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Video: Using Objective Analysis and Inner Perception in Ashtanga Yoga
In this episode, I delve into the importance of balancing objectivity and subjectivity in Ashtanga Yoga practice. Objective analysis focuses on measurable aspects such as alignment, breath length, stance, and body placement. However, maintaining awareness of your subjective experience—your personal journey and internal responses—is equally crucial. The video also highlights the role of a skilled teacher and the significance of developing your internal compass to guide your practice, empowering you to adapt practices to your unique needs.
00:00 Objective Analysis of Practice
00:26 Embracing Subjective Experience
00:53 The Role of the Teacher
01:11 Developing Your Inner Compass
Video: Ashtanga Yoga: Your Practice, Your Choice, and Your Subjective Experience
This episode is on the topic of subjectivity in Ashtanga Yoga. This video emphasizes the importance of internal experiences over external instructions, highlighting how true understanding comes from doing rather than merely discussing. Learn about the role of breath (pranayama), the significance of bandhas, and how individual taste and preference can shape your practice. Michael also touches on the balance between subjective experience and objective assessment, providing insights into refining your yoga journey for both nourishment and growth.
00:00 Introduction and Greeting
00:03 Understanding Subjectivity in Ashtanga Yoga
00:33 The Importance of Internal Experience
01:08 The Role of Bandhas and Breath
02:12 Developing Personal Practice
03:36 Balancing Subjectivity and Objectivity
04:03 Challenges in Self-Assessment
05:08 Community Influence and Objectivity
05:42 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Video: Home Practice Challenges for Ashtanga Yoga Practitioners
In this video, Michael Joel Hall discusses the challenges and benefits of practicing yoga at home without a teacher. He emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, consistency, and accountability. Hall warns about potential misalignments and the misuse of mirrors or video recordings, suggesting relying on internal systems like breath and mindful repetition. He stresses the significance of the Triana method, which includes breath, posture, and gaze, in maintaining a structured practice. Hall concludes that home practice should be approached with intention, focusing on self-discipline rather than perfection.
00:00 Introduction to Self-Discipline in Practice
00:15 Challenges of Home Practice
00:32 Tools and Techniques for Self-Feedback
00:54 The Triana Method and Its Importance
01:03 Balancing Consistency and Flexibility
01:15 Cultivating Self-Discipline and Awareness
Video: Regenerating Trust in Local Communities After Toxicity
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
Video: Kiss of the Spider Woman: Ashtanga, Authoritarianism and Art
Michael Joel Hall recounts his visit to the Gala Theater in Columbia Heights to watch a Spanish production of ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman.’ He reflects on the themes of deception, honesty, and betrayal within the play and draws parallels to his experiences in the federal government, nonprofits, and his Ashtanga yoga community. Hall discusses the damaging impact of small betrayals by well-meaning but mediocre people in positions of power and stresses the importance of radical honesty as a countermeasure to authoritarian tendencies. He concludes by highlighting the importance of integrity in maintaining the spiritual health of a community.
00:00 Kiss of the Spider Woman
00:21 The Play: Kiss of the Spider Woman
00:43 Themes of Deception and Betrayal
03:25 Personal Reflections and Broader Implications
06:56 Conclusion: Honesty and Community
Video: It Should Be a Spiritual Focus, Shouldn’t It
Michael Joel Hall discusses the practice of Ashtanga Yoga as a vehicle for self-inquiry, awareness, and transformation. He emphasizes that it is more than just physical postures, involving breath, movement, and meditation to foster presence and stillness. Hall highlights the importance of ethical principles and turning practice into a way of living. The objective is to cultivate flexibility of the mind, recognizing deeper transformations that align practice with life.
00:00 Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga
00:15 Beyond Physical Postures
00:32 Ethical Principles and Living Practice
00:42 Spiritual and Physical Connection
00:56 Deeper Transformations
01:05 Applying Meditation in Life