First release · First edition, 2026
Escaping Samsara
Conversations with Three Generations of Ashtanga Teachers
Thirty-one long-form conversations with Ashtanga teachers spanning three generations of the practice — from those who studied directly in Mysore under K. Pattabhi Jois to the teachers now carrying that lineage forward, adapting it, and in some cases breaking from it entirely. The book follows the threads that connect them: lineage and authority, the body as it ages, doubt, devotion, and what actually happens on the mat after the romance of it wears off.
About the book
Where it came from
Escaping Samsara grew out of the Escaping Samsara podcast and Substack. The book gathers thirty-one long-form interviews with Ashtanga teachers, around 163,000 words in all, into a first edition published in 2026.
Harmony Slater contributes the foreword. The afterword, Strange Unicorns and Basilisks in the Jungle, is by Russell Altice Case.
The edition
What you get
- Formats
- PDF & EPUB, DRM-free
- Length
- ~163,000 words
- Interviews
- 31
- Foreword
- Harmony Slater
- Afterword
- Russell Altice Case
- Edition
- First edition, 2026
- Publisher
- Jootbuddy Books
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How ordering works
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Each copy is personalised. Your name and order reference are stamped into the PDF and EPUB you receive. Please don’t redistribute your copy — direct sales are what keep this kind of independent, ad-free long-form work possible.
About the author
Nathan Thompson
Nathan Thompson is a journalist and the host of the Escaping Samsara podcast and Substack. He has practised Ashtanga yoga for around fifteen years, working through the advanced series, which is what sent him looking for teachers willing to talk honestly about what the practice does — and doesn’t do — over decades. Escaping Samsara is his first book.
Questions
Frequently asked
Will it be on Amazon too?
Yes. A Kindle edition is planned alongside this direct release. Buying direct means a lower price and no platform cut, and it’s the only way to get the PDF.
How do I read the EPUB on a Kindle?
Email it to your device’s “Send to Kindle” address. Every other e-reader and reading app opens EPUB natively.
What if an international wire is impractical where I am?
Reply to the order thread and ask. Don’t assume it won’t work.
Do you offer refunds?
Not once a personalised file has been sent. If there’s an error on my end, I’ll fix it.