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Wellington Yoga Teacher Profile: Mike Berghan of Te Aro Astanga

December 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Wellington Yoga Teacher Mike Berghan in Bakasana

There is a grace and purity that flows in the practice of astanga. A never-changing series of postures combining pranayama and bandha throughout, astanga is strong, fluid and powerful. It encourages those qualities not just in the body, but also in the mind. Astanga is the path of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India. When you practice yoga with Wellington Yoga teacher Mike Berghan of Te Aro Astanga, you are practicing with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Sr K. Pattabhi Jois learned from Sri T. … [Read more...]

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Because you want to make a million and meditate on it too

December 29, 2008 By 3 Comments
Artwork by Dana Augustine & William Henry, The Human Body as the Ladder to Heaven

Every now and then, you read a book that stops you in your tracks. It blasts through your mind and fires up your heart. It makes you leap out of your seat and want to run around yelling the message from the top of your lungs. These are the best books - books that speak to my heart, reminding me of all I already know. The kind of books that I read and I feel like I'm not just reading the messages contained within, but that I'm remembering them. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices, Musings from the Mat Tagged With: ,

Wellington Yoga Teacher Profile: Taisuke Tanimura

December 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Wellington Yoga Teacher Taisuke Tanimura

I had the pleasure of attending Twee Merrigan's yoga teacher training and Taisuke Tanimura was one of the other teachers there. It's impossible not be be wowed by the grace and openness of his backbends. He moves into postures with such ease and joy. Taisuke was also one of the yogis who spent a perfect Sunday afternoon taking yoga photos for this website. He was up for anything - included climbing around a spikey metal enclosure to take the perfect shot of garudanasa (see sidebar photo). … [Read more...]

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Bhakti Yoga & Kirtan – it’s how yogis get high

December 21, 2008 By 9 Comments
The Govindas, Bhakti Yoga practitioners

The mission of this website its to get everybody in New Zealand doing yoga - but it's really important to remember that yoga is not just about the physical postures called asana. One of the lesser known and yet perhaps most powerful forms of yoga is Bhakti Yoga. This is the yoga of devotion, and is often practiced via kirtan - or chants. Take a moment to think of your favourite music right now, and how it makes you feel when you sing it - when you lose yourself and get right into the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Musings from the Mat, Yoga Styles Tagged With: ,

Wellington Yoga Teacher Profile: Phil Savage of Yoga Space

December 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Wellington Iyengar Yoga Teacher Phil Savage

It is my pleasure to introduce Wellington Iyengar yoga teacher and studio owner, Phil Savage. He owns and teaches at Yoga Space. Of all the yoga lineages, Iyengar is perhaps the most precise, the most aimed at achieving perfect alignment in all postures. Props are used extensively in order to be able to make this possible. Likewise, Iyengar teachers are thoroughly trained and have an in-depth understanding of anatomy. Many yogis start out in Iyengar - including Shiva Rea, who developed Prana … [Read more...]

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What can yoga do for me physically, mentally and emotionally?

December 13, 2008 By 7 Comments
Kara-Leah in Kundalini Crow Pose

Yoga is the science of life. It is thousands of years old, and with regular practice, yoga can bring you back into balance physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. What does this mean? It means that no matter what issue you are dealing with in your life, yoga can help you manage it. And increasingly around the world, the scientific and medical world is doing the research to back this up. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: How yoga helped me, Musings from the Mat Tagged With: ,
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