Oh boy.
Panjim >> Mysore

Back in Panjim, after the shortest visit with @livelyogini -- but a total adventure.
I had almost forgotten quite how amazing dusty ol' Mysore is. Kingfisher is 70 rupees for a big bottle strong in Goa. It's like 215 there. Funny, no?

🔮Ready for some woo-woo??? 🔮

I have a few friends from DC visiting an #ashtanga retreat center in Goa. Taking a visit to #arambol (a bit of a hike from the retreatcenter) they took a 🎥of this rad #tightrope walker -- thinking of me and my love for the weird, they posted the clip on the internet and tagged me. Guess what?? I had just done the same thing, but hadn't posted! A few minutes later, we ran smack into each other... Just next to the performer!!🎪
🔮I felt conjured by white magic. 🔮
In New Orleans, as in Arambol, there are performers everywhere. The unwritten rule of ettiquiette is that you are free to watch, but taking pictures should lead to 💰💰💰
The age of the performer and the vibe of the older gal collecting the money gave me the heeby-jeebies. She was young and the lady was very gruff... Do. Not. Like. And I love throwing money at drag queens, strippers, and circus performers-- yikes!😳
Stair was the owner of the yoga studio that housed and incubated me as I became a #mysore style #ashtanga #yoga teacher. Thank god she was kinder to me than that scary old lady. 👵🏾👵🏾👵🏾
I try not to doubt the power of the universe to give stage direction, and this was just one more chance to see it in action. There is magic everywhere (especially NoLa and Goa) I think yoga helps us listen and hear for the cues, and our seniors can either really help us with that-- to see and feel the magic... 🎩
... Or they can stiffle and silence and take advantage -- something akin to labor violations. Allowing for beauty and growth and magic doesn't mean not seeing the ugly, the oppression, and the macabre.
✊🏻
Yoga's not all rainbows and kittens.

🚥What should be abolished must first be cherished. —Tao Te Ching chapter 36 🚥

Before I left to study with my teacher in Goa, a student of mine at @dcashtanga asked me what to do when practice begins to feel like a chore.
Ugggh. Anyone who's practiced anything for a long freaking time knows this kind of feeling, I think.
The truth is, practicing with very firm attention to detail creates a solid foundation -- bio-mechanically and spiritually. It's necessary. And when it comes to deliberate practice, you are not promised entertainment. You're promised skill development....
But sometimes it sure does get snooze-aroo. 🙄

Here's what's dope: Arjuna says that "yoga is skill in action" in the gita. This is where yoga is forged -- and it's from this very same foundation that one can begin to let go and create -- moving from the explicit to the implicit. Aka: "don't think, go. "🏃 And so I say: go have some fun! Play isn't practice, but don't forget to make sure your practice let's you play. Life isn't meant for supporting practice... Practice is to support your life! 😉

The great irony (oh, how I love the universe's sense of humor) is just how much thinking is needed until we can stop... And go. 🚦

This fall, I'll be teaching a variety of workshops on how to work methodically, and also how to find the play-- Things that I've seen work over and over again. We'll also talk about what doesn't always seem to work so great. 🏋🏻🤸🏻‍♂️ Interested? I'll be announcing my schedule soon 🙂

Mayurasana: the posture named for the peacock.

This one doesn't get its title from the full plume of the birds tail feathers, but because your elbows dig so deeply into a soft tummy, it's said to give the yogi the digestive power of the beautiful bird. 😱

I came home from my trip wishing I had those powers. 🤢

Peacocks are able to eat venomous snakes and be totally a-ok. Watch out, Taylor Swift! (Please don't come for me, Swifties!! It's a joke!! 🐍

On a less gross 💩 note, how useful would it be if you could digest the toxicity of something in order to ultimately find nourishment? It'd prolly make eating a salad in Goa a little easier 😉

One form or ignorance that's super common is a misidentification of pain as pleasure-- so how do we heal? The snake is only poisonous to those susceptible to its venom.

