David Garrigues: Breaking Boundaries in Ashtanga Yoga and Modern Practice

David Garrigues is a highly respected Ashtanga Yoga teacher known for his deep commitment to practice and exploration of the ancient traditions of yoga. With a career spanning several decades, David began his journey into yoga at the age of 16, evolving from self-practice of sun salutations to studying under renowned teachers. He has trained with prominent figures like Pattabhi Jois, and he integrates unique insights into yoga's physical, spiritual, and historical aspects to create a comprehensive teaching methodology. As an innovative educator, David places a strong emphasis on safe practices and personalization in yoga.

Visit David here: https://davidgarrigues.com/

Key Takeaways:

• Personal Practice: David began practicing yoga at a young age, which set the foundation for his lifelong journey in Ashtanga Yoga.
• Transformation through Teaching: His experiences with influential teachers brought significant change and development in his practice and teaching style.
• Safety and Personalization: David emphasizes creating a safe and inclusive environment through personalized and step-by-step instruction.
• Artistic Expression in Yoga: His approach to yoga teaching integrates creativity, viewing it as an art form and a means of personal expression.

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Chapters

• 0:00 David Garrigues' Journey from Sun Salutations to Yoga Mastery
• 4:14 Transitioning from Self-Taught Yogi to Guided Practice
• 6:43 From Grunge Roots to Unconventional Education at Evergreen
• 11:20 A Transformative Yoga Experience and Overcoming Fear
• 16:36 The Evolution and Personalization of Yoga Practice
• 21:17 Embracing Limits in Yoga Practice for True Fulfillment
• 26:13 The Trickster's Journey to Self-Acceptance and Purpose
• 30:28 The Importance of Sacrifice and Dedication in Yoga Practice
• 37:01 Balancing Personal Joy and Tradition in Ashtanga Practice
• 43:17 David Garrigues on Artistic Expression Through Yoga and Media
• 47:57 The Journey of Writing and Self-Discovery in Yoga
• 52:19 David Garrigues on Teaching Yoga and Leaving a Legacy

Transcript

Todd McLaughlin: 0:33

Welcome to Native Yoga Toddcast. So happy you are here. My goal with this channel is to bring inspirational speakers to the mic in the field of yoga, massage, body work and beyond. Follow us at Native yoga and check us out at Nativeyogacenter.com. All right, let's begin. Welcome to Native Yoga Toddcast. My name is Todd McLaughlin, and today I have a very special guest, David Garrigues. David is, I'm a fan of David's work for many years now, and it is a huge honor to have him on the show and his enthusiasm, his artistic vision for the creation of the work that he puts together, is so inspirational to me. I also am very inspired by the fact that he goes against the grain and does things in a way that's sensible and intelligent without worrying about the broader context of cultural norm. And I just think that his view of the Ashtanga yoga practice, his understanding of the body and the way he teaches, which you can watch all of this on his social media, which is very prolific, with enormous amount of content that you can absorb. He is just very valuable. So thank you for being here. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do and did. And I appreciate your support, any love you can send via social media, email, subscribing and all that jazz, sharing with friends, all that stuff, is hugely appreciated. And I would encourage you to go to David's website, https://davidgarrigues.com it's in the link below, you're going to find links to all of his handles. Also, I'm going to include a link or a way for you to reach out to him to look into his Ashtanga revolution series on primary series, and he's also put a lot of time and energy into his second series video catalog, so definitely send him a message if you enjoyed this conversation, and let's go ahead and begin. I'm really honored to have this opportunity to meet and speak with David Garrigues. David, I really appreciate you accepting accepting my invitation to be on the show. How are you doing today?

David Garrigues: 3:03

I'm doing good. Todd, I thank you for inviting me. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you. Thank you. You know I've had a lot of different Ashtanga Yoga or yoga practitioners over the years come through the doors and mention how much they appreciate your work. So I'm really excited for this opportunity. I've been looking forward to this so I'm, you know, you have a lot of years of practice, and I read that you started practicing at the age of 16, self learning the sun salutations. Can you How did that initial exposure shape your perception of yoga?

Unknown: 3:40

Yeah, it's funny because I'm almost back to it now, which is like, yeah, I Well, I would do it outside when I learned the sun salutation. Then I go. There was a little beach by my house, and I would go and do it there, just sun salutations, never and I it was a really mystical thing for me, actually. And I even wrote a paper about it in high school that was called The World is a sacrament. So it's like this whole revelation that, like you I was worshiping outside on the beach, you know, with the sky and the sun and, and it didn't have to be inside in a church or something, you know. And, and so then, and, yeah, I turned that paper in. And the teacher, for some he used to read the papers out loud in the class, and he says, like, is there anyone that doesn't want me to read theirs out loud? And I was like, me, yeah. And, and he understood, he didn't. He said, I Oh, okay, no problem.

Todd McLaughlin: 5:04

That's classic, because, because it was an out there idea, I'm guessing, at age 16. I mean, is this a public or a private school or

Unknown: 5:12

No, just a public school? Totally, yeah. This was like, Yeah. And I still remember what he wrote on it. He wrote, like, something like a fine expression of your spiritual Questers. You're it was like, and it's funny, because, you know you hear that, don't practice outside and but that's exactly what I do now. I practice really basic stuff. And I just like, I can practice. I practice it sides when I have to, but if I have the choice, I go out. I've made a whole space. And I I love the whole the same thing that started me. That's

Todd McLaughlin: 5:51

cool, man, that's awesome. Did you come across a book that had pictures of a Sun Salute? I mean, I'm going back to, I don't know what year this is, but obviously it wasn't YouTube you were watching.

