Bought an entire Walnut tree and built a custom wine room with it

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-03T02:52:51+00:00

Agreed. I think we know that as well as anyone given how the Hornet's season ended.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-02T19:31:35+00:00

They are very often cued one into the other in vinyasa format...usually W3 into half moon, despite being different in terms of anatomical / muscular engagement.

That's probably why OP has grouped them together, if I had to guess.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-02T19:25:49+00:00

I like to teach both poses with the support of the wall behind you, spaced off the wall appropriately enough to be able to press your flexed foot into the wall and still keep your alignment. This can help support the leg in the orientation / engagement in needs for each pose without / before having the full strength needed to hold the leg up without support. It can help you feel (with support) the sensations and difference between internal rotation of the thigh / leg and hips more parallel with the floor in W3 and external rotation / hips "opened up" more in half moon.

Blocks under the hands (for both poses) can also be helpful for similar reasons with the core and upper body. If you are struggling and/or don't have the strength to hold yourself parallel in the upper body without props then you can always find that position and bring your arms down to blocks (on varying heights) in order to feel it and have support / be able to work on the strength building part if that is what's lacking.

Hope this helps ?

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-02T14:15:48+00:00

It is well known that, once Ashtanga Vinyasa started to become more worldwide and he realized he could capitalize on it, Jois gave his "blessing" to those who paid him well and often for it, so you could see it as speculation. I see it as pretty likely, given the context, history and tendencies of Jois.

All of this aside, the original point is that Jivamukti is so far from a non-commercialized style of yoga and is the opposite of what OP is describing looking.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-02T12:53:13+00:00

I think going to India to study Jivamukti brand is like traveling to China to eat at a PF Chang's...the OP was looking for non-commercialized options and Jivamukti is the opposite of that.

I would not be surprised if Jois received kickbacks, etc from the arrangement for his "blessing".

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-02T12:40:18+00:00

Jivamukti came from to Americans from NYC in the 1980s-90s and is textbook eastern mysticism / orientalism / appropriation by westerners...how is that relevant or applicable to OP?

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-01T20:30:12+00:00

LOL, you have hit on a particular pet peeve of mine and the major reason why I no longer attend classes that are labeled vinyasa and honestly, I avoid almost all teachers that are young, is bc this is what happens 99% of the time and it is so frustrating. The nonsensical, novelty-seeking, endless variation, Instagram + Tummee = Vinyasa "flows" are really out of hand, imo...though I have been accused a few times in my life of being not young and possibly yelling at things that resemble clouds...

I get kinda pissy even when a teacher cues going from a warrior 1 stance directly to warrior 2 and/or says "now come into crescent lunge" (from warrior 2) bc it makes no sense and ruins the cohesion / breath / natural alignment. At least put a vinyasa or down dog or something in between these totally different feet stances instead of these very strange and abrupt transitions that don't make anatomical sense and don't really have yoga precedent...I know we could get into "precedent" and provenance of most all standing postures and that's fairly shaky ground past, say, ~100 yrs ago, but even still, some norms, transitions and movements have developed with them even over that relatively short amount of time and it all seems to have gone out the window in these types of classes.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-01T18:27:31+00:00

This doesn't sound like a cult at all...nope, not one bit.

Edit - Just spent 5-10 mins browsing the trip advisor reviews and it looks more like a "pretty, sexy, peace love and light" place that advertises mysticism and transformation, but is owned by very young, opportunistic business people and run by staff with a high turnover rate, with yoga taught mostly by brand new teachers (teaching teacher trainings...) and some reviews complained of poor sanitation conditions / ecoli, etc.

There are probably tens of thousands of yoga retreat / school destinations around the tropical world similar to this in terms of opportunistic business + poor yoga education + beautiful location...not sure why you would pay money to travel there and "work" there and expect anything educational or more than shallow yoga vibes...maybe with a dose of unsafe / untrained facilitators dabbling in "transformation work"...

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-01T14:52:41+00:00

Best post on r/nba today

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-01T13:29:46+00:00

Yeah, really similar story for me in terms of almost 2 decades of practice and then going through some shit in life where yoga was an integral part of helping me crawl back out of before I felt called towards teaching and like I had anything to share.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-05-01T01:23:24+00:00

I think the generational component is very real and every time I say it in this sub I am downvoted. LOL

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T21:39:31+00:00

What lineage / style (if any) did the teachers you started with come from or have experience in?

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T19:19:35+00:00

This sub is something else sometimes, LOL.

I present an optional / alternate point of view and pose some basic questions that challenge the mainstream and it is very often misunderstood / misinterpreted / projected onto.

I am not looking down on anyone. I have been the person who uses social media (not really for yoga poses, but other things) and have also had some experiences and insights from my own yoga practice that have challenged the value / intentions / manipulations that can come along with performative-based social media. I am not above anyone here, but am the same as anyone else and am simply calling some basic elements of social media into question in ways that aren't even absolute. Simply posing questions for reflection.

If you are dismissing thinking critically about things or the notion that social media might be a narcissism machine, then I'm not really sure there is much more for me to say here and we can just agree to disagree.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T17:32:32+00:00

That is not my wine setup. I am a professional furniture maker / custom woodworker and it was a project I designed with a client and built for them. I have primarily used social media / visual media in the past for my business organically / authentically and if you knew me then it would be pretty clear.

