-
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…
You May Also Like
Taking Away Attention, Taking Away Power
-
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.…
-
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.
-
What do Kapotasana and Swimming Have in Common?
Bear with me. Like your yoga practice, this story is going some where. When I was in college, I took a beginner swim class. At the end, my teacher told me I could swim, passed me and gave me an “A”. Summer came around and I was at the pool with my husband, an ex marine and expert swimmer. I was ecstatic about showing him my new skills. I get in the water. Show him what I can do and he says, Husband: Sweetie, you can’t swim. Me: Yes, I can. My teacher said I could. I passed the class. He moved me on. Husband: Sweetie, if I pushed you…
-
Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized
The Gift of the Local Ashtanga Teacher
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…
-
And Now Yoga
Yoga is an internal process. If external drama in the yoga world keeps you off your mat or keeps you from teaching your students, now is the time to question why you ever started practicing or teaching in the first place. “Atha Yoganusasanam”, the first verse of the Yoga Sutras Sutras means, “And, now, yoga.” You have lost faith in your teacher….and now yoga. You have been floored by allegations…and now yoga. You have been removed from a list…and now yoga. You feel lost…and now yoga. You don’t know what your next move should be…and now yoga. You think there is a chasm in the community…and now yoga. All of…
-
Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Ashtanga Quotes, History, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized
The Good Old Days of Ashtanga Yoga
In my beginning years of practicing Ashtanga, none of my teachers ever made me feel like there was a rush to get anywhere. This was pre social media. Honestly, the internet was still a baby when I started practicing. Sharath says that he liked the days of yoga before the internet. I have to agree. The students were different. The teachers were different. People came to Ashtanga out of an interest in learning yoga, whatever that was. They didn’t come to work out. They didn’t come because they saw someone doing cool tricks on social media. I came to yoga because I liked the idea that it was a…
-
Validation Addiction
I was raised in a Pentecostal fire and brimstone type church. Like Hanuman was a perfect devotee of Rama, my mother was the perfect servant of the church. I was raised thinking that devotion was rewarded. And indeed, in that little church in Alabama, it was. When I was a little girl, we used to sing a song that was derived from Matthews 25:23, “well done good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:enter thou into the joy of the lord.” This message, that I would be rewarded for my good deeds, set me on a path of…
-
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?
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…
-
Adventures in Mysore India, Ashtanga Adaptability, Conference Notes, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
Fidgeting on the Mat: Ill Fitting Yoga Clothes or Road to Enlightenment?
‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.’” Albert Einstein…maybe These days, everyone wants to be their own Guru. Being your own Guru can be much harder than finding a human one. With a human one, you just do what they say. Done. When you are your own Guru, to get to the essence of who you are, you have to weed through years of suffering, pain,memories, and knowledge. I guess it is possible to have instant enlightenment. I would take a guess though, that if it does happen, it is super rare.…