Unknown: 6:04

Oh, yeah, yeah, no, my this friend taught it to me, this dishwasher at a restaurant that I worked at. Yes, he he took he was a real egg. Is a real intellectual. So he knew lot about a lot of different things. He's very cool guy, but he knew a little bit about yoga, and then he knew the sun salutation, and he took me out and taught it to me. That's so

Todd McLaughlin: 6:31

cool that you say that Max, I remember working in a restaurant at 16, and the cooks got me into the Grateful Dead and I went and saw my first dead show. And so it's funny, like the things that we we learned working in a restaurant. Yeah, that's cool, man. Well, I also noticed that you then started studying under a teacher, Maurice vibota in 91 What was it like to go from being a rogue, outdoor, self taught Yogi to now being under tutelage.

Unknown: 7:02

Yeah, it was, that was a real trip, actually, like, and it's funny because I don't remember, like, having resistance or anything like that. I just know that when, when I met her, I had done some little bit of other yoga before that, not, not very much. But when I met her, like, No, it was, it was unbelievable, actually. So the very first class I went with her, you know, I was, like, really intense about yoga, but by the time I got to her, I was, or very, not very experienced, but like, really into it, you know, and and for and I had studied a little bit of iyengar yoga, and they did not focus on lotus pose at all, like so and then. But I saw the pictures, and like, the yogi's doing, and I wanted to do lotus, you know, and, and so, for some reason, the first class I took with her, she, she goes, she's looked at me really mystically and went, you want to do The Lotus. How did you know? Like, what? And, yeah. And so she was a very intense woman, so, but I moved in Seattle, I moved to her neighborhood to be by her studio. I went to, sort of going to all of her classes, and she, she taught her own thing. And what I the when I reflect on it, what it was that she taught, it was so interesting because she was really into how you got into your pose, like, which is what vinyasa is all about, right? And it's about the transition, or it's, it's a big emphasis on that, and that's what she was into the this whole process of how you went about it, and rather than you're just like, soon as you're doing the pose, it was kind of lost interest to her. Like it was this whole process, how you're going to approach it and go into it, and what the Movement was going to be, and what your thought process. And that is cool, yeah.

Todd McLaughlin: 9:31

Well, that's amazing. So wait, this is around 91 and you're in Seattle, so you were in Seattle at the kind of birth of the whole grunge year as well. Was that something that was on your radar at the time.

Unknown: 9:42

So strange is I had left that right, like I was, I had been a punk and played in bands and, well, in one band, not bands and but a big band that, like was really influential in. Creating that grunge, wow,

Todd McLaughlin: 10:03

yeah, very cool. David, I didn't know that. That's amazing. That's awesome. That's awesome.

Unknown: 10:07

Yeah, yeah. Like, I mean, it's kind of intense, actually, but so, so anyway, but I left that and I went to Evergreen State College in Olympia and studied and got and and then i i left with all that behind. And then when I came back to Seattle, I was just completely not part of any of it. Like, I didn't even know nirvana or anything. Like, that's how kind of out of the loop. I became on it.

Todd McLaughlin: 10:42

That's cool, man, that's awesome. Yeah, I remember as a teenager, I looked at Evergreen College, and that was like the for me, seemed like the Holy Grail of potential schools to go to at that age. Was it as cool as it seemed from the brochures? Yeah.

Unknown: 11:02

Well, it it changed. But like, the from the 70s, or whenever it started, it was amazing. Got it Todd, like it was based on, like that. No program would ever repeat. You know, like, wow, yeah, and so, and when, when I went there in 86 is the My first year there, it had these called independent studies, where you could write your own program, but, but it was turning more and more just kind of conventional, but it, but A lot of the original teachers were still there, and it was amazing, like, and like, I lived. So I lived, it's all on the sound the campus. And I lived across the Puget Sound. So, you know, inland sea. So I lived across the bay. So I would kayak across the bay, stash the kayak in the woods and go up to school. Yeah? Like, I mean, whoa,

Todd McLaughlin: 12:08

yes, yeah, a different era, right? Like, just,

Unknown: 12:13

and I did my own independent studies, and I was part of the Native American studies. They had a big, strong representation there. And, yeah, it was totally amazing, really on I had the wheel, weirdest education, and I left kind of bummed in a way, like, honestly, like, or because I, because it was so unconventional, like it I get, I got a BA degree, but I studied like Zen meditation and macrobiotic cooking and kayak building and like all kinds of really intense, weird stuff, which is so awesome, you know, looking back on it, but it certainly didn't like, prepare me for grad school.

Todd McLaughlin: 13:10

The workforce was like, Yeah, okay, well, yeah, we don't need any canoes built right now. So, oh my gosh, that's classic man. Well, at what point did you take your first trip to Mysore?

