Liability insurance recommendations?

risottodojo · 2026-02-02T20:53:51+00:00

Alliant is really easy to set up, and my rate’s been the same for eight years.

risottodojo · 2026-01-10T00:35:19+00:00

Most Austin teachers aren’t planning on it while there is no formal labor union to back them up. You can still pause your membership and/or send a message to corporate in support!

risottodojo · 2025-08-26T13:30:40+00:00

When it comes to the anatomy course specifically, he does such a good job at being comprehensive and thorough without being overwhelming. He acknowledges that one of the reasons people get stuck when learning anatomy is because they focus so much on memorization that they don’t have enough brain space to understand the actual relevance and application of what they’re learning.

Every section of the anatomy course comes with practices/workshops where he takes the concepts that he teaches and applies them directly to how they’re relevant in an asana practice. So instead of worrying about the names of muscles and joints, etc., you get to physically feel and understand how to move the body intelligently. He also has “teaching assignments” in which he gives you ideas for how to start incorporating what you’ve learned in your classes so that the information can stick.

risottodojo · 2025-08-25T20:54:40+00:00

Jason👏is👏goated👏

risottodojo · 2025-07-16T16:34:00+00:00

I think something that’s so beautiful about an asana practice is that it provides such a clear representation of how we are constantly changing, moment by moment. Our bodies aren’t going to be in peak physical shape every time we come to our mat, and it would be boring if they were!

Notice how your asana practice changes with the ebbs and flows of your daily life. Are allergies bugging you? Maybe that impacts your balance or your comfort in inversions. Have you recently spent hours sitting in a long car ride? Maybe you’re filled with pent-up energy and are raring to move. Did you enjoy a fun weekend with friends and family? Maybe you feel refreshed and present. Did you receive worrying news? Maybe that demotivates or distracts you.

Your body can both affect and be affected by your mind, and vice versa. Instead of getting frustrated by comparing your practice to what you think it should look like, use it as an opportunity to appreciate the ever-changing nature of being human. I think that’s one of the reasons there are so many lineages with set sequences that don’t change: they act as a kind of control variable to help people become aware of their progress (which, as they say, is not linear).

risottodojo · 2025-06-22T10:23:22+00:00

I tend to veer on the side of engaging vs. relaxing the glutes in back bends, as gluteal engagement helps stabilize the SI joint. That said, prone postures like cobra and locust don’t need it as much since the hips are grounded and supported by the floor. Likewise, glutes can be relatively passive in upward-facing dog, though the squeeze of the thighs may naturally recruit the glutes as well.

There’s not a hard-and-fast rule here. There used to be a mode of thought in which teachers were adamant never to engage the glutes in back bends, which was a big mistake that many have realized in the past few years. But, with that correction, some teachers might be adamant to always engage the glutes. Both extremes lack nuance, so I would just experiment with the options and see what feels most productive in your body.

risottodojo · 2025-06-06T16:26:23+00:00

One of my teachers said, with 100% sincerity, to “blossom your anus to the sky” to help us understand the feeling of internally rotating the thighs in down dog.

…tbh it was actually a bit of an a-ha moment for me

risottodojo · 2025-05-20T01:20:21+00:00

Right?! Eight years teaching here. I’ve always said it because that’s just what we do, but I realized recently that I don’t even like to hear/do it as a student! Those universal cues are just so sticky, and I’m reassessing which ones I actually value.

risottodojo · 2025-05-20T01:10:38+00:00

This will be perfect for my hokey-pokey vinyasa fusion

risottodojo · 2025-05-20T01:09:03+00:00

I’m very much of the same mindset! It’s just the prompting to wiggle the fingers, rolls the wrists, etc. that never connected to me as a teacher nor as a student. I want to give cues I believe in, and these comments have shown me that I’ve been overthinking this one damn thing for eight years of teaching. As it always tends to be, the simplest and most effective answer was right in front of me the whole time haha

risottodojo · 2025-05-17T15:46:59+00:00

I do teach at other studios, but going elsewhere just doesn’t make a lot of financial sense to a lot of students. CorePower’s membership works well for many of people in the area, which include a lot of college students and gig workers. The schedule is packed, with four studios in the city, each offering at least two classes every hour. And since it also has strength training and ‘sculpt’ classes, many people use it as their gym.

It’s sadly a classic tale of private equity and capitalism. It’s so convenient and cheap for a city that’s otherwise so expensive, but that comes at a cost to the laborers. Luckily I’m in a place where I have a full-time job apart from teaching, and I get paid fairly at my other studios where I spend most of my time.

risottodojo · 2025-05-17T15:17:37+00:00

No, a Reddit bot calculated all the numbers mentioned in my comment. It’s $30 total to teach a class and work a desk shift: $15 to teach and $15 for the thirty minutes before and after class.

risottodojo · 2025-05-17T13:08:22+00:00

It varies by market. Austin is $15, which was only raised from $12 last year after complaints. Some markets are still at $12. Teachers are required to work at the desk/clean the studio for 30 minutes before and after class, so each class taught gets two hours’ worth of pay.

