Core Anatomy & The Psoas Muscle

**The Dynamics of Ashtanga Yoga: A Systems Thinker’s View**

Greetings, dear Ashtangis. Allow me to take a brief pause from my work in systems thinking to delve into the mysterious and, dare I say, labyrinthine world of Ashtanga Yoga—a practice driven by complex sequences that somehow resemble the gears of a well-oiled machine yet involve the perplexing intricacy of a soap opera plot.

**Feedback Loops and Breath Cycles**

Let us first examine the primary feedback loop of the practice: the breath. You inhale and exhale, cloaking each movement in an air of intentionality—pun intended. This cyclical rhythm can be likened to the biogeochemical cycles that sustain our biosphere. Alas, you are the only one monitoring this feedback loop, and any deviation is likely to result in a ceaseless inner monologue questioning why your tree pose more closely resembles a wilting shrub.

**The Linear Progression Illusion**

Isn’t it fascinating how you follow a sequence that promises linear progression toward some mythical mastering of postures? In reality, this journey is about as straightforward as driving in circles hoping to arrive at Shangri-La. But perhaps there lies the charm—or the cosmic joke. Ah, the irony of striving for balance while teetering on the precipice of frustration is almost poetic.

**Causality and Cosmic Order**

You’ve learned that every diligent effort (practice) correlates with some cosmic reward (mastery), a quaint concept that appears frequently in both yoga studios and fairy tales. Yet in systems thinking, causality is rarely so clear-cut. Rather, your efforts yield a complex and often unpredictable blend of insights, some profound and others as elusive as the mystical ‘float-through’ in Surya Namaskar.

For those who wish to delve deeper into the systems world that informs even our most human endeavors—yes, including Ashtanga—click here: [Systems Thinking for Curious Yogis](https://www.donellameadows.org/systems-thinking-for-curious-yogis)

Embrace your practice, dear yogis, with a nod to the unpredictable loops of life and a smirk at your own expectations.

**Until next time, may your chaturangas be as effortlessly elegant as a diagram in one of my systems essays.**