Unknown: 13:24

So when it was in Marie's studio that I saw video, video of patavi Joyce teaching that Tom Sewell, he's a shot those like film Black and White sessions with Richard Freeman and Tim and Chuck and Monty and like, just, whoa. Like I, I saw one of those videos from her studio, and I was just like, blown away by the whole thing. Like, I never seen yoga like that, like with the vinyasa and just the, I mean, wow, like, yes, because that was before even vinyasa yoga was popular. Really, what 1993 is when, when I saw that and and then right after I saw that video, I saw it was in the Yoga Journal. I actually got Joy got it for me, the old copy the ad of him. He was coming to America, pattabi Joyce in 1993 and so I decided I'm going to go there and learn ash Tonga from him to LA. So that's, that's what I did. I've never done it before. Just walked into the lead primary with the Master,

Todd McLaughlin: 14:43

yes, yes. Thoughts and feelings about what that experience was like. Did it? Did it blow your mind?

Unknown: 14:51

Verified me like I couldn't. I just can't tell you it was

Todd McLaughlin: 14:55

how nervous you were going in. Yeah, yeah,

Unknown: 14:59

you're gonna. I tell you, I mean, it's a weird response to it, but what I ended up doing is I, I fasted on fruit for the whole month. Garrett, I don't know why that was my response. Like, that's how I thought it would be more powerful or something. But yeah, and how

Todd McLaughlin: 15:20

would that leave you feeling like, in relation to having energy to do such a demand,

Unknown: 15:25

so much energy, it was, I practiced twice a day, and I camped up in Topanga Canyon for the month, and I I went. I went, Yeah, I would practice in the afternoon in the after the class. So it had no problem with the energy.

Todd McLaughlin: 15:47

Amazing. Yeah, so wasn't it? That's, that's classic. So on top of the morning session, you go home so amped and do it again, and then wake up the next morning and go with him. And that is a good example of having a lot of energy.

Unknown: 16:01

And then, and then, like, it was, I mean, I was just, I was just sort of blown away by the whole thing. I'd never I knew no Sanskrit. I knew nothing, you know, and he's going to a come inhale today. I knew. I didn't know the series. I didn't really prepare in advance or anything. So I was just, like, just scrambling to to understand and like, I was also, I was from a skateboarder and stuff. So I was really strong, like I did freestyle skateboarding handstands and all kinds of stuff and and so I was strong, but really stiff. And so like in Buddh Konasana, I was just super stiff. And there was one guy in the class that he would get, he knew patavi Joyce, he would get the Kona Hasan adjustment every day, and he was really stiff, and he would, like, turn purple. And I was, like, terrified. And then he twice came to me one time, one day, and he he put one hand on one knee and his foot on the other and his hand on my head, and he pushed me little bit forward, not not a lot, just a little bit and, and I was just like, it was so weird this, it's something cosmic happened in that moment. I sort of likened it. I might be idealizing it or I, but that funny story of Krishna, when he he eats dirt, and then his mother, his friends go tell him, oh, Krishna ate dirt. And his mother's like, what you naughty boy, you're eating dirt. And he go, he goes, let me she wants to see. Open your mouth. Let me see, right? And she she opens his mouth, and she see, she looks and she sees, like the whole cosmos inside there. Yeah, that was like this weird moment of, like this whole perspective change. I was like, saw this huge expanse open or something, you know, and then one minute, then he just pulled me right back up and he goes, No fearing you go, amazing to all that fear. You know, amazing.

Todd McLaughlin: 18:28

You know, that's really cool to hear David, because I remember when my wife and I were going, we took our first primary series class with him in Mysore, and I had heard so many horror stories about that one particular pose, about people being pushed so severely deep into it that they couldn't get up off of the floor after so the process of actually landing in the room, I was completely terrified. So I'm actually really happy to hear you had a Krishna mouth opening experience or that he and I just got to ask you, like, what is your take on the fish stories that we've heard about these mega, aggressive adjustments and then the reality of it, and your take on it in The current situation we're in in the modern world.

Unknown: 19:23

Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I, well, I've built my everything I do around kind of safety and protection and working in steps and I mean, I've come a long way since then in terms of how I view it and what I think and what and really, when it comes down to it, I it's just, well, there's a lot to say. But one thing is, it's just those intensive. Adjustments. Even if they're good, they're there, they there's risk. They're kind of high risk. And I'm not I personally, as a person and as a student like my own practitioner and as a teacher, I'm not willing to go it to do that, take those risks, even if it means put maybe, like less opening, or something like that, like I just feels risky. And when I was 28 or whatever, when I met pattavi Joyce and I went to Mysore, right after the i He told me, come, you come to Mysore. And I came and, you know, I never had any bad adjustment from him and so and it also, but he, he and I, to me, he worked with people, very individually. And, I mean, I know he worked with me like that, the spirit that, that adjustment that he gave me in LA was exactly how he worked with me all along, like late, he stayed, he didn't, he wouldn't. He actually wouldn't help me. That's it was more that, that like he, he wouldn't, he wouldn't help me until I stopped care, caring about whether he would help me when, like, yeah, so he did. He did not push me. He, in fact,

Todd McLaughlin: 21:38

yeah, I see, I see what you're saying, Yeah.

