This article is an open letter response to Why I Stopped Practicing Ashtanga Yoga. by Jessie Horness I’m an Ashtanga practitioner. Every morning, I wake up before the sun, make my way to the shala, and dive into two hours of asana practice. Sometimes it’s blissfully easy, my body oscillating naturally with the breath like dance. [...]
Ashtanga
I have been out of the Yoga loop for a good six months now. Before I left my studio and mat, I was an avid and dedicated practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga: I had a regular, six day a week practice, had completed 150 hours of Yoga teacher training as well as a massage and injury prevention certificate, was an assistant teacher and wrote a popular enough Yoga blog. I was a vegetarian at first, then a vegan, and in the middle of developing an interest in macrobiotic cuisine. I was part of a dedicated community and a student of a well-known teacher. I even found myself a Yoga teaching husband. I thought that whatever would happen, I would do Yoga.
Not to be outdone by the peace lovin’ yoga festivus circuit, the Ashtanga community is joining together for their very own yoga showdown. And none of you yella bellied posers are invited! Just kidding, they didn’t actually say that. They did, however, make sure we’re clear this is not a “festival” necessitating fire eaters on [...]
It’s Sharath Jois, grandson of the late Sri K. Pattabhi, LIVE in NYC! Well, it’s not LIVE anymore, but you can still watch the class, if you’re into that sort of thing. Sharath led the first-ever Ashtanga yoga worldwide broadcast Friday morning April 8th at 6:30am EDT. There will be a second broadcast next Friday [...]
Are you one of those brave souls traveling this holiday season? Perhaps by crampy airplane, facing meager “snacks” and potential weather delays stranding you on the tarmac for hours? No worries, just make like Ashtanga devotee Madonna and dance your downward dog through the airplane aisle! But be prepared for a few snarling Scrooges. Passengers on a recent flight from NY to [...]
OK Madonna‘s had her share of kooky conduct in the past, especially in regards to privates (zing!), but we find it rather funny that this news bit, primarily a Bikram sound bite, is making HER look like the bad guy. Why? Because we know how masterful Bikram Choudhury is with quotable quotes. Besides, lots of [...]
Well this is off-beat news for a Thursday and actually quite appropriate for the week we’ve had here. You feel a draft? Mohd Abdullah is a 48-year-old university level computer science teacher in Kamaloops, BC Canada. He’s also been a pilates and yoga instructor at a nearby fitness center for the past year, which was [...]
This week’s issue of New York Magazine recognizes the life, and primarily the legacy of Sri K Pattabhi Jois, in his success in helping to lead yoga, “the once-exotic discipline” to “nearly as mainstream as jogging” in the US.
Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois (July 26, 1915 – May 18, 2009) All good things must pass. Nothing lasts forever. Of course. But there are still some things we like to take for granted, that we hope will never leave us. Today we, and yoga dorks all over the world, mourn the passing of modern Ashtanga [...]
