Sunday, March 26:
Kali Yoga
8-9: Intro to Mysore ($45)
9-10: Pranayama ($20)
10-11: Bandha ($20)
11-12: Led Intermediate and Ashtanga Pranayama ($20)
Saturday, April 8:
Mind the Mat
1-3p: Tour of Primary Series ($30)
Sunday, April 9:
Kali Yoga
8-9: Intro to Mysore ($45)
9-10: Pranayama ($20)
10-11 Bandha ($20)
11-1:00: Led Intermediate and Ashtanga Pranayama ($20)
Saturday, April 22:
Ashtanga Nation
11:15am-12:45am: Intro to Pranayama Techniques ($30)
1:00-2:30: Deconstructed Vinyasa Patterns: The Psoas ($30)
($50 for both)
Saturday, May 6:
Mind the Mat
1-3: Tour of Intermediate Series ($30)
Sunday, May 7:
Kali Yoga
Intro to Mysore 8:00-9:00 ($45)
Bandha Workshop 9:00-10:00 ($20)
Pranayama Workshop 10:00-11:00 ($20)
Led Intermediate and Ashtanga Pranayama: 11-1:00 ($20)
Out in Arlington? Thursday is the last day of my afternoon Mysore engagement @littleriveryoga !! It's been great, and I'm so tickled to have gotten to share.
@Pegmulqueen and I met when I was in my early twenties. She had a blog, and I wrote essays. I got shy.
Down the line, we were both @lululemon ambassadors and found ourselves in Vancouver the first ambassador’s summit.
There, we connected, honestly and openly. She convinced me to do what my Iyengar teacher had told me to do: go practice Mysore. She held my hand for my first day. Really, she mentored me in a lot of ways.
The ambassador’s summit made me take hard looks at the commercialization of yoga. We were asked to goalset and brainstorm, and in the picture you see here, I’m wearing my shirt from the ambassadors summit. It says “I will be on the cover of Yoga Journal by May, 2013”
I wanted to be told I was pretty, to be told I was good enough. I wanted to be a celebrity. To have some “respected” publication tell me feed those needs.
Fuck that noise.
I got in. Instead of getting into the magazine because I was pretty, I got into the magazine because some dudes beat the shit out of me. I was hospitalized and needed money because my insurance lapsed while I was in India, and my community rallied around me. I had helped people, and then they helped me. It’s unbelievable to me to this day.
So @yogajournal wanted to do an article. Who should write that article, you might wonder? Duh. Peggy. She’s an incredible writer, as you may know.
But celebrity and adulation for aesthetic is as much a trap as wanting too much. Do you want to be known or do you want to do good? You can have it both ways, but if you ask for the former, you’ll not get the latter.
You couldn’t have told me that, then. #Pasasana is called noose pose, and it will strangle you to death.
You better be willing to surrender your constructed beliefs of self and let the practice work its magic. What do you covet? It’s all a god damned trap.
Becareful what you ask for, you just might get it.
What are you willing to give up for practice?
The first thing that I did for the last time was marathon running. The recovery time was just too much. Then, it was the extracurricular american style flows. “I have enough to work on,” I thought.
At conference, on my first trip the KPJ Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, South India, I asked Sharath if I would have to give up sports. He said that at some point, if I wished to progress, I would.
So I did. I sacrificed the olympic lifting, the CrossFit, and the sprints to the fire of asceticism. I thought it would help my kapotasana. I thought it would make bakasana easier on my wrists.
Really, I thought I was sacrificing for practice. I spent three years begrudging the decision.
I was confused… I thought that success in asana was success in yoga.
But, contentment is the first of our niyamas, and I was certainly in a place of malcontent. Strong people are useful! And picking up heavy shit makes me happy. Putting it down does too. Racing, playing, jumping— I enjoyed all of them.
As it turns out, in the sacrificing of my own joy, to the benefit of no one, I was getting in my own way. Could I have sacrificed low quality fuel to the fire?
So I made a choice to make myself happy, and risk losing postures. Risk sliding backwards.
Guess what? Practice, and all is coming. (but please don’t tell Sharath ;-)) Thanks to @nopantspartydude for the personal training and @humblebeastcf for a community whose motto is "train hard. Stay humble." And also @davidgarriguesyoga for helping me get back to the fundamentals, like #trikonasana --
Find the entire Intermediate Series (and more) in the latest Ashtanga Dispatch —> visit ashtangadispatch.com/themagazine. *5% of all proceeds go to @eaglemountboz, a small charity making a BIG difference by providing outdoor adventures for kids with disabilities.
And visit @ashtangadispatch and @jrene01 for more practice ideas! #yogagivesback#yogachallenge#ashtangadispatch#yogainspiration#intermediateseries#practicedaily#ashtanga#kidsmatter#ashtangay#yogadudes#menofyoga
I didn't get in to Mysore for January, but when my teacher asks "who is your teacher" to one of those who have shared space in my Shala, I feel like I'm there, and niyamas take over. Is this "parampara"? Wow. I miss and love my teacher, but just wow. #dotherightthing
I'm the director of DC Ashtanga, an ashtanga yoga school (often called a mysore program). It's easy to talk about money when you've got it (and especially what it'd be like if ya didn't), but (like always) Ru gets its.
