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Practice with us this season
Two seasons a year in DC through 2029, and four Mysore weekends a year on the coast of Mexico. Pick a date, hold a seat.
Self Practice by the Sea
A Mysore retreat on the Riviera Maya.
Four mornings of practice, four nights on the coast, a private home with a rooftop pool. Four dates a year through 2029, four spots each.
Semester Enrichment
Sixteen Sundays. Two cohorts. Four seats each.
Fall 2026 is sold out. Spring 2027 opens 7 February — Functional Primary or Functional Intermediate — and the fall format returns in September. Seasons run through 2029.
Functional Ashtanga
Self Practice
Your Life Is Art
Ashtanga 2.0
Mechanism, Not Magic
How to Build a Yoga Club$20 each · all six for $100 →Forgot your password? Reset Password
The Shala Daily
YOGA • PHILOSOPHY • LIFE
Where ancient wisdom meets the modern world. Daily reflections connecting yogic philosophy to contemporary life.
When self-inquiry becomes the product you resent
How yoga teachers actually make a living — and what survival does to a practice.
Watch + read →Vulnerability and Risk in Practice
Vulnerability is one of the most overused words in self-help. The underlying idea is real. The marketing version mostly isn't.
Read More →Complimentary Forms of Exercise for Ashtanga Yoga
In this video, Michael Joel Hall discusses the ongoing debate within the Ashtanga yoga community about incorporating complementary exercises, such...
Read More →Meditation and Panic Disorder
An 8-week mindfulness program produced clinically significant improvements in anxiety and panic symptoms for 22 people with diagnosed anxiety disorders.
Read More →The Debate Around Practice Intensity
Michael Joel Hall discusses the paradox of Ashtanga Yoga, highlighting how it demands effort while requiring patience.
Read More →Thirty Minutes a Day
A Johns Hopkins review of 47 clinical trials with 3,515 participants found that 30 minutes of daily meditation improved anxiety and depression symptoms, with effects lasting at lea...
Read More →Vinyasa Yoga: Breath & Movement
Brahmari Pranayama: The Bee Breath Technique for Calm and Clarity This video introduces Brahmari Pranayama, also known as Bee Breath,...
Read More →One Session, Better Mood
A single 1-hour yoga session increased positive engagement, revitalization, tranquility, mindfulness, and body consciousness in 144 participants.
Read More →Making Yoga Inclusive
Research identified specific teaching practices, including authentic leadership, inclusive language, and health focus, that make yoga spaces more welcoming for all body types.
Read More →Transformation Through Consistent Effort
In this video, Michael Joel Hall discusses the transformative power of consistent effort in yoga practice, particularly during the early...
Read More →Depression Scores Cut in Half
A German study found that two yoga classes per week for three months cut depression scores by 50% and improved overall well-being by 65% in emotionally distressed women.
Read More →The Yoga Executive: A Useful Frame, Not a Brand
"Yoga executive" sounds like a LinkedIn invention. It half is. The frame is useful as a side door — until people stop at the door and never get in.
Read More →Six Months Changed Everything for Seniors
A 6-month randomized trial of 135 seniors found yoga improved balance, flexibility, well-being, and energy compared to both exercise and wait-list control groups.
Read More →Gray Matter and the Yoga Brain
Yoga practitioners showed greater gray matter volume and prefrontal cortex activation compared to fitness-matched controls, suggesting yoga offers unique brain benefits beyond exer...
Read More →Why Yoga Teachers Deserve a Union Like SAG AFTRA
Why should yoga teachers have the same protections as movie extras?
Read More →Take the Controls
Traditional practice tells you to obey the sequence. I could have written a post about agency — instead I built the instruments that hand you the controls.
Read More →Veterans Found Relief Together
Male veterans (average age 61) showed decreased depression after 8 weeks of Hatha yoga, with added benefit from practicing alongside fellow veterans.
Read More →Different Meditations, Different Brain Changes
A 9-month study of 300+ participants found that different meditation techniques produce distinct structural changes in different parts of the brain.
Read More →Sourced, Not Sold
Slop sells a sourceless myth. I could have posted a warning — instead I built the humanities companion that hands you the real sources.
Read More →Fifty-Two Percent No Longer Had PTSD
After 10 weeks of trauma-informed yoga, 52% of women with chronic treatment-resistant PTSD no longer met diagnostic criteria, versus 21% in the control group.
Read More →Shrinking the Fear Center
A study of over 15,000 people found that meditation and yoga practitioners had smaller right amygdala volume, the brain region tied to fear and negative emotions.
Read More →The Staircase, Not the Wall
Anyone can preach consistency. Instead I built it: one pose added each week, deep-linked to a Practice Recorder that logs what you actually did — and that you actually own.
Read More →The Brains of Long-Term Yogis
Female yogis over 60 had thicker prefrontal cortexes than non-practitioners, suggesting long-term practice may protect against cognitive aging.
Read More →Stop Practicing on Vibes
Most practitioners obey their practice on faith and feeling. A few instrument it, read it, and operate it — that's the executive move, and it's what we built the platform to make...
Read More →Yoga Nidra in Veterans Hospitals
The iRest Yoga Nidra program has expanded to 35 VA Centers and 6 Department of Defense sites after its success treating PTSD and trauma in military populations.
Read More →Ten Minutes, Better Mood
Just 10 minutes of low-intensity yoga improved mood across six measures and boosted cognitive function in sedentary young men, while rest alone did nothing.
Read More →Understanding From Day One
Most beginners get poses and a promise that meaning comes later. Praxis gives you a designed sequence and real tools to run your own practice from day one.
Read More →When They Know You’re Vulnerable
The system doesn't just sort and price. It times — finding you at your most vulnerable.
Read More →Healing After Sexual Trauma
Women who experienced sexual trauma showed significant decreases in PTSD symptoms, self-blame, and depression after practicing iRest Yoga Nidra.
Read More →Become Your Own Teacher
Learning the vinyasa count alone is genuinely hard — so instead of just saying you should practice independently, we built the timed count videos that make it possible.
Read More →Twenty Minutes to a Sharper Mind
A 20-minute yoga session significantly improved reaction time, accuracy, and memory in college students, while 20 minutes of jogging produced no cognitive gains.
Read More →