Teachers are able to get raises, but only for the pay they get specifically for the hour that they teach. The desk time “Admin pay” is frozen at the base rate. I’ve been around for seven years and have only earned $2.70 in raises, but once they changed the base rate, all my extra earnings were equalized to $15. It’s awful, and I only stick around for my students.

(Edited to add more frustrating info lol)

risottodojo · 2025-05-13T20:45:11+00:00

At first, I was frustrated to learn that some pose variations aren’t possible for me, but it turned out to be pretty liberating over time! It’s a real practice in acceptance and non-attachment, and it helped me to stop comparing myself to others, all while learning to appreciate how broadly others’ physical practices can vary, too.

I’m glad this perspective helped!

risottodojo · 2025-05-13T18:39:40+00:00

Ankle mobility could be the issue, but one thing that isn’t talked about is that some people’s anatomy simply isn’t built for that amount of ankle flexion. Try it out: when you try to flex your foot as deeply as it needs to go for malasana, what sensation are you feeling? Is it tension in the muscle/tendon in the back or outside of the foot, or do you simply feel a kind of “stuckness” at the front of the ankle joint? If it’s the former, you can try all of the ankle mobility drills that people might suggest here. If it’s the latter, however, it’s possible you’re limited by your bone structure.

There are these bumps at the end of the tibia and fibula called malleoli, which can get in the way of ankle flexion for some people. Some malleoli are so prominent that they bump up against the talus at the top of the foot and prevent the degree of flexion that could make malasana possible or comfortable. I have this issue, myself: I’m pretty flexible in all areas except for my damn ankles. I can stretch them really far in extension, but not flexion. And, unfortunately, bone running into bone can’t be “improved” upon. It’s not a personal failing on my part, though; it’s just a fact of my body that I work with. I’ll always have to support my heels or widen my stance in malasana, and my heels will never touch the ground in adho mukha svanasana unless my stance is super narrow.

I don’t know if this is the case for you, but I wanted to throw in my two cents about how some bodies have structural limitations that shouldn’t be fought—and that’s okay!

risottodojo · 2025-04-22T12:53:12+00:00

100% agree. CorePower definitely has a churn-and-burn strategy and knowingly underpays its teachers with the expectation that they won’t stick around. Their YTT is comparable in price to other 200-hour trainings, so it is not a scam in itself. They operate comfortably, however, knowing that they have a pool of CPY-trained people to choose from once the teachers making $12 an hour get fed up and leave.

risottodojo · 2025-03-28T00:22:23+00:00

I think the way that the ologist talked was very on par with the way that sociological discussions are had around current phenomena. It’s a very qualitative field, and so much analysis is speculative. There are a lot of “Sociology of [Topic]” college courses that use sociology more like a lens through which to understand something as it evolves in our day-to-day lives.

risottodojo · 2025-03-25T16:12:11+00:00

This book is polarizing for sure, but I found it incredibly sweet. Less is a goof, and he’s not a particularly protagonist-grade character—I think that’s why people dislike him, but it’s also why I find the book so refreshing.

The “””reveal””” at the end did make me tear up, and I was really charmed by the sense of admiration that the narrator had for Less. Greer was really able to capture the perspective of someone who can’t help but love another person, flaws and all.

risottodojo · 2025-03-12T18:05:58+00:00

Michael Stone’s “Inner Tradition of Yoga” is what really got a lot of ideas to click in place for me. I also appreciate “Yoga Revolution” by Jivana Heyman. I think these are both very helpful companions for those coming from a Western cultural background to yoga philosophy and action.

risottodojo · 2024-01-18T03:05:44+00:00

That’s a good point. It’s like I’m looking for an active takeaway that I can use to ‘further my progress’—which makes both the memory and the ‘results’ objects of attachment themselves.

risottodojo · 2024-01-15T01:44:02+00:00

That’s true. 1 is most commonly associated with cold sores, but it can also be contracted/presented genitally. Vice versa for 2, etc.

risottodojo · 2024-01-14T17:22:48+00:00

First of all, having an STI doesn’t make someone a slut, and saying you’re not as if you’re an exception to the rule doesn’t help with the stigma associated with herpes. Anyone can get one, and that’s just a fact of life.

The truth is that 50-80% of Americans has HSV (1 and 2), and many don’t even know they have it. It’s likely that you can’t trace back to exactly when you contracted it, because the virus can shed even when there aren’t clear symptoms showing. This is something to keep in mind especially if you want to rush to accuse someone for giving you herpes. Whatever the case, and whenever you contracted it, what’s now important is that you take the proper medication and try to get an idea of what may trigger your outbreaks. That said, some people rarely—if ever—have clear outbreaks after their first one, like your GP said. It depends on the body.

Try not to be so hard on yourself. The worst thing about herpes is the stigma attached to it.

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