Hazel’s 40-Day Hot Yoga Challenge: She’s counting down

Photo by Irene Siu

by guest author & freelance writer Hazel Slade As I head into my last week of the 40-day Hot Yoga challenge, I have to start by telling you about something I overheard. While waiting to head into a class I was listening to a woman telling one of the teachers (or guides if you prefer) how she had already finished her challenge... ages ago. And, as if I wasn’t wowza-ed enough by that statement, she then went on to say how she was still going strong and using her stickers to finish … [Read more...]

Hazel hits the halfway mark of her 40-Day Hot Yoga Challenge

Photo by Irene Siu

by guest author & freelance writer Hazel Slade So.... last weekend I hit the halfway mark in my first ever 40-day hot yoga challenge. And, I have to say, it felt absolutely wonderful. Not only because completing 15 classes of yoga in 20 days has left me feeling fabulous inside and out. But also – and maybe even more importantly – I feel great having committed to something which is making a positive change in my life. Some of you may remember me telling you at the beginning that … [Read more...]

Looking for the man of your dreams? … Don’t!

Man of your dreams?

I’ve found the man of my awakeness by guest author Alys Titchener My flatmate Kara-Leah and I were sitting on our lounge floor one afternoon doing some stretches before dinner. I was deep in thought and before I could censor myself, I blurted out; I feel like I’ve found the man of my awakeness. I wasn’t quite sure what I meant by that, only that this statement arose because what I was experiencing was… not so familiar. What has become familiar about those times I’ve fallen in … [Read more...]

The joy hidden within chaos

Chaotic kitchen

by regular columnist Peter Fernando, The Meditation Guy. You can ask him anything! (On meditation that is.) On the surface of things, spirituality can seem to be about control, right? 'Mind Control' perhaps. Or 'Body Control'? On the far end of the spectrum you even get teachings suggesting that the point of life is to have ultimate control over the universe. Sounds good, doesn't it? But is that what 'spirituality', or more accurately, freedom is about? I personally wonder if it … [Read more...]

Learning, laughter and letting go: Hazel on her first 10 days of a Hot Yoga Challenge

Hot Yoga Teacher Lou gives student Hazel an adjustment

 by guest author & freelance writer Hazel Slade “Hazel... Are you mad?” This was the reaction of one of my friends when I told her I was entering into a 40 day Hot Yoga challenge. And, I have to admit, over the past 10 days I have often asked myself that very same question. At the beginning of last week, just days into the challenge, it would have been an unequivocal yes. And let me tell you why. For the first few days of this challenge I ached. My whole body … [Read more...]

Inside a 40-Day Hot Yoga Challenge – will Hazel go the distance?

Hazel signs up for Hot Yoga's 40 Day Challene Photo by Irene Siu

by guest author & freelance writer Hazel Slade In my early twenties, the only place you would have found me sweating profusely in a room full of people while twisting my body into unusual positions followed by swigging back a green coloured liquid, would have been in a club on a Saturday night. But now, just weeks away from my 31st birthday, I find myself doing exactly this.... but, this time around, for an entirely different reason. On Monday, January 23, I will tackle my … [Read more...]