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Making the Philosophy and Poses of Ashtanga Accessible for All

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  • Shanna Small
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  • 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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    Yoga: A Love Story

    February 11, 2016

    Pose of the Week: Salamba Sirsasana

    March 18, 2014

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

    September 12, 2016
  • Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Practice, Practice, Practice

    May 9, 2018 / 2 Comments

    I saw a post today where someone was going through a very emotional experience and wondered “how the limbs of yoga could help them now?” I will use an analogy. Soldiers don’t wait for the battle to start preparing for it. They train beforehand so that, when they are in battle, their responses become automatic and they know what to do. We also train our bodies and minds to respond a certain way to certain situations. For most people, this training is done unconsciously.  As they go through situations in life, they form habits and act on those habits. The practice of yoga is the CONSCIOUS act of reprogramming ourselves…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Vrschikasana B

    November 1, 2015

    Bad Apple in Every Bunch

    August 18, 2018

    Pose of the Week: Parsvakonasana

    February 1, 2016
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  History,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    The Good Old Days of Ashtanga Yoga

    December 8, 2017 / 9 Comments

      In my beginning years of practicing Ashtanga, none of my teachers ever made me feel like there was a rush to get anywhere. This was pre social media. Honestly, the internet was still a baby when I started practicing. Sharath says that he liked the days of yoga before the internet. I have to agree. The students were different. The teachers were different. People came to Ashtanga out of an interest in learning yoga, whatever that was.  They didn’t come to work out. They didn’t come because they saw someone doing cool tricks on social media.  I came to yoga because I liked the idea that it was a…

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    Shanna Small

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    Follow Lina’s Trip To Mysore

    January 22, 2014

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Life: Yoga For Dummies

    April 21, 2017

    Can Rolfing Help Your Ashtanga Practice?

    February 17, 2014
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    Talking to Your Yoga Teacher about Pain

    November 3, 2017 / No Comments

    Pain is inevitable. At some point in our lives, we are all going to feel icky, achy, coughy and hurty. It is important to keep your yoga teachers informed of injuries and pain. Without this knowledge, they will teach you like a healthy or non injured student and it may be the exact opposite of what you need. Yoga is therapeutic. If you listen to your body and communicate with your teacher, your practice can continue through sickness and health.   FIRST AND FOREMOST, CHOOSE THE RIGHT TEACHER.  If you do not feel comfortable talking to your teacher, they are not the right teacher for you.  None of the tips…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Baddha Konasana

    January 1, 2016

    Pose of the Week: Tips on Marichyasana A

    May 24, 2015

    Ashtanga Yoga: Mind the Gap

    July 23, 2015
  • Ashtanga Quotes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    You are the light in between the cracks

    October 16, 2017 / 1 Comment

    “I know better. Why do I keep doing this?” “I know the right thing to do. Why can’t I do it?” “I get it, theoretically, but I can’t stop.” I have beat myself up so many times with the above statements. Have you? I am working to change this pattern. I realize now that this is a good place. Awareness, no matter how fleeting, is a gift. It is one more opportunity to start fresh. One more opportunity to renew. One more opportunity to be my best me. The yogis knew that there was light in between the darkness of suffering.  If we could just cessate or suspend our thoughts…

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    Shanna Small

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    Who Is Showing Up To Do The Yoga?

    February 15, 2016

    Yoga Practice in Good and Bad Times

    September 25, 2018

    What Does That Om Symbol on Your Shirt Really Mean?

    February 22, 2015
  • Ashtanga Quotes,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy

    Spiritual Laziness: Active Body, Lazy Mind or Active Mind, Lazy Body

    May 11, 2017 / 3 Comments

    “Anyone can practice. Young man can practice. Old man can practice. Very old man can practice. Man who is sick, he can practice. Man who doesn’t have strength can practice. Except lazy people; lazy people can’t practice yoga.” Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Pattabhi Jois may have only been talking about physical laziness or maybe he wasn’t.  Spiritual laziness is also an epidemic.  Spiritual laziness is the unwillingness to take a good hard look at who you are. It is wanting to feel good more than wanting to know the truth. This sometimes looks like physical laziness. A yoga teacher in my area used to do a workshop to help people find a healthy…

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    Shanna Small

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    Is Yoga A Feel Good Practice or a Force For Change?

