"Okay fine, Dad. You can have a kiss. Jeeze."

My heart broke into far too many pieces to count. My apathy swelled. My sorrow stole my voice. And, still, I prayed.
These past five years I've prayed for bravery.
The practice of Ashtanga Yoga healed the dark part at the back of my heart. It purified my voice. And, it brought the richness of courage to my doorstep, asking only that I keep praying, until bravery became it's own resignation: no other choice to make, because there is more work to be done, and I want to do is work more.

A riff on urdhva kukutasana a-- with a focus on sutra 3.32-- By samyama on the kurma nadi (a subtle tortoise-shaped tube located below the throat), motionlessness in the meditative posture is achieved.

Plugging into the source. You aren't promised fun (it is), no one said it would be easy (it isn't), but I swear it's worth it (it is).

Attracting pigeons.

SAMASTHITHI

There are so many ways to observe samasthithi. Today, I took yoga straps and strapped them to a tree. Keeping the back flat and the stomach engaged, I worked my pulling muscles with out losing the feeling of a constellated center line. @davidgarriguesyoga would like those terms, i think. They sound like him.
My coach would call these rows. I might call it samasthithi research. Regardless, these moments of turning inward and reflecting soberly on the here and now are valuable. It is certainly not the method... but it also very much is.

Charlie and me doing what we do.

Ordinary afternoon. Intermediate series. Firefly, and her many stages of life.

The seasons are changing.
I'm allowing myself to feel the change-- right down to wearing long sleeves. I'm also trying not to get too wrapped up in it. SwamiJ says that witnessing = observation + non attachment ; Rolf says "easy come, easy go."

1. Organize Yourself

2. Control Yourself

3. See Step 2

4. Lay that thing down flip it and reverse it. "ti plif nwod gniht that yal"

B part

@madeline.miskie Thanks for
the inspiration @sammy_j2

external rotation in shoulders, depression, retraction. that’s Charlie’s butt.

but sound on.

Foundations

get boring

@DCASHTANGA
#HOMEPRACTICECHALLENGE

UTTHITA HASTA PADANGUSTHASANA

outdoor practice?

Gonna head out at 9:45a — Logan circle!

the thing about feelings is that you have to feel them. (

The mystic paradox of yoga:

You'll feel more. and sufferless.

wrist journey continues.
better & better.

Gentle
late afternoon
shapes

just love watching Charlie’s face thats all.

End of August Vibes

Catch this workshop!

Eclipses are like the cosmic helping hand of the Universe. Imagine the energy of an Eclipse like a Universal hand that reaches down from the heavens and puts you where you need to be. This place may not be where you want to be, or may not be where you thought you would end up, but it is definitely where you need to be. The good thing about Eclipses is that generally you can trust the direction they are guiding you in. Eclipses bring about almost fated events that are part of the cosmic plan and written just for you. – Tanaaz
—-
Find more reflections on Eclipse at @ashtanga.tech http://ashtanga.tech

just a few spots left for the body weight transitions workshop

Prax

Yoga is meant to create a greater awareness of the totality of human experience – – and that means all the joy and the sorrow along the way. But I know for sure, when I’m practicing Yoga, I feel better— it reminds me I’m alive.

There was a time when I practiced Ashtanga yoga and I had a real idea of getting ahead— more poses, prettier, stronger. But as many of you know, ive had major challenges along the way—body and mind. But my spirit… I noticed that when my feelings around practices moved towards sorrow or frustration, a friction would arise. Sometimes you just have to watch yourself get hot, ya know? Its so important not to flinch or look away from your feelings! Periods of difficulty or ‘stink’ are just inherent to pursuing ambition.

The frustration I experienced within my yoga practice is of what I think I want my practice to be, and it has a way of stealing the joy from whatever my practice is. Youve heard these things before.

Once youve seen it, the way that our reactions dont align with our espoused beliefs— and appreciating the humanity in it - it takes hypeocict and turns it into levity— its FUNNY to be so bent out of shape about something so full of joy.

Healthy ambition must exist in the realm of non harming, and so when our desires for advancement bring us suffering, we must know it isn’t just about advancement— be ause a real yoga is equimonious. No, it’s about fear of death and the reality of dying before i get some brass ring (or perpetually moving goalpost).

But like I said, once youve seen see it, you cant unsee it.

And, ya know, im still having fun.

And when I’m not, I say something like “try to have a good time before ya die, wouldnt ya, hall?”

Yoga practice is like playing a musical instrument.

We must practice for both skill and pleasure.

At first its scales, and then its compositions. Soon, we create our own music. We iterate and iterate. We remix. Freedom comes through experience and discipline.

At some point we burn the method. We destroy the reference. The joy in creation must be met in equal parts by destruction for the dance to be sustained. And this is how a purposeful life becomes art.

Only from formlessness can a form be created.

Pain can wake us up. It means its time to adjust. But how?

The Yoga of Synthesis is a holistic approach to spiritual practice that integrates the four major yogic paths—Karma Yoga (selfless service), Bhakti Yoga (devotion), Jnana Yoga (knowledge), and Raja Yoga (meditation and mind control)—to develop all aspects of the practitioner: body, heart, intellect, and soul. Popularized by Swami Sivananda, it acknowledges that most individuals benefit from a balanced cultivation of these diverse faculties rather than an exclusive focus on one path.

