Number One Reason People Don’t Like Mysore Style Ashtanga
The number 1 reason I get for why people don’t practice Mysore Style Ashtanga is, “I don’t want to think”. It’s an honest answer. Its real. I am thankful to everyone who has the courage to say it.What does not thinking really mean? When people say they don’t want to think, I sometimes ask them to expound on it. Upon digging deeper, these are the themes that keep coming up. Want to take their minds off their life When people want to take their minds off their life, they are really wanting to let go of their suffering. You don’t want to take your mind off of awesome stuff, right? Suffering is…
Is Yoga A Feel Good Practice or a Force For Change?
When I first started teaching,I was told me that we just have to teach the physical practice and people will change inside on their own with time. There was a voice in my head that doubted this, but it sounded good so I believed it. As I continued to teach, it became apparent to me that this was not the case. People who were sweet got sweeter. People who were searching for the spiritual side, found it. Those who were ego maniacs just became bigger ego maniacs. Newtons First Law: The first law can be stated mathematically as Consequently, An object that is at rest will stay at rest unless an external…
- Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Ashtanga Quotes, History, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: How To Get the Quickest Results in Yoga
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:22-The time necessary for success depends on whether the practice is mild, medium or intense. Defining the Sutra Everyone can have success in yoga but the more intense the practice the faster the results. It is important to reiterate that Patanjali is referring to yoga as the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind . He is not merely talking about yoga as a physical practice. Many commentaries on the Sutras, allude to 9 levels of practice that are not mentioned in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali but are mentioned in other texts and supposedly directly relate to this verse. I don’t think these 9 levels are…
- Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
The Reo Speedwagon of Ashtanga Practices
This may be the cheesiest post on Ashtanga that you will ever read. I swear to God the last few weeks of my practice have had me saying, Oh I can’t fight this feeling any longer And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow What started out as friendship, Has grown stronger I only wish I had the strength to let it show Reo Speedwagon,Can’t Fight This Feeling I have no clue what it is but there definitely has been some energetic shifting and it is scary as sh%$. Hell, I even bought some Mala beads this week because I was like, woah Nelly, lets balance this ish…
The Magic Happens When Your Yoga Practice Sucks
Unfortunately, the magic happens when it sucks. This is why the yogis and Patanjali told us to practice consistently. They knew that we needed to come face to face with the suckiness and often. I am not talking about pain from injuries. I am talking about the suckiness of being uncomfortable. The suckiness of wanting to be anywhere but on that mat. When it sucks, the biggest opportunity for transformation occurs. History shows us this. When we hear stories of huge internal life shattering transformations, it is usually prefaced by a heart wrenching story that sucks. For something to transform, it need to hit its “boiling point”. The boiling point is where the…
Yoga Practice Vs Asana Demonstration vs Asana Inspired Play
I got a wake up call recently when Peg Mulqueen of Ashtanga Dispatch cautioned us against incorporating things we see on social media into our Ashtanga practices. It was a wake up call because I realized that I had been doing just that. Over the past few days, I have been thinking long and hard about this. It is important to understand the context under which the video or picture is being presented. Even if a certified/authorized Ashtanga teacher is doing it, we have to ask, are they giving us a glimpse into their yoga practice, is this a demonstration or is it asana inspired play? It is also important for us…
Ashtanga Makes You Honest
Ashtanga yoga makes you get honest about your habits. There is no way to maintain a 6 day a week practice without living a balanced life. Below are 5 factors that you have to get honest about in your life if you want to maintain a 6 day a week yoga practice. Your Diet If you eat too much Your body feels heavy and arm balances, lift ups and floating is difficult Many binds, arm balances and inversions are not attainable because there is too much real estate to wrap around, too much body to lift up, and too much weight to bear on the bones Lethargic and little energy No…
The Road to a Consistent Yoga Practice
I loved, Too Busy To Do Yoga? Then watch this. Krista Shirley Interview Part 1 by Ekam Inhale. “If you live in America in the twenty first century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they are doing: “Busy!” “So Busy.” “Crazy Busy” This quote is taken from the essay I recently just read called Lazy A Manifesto By Tim Kreider He goes on to say how most people that say how busy they are do it to themselves by just taking on too much. They aren’t busy because of things they…
Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: When Can I Stop My Yoga Practice?
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:16: When connection to the pure self is so complete that attachment does not even arise in the mind, this is supreme non attachment. Defining The Sutra: In the last installment of Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life, we started a conversation on non attachment. To recap, non attachment does not mean that we don’t own things, it means that things don’t own us. In supreme non attachment, the yogi is so rooted in the true self that non attachment is spontaneous. For example: I have to constantly remind myself to be involved but not attached because when I experience something pleasurable, I want to cling…
Shooting Yourself in the Foot In Your Yoga Practice
shoot yourself in the foot to do or say something that causes problems for you- Cambridge Dictionary As students, we get in our own way. If your progress has stalled in yoga, check below to see if you are guilty of shooting yourself in the foot. Ways We Shoot Ourselves In the Foot in Yoga Not practicing enough If you don’t do anything else on this list, do this. Increasing the rate of practice brings exponential improvements. Without adding any technique or doing anything else different, practices transform just by doing it more. Our bodies are creatures of habit and they respond favorably and quickly to repetition. Muscles start to…
Making the Philosophy and Poses of Ashtanga Accessible for All