Unknown: 21:42

And I'm not saying that he didn't push other people or like, I'm not trying to discredit or anything, or anything like that. But, and I, I don't think Well, I think that the evolution of it, there's well, things evolve, hopefully naturally and wholesomely, or or that there is that potential for them to do, for things to that to happen with things and and we, Yeah, we're part of a big experiment, and so we want to, I mean to me, I try to honor what's good about the past and what what I what happened to me, what I observed, and what people Just the and take what's good and move forward intelligently. And but, and also me, I've spent, you know, a lot of time with myself, practicing and exploring and discovering huge, territories of Ashtanga and Hatha Yoga that pattabi Joyce didn't teach me and, and those are valid to me. Those are important and, and I've and I've taken the time to, like, write them down and put, put them in videos and share and and I bet somebody else, then the next people are going to go, they're going to have their new place to Take it. And this is the natural thing.

Todd McLaughlin: 23:40

And so, good answer,

Unknown: 23:49

bad adjustments, and that there's definitely people that got hurt and still, now it's happening, people getting bad adjustments, and

Todd McLaughlin: 23:59

yes, that are so why? Why do you you know? Maybe because I saw a recent post you did on Instagram where you reference the yoga fascista, and I loved how. Okay, so the big question about progressing one's practice and then hitting a plateau where it feels like I'm not progressing. And so you, you made you put attention on the stanza line within that text that mentioned that there are limits, because maybe as like you and I coming into yoga from the from the that, that zone of mine, where you were when you were younger, go on Padmasana. Whoa, look at that yoga, right? I want to be able to do that. And so, you know, there's this fervor or excitement to or maybe this idea that there, if I practice yoga, I'll go into a realm of limitless potential. And then I see pictures of people doing. Really extreme stuff, and I think, well, if I just work hard enough, I'll eventually one day be just like them. And I love the way that you were addressing your thoughts on this. Could you elaborate a little bit that for us here, and about how if we do acknowledge that there are limits, then how we could set up different parameters for understanding what the definition of success is in a yoga practice.

Unknown: 25:24

Yeah, I mean, you, you're saying it so nicely. I mean, it's, and it's, it's a really unpopular idea right now, and that, that the idea that, yeah, there's limits, right? I always want to think you could do anything and and it's just, it's well, it I wish I could call up this, I might be able to find it on my phone. But joy shared with me this thing about this, this guy, he's talking about how dangerous and like, harmful it is when there's, like, everything's based on achievement, and it's, it's like, limitless what you can achieve. And like, how that that's actually what he's arguing in this thing, is that that is what leads to, like, depression and like, really feeling lost and because. And that book, see the yoga of ashishta, it looks like it's telling you that because it says, it says things like, like you hear like you see on Instagram all the time, like it says when failure occurs. You can be seen as slackness, as of the effort, right? So, so that means that it's when you fail, it's just because you didn't try hard enough. But then in, I think, in that post that you're talking about in that same text, it says, but a wise person knows what is and is not possible through self effort, you see. And this, to me, this is so big and and I'm sorry, this can. This could be one of the rabbit holes that we I'd like

Todd McLaughlin: 27:15

it. This is the hole I wanted you to go down, though. So thank you.

Unknown: 27:19

I want to tell, I'll try to tell you the brief summary of this story, but, but to me, this says it, it really encapsulates it. Because basically, we all, we don't, we can't, not everything's open to us. But something very good is open to us, some something within these limits, this, you know, limited person, that we are with our foibles and weaknesses, and you know everything, all that whole combination of imperfect, bent me is perfect for something. And when you would discover that something, and you go for it and go into it, well, then that, then you're it's limitless in a way. It brings, it gives you that feeling of limitlessness, but, but you have to kind of embrace that you're shunted somewhere and you're there is all kinds of limits imposed on you in order to open up into what the possibilities for

Todd McLaughlin: 28:23

you are, right? Yes, yes. Well, Said, I think that's so important you're right, like when you said about depression, that is a really good point, because if we're thinking everything's limitless, and then clearly we're not acknowledging the limits that we do face, that's a depressing reality, because then I go, Oh, shoot, how come I'm not doing it. And so they

Unknown: 28:47

live in this terrible, terrible feeling about yourself.

