oh, it’s pretty. i don’t assign pretty. why do you think I might offer this? for which posture might this be therapeutic? guys: great job, @mikeybs345

four years ago,
I came home.

#fbf March 9

Love this one.

After seven years or so years of practice, I wondered to myself “where are the mystics? The wizened ones? The enlightened? Those that had reached the highest states of yoga?” ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
In the interest of believing by seeing, i set off on a journey to find the ones who knew the methods that would bring about samadhi— because it had been attained. I had a hard time understanding why I knew so many yogis with so little experience of yoga. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Along the way I learned that enlightenment is a wisdom - truth state that is available to absolutely anyone willing and able to put in the work that will lead to it. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I learned that our ability to stay in the state of samadhi, of deep intertwinement with all things, can come easily but to keep it requires both great discipline and great relinquishing. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I learned that in fact, it is nothing special. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I learned most of all that I didn’t know how to look for what I was looking for. The folks I sought were hiding in plain sight. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Here’s something you must understand: these states of consciousness are available on day one, if only for a fleeting second. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
In fact, it is in our efforts to track as many sensation patterns as we can in that fleeting second that we develop the concentration skills to enter these states. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
If you want it, you can have it. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I do not guard the secrets, I do not gatekeep these altered states. These consciousness states are for everyone— after all, when the tide comes in, all boats are lifted. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Let’s be clear: I can not say that I am enlightened, but I can say for sure that I have tasted the nectar of these practices. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I now want nothing more than to share what i have learned and to continue learning. ⁣⁣
⁣
Real yoga promises abiding peace and freedom and so much more to all devoted aspirants; and all that is required is to try. These are very good reasons to practice. ⁣⁣
⁣
Best of all, you absolutely should not take my word for it. If it is true, all of this will become self evident. Pick your guide wisely, and give it a try— you will see the evidence of its brilliance. My journey continues.

chatting with little bear.

Me at 6am

I often call yoga a wisdom tradition or insight practice. Here's a bit from Daniel Ingram's "Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha”:⁣⁣
⁣⁣
"The primary agenda for doing insight practices is to increase our perceptual abilities so that the truths mentioned by the great mystics become obvious to us. ⁣
⁣
⁣
Thus, rather than caring what we think, say or do, or caring about what altered state of consciousness we are in, when training in wisdom we actively work to simply increase the speed, precision, consistency and inclusiveness of our experience of all the quick little sensations that make up our experience, whatever and however they may be. ⁣
⁣
⁣
Thus, the essential formal insight meditation instructions are : find a place where the distractions are tolerable, pick a stable and sustainable posture, and for a defined period of time notice every single sensation that makes up your reality as best you can. ⁣
⁣
⁣
Just as with concentration practices, more time and more diligent practice pays off.”

when the gym
is closed
but you need
what you need 100 burpees

Find your light. Stand in it. ⁣
⁣
When the universe tells you a little to the right, move. You can't see your blindspots, but you can know that they're there. You'll know when the time is right. ⁣
⁣
Remember: the universe is not here to see you fail.

brrr

in love with life @marisapazik

like ya do at work
#eatondc

On matters of sand (and otherwise)
given a choice between
my feet
and my head,
it’s my feet
I’d rather bury.

This ancient posture is called "triangle," so named because you "try" and make an "angle. "⁣
⁣
Uttithta Trikonasana A might be an all time favorite. It really means "extended triangle" anyway, and the B part is the twisted one in ashtanga yoga nomenclature. ⁣
⁣
Here are a few tips for this particular variation:⁣
🔼 start with the legs about one legs length wide. ⁣
🔺fully externally rotate the shoulders (literally so challenging!)⁣
🔽to come into the posture, internally rotate the back hip a bit while you externally rotate the front. ⁣
⚠️ bend the front knee as much as you need (and keep the muscles on). This posture is all about the hip first, not the hamstring. You can begin to straighten later. ⁣
▶️when you come down to catch the toe , flex the bottom hip-- really feel the spine getting closer to the leg, particularly around the navel. ⁣
🔻keep the lower back neutral on the way out and in so that you can get strong hip work and a psoas stretch out of it. If the lower back gets all sway-y it may not feel as good. ⁣
📐Let the big toe come up, keeping it's knuckle down, so that you can catch it. Then shift the weight a bit into the toe box so that it naturally smooshes back down without scrunching the other toes.⁣
◀️let that bottom forearm roll in some for balance. Don't change the shoulder to do it. ⁣
▶️ make a choice about your balance and needs-- try retracting and depressing your shoulder blades here (retract) to see if it helps you lengthen the spine. ⁣
🔺do you feel both side of your front foot pressing evenly? Keep your abs strong and adjust from the hip till you get the center of mass balanced over the foundion. ⁣
👁 Look at the place where the thumb touches the index finger.

