Accessible | Trauma Informed |Philosophy |Social Justice

  • Home
  • Shanna Small
    • Contact Shanna Small
  • Subscribe
  • Study
    • Sacred Vitality Online Yoga Studio
    • Harmony and Clarity
    • Privates
  • Refund Policy
  • Home
  • Shanna Small
    • Contact Shanna Small
  • Subscribe
  • Study
    • Sacred Vitality Online Yoga Studio
    • Harmony and Clarity
    • Privates
  • Refund Policy
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Teaching Ashtanga and the Benefit of Doubt

    June 20, 2018 /

      I will never forget when I went to a Kino MacGregor workshop and a woman, who comes to Ashtanga, seriously like once a year, told Kino that I was her teacher.  I was standing in line for a picture. Kino was turned towards me and the woman had her back to me. I looked Kino dead in the eyes, and shook my head back and forth, “NO”. Yes, it is super sweet that she felt so connected to me those two or three times I taught her that she considered me to be her teacher but I was not going to take responsibility for anything she was doing in…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Talking Ashtanga Yoga With David Garrigues!

    May 22, 2015

    Highlights From Yoga Philosophy Study with Greg Nardi

    October 12, 2015

    What is a Yoga Teacher?

    July 4, 2016
  • Social Media,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Videos,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Trigger….Unhappy

    June 14, 2018 /

      The video above talks about how Facebook makes money by triggering your negative emotions.  By placing posts on your page, that you are likely to engage with for a long time, they can make more money from ad placement. Because of the uncontrolled mind, the best way to do that is through negative posts. They are not the only ones of course.  All news channels do it. Bloggers do it. Our egos do it. Yes. Keeping you in a triggered state solidifies the ego. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, yoga is defined as, “the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” Facebook does not want you to do…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    In Support of Negativity on The Internet

    June 8, 2016

    Questioning God

    November 7, 2016

    Learning Ashtanga From the Internet: A Cautionary Tale

    September 24, 2015
  • Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    To Be of Service

    May 24, 2018 /

    “Do what you can to uplift and enlighten people, but never forget your path.”-Babaji, At the Eleventh Hour by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D. “Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and with all earnestness.” Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:14 When many practitioners become teachers, studio owners, and activists, they slowly, over time, stop practicing or practice very little. This is the worst thing we can do. As leaders in the community, we need the practice more than ever.  When dealing with customers and students, we absorb their energy. We are effected by their stories.  The stories and experiences of our students and community,…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Pose of the Week: Vrschikasana B

    November 1, 2015

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Life: Yoga 24/7

    June 29, 2016

    Ashtanga Adaptability: Practicing With A Knee Injury

    November 4, 2014
  • Ask the AYP,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga and the Path of Forgiveness

    May 19, 2018 /

    Why do people love Ashtanga? It works. It heals. It has changed their lives. In the science of Yoga, firsthand experience is seen as the highest proof. 99% practice, 1% theory. Every day people are having the firsthand experience of how this practice is a catalyst for positive change in the world. This practice can work without our commentary.  It can work without being announced on social media. It works in the wee hours of the morning when people silently come together in Shalas. It works in home practice rooms where lone practitioners practice to the sound of their loved ones moving around them. Yoga gives its gifts to anyone,…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Ask the AYP: Cultivating a Home Yoga Practice

    December 15, 2017

    Ask the AYP: What is an Established Yoga Practice?

    February 1, 2018
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Saraswathi,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    Why Practicing with Saraswathi Jois Is So Awesome

    May 7, 2018 /

    You may have noticed that you didn’t receive a post in your inbox last week. That was because I was in Charlottesville practicing with Saraswathi! When I saw she was going to be 4 1/2 hours away, I signed up immediately. I totally hate that I missed all my opportunities to practice with Guruji and I was not going to make that mistake again. When I told my 70 something year old mother in law that I was going to to see a 76 year old woman who was on a world tour teaching yoga, she was a bit surprised.  Many people that age have trouble getting around even much…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: Why Are We Here?

    January 2, 2017

    How To Prevent Ashtanga Crazy Making

    September 28, 2015

    March 24 Sharath Mysore Conference Notes

    April 29, 2014
  • Adventures in Mysore India,  Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    The Gift of the Local Ashtanga Teacher

    April 26, 2018 /

    From Christina Sell’s Blog Post, the Process Works   “Q:What is the definition of an expert? A: Someone who lives out of town. Given that the majority of the teaching work I do these days involves me getting on a plane to go teach, I enjoy the “expert” status that comes along with being a teacher from “out-of-town.” I figure that means that the students are typically a little more patient with my long-winded explanations, detailed demonstrations, and slow-paced teaching style than they might be if it was Wednesday night class and we shared the same zip code.  “ TRUTH This phenomenon is so interesting to me. People who argue…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    APP Goes To Mysore: 3 1/2 Hours Without Pain & The Medium Girl

    October 18, 2016

    Ashtanga Yoga Project Went To Mysore: How was it?

