Well, the irony for me is, the more I practice and the more I do these interviews, the more questions I end up having! And today’s episode with certified Ashtanga yoga teacher, Mark Darby - or Darby, as he tells me to call him - is no exception. Darby was first introduced to Ashtanga yoga with Pattabhi Jois - Guruji - in Mysore in 1979. You do the math - but lets just say Darby has been practicing and teaching for a very, very long time. Lucky for us, I got the chance to catch up with Darby for practice and this interview his very last week teaching morning Mysore in Montreal. 

If I had any questions prepared for our interview, they all went out the window. So if I sound a little tongue-tied at times, it’s only because I’m not sure I was able to form words around what I had just experienced in the practice room before the interview. He stops me in my very first sun salutation having me straighten my legs and fold over his fist. “Dantian” he tells me. Look for Dantian. But as I fold over Darby’s closed hand below my navel, something else catches my attention. It’s his feet. There are individual letters below each of his 10 toes: S-P-R-E-A-D-T-O-E-S  He will tell me later, he’s thinking of having this tattooed on his two feet. Then I come to the floor and instead of binding in my seated postures to pull myself forward in the folds, Darby has me specifically not bind and push away instead. 

Curious yet? I hope so! Because I think you’re going to really have fun listening to this one. And afterwards, you can an take all your questions and YOU to Costa Rica to spend time with Darby where he and his wife Joanne, will continue to teach. Visit their website, sattvayogashala.com to start planning. 


This episode of the Ashtanga Dispatch podcast was edited and produced by Chris Lucas - and hosted by me, Peg Mulqueen. This show is made possible by each and every one of you listening right now. Ashtanga Dispatch wouldn’t be possible without YOU! And also our good friends who support us through Patreon.com. Thanks to their contributions, we are able to keep this podcast going - ad-free. If you’d like to join them in supporting the show, please visit patreon.com/ashtangadispatch. Enjoy the rest of  your summer and see you again in the fall with Kino MacGregor and Eddie Stern to start us off!

Ashtanga Dispatch Podcast

EP 27 | Mark Darby

The Ashtanga Dispatch Yoga Podcast explores the 8-limbed path of yoga through conversations and interviews with individuals who inspire and support our practice - on and off a yoga mat. 

Whether you are new to the practice or someone who's been practicing by years, we hope you enjoy these thoughtful and often impassioned dialogues around topics that include the teacher/student relationship, juggling practice and family life, injury and pain, aging, and lots more.

This podcast is a mother/daughter collaboration with episode, produced, edited, and hosted by mum, Peg Mulqueen along with her daughter, Meghan Powell. We are clearly a very small team. If you would like to support our mission, please consider making a donation by visiting www.ashtangadispatch.com/donate. Thanks - and enjoy!