This ancient posture is called "triangle," so named because you "try" and make an "angle. "⁣
⁣
Uttithta Trikonasana A might be an all time favorite. It really means "extended triangle" anyway, and the B part is the twisted one in ashtanga yoga nomenclature. ⁣
⁣
Here are a few tips for this particular variation:⁣
🔼 start with the legs about one legs length wide. ⁣
🔺fully externally rotate the shoulders (literally so challenging!)⁣
🔽to come into the posture, internally rotate the back hip a bit while you externally rotate the front. ⁣
⚠️ bend the front knee as much as you need (and keep the muscles on). This posture is all about the hip first, not the hamstring. You can begin to straighten later. ⁣
▶️when you come down to catch the toe , flex the bottom hip-- really feel the spine getting closer to the leg, particularly around the navel. ⁣
🔻keep the lower back neutral on the way out and in so that you can get strong hip work and a psoas stretch out of it. If the lower back gets all sway-y it may not feel as good. ⁣
📐Let the big toe come up, keeping it's knuckle down, so that you can catch it. Then shift the weight a bit into the toe box so that it naturally smooshes back down without scrunching the other toes.⁣
◀️let that bottom forearm roll in some for balance. Don't change the shoulder to do it. ⁣
▶️ make a choice about your balance and needs-- try retracting and depressing your shoulder blades here (retract) to see if it helps you lengthen the spine. ⁣
🔺do you feel both side of your front foot pressing evenly? Keep your abs strong and adjust from the hip till you get the center of mass balanced over the foundion. ⁣
👁 Look at the place where the thumb touches the index finger.

a boy loves his shala

when i dip you dip we dip

Tension gets a bad wrap.⁣
⁣
Oh, sure: when it’s misplaced, it’s awful. But, imagine yourself over a chasm, with an old suspension bridge from side to side as your only route. Which kind of bridge would you wanna cross? The one that’s all loosey-goosey or the one that looks taut and firm? ⁣
⁣
Imagine your feelings in that scenario. Without structure, there’s so much extra space for insecurity. Risk, risk, risk. Inside of a yoga pose, things are not so different. You will feel better when everything is balanced and strong. ⁣
⁣
Ashtanga yoga helps you figure out what to tighten up, so that you can relax some. Sometimes it’s our body (often), sometimes it’s our mind (often). Regardless, when we strike the right balance of integrity, we get cool, calm, and collected. And after having done this same process of assessing and testing, it gets easier and more dynamic. Less thinking more doing.
This process helps us develop discernment over time. Our intuition and problem solving skills ratchet up. And we chill out. This is good! ⁣
⁣
You’ll be ready for damn near any bridge ya come to.

@propertopper

It’s a helluva thing to lick your wounds and count your blessings at the same time. ⁣ ⁣
⁣
⁣
Cuts sting worse for a moment when you clean them, after all— but thank whoever-you-fucking-thank that you have this chance to fucking clean them at all. ⁣⁣
⁣
Ashtanga Yoga specifically asks you to table your “woe-is-me” narrative and sobermindedly go about the work of suffering less.⁣
⁣
As @gratefulweirdo ‘s Bubbie told her, “if you push it down from the top, it’ll come out the sides”— and the practice of yoga asks you to put your sorryies in a sack and deal with your shit. ⁣
⁣
We don’t cut off whole parts of ourself in yoga— we don’t shy away. No, we hold space for pain so that we can heal ourselves from the inside. ⁣
⁣
The process starts with noticing and befriending the ignored and blocked— and one of the things i love most about Ashtanga Yoga is that it allows you to do so from so, so, so many starting points— which is great, cause folks are coming *from* so many different starting points. So many wounds.⁣
⁣
But it all unfurls and unfolds from just right where you are. ⁣
⁣
For me, it has been a process of learning to love my body. My tummy. My voice. ⁣
⁣
Like Mama @rupaulofficial says, “if you can’t love yourself, how the hell ya gonna love somebody else?” ⁣
⁣
Listen, real talk: that process takes just as long as it takes. But, like I said, it starts right where you are. ⁣
⁣
#survivor

@ericalmartinson
might kill me