Caught "Parrallel Universe" at @artechouse -- DC's first dedicated space for showcasing experiential and large scale immersive installations using the medium of technology for art. 🖼
Played with #ekapadarajakapotasana -- a posture that requires strong grounding⬇️ combined with a sense of creating forward momentum ⬅️-- and from these two qualities, an inevitable sense of moving from down to up ↕️and from forwards to back.↔️

THE TRUTH IS HARD TO SWALLOW WHEN YOU'RE CHOKING ON YOUR PRIDE

A pretty bold sentiment-- but, at the core of yoga is an aim to see the world as it actually is: unfettered by illusions and delusions. Raw. Real. Sometimes we want to cling to our precious illusions because we like them. Those can be the hard ones to give up. 🙈

In this pic I'm working with @davidgarriguesyoga -- I wanted so badly to have already found what I was looking for -- more extension in my throasic spine-- that I felt at a stalemate. Like, I wanted to already have it so badly, I got in the way of my own getting it. Somehow, I short circuited my own ingenuity and enjoyment. 📷I like this picture, because I remember the feelings from receiving THIS VERY assistance. It was an a-ha. I knew for sure I had not found yet what I was looking for, but I knew for sure it was there waiting to be found. AND I HAD FELT WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!
There is a great joy in knowing you don't know but also sensing that with determination, you can find out. Getting a second set of eyes that you trust is invaluable.
Available to each of us is an infinite state of contemplative poise-- and if we weren't kinda in our own way, we'd have it all the time. So, what do we do? We practice at the contemplation and the poise, taking in the truth as best we can. Getting a taste for these feelings, a familiarity.
It's a bold thing to be a seeker of truth. Find me at my workshops at the link in the bio or join my teacher for a RARE local weekend workshop the weekend of April 6 at @ashtanganation In Northern Virginia.

What do you think of when you try to imagine the most ideal circumstances for practice? Perfectly even floors? Temperature just right? Body totally on point? Supportive teacher by your side? I think those are pretty common. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤔 I, for one, hate practicing in the cold, and don’t like practicing in a stuffy room (gimmie that air flow!). ❄️☃️ This year, many of my students took up home practice while I was studying with my teacher. From a business perspective, this is scary... what if they don’t come back? For the sub, it’s disheartening (why don’t they like me???). Not to worry-- from my own experience, this is one of the great joys (and dare I say essential factors) in cultivating a personal relationship with practice: the ability and desire to just go do the damn thing. You can do it anywhere, anytime. Not when, ya know, everything's perfect... (It helps to visit a bestie in miami tho 💁🏼‍♂️ ). My teacher, Rolf, is about a foot shorter than me. To help me help him, and to help me help myself, he's equipped me with ways to work on things that allow me to learn and work independently.
At @dcashtanga we teach one-on-one in a group setting on a daily basis, empowering people with the skills to execute a physical contemplative practice with safety, skill, and longevity. 😍

For those who live just a bit (or a lot) too far, I like to travel on occasion and bring techniques and ideas that may be fresh or useful or different so as to help them develop a functional toolkit-- so they can practice anywhere. 🔧

Just like with my time away, where conditions can be near perfect, it's nice to work on the hard scary stuff in a supportive environment with clear direction -- but it's also great to develop the ability to work solo.
After all, yoga is a journey from the self to the self through the self. So, don't be afraid to work with what you've got... Like a palm tree between your legs. If you'd like to explore the backbending and hand balancing techniques going on here, join me at @mindthemat March 29 (click the link in bio to join me for a supple spine workshop 😉

Backbends, decoded:

In order to develop a supple spine, we need to identify the parts supporting it (and address their intrinsic needs!) ___________________
1️⃣First things first, Identify the parts: shoulders, hips, spine.
Shoulders: 👉🏽right side flexed, externally rotated, upwardly rotated, tilted, protracted.
Hips: 👉🏽Right extended, left flexing
Spine: 👉🏽Extending, focusing on thorasic extension especially. Neutral cervical, resisting the focus only on lumbar.
____________________
🔢Got it? If you're confused by these terms, hit me up for a one-on-one (yoga teachers should know this stuff especially!) or come see me in the mysore room at @dcashtanga ..: or join me for a supple spine workshop. Link in bio 👆🏼
_________
I can help you piece it together... And show you how to address specific limitations that may be hindering your practice. Hit me up.

