Name: Angela Jamison Age: 37 Hometown: rural Yellowstone County, Montana # of trips to India: 5 Current Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Your yoga shala: Ashtanga Yoga: Ann Arbor Established: 2010
Oct 3, 2024
Interview with Angela Jamison
Name: Angela Jamison Age: 37 Hometown: rural Yellowstone County, Montana # of trips to India: 5 Current Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Your yoga shala: Ashtanga Yoga: Ann Arbor Established: 2010
Oct 2, 2024
Little moon day notes / links to check out
Navratri
- colors
ARGHALA STOTRAM
https://greenmesg.org/stotras/durga/argala_stotram.php
Maha Lakshmi Ashtakam
https://www.siddhayoga.org/practices/chanting/hymns/mahalakshmi-stotram
Narayani Stuti
https://greenmesg.org/stotras/durga/narayani_stuti.php
Sri Durga Saptashati
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oivShijbbTU
Jan 13, 2024
Where to start AT HOME (Ashtanga Yoga Led Classes on YouTube 2024)
So if you want to practice and home or don’t have a local teacher etc etc here are some free YouTube videos you can follow along with…
Absolutely a Beginner / Ashtanga Newbie
I send these out to yoga-curious friends. Just try to do these 10 minutes each day and boom you now have a daily yoga practice. The class is taught by my teacher, Sharath Jois.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybRZa2WK0tA
Seasoned Ashtanga Yoga Practitioner
This is for you if you have a Mysore practice. It is a recording of a full led primary series class with Sharath.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNxda4Oxyeo&list=PLFMBVx1px256nJqangJbe58Lp-mDlK81D&index=31
Those are my top picks. Really though, the best classes will be the ones that speak to you. Not everything or everyone is for everybody. Just find something that speaks to you. That’s the perfect class.
Jan 10, 2024
2024 Ashtanga Moon Days
Jan 11 & 25
feb 9 & 24
mar 10 & 25
apr 8 & 23
may 8 & 23
jun 6 & 22
jul 5 & 21
aug 4 & 19
sep 2 & 18
oct 2 & 17
nov 1 & 15
dec 1 & 15 & 30
Jan 9, 2024
Ashtanga Yoga LIVE from Mysore, India via Zoom
For those who make or have made the pilgrimage and for those who wish to or plan to — these classes are for you.
It doesn’t get any closer than boarding a plane and heading to India.
Usha teaches ongoing classes at the main Shala and has perhaps spent more time studying at the source than most. These classes are seriously not to be missed. You will be led through primary series in the traditional manner with a small conference to follow. Born and raised in India, Usha brings together a deep knowledge of Indian culture and spirituality with the technical asana teachings.
Classes will be held via Zoom
Sign up here:
Dates:
20 January
17 February
16 & 30 March
Who should register:
-Current ashtanga practitioners
-Vinyasa students
-Athletic beginners
Classes are on zoom. Gathering is encouraged.
Dec 11, 2020
Karen Rain’s Blog #metoo
Karen Rain: Ashtanga Yoga and #MeToo
My Learning Curve From Ashtanga Yoga to Matthew Remski
Update (April 2021): In February 2021, in an exchange between Matthew Remski and a friend of mine, who was trying to offer him feedback about his tone, Remski wrote the following:
“You might be interested to learn that I’ve alienated a substantial portion of the yoga abuse survivor network I worked to support, largely without pay, for 4 years. Not because of my tone, but because I spoke out against QAnon, and many of them are indoctrinated.”
As a survivor who expressed disappointment with Remski publicly, I imagine that he would like people to believe that QAnon has indoctrinated me. I personally think QAnon is both racist and a front for child sex trafficking.
And speaking of unpaid labor, I (and other survivors) trusted Remski and, with his ongoing encouragement, spent countless hours sharing traumatic experiences and insights giving him content for writing that culminated in a book that has gained him clout, social capital, and career opportunities.
Remski claims that he is open to and appreciative of feedback. While he worked on abuse in yoga, he was always interested in my opinions and seemed to earnestly cultivate what I considered a friendship. However, his interest disappeared when he pivoted from covering sexual abuse in yoga to covering conspirituality. He switched from publicly saying, “We need to listen to survivors,” (which was in his best interest professionally at the time) to “survivors are particularly susceptible to conspiracy.” I told him that this abstraction was both harmful to survivors in general and personally made me feel objectified. He essentially disregarded me.
Also noteworthy is that my original FB post trying to get him to take some responsibility was precisely critical of his dismissive and condescending tone while also insisting to a survivor, who was sharing trauma, that he believed her, during a FB exchange. He knew it really hurt me when someone told me they believed me but did not actually support me and he did that to someone he did not like. His tone is definitely part of how he alienated me.