Todd McLaughlin: 28:55

Yeah, I know, man, well, that's cool,

Unknown: 28:58

yeah. Can I just tell these people, yes, please. Yeah, keep going. I'll try to I won't stretch it out in this story that it's a Native American story about the trickster, and this is a archetypal character that's so important, and it's about the Trickster is like the coyote, right? And kind of the outcast, or the person that's different, and he does things differently, and he's, he's thought of this lazy, and he's always imitating others, and he's trying to get find the easy way to do stuff, or if, and if he sees like grizzly bear doing something, he'll go, oh, I can do that. And then he, like, does some really lame attempt at trying to do it, and it completely fails and gets him in trouble. And he's and he's always bumbling and getting in trouble. And that's partly why people love stories about him, because he's just the then. Perfect One, just bumbling his way through right and, and, and so in this story, the chief of all the beings calls them together, and he says, Well, there's a new type of being coming. And he's saying that the humanity is coming, and it's all the animals that and he says, So, so we, so we need to have, like, official jobs and names. And so tomorrow, at dawn, I'm going to, we're going to assemble the first person, first come, first serve, gather in front of my, my lodge here, and we'll start giving off the names and the the jobs. And so first, immediately, Coyote is like, oh, right, I'm done with being Coyote. I'm going to be, I'm going to be first in line, and I'm going to become grizzly bear, you know, the king of the earth and, and then, or maybe it'll be salmon, King of the waters, or, or maybe Eagle, something grand, you know, something better than damn trickster, always getting into trouble all over the place. And his friends all know he's what he's like, boasting and stuff. So they're all kind of rolling their eyes. So he goes home to the and his wife also knows what he's like, so she's kind of, oh, boy, here we go again. And so he's like, Okay, I'm gonna He even tells her, I'm going to leave her, because I'm leaving this life behind. I'm going to become grizzly bear or something important in this world. And so he says, stoke up the fire. I'm staying up all night, so I'll be first in line. So they do it, they stoke up the fire. And you know, it goes okay until midnight or something. But then he starts, like, falling asleep, and he so he pins toothpicks in his eyes to try to stay awake, right? And next thing he knows, it's like, wakes up, and it's the sun's high in the sky. So he goes running to that Lodge, and it's no one's there but the chief. And he's like, I want grizzly bear. He's like, Dude that was taken the first thing at dawn. Salmon, no, it's gone. And he goes. He says, Yeah, in fact, all the jobs and names are gone except yours. Nobody wanted yours. And and then he but then he says, But, look, man, look, I mean, because coyotes is totally bummed, right? And he goes, but understand, I made you sleep in. I cast a spell on you because you, this is a perfect job for you, the trickster. And like, and it's an honorable place, like, because the trickster, well, one is a beloved figure, but also is a boundary breaker, like he did. He's not just lazy, he also just doesn't follow rules because, because they're rules, and he's able to think creatively and like anyway, like he's super valuable aspect. Of things just like you and me are. And we so we have the we're saddled with these selves, these imperfect, you know, we always wish we were this or that, or could do that or be like that person, and but, and, but we're perfect, just as we are.

Todd McLaughlin: 33:19

And so, yeah, oh, man, great story. Love it. And then so you and I are on our mats practicing. We have the revelation that I am good right here. This is great. I'm bending this far, and I'm dealing with this ache, pain in a way where I'm trying not to make it worse. And so then my next question is, why do we keep practicing? Why do we keep getting on there and doing it? And that's I'm just curious, like, what? What your answer to that? Why is? Well, I know it's a hard question. I

Unknown: 34:07

know it's not, it's not actually hard. It's just it's big, like so many things,

Todd McLaughlin: 34:16

but I asked myself this question often. That's why I love to hear what other you know, long term practitioners take are because you keep showing up, you know, you keep delivering, you keep teaching you. You have passion. And I'm just curious, then, how do you keep kindling that passion and and surely you you come across some moments where the words dwindling a little, and I'm just, I just want to hear a little bit about how you're able to stay so motivated. Yeah.

Unknown: 35:35

So the thing is, is okay? Know I don't, I mean, I don't always stay motivated, and I want to just tell you that thank

Todd McLaughlin: 35:48

you. I appreciate that. That's

Unknown: 35:52

actually I think, like I've, I've been dealing with this impasse in myself, like a really weird one. Now, Todd, sorry, is this not wanting to change anything about myself?

Todd McLaughlin: 36:19

Yeah, yeah. It's

Unknown: 36:20

like, what if you asked me to change one bit? I'm just, no, I don't want to change one thing, you know, and it's it, it's a terrible it, no, it's funny. It's both sort of delightful in a way. But it's, it's unrealistic, or it's a recipe for suffering. Basically, is what it is, and, and, but, but it can cut like, it can come on you. It can this thing of like, where we feel so pushed up against obstacles, or pressure of our life that one change or one is just, it's all we just almost can't face it, you know, like, see, because what? But what yoga really does ask from you is that it, it does ask you to keep sacrificing, okay, so to keep and yes, like yes, and to really live life well, you have to keep sacrificing and and it can't be the sacrifice that you made yesterday. It really won't suffice for today. It it has to be new and and if you don't, life is really, really is going to trample you in every way, like your health will go down, met, physical, mental. Like the only chance that I see is to keep sacrificing, to keep like doing, dedicating myself somehow more to like to these. I'm talking about basic things like to the to the daily habits that we have, because this is where we get stuck, right, and, and, and here's the here's the punchline. Practice helps you get there and stay there or or get to that place where, when you let the practice go, then you become much more complacent, much more insulated, much more like protecting what you have, and then that only increases your struggle and your your your suffering. Oh,

Todd McLaughlin: 38:55

man, thank you so much for that answer. That's a really good answer, because that's yeah, I needed to hear that, yeah.

