Video: Ashtanga Vinyasa Inspired Power Yoga and Breathwork

Michael Joel Hall offers a different approach to Ashtanga Yoga grounded in humanist values, personal agency, and inclusivity, rather than dogma or hierarchy. Inspired by Dr. Anastasia Somerville Wong’s work on non-religious pastoral support, Hall emphasizes creating a supportive community that encourages critical thinking, personal experience, and mutual care. Hall outlines signs of high-pressure, cult-like communities, such as suppression of critical thought, encouragement of self-doubt, prevalence of magical thinking, authoritarian leadership, non-accountability, excessive and intrusive rules, and financial and sexual exploitation. He contrasts these with healthy community traits like open discussion, personal autonomy, and ethical integrity. Hall’s philosophy aims to decentralize power, foster critical thinking, and honor each practitioner’s unique journey.

00:00 Introduction and Setup
01:44 Critical Thought in Healthy Groups
04:20 Encouraging Self-Esteem
05:42 Magical Thinking in Cults
07:26 Reason and Evidence-Based Approach
07:56 Charismatic Leaders and Special Knowledge
10:38 Authoritarian Leadership
11:46 Accountable vs. Authoritarian Leaders
13:11 Leaders Above the Law
14:25 Draconian and Intrusive Rules
17:08 Censorship and Control of Information
18:23 Elitism and Inner Circles
19:31 Threats to Those Who Leave
19:48 Financial and Physical Penalties
20:28 Respect vs. Shunning
21:33 Slander and Vilification of Outsiders
21:45 Us vs. Them Mentality in Yoga Communities
22:26 Spotting Negative Group Dynamics
23:13 Isolation from Outside Relationships
24:20 Group Identity vs. Individual Identity
26:05 Secrecy and Elitism in Groups
26:51 Negative Group Rituals and Punishment
27:23 Transparency vs. Secrecy
27:34 Mind-Altering Practices and Conformity
28:22 Managing Expectations and Consent
29:38 Shame, Guilt, and Fear in Group Control
30:31 Supportive vs. Controlling Environments
30:51 Obsessive Loyalty and Critical Thinking
32:30 Recruitment and Growth Obsession
33:55 Genuine Community vs. Aggressive Recruitment
34:55 Love Bombing and Idealistic Goals
36:42 Financial Exploitation in Groups
39:16 Punitive Punishment and Abuse
41:56 Sexual Exploitation in High-Pressure Groups
44:03 Gender Equality vs. Gender Control
45:29 Gossip and Community Safety
46:15 Normalization of Deception
46:40 Justifying Bad Behavior for Group’s Sake
47:03 Real Integrity and Ethical Standards
47:17 Values and Honesty in Tough Times
47:27 Maintaining High Ethical Standards

In this video, Michael Joel Hall delves into the concept that obstacles are not roadblocks but integral parts of our spiritual journey. Drawing from personal experiences and teaching observations, he explores how challenges serve as profound teachers, revealing our limiting beliefs and building spiritual strength. Hall explains the different types of obstacles, both external and internal, and emphasizes the importance of perspective in transforming these challenges into opportunities for growth. He highlights how obstacles can guide us toward our dharma and deepen our understanding.

00:00 Introduction: Embracing Obstacles for Spiritual Growth
00:24 Understanding the Nature of Obstacles
01:04 The Spiritual Purpose of Challenges
01:37 Approaching Obstacles as a Spiritual Practice

What happens when charismatic teachers extract value from communities and leave? How do we rebuild after the damage is done?

This is about the hard work of regeneration—in yoga communities, in local spaces, and in ourselves. It’s about the difference between extraction and cultivation, between building a following and building an ecosystem.

In this video:
• Why charismatic “dirt bags” wreck communities and leave others to clean up the mess
• The downstream effects of toxic yoga culture and multi-level marketing dynamics
• What it means to commit to place and do the unglamorous work of regeneration
• How my teacher turned barren land in Ecuador into a thriving cacao forest—and what that teaches us about community building
• The difference between systems thinking and linear thinking when addressing harm
• Why local matters: serving the same community for years instead of chasing platforms
• What real success looks like (hint: it’s not follower counts)
• A note about anger—and why channeling rage into regenerative work matters

This isn’t abstract philosophy. It’s documentation of how to build communities that survive extraction, drawn from years of teaching Ashtanga yoga in Washington DC and watching what happens when authority figures abuse their power and leave.

If you’re tired of watching charismatic individuals burn through communities, if you’re doing the quiet work of tending your local space, if you’re angry about extraction being rewarded while regeneration goes unnoticed—this is for you.

The work is slower. Quieter. Less glamorous. And it’s worth it.

Based on concepts from my book “Collider” about building resilient yoga communities through systems thinking.

YogaCommunity #AshtangaYoga #CommunityBuilding #SystemsThinking #RegenerativeWork #YogaTeacher #LocalMatters #YogaCulture

00:00 Regenerating Land After Charismatic Dirt Bags
00:57 The Problem: Charismatic Dirt Bags Wreck the Land
02:37 The Downstream Effect
05:08 Local Matters
07:06 The Cacao: Why It Matters
07:58 Building the Ecosystem
09:27 Surviving Extraction
10:12 Systems Thinking
11:02 The Risks and Rewards
12:12 What Success Looks Like
12:36 A Note About Anger
14:02 Channeling Rage Towards Regeneration

Subjectivity vs. Objectivity in Ashtanga Yoga Practice

In this video, Michael Joel Hall discusses the important balance between subjectivity and objectivity in Ashtanga yoga practice. He explores how personal experience and objective observation impact our practice and progress. Michael emphasizes the need to balance inner experiences with feedback from teachers, historical standards, and self-reviews. The video highlights the significance of having worthy mentors and using feedback constructively to enhance practice and self-awareness.

00:00 Introduction to Subjectivity vs. Objectivity in Ashtanga Yoga
00:52 Balancing Personal Experience and Objective Observation
01:39 The Role of Feedback and Blind Spots
02:12 Trust and the Inner Compass
03:21 Conclusion and Final Thoughts