still not great at double unders (or camera placement)

Resistance bands are great for end-range strength training, and this can be especially beneficial for Ashtanga Yoga asana practice—here’s the “why” in both anatomy and Ashtanga terms:

1. Why resistance bands work for end-range strength

Resistance bands provide what’s called variable resistance: the further you stretch them, the more resistance they provide. This makes them perfect for training end-range strength—that’s the strength required when your muscles are either fully lengthened or fully shortened. Think of the top of a backbend, the deepest point in Supta Kurmasana, or holding your leg behind your head: these are all end-range positions.

Unlike free weights, bands make it harder as you move deeper into the range, which is the opposite of most real-life strength patterns (where you tend to be weakest at the extremes). So by training at those extremes with resistance bands, you’re preparing your muscles and joints to be strong, stable, and supported in yoga’s most demanding positions.

2. Why that’s good for Ashtanga yoga

In Ashtanga, especially the Intermediate Series and beyond, we are constantly exploring the limits of flexibility and control. But:
• Flexibility without strength is like stretching a rubber band with no tension—it’ll snap or sag.
• End-range strength helps prevent injury by supporting joints in vulnerable positions—like Kapotasana or Karandavasana.
• It also helps balance the nervous system’s stretch reflex. If your nervous system doesn’t trust you to be strong at end-range, it will limit your flexibility. But when it feels you’re strong and stable, it lets you go deeper—safely.

3. Systems Thinking

From a systems view, resistance bands act as an elegant feedback mechanism. They amplify the demand precisely when the system (your body) is most vulnerable—end-range. By strengthening the feedback loop between mobility, control, and proprioception, bands help shift the whole system (your practice) toward resilient adaptability—aka fewer injuries and deeper poses with less drama.

Resistance Training for Ashtanga:

I follow a push/pull/leg split, 3/on 1/off. I dont follow a neat m/w/f 7 day a week schedule— I rotate as best I can.

I like to lift and then practice shortly after, or I try to practice early and lift later (8 hours later, in fact).

When I’m short on time, I do a full body work out 2-3x a week, alternating between compound pushing and pulling movements.

If I’m in a hypertrophy (mass building) phase, im lifting for about an hour. If I’m in a maintenance phase, its about 30 minutes. If i need an attitude adjustment, its a group class.

Full Body Workout for Rotational Stability.

A really fun circuit using the @vitruvian — with the isokinentic (echo) mode. The apparatus dynamically adjusts resistance so as to maintain a specific time duration at maximjm intensity over the travel distance defined in the firat 3 reps — theyre the ones that look easy. Watch the weight kick in and its no wonder it allows you to achieve incredible strength and mass gains quickly.

Repeat 4 Times, 45 seconds 45 seconds off.

Single Arm Reverse Lunges
Single Arm Reverse Lunges
Seated Shoulder Press
Kneeling Reverse Woodchop
Kneeling Reverse Woodchop
Single Arm Lawnmower Rows
Single Arm Lawnmower Rows

Full Body Workout for Rotational Stability.

A really fun circuit using the @vitruvian — with the isokinentic (echo) mode. The apparatus dynamically adjusts resistance so as to maintain a specific time duration at maximjm intensity over the travel distance defined in the firat 3 reps — theyre the ones that look easy. Watch the weight kick in and its no wonder it allows you to achieve incredible strength and mass gains quickly.

Repeat 4 Times, 45 seconds 45 seconds off.

Single Arm Reverse Lunges
Single Arm Reverse Lunges
Seated Shoulder Press
Kneeling Reverse Woodchop
Kneeling Reverse Woodchop
Single Arm Lawnmower Rows
Single Arm Lawnmower Rows

Full Body Workout for Rotational Stability.

A really fun circuit using the @vitruvian — with the isokinentic (echo) mode. The apparatus dynamically adjusts resistance so as to maintain a specific time duration at maximjm intensity over the travel distance defined in the firat 3 reps — theyre the ones that look easy. Watch the weight kick in and its no wonder it allows you to achieve incredible strength and mass gains quickly.

Repeat 4 Times, 45 seconds 45 seconds off.

Single Arm Reverse Lunges
Single Arm Reverse Lunges
Seated Shoulder Press
Kneeling Reverse Woodchop
Kneeling Reverse Woodchop
Single Arm Lawnmower Rows
Single Arm Lawnmower Rows

Repair

Ashtanga Yoga isn’t fragile—
But the system that tried to contain it? That one cracked.

When leadership is centralized, the whole thing topples with a single loss.

When authority is gatekept, the system can’t adapt.

But Mysore-style was always meant to be self-practice.

Passed hand to hand.

From one dedicated practitioner to another.

You breathe, you move, you grow.

Someone notices. They ask.

Suddenly, you’re teaching.

No fanfare. No certification ceremony.

Just the work.

Decentralization isn’t the death of tradition.
It’s how it survives.

#decentralizedashtanga #ashtangayoga #mysorestyle #globalsangha #selfpractice #notfragile #theyogaclub

Superset for Legs & Core

Supersets save time without sacrificing your ability to gain strength and mass. Basically, pick two exercises, do them back to back, then take your break. You can choose complimentary muscle or oppositional muscle groups (or both) in your programming. you can also easily add reps and a set to progressively overload in a straightforward way.

3 Rounds of 15 reps

60-90 seconds off between supersets. Move quickly between individual sets (of course).

Superset A:
Pull throughs - cable & rope
Calf Raises - cable & rope

Superset B:
Leg Extension - cable & strap
Hamstring curl - cable & strap

One of the most radical things we can do in an economy that commoditizes our attention is to focus on what we want, not what someone else tells us to.

be yourself.

103 years ago proto-mjh