Follow Lina’s Trip To Mysore

    January 22, 2014
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ask the AYP,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Will Not Keep Bad Things From Happening

    January 21, 2019 / 2 Comments

    Yoga is not an inoculation against bad things. It is the science of learning how to deal with bad things when they happen. If you are lucky, you start to view “bad” things as just events and you don’t label them at all. On my last post, someone commented and asked, “how can you hurt yourself when you are practicing Ahimsa?” Easy. Most people don’t wake up in the morning and say. “I feel like hurting myself today. I really want to get in a car accident, maybe get a cold, catch my husband in bed with his co-worker, rip my hamstring, and have to bail my son out of…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    A.P.P Goes To Mysore: Keeping the Mind Stable Under Any Conditions Is Yoga

    October 25, 2016

    Did Social Media Ruin Yoga?

    October 22, 2016

    Tough Yoga Practices: When Doubt Touches the Heart

    October 27, 2016
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Guru,  Interviews,  Saraswathi,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Random Ashtanga Stuff That Has Been Driving Me Up The Wall

    December 7, 2018 / 7 Comments

    Ashtanga stuff that has been pushing my buttons.

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Different Yoga Styles: You Got It All Wrong

    March 23, 2016

    A.P.P Goes To Mysore: Keeping the Mind Stable Under Any Conditions Is Yoga

    October 25, 2016

    Ashtanga Teacher Certification/Authorization Is Rubbish?

    February 21, 2016
123

Mailchimp Sign Up

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Products

  • Zoom Consultation $15.00
  • Full BIPOC Mentorship $500.00
  • BIPOC Mentorship $200.00

Recent Posts

  • Treat Me Like Your Headliner
  • Deconstructing Ashtanga, Reconstructing Me
  • Performative Love
  • Why I Am Not Interested in Your Virtual Ashtanga Course
  • True Community on Social Media

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Front Page Photos by Wanda Koch Photography

Archive

Products

  • Full BIPOC Mentorship $500.00
  • Zoom Consultation $15.00
  • BIPOC Mentorship $200.00

Stay up to date on my posts, workshops and classes

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Yoga For All

Recent Post

  • Treat Me Like Your Headliner November 30, 2020
Ashe Theme by Royal-Flush - 2021 ©