Ashtanga Yoga Project

Making the Philosophy and Poses of Ashtanga Accessible for All

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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shanna Small
  • Submissions
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  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Instruction
    • Workshops
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  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga

    Dear Physically Gifted People

    July 26, 2018 / No Comments

    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. …

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    Shanna Small

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    Good Guru, Bad Guru, A Guru, No Guru

    July 29, 2015

    Fidgeting on the Mat: Ill Fitting Yoga Clothes or Road to Enlightenment?

    April 14, 2017

    A.P.P Goes To Mysore: Ashtanga Yoga Pre Social Media

    November 15, 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: Kurmasana

    February 23, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Tips on Marichyasana A

    May 24, 2015

    The Gift of the Local Ashtanga Teacher

    April 26, 2018
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Statistics and Faulty Logic

    March 3, 2018 / No Comments

      I just watched a video where an Ashtanga teacher quoted a statistic that was probably true for her students but definitely was not true for mine.  Earlier this week, someone else wrote a blog about how no one does shoulder stand anymore, but at the studio I work at, which is 90% Hot Vinyasa and 10% other,  almost everyone does shoulder stand. About a month ago, someone wrote on Instagram that Ashtanga was dead when there are Ashtanga programs thriving all over the world. Sharath opened up for June and all the spaces were taken before some people even had a chance to log on.  We have this way…

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    Shanna Small

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    Paining

    May 12, 2014

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

    May 21, 2015

    Asteya: Stealing a Yoga Practice

    June 24, 2015
  • Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    The Myth of the Perfect Yoga Practice

    November 10, 2017 / 4 Comments

    I had a dream that one day I would get on my mat and everything would be easy. That if I practice every day and work hard, I would one day have a practice that consistently felt like floating clouds, rainbows and puppy dog kisses. Do you have that dream? The mythical happily ever after is a construct of the mind. Yes, you can be happy. But the mythical happiness is different. The mythical happiness means that every day you have good hair, everybody is nice to you, you never get sick, everything goes your way and catching in backbends always feels “yummy”.  The mythical happy ever after is based…

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    Shanna Small

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    Back Bend Break Throughs

    June 28, 2014

    BKS Iyengar Dies and This Is What Is On The Cover of Yoga Journal?

    September 4, 2014

    Ask the APP: Why Do We Do Ashtanga Every Day?

    June 26, 2014
  • Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: The Bad Practice

    October 6, 2017 / No Comments

    Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2:48- In asana, there is no assault from the pairs of opposites. Defining the Sutra During asana, the Yogi is neutral. Modern Day Application Yogis don’t have good and bad practice days.  They just have practice days. They don’t define themselves by their poses.  They don’t get upset if they cannot bind that day.  They don’t get angry if they do not get the next pose.  They do not get impatient if they are stopped on Marichyasana for 4 years. First, the practitioner establishes a steady and comfortable asana (Sutra 2:46). This takes time. It is not expected to be automatic.  Once the yogi is able to…

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    Shanna Small

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    Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: Would Your memory hold up in court?

    February 26, 2015

    Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: Calm Breath, Calm Life

    February 3, 2016

    AYP Interviews Ashtanga Dispatch: Connecting w/ Ashtanga Through the Written Word

    June 30, 2017
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

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

    September 15, 2017 / 9 Comments

    Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 2:46- Asana is a steady, comfortable seat Defining the Sutra An asana is steady and comfortable. If our poses are not steady and comfortable, they are not true Yoga asanas. A Yoga asana is a pose used for attaining the state of Yoga.  The state of Yoga is supreme internal steadiness. The mind does not fluctuate and we completely understand who we are. The most effective why to use our seat, to focus on Yoga, is for it to be steady and comfortable. Essentially, Yoga poses are an attempt to make our bodies healthy enough to take a steady seat. Modern Day Application Since a Yogi…

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    Shanna Small

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    Fidgeting on the Mat: Ill Fitting Yoga Clothes or Road to Enlightenment?

    April 14, 2017

    Conference Notes From Mysore: Practice Yoga 24 Hours a Day

    February 9, 2015

    What do Kapotasana and Swimming Have in Common?

    October 16, 2018
  • Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Can You Do Too Much Yoga?

    August 7, 2017 / No Comments

    There is an article circulating about the detriments of doing “too much Yoga”. Here is thing. The article is about asana. Yoga is a system. A method. Water is good for you. However, if you just drink water, you will die. Your body is a system. The system needs a balance of nutrients to thrive.  Water is important but it is not enough to balance out the system. Asana is important but it is not enough to balance out the system of Yoga. There are 196 Sutras in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Asana is found in only 3 of those Sutras.  All the other stuff is important!!!!   If you just…

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    Shanna Small

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    Are we Giving Up on Yoga as a Spiritual Path?

    July 28, 2014

    Teaching Ashtanga and the Benefit of Doubt

    June 20, 2018

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: A Yogi on the Mat and a Jerk In the Streets

    June 25, 2015
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    Surrender To is Not The Same As Giving Up

    July 14, 2017 / No Comments

      Okay, I know this could all boil down to semantics. “Surrender” and “giving up” do get used interchangeably sometimes, but hear me out. I surrendered to the music. I gave up the music. Different right? I surrendered to joy. I gave up joy.  Different right? I surrendered to Yoga. I gave up on Yoga. Different right? There is a difference between surrendering to Marichyasana and giving up on Marichyasana, right? Good. When we give up on a pose, but we cannot avoid it,  there is no intelligent effort. It is something that needs to be done and gotten through.  We “assume the position” and move on.  Kind of like crappy sex that…

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    Shanna Small

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    Is Ashtanga Yoga a Balanced Practice?

    September 29, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Ubhaya Padangusthasana

    June 9, 2015

    Nee-ji: Knee Pain Suport Review

    January 1, 2015
  • Uncategorized

    A. P. P Goes To Mysore: Unnecessary Shoulder Movements In Ashtanga

    October 14, 2016 / 2 Comments

    The 411 This morning was great. Lots of joking and laughing from Sharath. He dropped me back. Everything was good. Mysore Musings Information filtered through my citta Last week, Sharath talked about unnecessary movements. He spoke about how “doing jump backs like handstand” can cause stiff backbends and tight shoulders . He said that some people are working on handstand before they need to and that it is not needed until advanced series. He also said that straightening the arms in Marchi is unnecessary.  He said that when we bind, we bond with the body and we should be moving towards it and not away from it. It also puts…

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    Shanna Small

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    Is Ashtanga Yoga a Balanced Practice?

    September 29, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Paschimottanasana

    October 6, 2014

    The Good Old Days of Ashtanga Yoga

    December 8, 2017

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