Unknown: 39:06

And then there's one other thing about it, and I just have to be honest that, you know, like, I, I'm, like everybody, I have resistance to practice, but in the moment of practicing, there's, I have great joy, and it happened from the first time I did sun salutations on the beach. And it still happens. And, but I also I am like Coyote, I do it exactly the way I want to, and I really don't. And, and because I do it the way I want to, I think that's part of why there I have joy when I do it. It's like, if a rule does not appeal to me, I don't follow it and and I'm willing to accept the consequences of for myself like and, you know, because some of the lot of rules are made by important people that made them for good reasons. But I still, I, when I step out there and do my thing, I take responsibility, and then one of my conditions is that I wanted I'm going to do what makes me happy and what, so that when I do get on the mat, it's, it's a joyous experience. It's, it's something I want to return to. And so it's not like I'm brutalizing myself or beating myself up or and and I possibly could be more just. Excellent about it, because I have that idea, but, but one thing is for sure, I do it, I get I practice, and I don't do advanced series and things at this point, but, but I don't care.

Todd McLaughlin: 40:59

Yes, yes. You know, that makes me think I'll refrain from utilizing any names. But there's a current scandal awareness going on in the shtanga community, and then I saw somebody else again, I'll refrain from using any names saying, you know, here's a picture of my certificate from being authorized back in long time ago from patapi Joyce, and I'm resending it now because I feel like I want to just do it my way and But do it honestly, and let the honesty of the experience be the force that I'm attempting to uphold, or the morality that I attempt to uphold. And I guess I would just to you know, based on everything that you've already said, I'm curious if you feel like because you have taken the path of, I'm going to do it my way and still be respectful at the same time. Do you feel like now when you're witnessing these sort of earthquakes within a movement or an organization or a group of people grateful that you have lived by that truth in the sense that now you stand with your body of work that you've accumulated over a long period of time that probably came harder than if you did toe the line. Did that make sense? What I said, was a little too out there, or is that? Is that

Unknown: 42:44

you're gonna make me cry? No, yeah. I mean, probably came harder. Is a very mild way of putting it. I have been, you know, battling against, I don't know if that's that. Maybe that's a little dramatic.

Todd McLaughlin: 43:05

I understand what you mean, though I I've been on,

Unknown: 43:09

blacklisted, removed off the thing, been shunned for, you know, using steps and customizing props, all of these things like and, and Todd, it's tiring, like to to because, and it's interesting, because, like me, I love Ashtanga. You understand, I love the structure of it, and that's, that's why I didn't leave it, because to me, like I don't I'm not interested in my making my own style. I love ashtonga. I think the structure is like genius and I and so so I don't leave, but I'm also not accepted. And so then, so that's what I've been walking for. You know now it's like at least 15 years of my teaching, and it's damn challenge, hell yeah, yes, and

Todd McLaughlin: 44:18

yes, yes, yes, and

Unknown: 44:20

I'm very sorry when you know the what used to these bigger like, because bigger like real harm, you know, that's of an extreme nature surfaces, but then, but there's also, it's, there's a baseline unsoundness to the To wait, to the way it's being taught that still doesn't go addressed and, and what I can say is, yes, I though I feel terrible for the the people that are get harmed and and obviously that all that suffering is awful, but I do feel very thankful for that, for how what I've stood for and how I've proceeded, I definitely yeah, like, it's like, Thank God I don't carry that on my conscience. Like, I mean, I, and I did teach traditional way for a long time, and so I have that to on my conscience, but not what I've built going forward. Like, I've sincerely tried my very hard, you know, my very, very best to interpret. Dash Tonga in a safe and inclusive way that still gets at the what's there, the gold that's there?

Todd McLaughlin: 45:56

Yes, well, you do a great job of it. Your videos are excellent. You know, on that note, your Austin at kitchen Series offers really in depth tutorials. So everyone listening, please go follow. I mean, we can find you on all the social media channels. You're very savvy with the online stuff. YouTube is a great place to go, Instagram, any one of those. But you know, you offer really in depth tutorials. And I'm curious what inspired you to create that, the that platform, so to speak, the US in a kitchen, and how has it evolved over time?

Unknown: 46:33

Yeah, well, all of it was happened by accident, actually, and it's been quite a I've done it for a lot of years. Actually, it's one of the very first Ashtanga teachers to to do social media. And my partner and joy, she's a filmmaker, and the way we started it was just that we went to a filmmaker seminar in New York, whatever it was, many, many years ago. And, and it was for, it was social media, for film, you know, making films, and, but she was like, we could do this for your yoga and, and so, so that's how we started it, it's just, and then she's a film mate, right? So, so we had the equipment and stuff, and so just started trying it and and then it was a little bit based on Tim Miller, how, when he used to do the workshop, the asana doctor, yes, no, there would be that troubleshooting thing in the afternoon. Yes, yeah. Was kind of based it like that. I was trying to, that was my idea was to try to, you know, kind of troubleshoot like that. And, and I also had this blog, and I I wrote really long, just rambling pieces and but I've also kept journals. I'm really, actually, it's, it's that that aspect of things is really interesting to me. And I I don't know if it's good or bad. I mean, I don't know what what to think of it, honestly, but it's like, I'm a I feel like the part of me wishes I was an artist, like a more formally, you know, like of some musician or painter or something like that, you know, and, and, but that I got the coyote job of yoga teacher and, and so part of embracing it, though, is like making these things like that. To me, the these books and videos and things, those are they're like artistic creations. To me that they're like, that's how I feel, that like when I'm right, when I when I make a book, I feel like that's a work of art I've created, you know?

