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43 entries in 2024 · oldest first

2024
We’re a week in to the 30 Day Core Fitness Challenge and the 2024 Teaching Immersion over at @ashtanga.tech — and I’m just over the moon. Ashtanga Tech is the ashtanga education platform I built, designed for practitioners and professionals. She’s meant to facilitate development in a variety of different components of the ashtanga yoga system— from core fitness to meditation. It’s amazing to see so many of you guys using it already, and I’m just so over the moon. Can’t wait to see you in homeroom.
in imageYour Step-by-Step Guide:
1. Understanding Body Scan Meditation: Learn how this practice helps in acknowledging and releasing stored tensions. It's a key tool for developing deeper awareness of your physical self.
2. Finding the Right Spot: Lie down in a quiet, comfortable place. Allow your body to feel supported by the ground beneath you.
3. Start at Your Toes: Begin with focusing on your toes. Observe any sensations, warmth, tingling, or maybe nothing at all.
4. Gradually Move Upward: Slowly shift your attention through
This meditation isn't just a cooldown; it's your path to understanding and harmonizing with your body. Embrace each sensation, and emerge more connected and relaxed. 🧘✨🌿
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My friend from @theyoga.club Liz @lizzoouli suggested I record my practice to check in on some asymmetries I'm balancing. She’s worried I don’t get enough time with a teacher for myself. I broke my ankle and rib last year getting hit by a bicyclist, and my wrist about a year before that getting hit by a car. I am really proud of my generally good attitude, outside of one meltdown phone call ( thanks @made_by_mara !!). Yoga has instilled patience and persistence, pragmatism and a solutions focused growth mindset. 10/10, would recommend. The yoga, that is. The getting hit by stuff is a 2/10.

If you need some support in your practice or healing journey, hmu. This stuff works.
in image1 OF
I KNOW IT'S
I'M HEALING
AND GROWING AND
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Doing the impossible is a matter of breaking it down into possible pieces, with a dash of faith and patience.

Here are some additional handstands and Compression Drills/ Strategies for Intermediate Series.

Join @ashtanga.tech and me for an immersive intermediate series intensive. Explore the path to personal mastery with us in Nashville at @yogashalanashville ! This isn’t about hierarchy; it’s about individual growth and mastery. Let’s journey together towards personal excellence on the mat. See you there! 🌟
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Enjoyment as a Discipline:

Hey y’all, it’s Michael here, bringing you some backbending inspiration from my workroom. My biggest tip? Stop making yourself miserable.

Incorporating enjoyment and gratitude into the discipline of yoga practice is in itself a transformative act. It shifts the focus from viewing practice as a duty or challenge to seeing it as a cherished part of daily life. This shift in perspective can significantly enhance a practitioner’s dedication and enthusiasm, making the practice more sustainable and enriching.

Commit to knocking the sh*t*y self talk off. Enjoyment is part of the process— be disciplined about its curation!

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Intermediate Intensive -Nashville @yogashalanashville - 6/14-6/16
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Primary Intensive- Washington, DC @theyoga.club - 6/21-6/23
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When I got to Goa, I felt anonymous again.

In Mysore, I felt like everyone had heard. I was the ashtangi who got hate crime'd in the face after his house burned down. I wanted to be the tall pretty one. Or the smart one. But for now, I was very much the tragic one.

Luckily, Rolf wasn’t watching the news. I was just one more 6'3 drop back for him to do. And he was happy to oblige-- quietly sharing lite bits here and there in my ear about his work. But not so happy with it that I didn’t get assigned sone extra. Great.

After 26 years of shrinking myself for others, I got to just be the big one. You gotta gang up to take the big one down, and that's what was happening in real life. Literal gangs at home on the street, and little yogi gangs jockeying for status in Mysore.

When you question your ability to be loved by the universe, it is very helpful to see real love pouring out of someone else’s eyes.

Rolf didn’t need to know that I was stitched together with laughy taffy and titanium. Marci went to work on putting my physical injuries to bed and Rolf my heart. Neither needed a narrative. it is good, because I was so sick of my own story I couldn’t take it anymore.

As I’ve been working on my book-- it’s almost done -- the only part that I haven’t gotten into is my introduction into Systems Thinking-- through a gang beatdown.

I have known catastrophe again and again and gotten up to go again and again. This might sound like hubris, but check my receipts.

Rolf was able to help me see the interconnected nature of things in a way that makes the big picture possible. He also helped me understand how unspecial I was — while also feeling very very, very special. As Rolf would say, you do as you feel, and every day, the Yoga grows inside of you like a little plant.

In many ways, the development of my practice and the autonomy — the Santosh— the self sufficiency — means that there is less labor for my teacher to take on. Now i understand that my desire to be better in my physical practice was also so that Rolf had to do less for me.

Since he’s dead now, I will have to put my thigh down on the ground myself.
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Simple Lats and Legs Circuit:
Go up in weight
Aim for 90 seconds for each round, 11-12 sec per rep.

3 Rounds (1 min between sets)
-Single Arm Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown (r & l)— 8 Eccentrics with 2lb Progression
-8 Suitcase Squats (time under tension) with 2lb progressions

3 Rounds (1 minute rest)
-Single Arm Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown (r & l)— 8 Eccentrics with 2lb regressions
-8 Suitcase Squats (time under tension) with 2lb regressions

Adaptive resistance via @vitruvian

Maybe lets launch a little ashtanga early bird barbell club, huh? Hit me up if that sounds fun.
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✨ Breathe Your Way to Peak Performance ✨

Ever feel like your breath is holding you back in sports? 🏃‍♂️💨 Discover how breath training can transform your game, from boosting stamina to sharpening focus. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, mastering your breath is the secret weapon you never knew you needed! 🌬️💪

Ready to unlock your full potential? Let’s dive deep (literally) into the power of breath! 🌟

Visit michaeljoelhall.com

#BreatheBetter #PeakPerformance #AthleteMindset #BreathTraining
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