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  • Ashtanga Adaptability,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Number One Reason People Don’t Like Mysore Style Ashtanga

    August 20, 2015 / 4 Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Utplutihih

    March 28, 2016

    Yoga Pose of the Week: Vatayanasana

    May 17, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Vrschikasana B

    November 1, 2015
  • Ashtanga Quotes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy

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

    August 15, 2015 / 1 Comment

      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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Strength and Grace: 10 Quotes From Female Greats of Ashtanga Yoga

    March 14, 2016

    Is Sharath getting up at 12:45AM?

    February 17, 2014

    Follow Where Your Guru is Walking

    July 2, 2016
  • 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

    July 28, 2015 / No Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Ardha Matsyendrasana

    March 18, 2015

    Pose of the Week: Baddha Padmasana

    February 18, 2016

    Talking to Your Yoga Teacher about Pain

    November 3, 2017
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    The Reo Speedwagon of Ashtanga Practices

    July 10, 2015 / 1 Comment

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Eka Pada Sirsasana

    February 1, 2015

    Is Pattabhi Jois Really Your Guru?

    July 23, 2016

    Yoga Statistics and Faulty Logic

    March 3, 2018
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy

    The Magic Happens When Your Yoga Practice Sucks

    July 3, 2015 / 16 Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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

    October 19, 2015

    What You Need To Know About Mysore Style Ashtanga

    June 17, 2015

    APP Responds to “Why I Stopped Practicing Ashtanga Yoga”

    November 17, 2014
  • Ashtanga Quotes,  History,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Videos,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Practice Vs Asana Demonstration vs Asana Inspired Play

    June 4, 2015 / No Comments

      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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Yoga Conference Highlights from Sharath’s Stockholm Visit

    October 7, 2015

    Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: Insidious

    August 1, 2016

    Why It Is Important To Be Uncomfortable in Yoga

    June 23, 2015
  • Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    Ashtanga Makes You Honest

    May 17, 2015 / No Comments

    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…

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    Yoga Sutras For Modern Life: Staying Excited About Yoga Practice

    February 14, 2017

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

    October 19, 2015

    Going Through Hell? Keep Going

    April 7, 2017
  • Ashtanga Adaptability,  Ashtanga Quotes,  Reblogs,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    The Road to a Consistent Yoga Practice

    May 7, 2015 / 1 Comment

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Burn, Baby, Burn

    September 28, 2017

    Pose of the Week: Ustrasana

    January 22, 2015

    APP Responds to “Why I Stopped Practicing Ashtanga Yoga”

    November 17, 2014
  • Ashtanga Quotes,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: When Can I Stop My Yoga Practice?

    April 14, 2015 / No Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    The Road to a Consistent Yoga Practice

    May 7, 2015

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

    April 20, 2015

    Yoga Sutras for Modern Day Life: The 3 Traits of a Strong Yoga Practice

    March 10, 2015
  • Ashtanga Adaptability,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Shooting Yourself in the Foot In Your Yoga Practice

    April 2, 2015 / No Comments

    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…

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    Shanna Small

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    Pose of the Week: Pasasana

    March 9, 2015

    Strength and Fluidity: An Interview with Authorized Teacher Day Christensen

    April 7, 2016

    Pose of the Week: Ardha Matsyendrasana

    March 18, 2015
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