In this episode, I get to ask Wade about how he balances his advanced ashtanga yoga practice with his (seemingly contradictory) advanced strength training routine. One actually supports the other—and, as it turns out, by concentrating more on the “physical” elsewhere, Wade has been able to find more of the “less physical” in his actual practice.

Along the way, we talk about the benefits of doing the hard thing, his trips to Mysore, India, and cultivating the superpower of making space.

“Few people can look at you on any given day and have dropped how you have been before… if you can do that, if you can leave that space for every body to practice as they are that day, then you’re patterning them to leave that space in themselves.”

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Wade’s website and teaching schedule: ⁠⁠https://www.wadeoakley.com/ 

Find Wade on Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/wadeoakley/ 

Find me on Instagram:⁠⁠@marlasyoga⁠⁠

Practice yoga with me on Sādhaka Studio:

⁠⁠https://sadhakastudio.uscreen.io/catalog⁠⁠

Come with me to Costa Rica:

⁠⁠https://www.wetravel.com/trips/for-the-seekers-ashtanga-yoga-retreat-sadhaka-67726403

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

05:27 Wade’s start at UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center

09:11 The mental shifts after that early chunk of practice

14:17 Wade’s approach to incorporating strength training

18:56 How do I do this for a really long time

21:07 This can be very gentle but you have to punch through a layer to get there

22:11 By taking care of the physical, the more spiritual the actual practice has become

32:51 By coupling the grasping with self reflection, we nudge ourselves towards quiet, naturally 

36:18 Why is all of this worth it?

49:13 Going to Mysore, India

53:44 Sharath’s legacy

1:00:21 The ability to teach people as they show up on any given day