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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shanna Small
  • Submissions
    • Blog Submissions
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Instruction
    • Workshops
    • Classes
    • Mentorship
  • Social Media,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy

    The Gift of Not Fitting In

    November 22, 2018 / 3 Comments

    Not fitting in makes you question life and it wakes you up. Usually, it is not until we see or experience something outside of the norm that we question normalcy in the first place.  I have never questioned whether I am a woman or not.  I have all the things society considers to be normal for a woman like a vagina and breasts. I have a uterus. I do all the things society sees as normal for women like wearing dresses, make up and birthing a child. My shape is considered womanly.  I have never been mistaken for a man.  However, if I would have been born transgendered, less curvy,…

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    Shanna Small

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    On the ish List: Yoga Body and the Ashtanga Teacher Training Program

    December 29, 2015

    Don’t Hate, Start Studying

    September 22, 2017

    Questioning God

    November 7, 2016
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Practice in Good and Bad Times

    September 25, 2018 / 1 Comment

    “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.…

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    Shanna Small

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    Is Pattabhi Jois Really Your Guru?

    July 23, 2016

    APP Responds to “Why I Stopped Practicing Ashtanga Yoga”

    November 17, 2014

    Slow and Steady Yoga Injury Recovery

    March 20, 2017
  • Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    A Yoga Practice to Wake Up To

    September 20, 2018 / 3 Comments

    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. …

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    Shanna Small

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    Ask the APP: Can you learn Ashtanga without a teacher?

    May 21, 2015

    Habits are More Powerful Than Fears

    April 26, 2015

    Are we Giving Up on Yoga as a Spiritual Path?

    July 28, 2014
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy

    Ashtanga Community or Your Community?

    September 13, 2018 / 2 Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Thank You Pattabhi Jois

    May 18, 2015

    Check This Out: Conference Notes From David Garrigues

    January 2, 2014

    “There are some people who know yoga very well, but often these aren’t the popular teachers” Sharath

    February 11, 2014
  • Social Media,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Social Media and the Freedom to NOT Hear Your Speech

    September 10, 2018 / 3 Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Learning Ashtanga From the Internet: A Cautionary Tale

    September 24, 2015

    How To Prevent Ashtanga Crazy Making

    September 28, 2015

    Different Yoga Styles: You Got It All Wrong

    March 23, 2016
  • Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Discipline and Punishment

    August 29, 2018 / No Comments

    “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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Yoga Sutras For Modern Life: Yoga 24/7

    June 29, 2016

    Ask The APP: Should You Video Your Yoga Practice?

    September 2, 2016

    An Ashtangi’s Journey Thorough Postpartum Bi Polar Disorder

    May 17, 2018
  • Ashtanga Adaptability,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Bad Apple in Every Bunch

    August 18, 2018 / No Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Utplutihih

    March 28, 2016

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: Peace on the Earth

    May 26, 2017

    Practice, Practice, Practice

    May 9, 2018
  • Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Why Practice 6 Days A Week or Every Day?

    August 11, 2018 / No Comments

      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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Yogi’s Attitude Towards Pain

    November 26, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Paschimottanasana

    July 20, 2015

    Ashtanga Yoga: Mind the Gap

    July 23, 2015
  • Guru,  History,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Happy Guru Purnima

    July 27, 2018 / No Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Random Ashtanga Stuff That Has Been Driving Me Up The Wall

    December 7, 2018

    Taking Away Attention, Taking Away Power

    November 30, 2019
  • Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Seeing God

    July 23, 2018 / No Comments

    Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure and heart, for they shall see, God.”- Matthew 5:8. “Everywhere looking, God seeing” -Pattabi Jois   You know that feeling you have when you start something new? When something is just pure possibility? You are excited and full of energy, anticipation and joy. That is the feeling of a pure heart.  That is the feeling of a heart that has not been beaten down by expectations, comparison and disappointment. That is the heart that yoga is looking to uncover;the spiritual heart. Up to a certain age, children naturally exist in this realm. My grand baby is so excited about the world that he cannot…

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    Shanna Small

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    To Tuck or Not To Tuck the Pelvis…..Right & Wrong Yoga Movements

    December 15, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Titibhasana A

    September 22, 2014

    A Deeper Conversation on Pain In Yoga with Gregor Maehle and Satinder Khalsa

    December 3, 2015
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