Todd McLaughlin: 49:25

Well, that's, it's amazing, David, because I've, you know, I've, I've seen your work for a while, and I've always been so, you know, like, when you think, wow, they must have something extra special, because I don't think I would be able to do that. And so now that I'm trying to copy you, so to speak, like, like, maybe not like exactly, but, but like, I emulate that you've put so much work into it over such a long period of time that now that I've, I'm continuing on the track as well. And I'm, I'm just, you know, I thank you for for being consistent over such a long period of time, because it's really motivating. It's inspirational, you know, and I don't know, I just think that I'm glad you, you did put all that time in. I'm curious, like, you know, when you in terms of, like, production of a video, are you because you know how you can geek out on this stuff so intensely, you know, like every single edit could take for however long, and you could, like you could, you could scrub over every little detail. I'm just curious, just though, about your thought process, process on your creation aspect are, do you try to not go over? I want to show you something, please, please. I'm always trying to. I'm always trying to like in terms of these podcasts, my goal is to hit record and do not make any edits unless, for some reason, I give every guest. And this holds true for you. If you go to bed tonight and you wake up in the morning go, oh, boy, I should not have said that. If you come to me and say, Please, I'd like for you to cut that I honor that request, so I never published something that someone I interviewed doesn't want me to publish. But my goal is like hit record, go all the way through and don't touch it. Don't try to clean it, don't try to polish it and shine it. And I would just like to know your thoughts as a personally trying to you know, learn more what, what are your what's your workflow, your mental workflow process. Yeah, I've

Unknown: 51:25

had to learn. It's been a really challenging, honestly, like so this, this book. This is one of my

Todd McLaughlin: 51:34

I gotta get it big one. I'll read it out to the people that are listening and not watching. It's the stronger yoga, vinyasa. What's the subtext at the

Unknown: 51:42

bottom? Movement, breath and posture in the primary series? Cool, yeah, and

Todd McLaughlin: 51:48

by you, by you, yes.

Unknown: 51:52

It took me 15 years to write it nice, all right? And so, and I'm not exaggerating, like I believe you. But the thing is, is so much, like, so much of see this, what's it's a cool topic, actually, because, you know, like, it's funny how I'm it's hard to face or think, or, like, just in a basic way, not in a weird way, but that I'm 63 like, like, I don't think I think of myself as younger or something, somehow, but like, often I'm the oldest person in the room with in the yoga rooms. You know, which would I mean, it's like, whoa, wow. And, and I tell you, though, like, how did this happen? Yeah, how this happened. I exactly, and, and it's, it's so cool in a way, because then there's people, like, 30 years younger than me, right? And, and it like, I just tell you that, like those. I was just showing you one sec.

Todd McLaughlin: 53:05

Yes, please, yes, please. For those, you listen. The pause is because David's going to go grab Yeah, so another prop I have. Oh, cool. Wait, wait, this book is called hatha yoga. Oh, this is your journal,

Unknown: 53:27

the Hatha Hatha Yoga mandala,

Todd McLaughlin: 53:31

holy circle. Wait, now, did you just, is this a published book, or is this just a one off? It's a journal, dude. I love the artwork on the cover too. It looks so like, yeah, for real.

Unknown: 53:43

I have 100

Todd McLaughlin: 53:46

just collecting and sketching and writing, and that's so cool.

Unknown: 53:53

Man, yeah, and like,

Todd McLaughlin: 53:56

so I guess then the question of, like, how do you figure out what to put in your book that you work on for 15 years is not as easy as a question as one would think, right, what do I focus on? What's Yeah,

Unknown: 54:07

what I want to what is amazing to me, though, is that that when at first, it doesn't need to be organized, or,

Todd McLaughlin: 54:19

yeah, I see what you mean. Just,

Unknown: 54:22

just start doing it, start collecting it. Like, slowly, slowly the Yeah, the valuable stuff starts to rise, or you see it, or the themes and like, and the skill and these different variables that go into like, expression and service, like you're helping, because that's part, that's what it's all kind of. That's what I love about teaching yoga, and that's what I I love about that coyote story, because, like it to me, the that I teach yoga, it's a way of giving this really unique and powerful, more powerful than what I would have come up with on my own, like if I would have want to be a surfer or whatever, a musician or something, somehow, that this combination is, is it really works. And so there's, there's both this creativity aspect, but then there's also that it you share it and it benefits people, right? And and so what I would say is to just do it and keep doing it, and then it will the like. Like how to edit it will become more and more clear.

Todd McLaughlin: 55:46

Yes, great advice. Yeah. David man, I appreciate that. I'm stoked to hear that I have just I want to mention your website is David grieg.com that's in the link. I think from there on your website, all your social handles are easy. People can click and find that, but you're on IG, David Greig yoga YouTube at David Grieg, you have Ashtanga revolution course for primary series. You have, very soon coming out, a second series course. You also

Unknown: 56:21

do those two, they're not on my website, but they're but if you're interested in those, they're excellent big video courses on primary and second series, then You can contact me on just Instagram or through my website, and ask me, and I will, I will steer you towards those but, or I don't know if they're on, I'm pretty sure I don't know if they're on there. They they either are or aren't. I'm not sure, honestly, but

Todd McLaughlin: 56:55

that's cool. You responded my email very quickly. So I know anyone who emails you, you'll do the same for them, which we appreciate, we appreciate. And then you also do personalized coaching one on one, and you, and I believe you have a certification training coming out. Out of those things that I just mentioned, is there something you want to talk