With time, distance, and reflection, in addition to his sudden lack of respect for my feedback and what is written in the post below, there are many other things that lead me to believe that Matthew Remski’s “friendship” with me was merely opportunist and that he is a total fraud. But I am not ready to discuss them publicly. I am sorry that I trusted him and believed him to be a friend.
(From Nov 2020, edited) One of the main points I tried to make in a recent interview that I did in Spanish is that an organization or community can have the best policies for addressing abuse and sexual violence but that won’t matter one bit if there aren’t individuals who are willing to speak up when an influential or respected person does something unacceptable or ignorant. And by speaking up, are willing to risk damaging or losing any of the following: connections, status, opportunities, social capital, work, money, and sometimes more.
In an ideal world there would be consequences, both big and small (sometimes education might suffice), for all speech and behavior that is degrading, sexist, racist, abusive, exploitive, etc. Unfortunately, the more privilege and influence one has, the less likely they are to face consequences for such behavior. Maybe the best that onlookers can do is set an example by making our disapproval known. Hopefully, making such instances into learning opportunities will lead to more community pressure for accountability and justice.
The following is in no way meant to discredit any of Matthew Remski’s writings that feature survivors who expose abusers. While Matthew Remski was working on covering abuse in yoga, he gained my trust by listening carefully and attentively to me (and other survivors) and my name is connected with his. Yet at this point, my praise of him would not come without reservations. I’ve noticed some patterns that conflict with not only my own ethics and values, but with those I believed Remski shared, and that contradict the standards he held other people to and the work we did together.
One pattern includes scornful modes of communication with people who have infinitely less influence than he does and do not warrant his disrespect, especially in a public forum. Impulsivity and anger can be hard to avoid on social media, I am no exception to that. However, this type of response is particularly problematic with Remski because of his position as a white, cis, male who champions survivors and allies in his commentary on dominance, abuse, and trauma.
Another pattern revolves around questionable choices in the people he is amplifying or using to amplify himself. There are recently at least three people with whom Remski has worked that directly conflict with what I thought were his values. One of them Remski himself has told me is narcissistic and hypocritical, and that they blatantly ignored survivor testimony for their own self-promotion (something he cites as motivating him to sue one of his critics). Another has taken a position on abuse in a manner that Remski has criticized in the past, and the third has ethical complaints against them. The burden should not be on me to try to hold these people accountable, I’m not associated with them. Remski knows who I am talking about.
For eight weeks, I tried communicating with Remski about these patterns and him taking responsibility, but it didn’t go well, which was both surprising and disappointing. I thought he was different, because in the past (when I was useful to him) he had been receptive, even appreciative, when I offered him feedback and criticism. As a survivor, true receptivity to my suggestions and critique has been very rare. Plus, because Remski (sometimes along with me) has pushed for and written about transparency; justice; and making skillful apologies, accountability statements, and amends. I never thought that he would complain about “cancel culture.” I always thought that he would take responsibility for problematic behavior. Wagatwe Wanjuki has written an excellent article about how “It’s no coincidence that people on top of the privilege pyramid are the ones who complain about cancel culture the most.”
After I publicly posted concern on FB, Remski reached out offering to pay for mediation, rejecting other communication as unviable. I declined for several reasons, including that it sounded like he would not be willing to own accountability publicly. Accordingly, mediation comes with a Non-Disclosure Agreement, which I’ve told him I strongly oppose. And one of his followers commented on social media that he and I were working things out privately. I have no doubt that’s what he told them and that’s what he wants people to think.
I went public because I wanted Remski to take responsibility publicly. Furthermore, since I now question Remski’s integrity, I want to distance my name from his, as they have been closely linked. And more importantly, I want to do what I have asked other people to do: let people know when you have concerns about the behavior of an influential person who you have openly trusted, respected, worked with, or supported.
https://karenrainashtangayogaandmetoo.wordpress.com/2020/11/30/my-learning-curve/
https://karenrainashtangayogaandmetoo.wordpress.com/about/
Mar 17, 2020
Ashtanga Yoga Closing Mantra - A call for peace
svasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantāṃ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṃ mahīśāḥ |
Mar 14, 2020
Yoga / work / life balance
After a couple weeks of volatility and then this historic week in the market - there simply wasn’t time for any extras. Yesterday I took a shower, tied back my hair, put on that lip and went straight to work. Reaching out to clients, reviewing research, making updates - today my throat is raw from so much talking.
Mar 13, 2020
Finding Stillness in Frenzy
Everything is still happening and always will. Read the Bhagavad Gita. We learn that even abstaining from everything - our bodies are still working. Everything is happening and always will. So how to deal? How to be a human in the world? In society? How to people?
