Is yoga making you hypermobile? Is the physical practice of yoga actually wrecking your body? Is it even good for you? That depends on what you are looking to achieve through the practice of yoga asana. Functional movement. Structural integration. Connective tissue restructuring. Sexy abs. Get ready for some uncensored yoga myth busting.

The Spiritual Warrior by Yoga Uncensored

In traditional contexts, the place where we practiced yoga was treated as a sacred space. There was an emphasis on how we conceptualized and treated the spaces we practiced in. There was a reason for this: it transformed the inner experience of the practitioner profoundly.

How do we approach the modern yoga studio, the teacher student relationship, and the learning process in such a way that maximizes our growth experience?

Our practice begins as soon as we walk into the temple/studio/dojo. The subtle ways in which we relate to our practice can open or close us to the magic of the interdependent interaction we're having with the teacher, fellow practitioners, and the space/temple we are occupying in our practice.

This talk covers some silly yoga teacher rants on what bothers us (yes we're human and things bother us), how we've approached the practice over the years and some of the subtly sublime inner experiences and magical transmissions that happen in the yoga space when the right factors align in our conduct, practice and space.

Topics Covered:

- Mat Whipping

- Mindful talking in the yoga space

- Cell phones

- The benefit of holding the yoga center as a sacred space

- Trusting the wisdom of the teacher

- The secret power of the Student-Teacher dynamic

- Student and Teacher both receive blessings from right conduct

- The magic that opens up in the yoga space when we approach the

practice and space with respect

- How to magically coax your teacher into sharing hidden yoga secrets

Cain and Mark tackle a challenging exploration of how to relate to anger from a yogic perspective.

Anger is a powerful and potentially destructive emotion. Many of us don't know what to do with anger. Some of us express it recklessly. Some of us repress it or deny its existence completely.

When we approach yoga and meditation from a self-reflective angle, we cannot avoid directly encountering our emotions. Our human emotions are powerful and can be intimidating to face at times.

In this talk, we look at ways to integrate our emotions without by-passing them being taken over by their raw power.

We think yoga needs a software update and a serious reboot. Collectively, we are in desperate need of deeper education and maturity around all things yoga. How can we think differently about the future of yoga? How can we develop a culturally relevant context for the further development of yoga without losing yoga’s rich history or succumbing to the faults of consumer culture. What might we do better to ensure that yoga doesn’t become a shallow expression of post-modern narcissism?

Historically, Yoga has brought peace to the land of the self through making friends with the dictator: our ego.

Yet Yoga in the context of modern consumer culture is at risk of feeding and growing some of our destructive ego tendencies. Are we creating better and more improved, rigid and fragile egos through our yoga practice?

If we are not careful, our practice of yoga can end up strengthening the subtle habit of ego-clinging and body glorification. How can yoga and other spiritual technologies be best used to perform the job of freeing us from the tendency to create unnecessary suffering for ourselves and others?

-Pitfalls of strengthening our painful tendencies through yoga practice

-How we hide from the reality of impermanence.

-The formation of a solidified persona.

-The pursuit to be better than ordinary.

WTF is Asana?

What the heck is the point of practicing yoga poses? Is the physical practice of yoga just gymnastics with spiritual bling? Does standing on your head make you more enlightened? Does doing the splits make you a happier person? In this episode we discuss the cultural lens through which we come to understand the application of yoga postures, and talk about the role of sensation, feeling, and gentleness in our physical practice.

“I’m not flexible enough to do yoga.” "I'm not young enough.“I don't feel sexy in yoga pants." “I don’t have six pack abs like those other yoga dudes.” As yoga teachers, we hear these heartbreaking statements from would be yoga students all too often. As sad as it is to admit, yoga has become highly influenced by the impossible ideals of the fashion industry and consumer culture in general. Open any yoga magazine and look at the ass . . .oops, typo. . .we mean ads. The effect of this is not only confusing, but potentially damaging both mentally and emotionally. The last thing modern people need is another reason for self-hatred, self-shame, or to feel anything less than absolutely perfect.

Check us out at:

www.caincarroll.com

www.marktanakayoga.com

Karma is a word that is thrown around loosely in spiritual circles, but the topic rarely explored in depth. The concept of karma has a variety of subtle definitions and distinctions, depending on the tradition or vantage point you're approaching it from.

The idea of karma goes well beyond just the notion of having "good karma" or "bad karma." Contemplation of cause and effect is not meant to lead to a nihilistic worldview, rather to inspire us to be active participants in life and yogic practice. If karma is mechanically fixed, if life is pre-determined, what the hell would be the point of practicing yoga and meditation?

In this talk we discuss a variety of definitions concerning karma from several different traditions, including our own views on karma based in personal exploration and practice.

Check us out at:

www.caincarroll.com

www.marktanakayoga.com

Mark and Cain launch into a candid talk about the state of yoga in the modern day.

These are the topics we hit:

How do most people view yoga? Where is yoga going? Where do we want it to go? How is capitalism influencing yoga? What are we losing in the modernization of yoga? What's the benefit of this western yoga renaissance? What's the impact? As modern practitioners of yoga, what is our role and responsibility to yoga and future generation of practitioners ? What is the role of yoga in social change?

Check us out at:

www.caincarroll.com

www.marktanakayoga.com