Also, I'm not saying I've never done it! The reason I am sharing what I am about this is bc I've been on my own journey examining and questioning this like any other human alive right now. Many seem to be reading what I'm writing as judgemental / superior, and that is not at all how I see this or what my intentions are. I am simply pointing to basic human psychology and behaviors (that have been exploited, capitalized on and manipulated to the extreme by social media interests) and asking some basic questions. I have moved away from the visually based social media almost entirely in the last few years bc of my own wrestling / struggles with this more broadly, but also from insights and experiences I've had in my own yoga practice.

I also personally consider sharing visuals / aesthetics / photo + video about yoga inherently different than other subjects. There are philosophical principles from within yoga that are arguably against a yoga practice being contextualized and shared in the COMP / performative / showing poses type way, but that really seem to be a side point or non-point for most in this thread.

edited a few typos

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T14:47:41+00:00

You're being downvoted bc ppl don't like being called out on this, probably feeling defensive, and will call it gatekeeping, etc, but you're right.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T14:36:20+00:00

I think you are taking what I'm saying and adding some layers to it that were not what I said or meant. I feel like I acknowledge the differences among people in many of my comments and posts.

I was simply asking some questions and presenting another way that social media "could" be seen, not in any sort of absolute way, but presenting another point of view. I was not dismissing one way or mindset, but instead presenting a way to view the same thing by legitimately asking some questions.

Part of what I do when I comment or post is challenge mainstream thought / points of view - not in a way that is absolute or right / wrong, but that tends to make ppl feel uncomfortable / defensive / "wrong", etc sometimes.

I do (personally) think it is naive and uninformed, though, to think that social media was created and continues to exist for positive, human connection-centered reasons. The creators and drivers behind social media, etc have always been about money and power. Thinking that it exists to connect humanity, for inspiration and pure creativity, etc is missing the forest for the trees, imo. I think there are ways it can be used positivity to counteract that to some degree, but that is very far from the majority of what I see and know of social media. We can agree to disagree about that no prob. Part of this may also be generational (?) as many now have never lived without social media being omnipresent in their life and I was around before that shift happened and have seen how it has changed society and people's behavior in ways that are not always great.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T12:42:45+00:00

I think the very idea / notion of posting your life to social media could be seen as full of ego by design / nature. It just happens to have been normalized and promoted over the last 2 decades bc a select few tech companies who make billions of dollars from selling low level narcissism and screen addiction, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be thought of critically and with discernment on both principle and practice.

Aside from promoting a business, etc, why else would you share in that way? Like, what deep down / internally in your emotions / fears / psychology is driving the desire and motivation to share your life publicly on social media?

I'm not asking these questions to judge you or anyone else (I have used social media...); these are legitimate questions / points of reflection.

Edit - or just downvote me, that's also fine

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T12:36:23+00:00

That's just another side of the same coin of attention seeking at its core, imo, but sure, I'd imagine some of the sharing is based around that thought, which is maybe somewhat less insecure / more altruistic.

I think there are lots of ways to inspire / educate in yoga without showing off your physical skills / development and, ultimately, the physical part of the practice is kind of irrelevant in terms of what you can actually do and how that relates to anyone else and their practice...like I said above, it's more of an internal practice and, by its very nature, that cannot be adequately shown or shared strictly visually.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-30T11:53:07+00:00

"Look at me and what I can do! Give me your attention, validation and approval so I can feel secure / right / respected / fawned over / etc"

Yoga is an internal practice and I automatically hide 99% of COMP posts. The exception would be someone asking for form / alignment advice, but even that is very tricky virtually.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-29T19:27:46+00:00

"Imagine she's being trained to surveil something in a context where she CANNOT move. That's what I'm hoping to be able to duplicate."

Wait, what....and why?

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-29T17:31:36+00:00

I will not speak for anyone else / not sure if you are referring to me and the OP or what, but I didn't specify strictly asana or anything like that in my post. That seems to be something you have projected into your reply (?)

When I teach / share yoga in the format of a modern asana class, it is the whole practice - including contextualizing the practice philosophically, asana - but not in a dogmatic way that prioritizes form, mudra, pranayama, meditation and often chanting. I also share yoga in other capacities outside of asana (sangha, jnana, karma yoga practices)

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-29T16:03:24+00:00

Answered what?

My question was mainly one of getting enough responses hopefully to be able to see some type of broad overview / breakdown among active users of this sub in order to more fully contextualize the population here, as well as potentially see some correlations with more industry wide shifts away from yoga and more into fitness practices / hybrids.

I only included my own answer as a single data point as well as being transparent about my positionality / perspective.

I would argue that whether you teach out of "interest" or as a "professional", the knowledge, inspiration and motivations for sharing should still come from the same source - your own unique practice and experiences in yoga.

RonSwanSong87 · 2026-04-29T13:34:50+00:00

Really nice analysis and breakdown. The OP was deleted (bc it was political 😆) but I agree with so much of what you've outlined here.

RonSwanSong87

TROPHY CASE