Those that have moved further on from ashtanga yoga, where are you now?
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The Question
Hi all. For those who have moved further on from ashtanga yoga, where are you now in your spiritual practice? I've had this on my mind for a few years now, and I'm wondering where other people landed. I've recently all but stopped daily puja (chanting, studies). I don't eat vegetarian anymore. I don't really reflect on yama niyama regularly other than trying to be a nice person. The only thing I've kept and will for sure keep is my asana and pranayama practice. There's probably a lot I should elaborate on, but where are you now? Tantra? A buddhist school? Vipassana type sitting? Mixing and matching traditions? I would like to know more. Thank you in advance.
— via r/ashtanga
Our Response
Okay. First thing: you haven't moved on from Ashtanga. You've moved on from someone else's idea of what Ashtanga should look like.
You're still doing asana. You're still doing pranayama. That's the practice.
The rest? Puja, vegetarianism, daily philosophy study — those are supports. They're useful. Sometimes they're essential. But they're not the center.
You're trying to be a nice person. That's yama niyama. You don't need to formalize it.
Here's what I'd suggest: stop looking for the next thing. You already have a practice. If something's missing, you'll know. It'll pull at you. Then go look.
But this feeling that you should be doing more, should be somewhere else spiritually? That's just noise.
Do your practice. Live your life. If you need the study guide on practice and daily life, it's on the site.
You're fine.
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