    August 15, 2015

    Is Sharath getting up at 12:45AM?

    February 17, 2014

    Check This Out: Is There a Relationship Between Mula Bandha and Ahimsa?

    January 5, 2014
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Slow and Steady Yoga Injury Recovery

    March 20, 2017 / 2 Comments

    Lets get this out of the way. I am not a doctor. This information comes from my 14 year experience with healing my own injuries through Yoga and working with Yoga students. Yoga injuries should not stick around for years. The average healing time for most common movement injuries is 3-6 weeks.  If it is pretty bad, maybe 3 months. If it is really bad, 6 months. Years, not so much.  Don’t believe me, ask Google or your doctor. If the yoga injury is still there, it is usually one of three things: Not giving it time to heal Not fixing the movements that caused the injury in the first…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Adho Mukha Svanasana

    December 17, 2015

    Strength and Fluidity: An Interview with Authorized Teacher Day Christensen

    April 7, 2016

    What I learned at Sharath Miami 2016

    June 25, 2016
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy

    The Body Doesn’t Lie

    March 1, 2017 / 2 Comments

    I was sitting with my husband yesterday, in a hospital room, watching a loved one recover from surgery. We had arrived around 10AM and waited hours as doctors took test after test trying to figure out a diagnosis. He said, “I am so tired.” I said, “All that stress from being here in the hospital.” He said, ” I felt calm during everything.” I said, ” The body doesn’t lie.” We had both been incredibly calm all day. Didn’t matter. It was still all there. Our mind can become the master of a great spiritual fairy tale. The hero/heroine  has it all together.  She is calm and unbothered in the…

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    Shanna Small

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    Memories of Guruji

    February 6, 2014

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: The Choice is Yours

    March 11, 2016

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: Is Your Pose an Asana?

    September 15, 2017
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Conference Notes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: Is It True that We are All One?

    December 26, 2016 / 1 Comment

    Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2:17: The cause of that avoidable pain is the union of the seer (Purusha) and seen (Prakrati). Defining the Sutra When you start to go down the rabbit hole of yogic philosophy and spirituality, you start to discover paradoxes. Statements and ideas that are seemingly contradictory but really are not. This is one of the reasons why Gurus and teachers advise us to stick to one teacher or method. We can get to the same conclusion in more then one way but we usually get there quicker if we use one method. When most people fly, they usually look for a direct flight with no stops.…

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    Shanna Small

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    Sharath: Love the Good and the Bad Parts Of Your Practice

    January 27, 2014

    Check This Out: Peg Breaks Down Ashtanga

    November 20, 2013

    Thank You Pattabhi Jois

    May 18, 2015
  • Ashtanga Quotes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: The Wise Man’s Relationship with Pain

    December 12, 2016 / No Comments

    Yoga Sutras of Patanjli 2:15 To one of discrimination, everything is painful indeed, due to its consequences: the anxiety and fear over losing what is gained; the resulting impressions left in the mind to create renewed cravings; and the constant conflict among the three gunas, which control the mind. Defining the Sutra: The wise man understands pleasure and pain are interconnected. Patanjali gives 3 reasons why pleasure leads to pain: Fear of loss Chasing pleasures Fluctuations between the Gunas: sattva, rajas and tamas Modern Day Application: Simple examples of this Sutra can be found on our mat. Fear of Loss Are you afraid of losing the ability to do a pose? Do…

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    Shanna Small

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    Different Yoga Styles: You Got It All Wrong

    March 23, 2016

    Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: Help For Those Who Don’t Just Wake Up Like This

    April 20, 2015

    You’re Only Human…Unless You Are A Yoga Teacher On the Internet

    July 15, 2015
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