@sadhanainthecity

HERES HOW IM GETTING RID OF MY SWAY BACK

1 MIN HOLLOWBACK

Psoas/quad stretch @ :30

At @kaliyogadc @dcashtanga is proudly in residency

evening practice like

Literally my favorite props

There are only so many foundational postures and set up positions that we utilize in yoga practice-- but their applications are broad!

The more comfortable and capable you get with the foundations, the more opportunities you get to explore their broad applications.
What foundational postures do you see here?

7 years later and all I can see is a fault head position and pulling with the arms too soon. That's progress.

How I protect myself for giving supta kurmasana assists #prehab

Sivasana

Pistol squat progression Marichyasana setup position?

Camera shy 😂 ? too much yoga?

Deep core.
Rehabbing imbalance.
Establishing motor control for functional movements.

Resistance band↙️ #pasasana

Intersections. #pasasana
#pistolsquat

I got stuck

#ashtanga @livelyogini

New toys for the
supple leopards
at @dcashtanga

@holly.yogs.lightly 's bishnu intermediate

when the burpees leave a DC Ashtanga stamp:

Uttitha Trikonasana a

Uttitha Trikonasana b

B😍E kasana

Sometimes I stare lovingly at my foot. hip is down nowadays sometimes

Poor old ass mat prana mat my mat is hole-y

hasta hasta pada pada

I'm super excited to announce a yoga, philosophy, and community building retreat with one of my fave people in the whole wide world.
Join Maggie and me in gorgeous Knoxville, MD for a weekend of Ashtanga yoga and outdoor adventures.
Check bio for sign up link!

anterior hip compression/
planche shoulder drills
aka bakasana b

oh huh
they bend here,
too --
duh

i kinda figure you guys are bored with pix of my prax

practice just isn’t so sexy. (unless you’re @chrisnhamp — a damn fine ashtangay)

Guys!! We sold out all 22 spots for the Mysore Magic Retreat! @livelyogini and I are ready for August! If you hit snooze on this one, we're sorry you missed it, too! Feel free to head to my bio and sign up for the wait list!

good friends give you a leg up in this life.

B part

TFW
A mysore rookie makes their own cheat sheet

target receipt practice receipt

I posted a live video of practice because I missed practicing in community.
thanks guys-- @philipseidman (high school bestie)
@lu_not_lou_or_loo (Arlington Ashtanga Kin)
and @jobettsyoga (My mat mate in goa)

Rainy Day
Heart
Opener

@rgryffo Be Like Her. almost moonday mat wash

Lmao

moondays mean extra sleep extra sleep means no bags

enjoy your practice. “here comes Michael with his tight ankles,” said, no one.
ever.

This weekend was the Mysore Magic Retreat weekend to Knoxville with @livelyogini and 22 practitioners from all over the DMV. The bravery, commraderie, dedication, and good humor will stay with me for a good long while. I wish the raspberry cober would, too.
For me, the major theme of the weekend was intersectionality: between honesty, non harming, and contentment-- how we can find that intersection on the mat, our relationships, and our work.
Thank you so much, Maggie!!!

This weekend was the Mysore Magic Retreat weekend to Knoxville with @livelyogini and 22 practitioners from all over the DMV. The bravery, commraderie, dedication, and good humor will stay with me for a good long while. I wish the raspberry cober would, too.
For me, the major theme of the weekend was intersectionality: between honesty, non harming, and contentment-- how we can find that intersection on the mat, our relationships, and our work.
Thank you so much, Maggie!!!

This weekend was the Mysore Magic Retreat weekend to Knoxville with @livelyogini and 22 practitioners from all over the DMV. The bravery, commraderie, dedication, and good humor will stay with me for a good long while. I wish the raspberry cober would, too.
For me, the major theme of the weekend was intersectionality: between honesty, non harming, and contentment-- how we can find that intersection on the mat, our relationships, and our work.
Thank you so much, Maggie!!!

This weekend was the Mysore Magic Retreat weekend to Knoxville with @livelyogini and 22 practitioners from all over the DMV. The bravery, commraderie, dedication, and good humor will stay with me for a good long while. I wish the raspberry cober would, too.
For me, the major theme of the weekend was intersectionality: between honesty, non harming, and contentment-- how we can find that intersection on the mat, our relationships, and our work.
Thank you so much, Maggie!!!