    December 1, 2016

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

    April 14, 2017
  • Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Inspiration and Coveting

    April 13, 2018 /

    The line between being inspired and coveting is a thin one. You can tell the difference by how you feel. Inspiration, well, makes you feel inspired and lit up. Coveting what someone else has makes you feel dejected, anxious, envious, jealous, angry and frustrated. On my mat, I tend to be inspired when I am working with a new pose or I am watching people do poses I have not been given. I tend to feel like I am coveting after I have been working with a pose for a long time and I still can’t do it. The difference is expectations. When I have expectations that I can do…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: Teach Me About Your Faith by What’s In Your Heart

    August 4, 2017

    Yoga Sutras For Modern Day Life: We Are Made of Stars

    August 18, 2015

    Give Me All the Ashtanga Holidays

    July 13, 2018
  • Alignment and Injuries,  Ashtanga Adaptability,  Pose How To,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    Coming up with an Injury Strategy

    April 6, 2018 /

    It happened. That thing that you have been so careful to avoid. The thing that you have taken hours of yoga anatomy and alignment courses to avoid. You have an ouchie. An injury. What to do? If you are mindful, patient and compassionate with yourself, you can continue your yoga practice.  However, you have to be really honest with yourself. If you: Are an all or nothing type of person Hate modifications Refuse to modify in front of others Feel like you are not doing a full practice unless you are doing “everything” Have an inhumanly high pain tolerance to the point where you only feel things when it is…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Pose of the Week: Prasarita Padottanasana

    January 12, 2015

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

    September 12, 2016

    Iyengar Was Taught Ashtanga Yoga

    October 30, 2014
  • Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized,  Videos,  Yoga Philosophy,  Yoga Sutras

    Yoga: The Cure for Phantom Life Syndrome

    March 30, 2018 /

    When students get stuck on a pose, I often use a camera to record them and play it back. Sometimes we think we are doing something and we are not.  We practice yoga through the veil of our own samskaras. Samskaras are pathways that, we take so often, that they become second nature to us.  If we have always felt or been told that we were lacking, flexible, weak or strong, our perception of what is actually going on can be skewed. Injuries can also skew our perception. Sometimes, what we perceive in our bodies, is not really what is happening. An extreme example of this is Phantom Limb Syndrome.…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Yoga Practice Vs Asana Demonstration vs Asana Inspired Play

    June 4, 2015

    Who Is Showing Up To Do The Yoga?

    February 15, 2016

    Brush Up On Your Sanskrit Counting and Pose Names

    February 26, 2014
  • Reblogs,  Teaching Ashtanga,  Uncategorized

    Words on the Teacher/Student Relationship

    March 22, 2018 /

    I just listened to magnificent podcast by spiritual teacher, Shambhavi, on how to relate to a spiritual teacher and I wanted to share her words with you.  In my opinion, one of the biggest obstacles to the teacher/student relationship, arises from concepts we have inadvertently picked up from religion. This idea that, a teacher is a perfect being, is not a part of the culture that yoga was birthed from. Even a cursory reading of any of the great epic stories, from that culture, reveals that the yogis,teachers, gods and goddesses were not perfect. Yet, they were still considered to be masters.  They are still being revered. Why? They possess qualities…

    Read More
    Shanna Small

    You May Also Like

    Are the Economics of Being a Yoga Teacher Brutal?

    October 9, 2015

    Check This Out: Age and Ashtanga Modifications

    January 8, 2014

    Guided Ashtanga Classes in Mysore VS. Westernized Guided Classes

    February 15, 2014
12345

Mailchimp Sign Up

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Products

  • Harmony and Clarity $0.00 – $30.00

Recent Posts

  • The Choice To Thrive
  • Treat Me Like Your Headliner
  • Deconstructing Ashtanga, Reconstructing Me
  • Performative Love
  • Why I Am Not Interested in Your Virtual Ashtanga Course

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Front Page Photos by Wanda Koch Photography

Archive

Products

  • Harmony and Clarity $0.00 – $30.00

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

Products

  • Harmony and Clarity $0.00 – $30.00

This website does not collect or sell personal information.

2022 ©Shanna Small Yoga