Ashtanga Yoga For the Modern World

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  • ableism,  Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Guru,  History,  Privilege,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga

    “Calling In” the Ashtanga Community

    July 12, 2019 / No Comments

    “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…

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    Shanna Small
  • 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…

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    Shanna Small
  • Ashtanga Adaptability,  Diversity

    Diversity in Yoga: The Follow Up

    February 5, 2019 / 2 Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Confessions of an Ex-Yoga Assist Whore

    July 3, 2017

    Pose of the Week: Dropping Back/Standing Up During Urdhva Dhanurasana

    November 9, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Marichyasana D

    May 1, 2015
  • 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 / 6 Comments

    Ashtanga stuff that has been pushing my buttons.

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    Shanna Small

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    Different Yoga Styles: You Got It All Wrong

    March 23, 2016

    Dear Physically Gifted People

    July 26, 2018

    Just an Average Girl: The Gift of Ashtanga, Authorization and Illness

    September 12, 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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    Muscles Feeling Tight?

    October 13, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Laghu vajrasana

    November 10, 2014

    Pose of the Week: Garbha Pindasana to Kukutasana

    June 22, 2015
  • 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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    Follow Lina’s Trip To Mysore

    January 22, 2014

    New Sharath Conference Notes

    March 11, 2014

    The Good Old Days of Ashtanga Yoga

    December 8, 2017
  • 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: Parsvakonasana

    February 1, 2016

    Pose of the Week: Astavakrasana

    October 21, 2015

    Ask the APP: Ashtanga For All Bodies

    July 5, 2015
  • 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

    August 6, 2018 / 2 Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: Primary Series W/ A Third Series Feel

    April 6, 2016

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: When You Have Doubts About Your Yoga Practice

    October 19, 2015

    The Body Doesn’t Lie

    March 1, 2017
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Conference Notes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    The Lesson, Not the Event

    July 5, 2018 / No Comments

    “By this time I had learned that it was more fruitful to pay attention to the lessons rather than to events themselves.”- Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, At The Eleventh Hour   We all come into this practice carrying the results of our life and DNA in our bodies. In Mysore, Sharath would joke, “Don’t get mad at me because you are stiff. Get mad at your parents!” Last week, a student said, “I have been doing hip openers for a couple years now and my hips are still not open.” I said, “Sometimes, it is not possible to undo 40 years in a few years of practice, if at all”. Working…

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    Shanna Small

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    Ashtanga Teacher Certification/Authorization Is Rubbish?

    February 21, 2016

    For Those Who Say There is No Positive Reinforcement in Mysore

    January 13, 2014

    Tough Yoga Practices: When Doubt Touches the Heart

    October 27, 2016
  • Ashtanga Adaptability,  Interviews,  Uncategorized

    An Ashtangi’s Journey Thorough Postpartum Bi Polar Disorder

    May 17, 2018 / No Comments

    Marcie Le, one of the Ashtangis here in Charlotte, recently revealed her story of Postpartum Bi Polar disorder to the community.  I was blown away.  It never even crossed my mind that this calm, poised woman working diligently beside me had this story inside of her.  Marcie told me that Ashtanga helped her with her Postpartum mood disorder. This is what I love about Ashtanga.  Without even knowing what was going on, the practice was still doing it’s work. I am so glad that Marcie did this interview. I am so glad she chose to share her words with us.  It has opened my eyes to the courage of Marcie…

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    Shanna Small

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    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: Primary Series W/ A Third Series Feel

    April 6, 2016

    Practice, Practice, Practice

    May 9, 2018

    Pose of the Week: Ustrasana

    January 22, 2015
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  • Why You Should Memorize the Ashtanga Sequence
  • Forgiveness + Responsibility
  • Lessons From a Drunk Spiritual Teacher
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