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Michael Joel Hall

Yoga · Teaching · Writing

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“Open Your Knee” Is a Cue That Costs Money
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Shala Daily Jun 4
Never Say Never
A 72-year-old future doctor reminded me that practice isn’t about being ready—it’s about showing up, again, on purpose.
Shala Daily Jun 4
When self-inquiry becomes the product you resent
The polite version says abundance mindset. The honest version is that the math doesn’t work for most people teaching yoga. Not because they lack dedication. Not because they’re doing...
Articles Jun 3
How Yoga Teachers Actually Make a Living
The yoga industry has a financial honesty problem. The polite version says abundance mindset. The honest version is that the math doesn’t work for most people.
Shala Daily Jun 3
It Should Be a Spiritual Focus, Shouldn’t It
Michael Joel Hall discusses the practice of Ashtanga Yoga as a vehicle for self-inquiry, awareness, and transformation.
Shala Daily Jun 3
how does compression work help you find concavity without fighting your hips?
Explains how compression work with parallel legs reveals true abdominal concavity while allowing natural hip movement and avoiding tension
Tech Support Jun 3
When Was the Last Time You Actually Looked Up?
The lower cervicals quit years ago. That’s why your backbends pinch at the base of the skull.
Shala Daily Jun 2
The Tax on Clarity
Yoga makes you see clearly, and then you’re stuck with what you saw—so the practice becomes learning how to hold it without hardening.
Shala Daily Jun 2
Beginner Friendly Approaches to Building a Lifelong Ashtanga Practice
This is a video about Beginner Friendly Approaches to building a lifelong Ashtanga Yoga practice.
Shala Daily Jun 1
Five Minutes, Save Your Neck
If you sit all day, you don’t need a new identity—you need tiny movement breaks that your body can actually cash.
Shala Daily Jun 1
“Open Your Knee” Is a Cue That Costs Money
.article-text { font-family: ‘Archivo’, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; color: #333; line-height: 1.85; margin-bottom: 25px; } .article-text a { color: #FF006E; text-decoration:...
Shala Daily Jun 4
Never Say Never
A 72-year-old future doctor reminded me that practice isn’t about being ready—it’s about showing up, again, on purpose.
Shala Daily Jun 4
How Yoga Teachers Actually Make a Living
The yoga industry has a financial honesty problem. The polite version says abundance mindset. The honest version is that the math doesn’t work for most people.
Shala Daily Jun 3
It Should Be a Spiritual Focus, Shouldn’t It
Michael Joel Hall discusses the practice of Ashtanga Yoga as a vehicle for self-inquiry, awareness, and transformation.
Shala Daily Jun 3
When Was the Last Time You Actually Looked Up?
The lower cervicals quit years ago. That’s why your backbends pinch at the base of the skull.
Shala Daily Jun 2
The Tax on Clarity
Yoga makes you see clearly, and then you’re stuck with what you saw—so the practice becomes learning how to hold it without hardening.
Shala Daily Jun 2
Beginner Friendly Approaches to Building a Lifelong Ashtanga Practice
This is a video about Beginner Friendly Approaches to building a lifelong Ashtanga Yoga practice.
Shala Daily Jun 1
Five Minutes, Save Your Neck
If you sit all day, you don’t need a new identity—you need tiny movement breaks that your body can actually cash.
Shala Daily Jun 1
Yoga Improved Balance, Strength, and Quality of Life in Seniors
A randomized controlled trial found that yoga significantly improved physical capabilities and quality of life measures in healthy adults over 65.
Shala Daily May 31
The Brass Ring
A teacher called out my distraction mid-drill, and it turned out to be a life thing—not a yoga thing.
Shala Daily May 31
When self-inquiry becomes the product you resent
The polite version says abundance mindset. The honest version is that the math doesn’t work for most people teaching yoga. Not because they lack dedication. Not because they’re doing...
Articles Jun 3
Big Toe Joint Pain in Ashtanga: Risk, Reward, Conditioning
Big toe joint conditioning can be a missing link in Ashtanga yoga, especially when you’re jumping back and putting weight onto a joint that isn’t prepared. In this Shala Daily, we look at why so...
Articles May 27
Equity, Not Extraction
AI isn’t the threat — extraction is, and we’ve already run this playbook before.
Articles May 20
Respect isn’t agreement. It’s how you disagree.
Most yoga arguments aren’t about the practice. They’re about who gets to say what the practice is.That’s the subtext under almost every debate about body diversity in Ashtanga....
Articles May 14
Time and Lifestyle Adaptations
This is a video about How Ashtanga Yoga Impacts Our Time and Lifestyle– and how they impact our practice.
Articles May 13
After the Peak
What happens when yoga stops being new, stops being a high, and you still have to show up anyway?
Articles May 12
Buy Your Milk From Someone You Know
Every untracked transaction is a small act of structural resistance Every untracked transaction is a small act of structural resistance. From The Digital Caste: Surveillance Capitalism and the...
Articles Apr 26
The Maze Designer’s Defense
“You could always turn left” is the argument of the maze designer explaining to the rat that it has a choice The choice to opt out is the choice to accept systematic economic...
Articles Apr 19
anyone else find that nidra is the practice they never skip? even more than asana?
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered. The Question something I've been thinking about lately I've had an on-and-off asana practice for...
Articles Apr 18
Exercise to aid yoga practice?
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered. The Question I really want to feel stronger in my practice. I’m plus sized and am working on overall...
Articles Apr 16
how does compression work help you find concavity without fighting your hips?
Explains how compression work with parallel legs reveals true abdominal concavity while allowing natural hip movement and avoiding tension
Tech Support Jun 3
keeping the hamstrings active in forward folds — does it actually prevent yoga butt?
This article explains how active hamstring engagement prevents tendon overload and injury during forward folds in yoga practice
Tech Support May 20
how do i get better at cueing? why do some cues work and others don’t?
This article explains how matching cue types to individual nervous systems improves yoga instruction effectiveness
Tech Support May 12
The Ankle Has Four Corners and You Probably Only Use One
This article explains ankle joint mechanics and trains all four functional corners to improve yoga stability and prevent compensation
Tech Support May 10
Your Knee Rotates (Until It Doesn’t)
This article explains knee rotation mechanics during flexion to prevent injury and improve safe yoga practice
Tech Support May 9
When Adduction Meets Rotation (and Why Your Hip Is Negotiating with Itself)
Explains hip adduction combined with internal and external rotation to improve joint function and prevent pain in yoga poses
Tech Support May 8
Chakrasana Whiplash Prevention and Recovery using PNF and FRC
This article explains how targeted PNF and FRC exercises restore deep neck flexor function to prevent and recover from whiplash in yoga practice
Tech Support May 8
Fix Your Tech Neck With Ashtanga Yoga and FRC
This article explains six key cervical spine movements neglected by desk work and essential for safe Ashtanga yoga practice
Tech Support May 8
Tech Support: Big Toe (Hallux) Conditioning — The Joint Ashtanga Forgot
This article explains big toe joint conditioning to improve Ashtanga yoga transitions and prevent compensatory injuries
Tech Support May 7
Yoga teachers- do you change your ques when one of your students is pregnant?
How to adapt yoga cues safely and effectively for pregnant students to support their changing bodies and practice needs
Tech Support Apr 11