Tour of Intermediate at Stroga for the Yoga Co-op. Priced low, totally accessible. For those interested in mysore, this is a great opportunity to interface with me in a chill environment.
I've spent time this month with @[689010579:2048:Emma O'Neill], who helped sharpen my teeth in Mysore on my first trip. A major teacher for her, like Christine Hoar here, is Nancy Gilgoff.
The first 20 is essential for woman and men who associate with them. The 35 minute mark on sums up my occasional radio silence. The last 8 is for everyone.
"We are meant to be joyful beings. "
So, listen to get perspective on me or listen to get perspective on you.
#Somnathpur#mysore#padmasana
Somnathpur, a tiny village on the banks of the Kaveri, 140 kms, south-west of Bangalore.”There is a stillness and everlastingness about the past, it changes not and has a touch of eternity,” wrote Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in his “Discovery of India.”
more…
DC area Ashtangis... I'm considering a mysore pop-up shop: selling Sharath's book, rugs, hand made bags, meditation pillows, and blessed prayer scrolls. Interest?
"Given Uranus square Pluto's intensities, it may feel like an urgency to finish up, close out projects or goals or relationships, and prepare for something new to arrive. Take a moment now to think about the final changes you want to make before we enter a quite different era. Consider what you've done so far and how you can put on the finishing touches. What bits can you release, what parts of life can you make more soulful, how can you reclaim power for yourself?" ~ Anne Nordhaus-Bike http://www.opednews.com
Here it is, the final crescendo of the 7 fiery Uranus/Pluto Squares burning through outdated societal and personal paradigms since June 2012... a Great Cosmic Bonfire roaring through our inner and outer spaces... liberating and illuminating new expanses of awareness... creating fertile opportunities for the seeding a of brand new existence... "Kali is here. That means that deep transformation is at work in your vibrational reality... Kali is the fiercest Goddess. She rips away what is no longer needed... she is the One who can cut the ties to your anchor, for you have new waters to sail now, dear Carrier of the Light." ~ Sophie Bashford "Monday March 16th 2015 at 6:50pm PDT/9:50pm EDT, Uranus and Pluto will square (90*) each other for the 7th and last time since 2012. The wild awakening of the 60s' conjunction (0*) of Pluto and Uranus in Virgo wasg to a deeper and higher consciousness, opening up doors of new perception and states of awareness. This was to prepare humanity for our future. #todayspattern#todaysrangoli ##rangoli #mysore
Other than the awesome daily mysore with the inimitable Keith Moore, Ashtanga Yoga Studio DC (AYSDC) has a fabulous fall workshop line-up. Aliya, Rex, Tova? Oh, yeah.
I begin teaching Mysore full time in Columbia Heights on September 1st. This will be my final month teaching at Little River Yoga. It has been both a privilege and an honor to serve Ashtanga Mysore Arlington Virginia.
Making a list of things that I love whilst here in India became daunting (who has that much paper?). To whittle the list down a bit, we'll feature the letter "C".
Navigating Mysore City is a daunting task. Fear not, with a copilot like Antonella, I fared well. The haul? A stove-top coffee maker, fisherman's pants, and "gym vests" (aka 4 bright and shiny tank tops) in hand. A warning: I am going to come home dressed like a yogi (I have a custom pair of 3/4 length pants being made). I am not done.
Such a delicious, decadent practice. Making every movement (and flub) part of the beauty of creation, yet not rushing to the end. A freedom that one pointed focus can bring, and grace that should probably be there regardless *yum* #mysore
I broke a tooth today! A trip to vist Dr Judith Pereira in Mysore for a fix and clean! Amazing grand total? 1100 Rupees... $22 dollars. She also said I was the politest American she had ever met and complimented my parents. She said I should be proud of them. Thanks, Mom!
It's 85 here in Mysore. Seeing the driver holding a sign with my name on it was enough to make me want to cry, but the dangerousness of the car ride into town was enough to make me smile big. Best of all? I got to stay at the Southern Star/ Regalis-- exactly as planned. Antonella Accinelli will be pleased I didn't have to sleep outside.
My dear friend @[828559683:2048:Peg Mulqueen] will teaching morning mysore at @[100002872044890:2048:Ashtanga Mysore Arlington Virginia] while I kick it with @[1310954015:2048:Tova Steiner] in Mysore. Take a look at Peg's letter-- as my students know, she's a huge inspiration to me. I hope you get some, too 😉
Funny, I lift by myself and practice in a group-- a change from three months ago. Before you (I) judge my lack of morning mysore practice, I have to remember that Urdhva Dhanurasana is not the only way to feel Kundalini rise-- and that I will miss my weightlifting whilst in mysore.
From my twitter (michaeljoelhall): Kept my tears inside during sivasana. A day of gratitude and abundance. An inner bliss. So much love I might rent at the seams. #Mysore
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