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The Choice To Thrive
The Choice to Thrive “Do you teach at a yoga studio?” “I really loved it when you taught at XYZ Yoga Studio.” “Are you planning on teaching again at XYZ yoga studio?” Dear Yoga Student, I know these questions come from a well intentioned place. I know that the studio was convenient for you. I know that you don’t understand that sometimes, I taught 2 hours of Mysore style Ashtanga for under $10. I know that you don’t understand that most of your monthly membership went to pay for the overhead of the yoga studio and not to me. I know you don’t understand that the average yoga teacher in…
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Why I Am Not Interested in Your Virtual Ashtanga Course
During this Shelter in Place, I signed up for 4 virtual courses…none of them Ashtanga. I am so tired of the same interviews with the same hand full of people who have the same perspective. I am tired of the same workshops by the same few super flexy people on the same subjects. I am tired of the same tutorials by the same genetically gifted people on the same techniques that no one but genetically gifted people can even do. I am tired of this homogenous picture that the Ashtanga world insists on painting. When Ashtanga comes under fire for being a shallow elitist practice for skinny genetically gifted circus…
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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
“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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With Me or Against Me
People are asking, “Why is there a culture of silence in Yoga?” Something that often makes people go silent is “all or nothing” and “with me or against me” thinking. It is the idea that everything is black or white and you have to choose a side. If folks don’t want to choose a side, they will often just go silent. When the person speaks up, they get crucified by both sides for not choosing. This results in shutting down the conversation and shutting down the person. You can hate someone’s choices around a particular event but totally still love and respect everything else about them. You can love your…
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Taking Away Attention, Taking Away Power
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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?
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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Adventures in Mysore India, Diversity, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
It Is So Much Easier To Tell You To Change
It is so much easier to tell someone else or an organization to change than to actually change ourselves. How many times have you made a statement that Ashtanga, the government, your job, your yoga studio should change but you cannot even clean out your closets without having a meltdown? For most people, switching careers, cities, boyfriends or hairstyles is a harrowing ordeal, but your democracy, that should change overnight. Not only should everyone change but they should do it smoothly and quickly without disrupting YOUR life. Hmm…how realistic is that? I have been yearning for change in my own life and I have made no steps in any direction.…
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Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Diversity, History, Ladies Holday, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
What You Don’t Know, Makes You Dangerous
Before you make that statement on social media, before you write that blog post, stop. Ask yourself, do you have all the information? Do you understand the subject outside of your own cultural biases? Are you listening to only one side? Every day, I gain more of an understanding of why some teachers and Patanjali tell us to pick a method and stick with it. Reason 1-so we don’t dig shallow wells. Reason 2-so we don’t get confused. Yoga is not one long unfractured story where the facts perfectly follow one after the other. That is like saying that American history is White history and just following the line of…
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How Can You Have a Unity and Diversity Conference W/ No Diversity!!!!
I am not a confrontational person. That is not what Ashtanga Yoga Project is about but dude….I almost fell off my chair this morning when I clicked on a link for an Ashtanga Yoga and Diversity Conference in Bali that had all white faces. Are you kidding me? We all know Ashtanga Yoga originated in India. Not even any Indian faces!!!! Like seriously, are you kidding me? It is 2019. Why are we still doing this!!!!! Yes, I cannot tell someone’s ethnicity just by their picture but if everyone on the presenter list can pass for White, you didn’t reach far enough!!!! These people are not my global leaders. Stop…
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Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Ask the AYP, Teaching Ashtanga, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
Yoga Will Not Keep Bad Things From Happening
Yoga is not an inoculation against bad things. It is the science of learning how to deal with bad things when they happen. If you are lucky, you start to view “bad” things as just events and you don’t label them at all. On my last post, someone commented and asked, “how can you hurt yourself when you are practicing Ahimsa?” Easy. Most people don’t wake up in the morning and say. “I feel like hurting myself today. I really want to get in a car accident, maybe get a cold, catch my husband in bed with his co-worker, rip my hamstring, and have to bail my son out of…
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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
Ashtanga stuff that has been pushing my buttons.
