Fresh and juicy conversations on making yoga a part of your daily life
Swami Govindananda, affectionately known as Swami Ji, is a Kiwi boy born and bred, so he always loves coming back home to spread the yogic word. He's back on tour here in New Zealand in April, May and June. You can find full details of his workshops and retreat here. An entertaining and inspirational speaker, Swami Ji gives some interesting insight into what it means to be a swami, and why every serious yogi needs to find a Guru one day. 1. What does it mean to be a Swami? In … [Read more...]
by guest author Alys Titchener, author of blog Squashed Mosquito. Set up against all weather predictions, long term at least, Global Mala took to the outdoors on Wellington’s waterfront. An hour before, it was hard to tell if the blue sky was teasing us or accommodating us. From one hour to the next, it’s hard to know what the weather will do in Wellington. We arrived in optimism giving thanks to the sun; an attitude to befit an afternoon of sun salutations. Not having done more … [Read more...]
I first discovered the power of committing to do a new practice every day for a defined period of time when I was living in Afghanistan. I'd been having a really difficult time dealing with some of the suffering and injustice I was seeing every day and my anxiety levels were going through the roof. I'd dabbled in yoga and meditation and knew that both practices had helped me find a solid, calm space even in the midst of the most extreme circumstances but my practice was erratic and the … [Read more...]
If you started your 30 days of yoga sadhana on January 15th then you’ve been practicing for 10 days now. You are one third of the way through your sadhana. Are you having fun yet? Maybe that seems like a strange question. Maybe you expect yoga to be serious? It is. At least, it is profound. My experience of yoga has been that it leads me into all of my own darkest places and then helps me find the steadiness and the ease that I need to go through each of them. Yoga can be intense. … [Read more...]
No pain, no gain? We’ve been trained to think this way – to believe that we have to suffer in order to achieve anything of real merit. We’ve been taught to believe that things that come easily are not worth as much as those things that we struggle for. We’ve been educated to believe that being busy is a virtue. Doing less is one of those great ideas that we all love to ignore. Less is more, we say, while we rush about doing more, buying more, selling more, being more. So … [Read more...]
Today is the first new moon of 2010 and I am celebrating - as I've already explained - by giving myself a little bit more of what I need. I'm beginning a new 30 day cycle of sadhana or committed yoga practice. Some of you are coming along with me for the journey. Thank you so much for your company. One of the most important lessons I learned in 2009 was the importance of good company. Someone who is always good company, in the very best sense of that word, is my friend and fellow yoga … [Read more...]