This weekend was the Mysore Magic Retreat weekend to Knoxville with @livelyogini and 22 practitioners from all over the DMV. The bravery, commraderie, dedication, and good humor will stay with me for a good long while. I wish the raspberry cober would, too.
For me, the major theme of the weekend was intersectionality: between honesty, non harming, and contentment-- how we can find that intersection on the mat, our relationships, and our work.
Thank you so much, Maggie!!!

This weekend was the Mysore Magic Retreat weekend to Knoxville with @livelyogini and 22 practitioners from all over the DMV. The bravery, commraderie, dedication, and good humor will stay with me for a good long while. I wish the raspberry cober would, too.
For me, the major theme of the weekend was intersectionality: between honesty, non harming, and contentment-- how we can find that intersection on the mat, our relationships, and our work.
Thank you so much, Maggie!!!

Welcome back,
purple band!! (but, like,
where'd you go??)

Feeling great thanks to @livelyogini at @ashtanganation

Heart openers.

if I've learned anything from @davidgarriguesyoga -- it's to turn every obstruction or obstacle into an opportunity for development. your own ingenuity matters and Hatha yoga hones it.

(my teacher, thoroughly unimpressed) i've spent 17 years practicing yoga to flip my feet backwards and shove them up my ass. it better be about something other than the poses. seriously.

#ashtangay this pix right here tho 📸 nicole not pictured: @jrene01 🐒🐒 💪💪 💙💙

getting the hang of it

yoga with @hokiesuzi

Hip Articulation!

You don’t need to know the names of every potential movement a joint can make in scientific terms to be a good yoga teacher — but it can definitely help.
In Tuesday’s anatomy class, we covered possible hip articulations: -extension
-flexion
-abduction
-adduction
-internal rotation
-external rotation

We also covered active and passive flexibility as well as open chain and closed chain strength building.
As though that weren’t enough, we also covered which muscles dowhat in order to make these different positions possible. Does this stuff interest you?

Hit me up in the Mysore room @dcashtanga or check out my anatomy courses. Link in bio!

Don't see one near you? Hit me up and I'll bring em your way 😉

yes,
we use props
@dcashtanga

heart openers with friends.

Kapotasana: Two Ways

Here are two different ways of approaching Kaptoasana, both with my student Madeline. In the first part, I'm functioning as a support structure both physically and mentally for her. I’m a big ole prop. Because Kapo was relatively new for her, working hands on together was super helpful, as sometimes going to scary places is easier with a friend.
In the second, Madeline is going about Kapo in a hands-off way, using a prop set-up (we use all kinds of different setups at @dcashtanga). Over the last few months, Madeline has become more confident and capable, so she can feel where she really is more effectively. She’s learned how to work on her own and it shows.
Modern postural yoga uses the body as a reference point for understanding the deeper dimensions of insight practice-- like the ability to internalize the sense and focus, allowing for meditation to come on line. An effective posture builds strength and flexibility-- so that you can work in a non harming way; it calms the nervous system-- building distress tolerance; it also works systematically with other postures to unlock certain understandings-- like a physical crossword puzzle keeping the mind and the body sharp.

The thing with these "bigger postures" is that  everyone has their own set of limitations-- both real and perceived-- and working with a good assist or prop setup helps us move from the unreal to the real. That is gooooood yoga, right there.

In the Mysore room, we teach yoga that allows for autonomy and agency. Teachers aren't put on pedestals, and theres no heirachy-- everyone can practice, and even better, folks learn how to practice on their own.

This November, I'm teaching a workshop series on assisting. Over the course of this series, we'll go over the philosophical and the practical of assisting in a yoga room. Participants will learn how see bodies and construct an approach that teaches using voice, intention, and touch. A good assist can offer guidance, make corrections, and sometimes even help with adjustments that a practitioner may not be able to make on their own-- so that they may learn how to *do it on their own!* The link's in the bio.

Fam. Sundays at @dcashtanga

nothin to it/
put your
BACK
into it

control
is
hot control
is
hot

bakasana

sometimes I
hit a wall. thanks,
@davidgarriguesyoga

another day at the office @madeline.miskie

another day at the office with @emerymargaret (listen to that breath! wow!)

back bending — safely.

general fitness update.