Unknown: 57:15

about, just to let you know, I do do this one to one personalized coaching, and that I'm really enjoying, and it's small group and people that I'm doing it with, but if you're interested in that, you could direct message me, and then I'm doing a six month kind of teacher training. That's it's like, I'm running it in like, June to November and and it's part, it's a it's hard, it's a big, kind of big thing, because I'm decided that I'm going to do that as I will. And yes,

Todd McLaughlin: 57:53

I hear you, and I think what you're referencing, the fact that it's a big thing, is because for so many years, a lot of people that were in the authorized, certified world were told, Don't ever do that. So there's a little bit of a hill to jump in relation to taking on that authority to say, I'm going to do it. Is that what you're referencing when you say, yeah. And the thing

Unknown: 58:11

is, is that I teach according to these seven principles, Asana principles, and me, I find them to be so valuable and and this is how I teach teachers, is to use these principles and so and I make, and I I give, there's these areas of like that. There's the core Ashtanga element, elements of the vinyasa and knowing, like really the Ashtanga structure. But then there's, there's a verbal language that is absent from traditional Ashtanga that I emphasize, like, really being able to put language to what, be able to articulate, how to do these poses, transitions and postures, and then also the steps, and giving steps and modifications and how to use props and customize things. So so I feel like I'm offering something really needed, actually, that there's just not enough training. There's not enough knowledge of the kind of knowledge that I'm that I think is important for an Ashtanga teacher to have. There's not enough of that out there. And so I'm, I'm providing it, and it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's a, it's a new that's kind of, it's a leap for me because, because, again, like I'm, I'm an artist at heart, and I, you know, and so to to teach is one thing, and then to teach teachers, that's even another thing, But, but I've done, I've started doing the first one. It's, it'll be finished in November, and I love it. And the people are great, and it's super and so I feel very positive.

Todd McLaughlin: 1:00:14

That's awesome. David, well, you made, you made mention of how change can be difficult, but it seems like you're recognizing the amount of growth potential that comes with doing something different and new, like this. Yeah, potentially has That's awesome, man. Well, I I'm so inspired. I'm stoked to have this opportunity. Thank you. I have one more question for you to finish up with, if that's okay with you, time wise, I Okay, cool. I don't. I want to be, you know, respectful of. Your time looking ahead. What legacy do you hope to leave in the world of yoga?

Unknown: 1:00:48

Yeah, it's so funny because, like, I watched like, Sadhguru, yeah, yeah. I love him. I like him. He's always like, I don't know they're he's more they're more involved than than I am, because, like, he's like, why should I care about that? You know, like, I'll be gone and, and I don't know why, but it i, it does matter to me and, and it's, it's actually, like, motivating me to do things, and I know that that's ultimately futile. I mean, like, because even even if things like, who knows, the world could blow up, you know, today, but and then, but it'll also, at some point, even in a natural course of things, it won't even be here. And so those things are funny to chase, right? But at the same time i i Like that's part I don't know. That's part of why I write the books. Is because I I want people to know what I thought about hatha yoga, and I want them to benefit from it, and I want what I discovered to inspire people to go discover for themselves and and it, I mean, it's A big thing to me, like, really important. And it it motivates me, and it's also in a way, like, because I've it's been a real uphill battle through my life, like, you know, it's not I would, do you understand how much I would like to be in the center of the lineage and accepted. And you know, part of it, and like it, it's a cost, a lot to go, to go off on my own and but part of it, then, part of what makes it easier to bear is that I do. I'm trying to leave this legacy behind, of some of something, of something important that I brought to it and bring, and have brought, and so,

Todd McLaughlin: 1:03:19

yes, yeah. Well said, David. Well said, well, thank you so much for sharing your time and energy with me and the listener. We really, we really appreciate it.

Unknown: 1:03:35

I really been you're I've enjoyed your your being with you a lot. Thank you, David, very much. I saw you're

Todd McLaughlin: 1:03:42

going to be in Phuket in 2026 I love Thailand. I I practice Thai massage and trained over in Thailand. And when I saw you were doing that, I thought, oh, man, that would be so great. I wish, I wish I could somehow get away from my studio for long and just be a, be a student in Thailand. But I really love your style. I like the artist, the artistic component that you bring in, and I really appreciate going against the grain and taking the DIY punk approach and but also the time you put in is solid. It's not, I know you might make joke about being the coyote, but maybe part of the coyotes journey is having more resilience over a longer period of time, because of the ability to jump around and have some fun during Well, thank you, David. I really appreciate it, and I hope to meet you in person, in future.

Unknown: 1:04:44

Thank you, Todd.

Todd McLaughlin: 1:04:52

Native yoga. Todd cast is produced by myself. The theme music is dreamed up by Bryce Allen. If you like this show, let me know if there's room for improvement, I want to hear that too. We are curious to know what you think and what you want more of what I can improve. And if you have ideas for future guests or topics, please send us your thoughts to info at Native yoga center. You can find us at Native yoga center.com and hey, if you did like this episode, share it with your friends. Rate it and review and join us next time you.

Unknown: 1:05:41

Oh.