In the context of Ashtanga Yoga, this synthesis naturally unfolds through the eight limbs outlined by Patanjali, where physical practice (asana), ethical living (yama and niyama), breath work (pranayama), and meditative absorption (dhyana and samadhi) together mirror this integrative approach.

It’s systems thinking in spiritual form: each element supports and influences the others, creating a dynamic interplay that guides the practitioner toward self-realization.

Colonizers gonna colonize.
Oppressors going to oppress.
Its your body, its your choice.

These aphorisms help push back against self-reinforcing loops of domination—social, cultural, political, even spiritual. It’s a systems insight dressed in streetwise wisdom. Could I be any more explicit? Hello!

In Systems Thinking, Donella Meadows would call this a reinforcing feedback loop—where the outputs of a system feed back into it and amplify its behavior. Oppression, like colonization, is often maintained not by a single decision or act, but by persistent patterns, institutions, and narratives that replicate themselves over time.

This is why practices like Ashtanga Yoga can be quietly revolutionary. When practiced with awareness, they cultivate true inner freedom—and the ability to see, question, and ultimately disrupt these harmful loops. But yoga divorced from its roots—or co-opted by the very systems of oppression it seeks to dissolve—can also become just another tool of colonization. Which is why the how and why of practice matter as much as the what.

Discipline matters, but independent thinking, high conscientiousness and empowered agency should be the emergent properties from practice.

In reclaiming bodily autonomy, ethical clarity, and collective responsibility, you’re not just doing yoga—you’re decolonizing it.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.

Inquiry and curiosity are powerful allies in reckoning with fear and helplessness.

These feelings are a tell that the prefrontal cortex has been impacted. This part of the brain has been demonstrated to be an important structure for executive functions.

No wonder we feel stuck. But feelings aren’t facts. If we can notice this stuff, we can start breaking the cycle by using our techniques. Thats the yoga.

So, be curious.

In love, in life, in your practices.

sustaining loving kindness precious bellweather, my daily crucible bringing honor
to my teachers

Okay, let’s talk about Ashtanga yoga, or rather, what it’s become in the hands of the market.

I’ve often spoken about systems and how they behave, and what I see happening with Ashtanga, particularly on platforms like Instagram, is a classic example of a distortion of purpose within a system.

We have a practice, Ashtanga, that by its very nature demands discipline, patience, and internal focus – tools for transformation and self-realization. It’s designed to help us understand ourselves and regulate our nervous systems, to feel better from the inside out.

Yet, what we often see is a system, driven by commercial imperatives, that reduces it to a “visual commodity.” Suddenly, it’s about aesthetics, hyperflexible bodies, and “bite-sized” content.

This isn’t the whole picture, is it? It’s a feedback loop where what’s easily digestible and visually appealing gets amplified, even if it sacrifices the true essence.

Even I, in my own work, might find myself in a situation where I’m participating in the very system I critique, currently running an ad and using my six-pack (fleeting though she may be) as a vehicle for presenting information to get people into yoga and meditation.

That’s the challenge of working within complex systems – there’s often a degree of complicity just by being a part of them. But the critical point is to always remember the true goal of the system.

Ashtanga, despite these external pressures and misrepresentations, persists. Why? Because, as with any truly effective system, it works. It provides real self-love and deep understanding for those willing to commit and dig deeper. It’s a powerful reminder that while external pressures can distort and simplify, the underlying purpose and effectiveness of a well-designed system can still endure for those who seek its authentic benefits.

Come practice.

WTF is an Ashtanga Influencer?

The internet is creating celebrities instead of role models— and it sounds more Bravo Housewife than it does richard alpert at harvard.

Being visible doesn’t mean being knowledgable.

Having followers doesn’t mean having integrity.
And floating in handstand doesn’t make you a leader.

Influence isn’t wisdom.
Popularity isn’t pedagogy.
Pretty doesn’t equal prepared.

Teaching Ashtanga—really teaching it—takes time, mentorship, oversight, and a commitment to serve.

Not just perform.

And definitely not to posture. How much “peer support” is really a marketing/influence tactic?

We’ve already seen what happens when charisma outpaces ethics. Look around. They physical embodiments of this read are taking money out if the hands of local economies and putting it in their own. Its Ashtanga Amyway, and if youre buying, your supplying. Ask any one of my chilean or argentinian ashtanga friends. Theyll tell you how global white teachers fuck their marketplace.

Lets hear it for one more sexual impropriety!

Ashtanga Yoga is a wisdom tradition.
A system of tools to help you show up better, live better, lead better.

We don’t need more influencers.
We need better leaders.

Support your local Ashtanga shala.

#ashtangayoga #yogaintegrity #ethicsinleadership #notjustasana #ashtangawisdom #yogaisasystem #truthmatters

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

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.

Long time Mysore Style Ashtanga Yoga teachers — the ones who have been teaching consecutively for a decade or more— what have you learned?

Long time Ashtanga Yoga Teachers who no longer teach, why not? Please share in the comments.