Reflections
17 entries in 2026 · oldest first
Combatting Overstimulation
Overstimulation often comes with lots of feelings and emotions. Irrational irritability. A short fuse. Half-cocked in the f-you position. Or maybe the deep desire to just be left the hell alone. You know it's happening when you're trying to meditate, and every noise is a…
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Who Gets to Say You’re Ready?
Becoming a teacher isn't just about mastering postures—it's about something harder to measure. In this episode, MJH delves into the methods of qualification for an Ashtanga Yoga teacher, contrasting traditional practices with modern approaches. Hall discusses the historical context of authorization by Patabi the current certification processes. He highlights issues with evaluation models, explaining the benefits of a non-linear understanding of system dynamics over linear assessments. Hall shares personal experiences, including conflicts in teaching methods, and emphasizes the importance of ethical frameworks and personal growth for both teachers and students in Ashtanga Yoga. --- Read the full article: https://theyoga.club/who-gets-to-say-youre-ready/ Original source: https://michaeljoelhall.com/video-ashtanga-teacher-qualifications-uh-oh/ All content: https://mjh.yoga Concepts: Svadhyaya · Dharma · Tapas · Ethics #ashtanga #yoga #ashtangayoga #yogapractice #theyogaclub
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The Digital Caste: Surveillance Capitalism and the Architecture of Permanent Inequality
How algorithmic systems are building a new structure of social stratification — and why your next cup of milk might be an act of resistance Michael Joel Hall · Director, The Yoga Club · Washington, DC I grew up in small-town America. The kind of…
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When Your Past Self Makes You Cringe
The discomfort of remembering our past judgments is evidence of growth, not failure—it shows us the cultural scripts we've learned to question. Looking back at how we judged others reveals how much we've grown in understanding consent, compassion, and complexity. From America's Next Top Model: Reality Check - Shandi's Story on rollingstone.com --- Read the full article: https://theyoga.club/when-your-past-self-makes-you-cringe/ Original source: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/americas-next-top-model-reality-check-netflix-shandi-1235505370/ All content: https://mjh.yoga Concepts: Svadhyaya · Ahimsa · Dharma · Shadow #ashtanga #yoga #ashtangayoga #yogapractice #theyogaclub
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can yoga help with toning your body?
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered. The Question I want to get into yoga to help with my mentality and body. I have lots of anxiety and stress constantly and i feel like i need to release it. Also i suffer with back pain from my poor posture due to always studying. I was wondering if yoga can tone the body? submitted by /u/jellyolo12 — via r/yoga Our Response Short answer: yes. But probably not the way you're imagining. You mentioned anxiety, stress, back pain from bad posture. --- Read more: https://ashtanga.tech/tech-support/can-yoga-help-with-toning-your-body/ All content: https://mjh.yoga #ashtanga #yoga #ashtangayoga #techsupport #ashtangatech
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What if you forget a pose or two
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered. The Question Today I realised I skipped ardha Badda Padma paschimottan asana and tiriang! What is the proper way in a mysore studio: do you just let it go for the day or do you insert it back in when you remember? I just let it go because I felt it would rattle me more if the instructor came by and called me out Do experienced mysore Ashtangis still forget bits of the sequence ?? submitted by /u/JudgeBorn8370 — via r/ashtanga Our Response You skipped Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimottanasana and Triang Mukha. --- Read more: https://ashtanga.tech/tech-support/what-if-you-forget-a-pose-or-two/ All content: https://mjh.yoga #ashtanga #yoga #ashtangayoga #techsupport #ashtangatech
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How did you come to Ashtanga
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered. The Question I’ve been listening to a lot of genesis stories lately from Laruga and Kino and so on of how each found Ashtanga and continued the practice. I have been reflecting on my own journey and wanted to hear some everyday stories from the community on how you got here? Bit of a long post if you’re interested: I took my first yoga class when I was 18 or 19 on a gap year where I was bored with a lot of free time at the gym. --- Read more: https://ashtanga.tech/tech-support/how-did-you-come-to-ashtanga/ All content: https://mjh.yoga #ashtanga #yoga #ashtangayoga #techsupport #ashtangatech
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anyone else find that nidra is the practice they never skip? even more than asana?
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered. The Question something I've been thinking about lately I've had an on-and-off asana practice for years. some weeks I'm on the mat every day, other weeks I talk myself out of it constantly. you know how it goes but yoga nidra? every single night. haven't missed in months. it's become the most consistent practice I have by far I think it's because it requires zero activation energy. you're already in bed. you press play. you lie there. --- Read more: https://ashtanga.tech/tech-support/anyone-else-find-that-nidra-is-the-practice-they-never-skip-even-more-than-asana/ All content: https://mjh.yoga #ashtanga #yoga #ashtangayoga #techsupport #ashtangatech
Read the essay →Respect isn’t agreement. It’s how you disagree.
Most yoga arguments aren't about the practice. They're about who gets to say what the practice is.That's the subtext under almost every debate about body diversity in Ashtanga. One side says the…
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Equity, Not Extraction
AI isn’t the threat — extraction is, and we’ve already run this playbook before.
Read the essay →Cognition Is Navigation
Two very different books argue the same thing: if you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.
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nextbigfuture.comFuture Space Tourism and Space Industry Will End Up Being Great for the Environment | NextBigFuture.comGlobal international tourism is massive with around 1.5 billion arrivals per year. This covers flights, cruises, road/rail travel, and more. Domestic tourism✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
themarginalian.orgKafka’s Approach to Creative Block and the Four Psychological Hindrances That Keep the Gifted from Living Up to Their GiftsThe most paradoxical thing about creative work is that it is both a way in and a way out, that it plunges you into the depths of your being and at the same time takes you out of yourself. Writing i…✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
lionsroar.comUsing Heartbreak as PracticeA Latina Buddhist practitioner reflects on the bodhisattva vow through the story of Chenrezig shattering at the world's suffering. She argues that genuine practice should break us open in response to injustice like ICE raids, and warns against spiritual bypassing that hides behind concepts like equa✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
MJH INC: Building a Personal Sovereign Internet
From chatrooms at thirteen to running a world in Ultima Online to building communities for companies — a life spent tending rooms online. Now I'm turning that instinct on my own data: pulling twenty years of my life off the platforms and onto ground I own, and building the habit of micro-journaling in my own garden instead of Meta's.
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