55 minute
vinyasa class link coming soon filmed
@eatonworkshop

Why the shapes, and how does that lead to self realization?
We construct shapes and patterns with our bodies to hone in on the ever-shifting nature of the mind.
Because somewhere inside of each of us is something unmoving and infinite. And only by watching that which shifts can we begin to hone in on that which doesn’t.
It is with these bodies (and brave, tenacious wills) that we create a sacred space for internalization— for observing the profoundly wild inner landscape — and take a stab at making sense of it all, and finding stillness in it.
So how do we find that which doesn’t change? We use our resources: a body that feels, a mind that discerns, and a heart that senses the abode of that unmoving, unchanging thing— infinite and luminous.
Our true self.

The paradox of course, is that as brightly as our god-like infinite, unlimited self shines, we are incapable of looking directly at it... a reminder of the great sense of humor the universe possesses.
And so, we find mirrors. In our friends, our spouses, our teachers, and that very nice cashier lady at Whole Foods. And, of course, our Postural practice. ..
** Drop in classes at the Eaton Workshop, 1201 K St NW
Tues 12pm- Wed 1:30 -Thur 130
**
Workshops this weekend at @mindthemat **
Mysore daily with @dcashtanga at @yogadragons

GO SIGN UP!! link in bio!

I wish I could give out Ashtanga Yoga merit badges— today’s would be “I was kind to myself. ”
Practicing yoga with a contented mindset matters a great deal— really, what we’re doing on our mats is exploring our inside world to find a place where we can be self-satisfied. Cause you know, there isn’t any person out there that can satisfy you except you.
.
In order to do that work, we’ve also gotta maintain enthusiasm and heat around practice. Balancing that with our own self-satisfaction is hard— how are we to want to improve while also feeling like we’re golden just as we are?
.
By identifying the kind of satisfaction and the kind of work that makes us feel more and more free. The kind that doesn’t make us suffer more. The kind that helps feel satisfied and enthusiastic not just in practice but in our life.
.
In DC, a lot of folks take a push-hard get-results mentality to their work and their personal lives. They’re so miserable and don’t know why. They don’t want to be. So they push harder in all the ways— including on their mat. Maybe it’s not just dc.
.
What’s sort of funny/poignant/ironic to me is that the place in which folks could stand to push extra hard is that whole “being kind to yourself” angle. Laying off from pushing so damn hard is actually way harder than literally pushing hard— and it builds a ton more heat and breeds a ton more joy, contentment, and cleanliness of mindstates.
.
But doing the less “hard” thing (even when it brings them all the deep goods folks want way down inside) is so impossible that people push-push-push until they break. And then they wear their wounds as though they were honorifics on a sash. What if we could bring that same intensity to our self-compassion?

The power in "power yoga" comes from developing the ability to be skillful in one's action. This is what we're practicing. .

Do you see these blocks? They are just blocks. They are neither inherently good, nor bad. They can foster strength just as easily as they foster self limiting beliefs. They are simply “building blocks” without objective— that which is being built is specific to the individual using them. I have heard others say differently. I am always wary of someone who tries to make their experience my experience. .

In practice, very early on, it looks like the aim is to make a shape.... that the ability to make a posture is the skill of yoga... and i dare say, at first, it is. But I would also posit that this kind of idea is somewhat limiting of the deep potential this practice has for developing a cornucopia of other desirable skills, including the skill of self realization. .

When others tell you that practice must be this way or that, do you wonder why? The Ashtanga Yoga practice is so inclusive and vast, why should we be limiting of the tools we can collect? Why should we limit our own resourcefulness, in fact our very own skillfulness?
.

What if the skill we are working on in practice is taking a step back without a sense of failure? How might we be able to foster out of the box thinking, more expansive thought?
.

What of the skill related to taking a step forward without a sense of completionism? How can we view the means as the ends instead of the ends as a goal. .
What if the skill of deep empathy? How can we relate our body to privilege? .

What of the skill of recognizing sameness without ignoring difference? And how about it’s inverted sister, honoring difference without ignoring sameness?
.

When you see these blocks, do you see an effort at universal oneness, weakness, or effort at compassion? In my understanding of yoga, they are exactly what you make of them. .

Better make it good.

THEY TWIST.