This is the time to focus on practicing the 8 limbs of yoga. This is the time when even a little knowledge can make a massive difference. Even before asana practice comes the yamas and niyamas. This is a time to bring these into focus.
Non-hoarding, aparigraha... Think about minimalism. Think about FIRE. Think about what really is important in life.
Remember to take care of each other. What about the children who will be home for three weeks without free school lunches? How can we help them?
Remember to take care of ourselves. Remember to keep up our asana practice or maybe it is an opportunity to begin. Maybe it helps us to process thoughts, emotions, energy. Maybe it helps reduce stress and keeps us healthy and infuses us with the vitality to be able to help others and the world more. That would be nice.
Oh and also from the yoga sutras:
maitri karuna muditopeksanam sukha duhkha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam
“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.”
Mar 9, 2020
How to have a home practice - inspiration and tip checklist
I love this practice of yoga. It continues to feed my body and mind and I want that to continue for the rest of my life. In order for that to happen, it needs to be sustainable. After 20 years of practicing yoga I have found that the way to do that is to follow the only instruction that the Yoga Sutras give on asana -- that it should be "steady and sweet".
With "steady and sweet" in mind, here are some of my top tips on how to have a successful ongoing home practice.
It starts the day before
Set out your clothing - saves time in the morning.
Decide the location - time saver and also you don't want to get lost in thoughts trying to get ready. You just want to be ready.
Try to eat for practice - a completely individual topic. Maybe start with drinking more water and eating clean or eliminating processed foods.
Get your sleep.
Set your alarm.
Schedule it
Decide the day before what time you will start your practice. Oh, and actually show up on your mat at that time.
Ramp up
Practice as close as you can to the time that you woke up. Less time to get distracted. It just makes things easier.
No screens - it will make life easier.
Bathe, brush teeth...basic hygiene.
If there's time between when you wake up and your practice time, try to fill it with something uplifting... read, meditate, burn incense, chant etc.
Set the scene
Essentially the fewer distractions, the easier it will be to get on and stay on your mat. Consider temperature, smells, sights, scents...
Practice
If you don't have one, start here - practice sheet and 5- minute yoga practice video
If you have one - keep it simple (breathing, vinyasa, dristhi, bandha, positive thoughts)
If you need help focusing - here is a list of free led classes on youtube
After practice
Take care of your temple - your body and mind
Sounds - Podcasts, youtube, chanting, music, nature, positive people, silence
Smells - fresh air, plants, essential oils, incense
Sights - Nature, read
Tastes - eat nourishing food
Be kind and patient with your self and others
Stay inspired
Join a class with a teacher when you can
Go on a yoga retreat or trip
This is just a quick list... I'll circle back. This post feels like a work in progress.
Mar 7, 2020
2020 Ashtanga Yoga Retreat Wishlist
Where to go?
Some of these include your stay, some don't...
June 7-13
Harmony Lichty (Certified)
June 9-14
Sharath Jois
Mar 2, 2020
On Retreat with David Robson & Jelena Vesnic
Feb 27, 2020
All the musings
That sounds like a lot.
They are on a variety of topics but the main story line — my diary or travel journal — is what I’d like to have in once place. I am slowly reading it through, editing, deleting irrelevant posts. It is so interesting to observe all of the realizations and changes with the perspective of time. Yet, I have already also learned from some of the lessons I have forgot. I am currently on a yoga retreat (rather than leading one) and haven’t decided yet what I’d like to publish about the trip. Mat reflections? Observational wormhole comedy travel essays? Gonzo journalism? They are eating ayahuasca outside my window... For now, I’m just going to finish my pumped up coffee and offer this: https://eliseespat.blogspot.com/
Feb 23, 2020
Sharath Jois 2020 World Tour
If you're up for some travels or happen to live in the area, Sharath's going to be in town:
Thailand May 15-19 info
Australia June 9-14 info
Mysore July and August info
Spain Sep 2-6 info
Greece Sep 8-12 info
Serbia Sep 14-19 info
Check the shala website here for updates.
From the archives...
Toronto tour 2009:
Me, 2012 Encinitas Tour |
Feb 22, 2020
Resources at a glance
Video Intro to the Bhagavad Gita
Conference
Conference notes archive
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
Gheranda Samhita
"Gheranda Samhita" Translation and commentary by Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
Namarupa 3 Gurus Interview
Sanskrit
Sanskrit Alphabet Chart
Ashtanga Yoga Opening and Closing Mantras
Transliteration and Transcription Tool
Shala chanting resources
Teachers
K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI)
Yoga Sutras
"Conquering the Internal Nature: Raja Yoga" Yoga Sutra commentary by Swami Vivekananda
Samadhi Pada
Chant the Yoga Sutras with Dr. M. A. Jayashree
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