The beginner’s guide to yoga: Part 3

Our mental approach to a posture says it all

Part 1 of this series in the Beginner’s Guide to Yoga gave you a heads-up on things to be aware of before rocking along to your first yoga class. Part 2 of this series in the Beginner's Guide to Yoga explored how our connection to breath and prana means we create our postures from the inside out, rather than impose them from the outside in. Now it's time to take our journey into yoga one step further - where doing asana 'right' is also about the relationship you have with the pose while … [Read more...]

The beginner’s guide to yoga: Part 2

This is not a perfect Downward Dog, or is it?

Part 1 of this series in the Beginner's Guide to Yoga gave you a heads-up on things to be aware of before rocking along to your first yoga class. You might have been to a few classes now and so have got your head around the right clothes to wear, how to fuel your body before and after class, how to position yourself on your mat and how to forget about what other people are thinking. Now it's time to start investigating the process of posture (asana) a little more deeply. It's so easy to … [Read more...]

The beginner’s guide to yoga: Part 1

Practice leads to progress

Entering a yoga studio, or a yoga class for the very first time can be an intimidating experience. Everybody else looks so confident and relaxed and sure of themselves. They're all stronger and fitter and leaner and bendy as all hell. But every single person in that room was once a beginner - including the teacher. What you're seeing is the result of yoga - there's been a lot of learning going on, and a lot of practicing. Me? When I started yoga, I couldn't bend forward and reach my knees, … [Read more...]

What is a sadhana and why do I need one in my life?

Yoga liberates us

Regular readers will well remember I started a forty day sadhana (spiritual practice) oh... a few months ago. It was an Infinite Wealth and Prosperity meditation, and I was loving doing it. But then something happened. I found out I was pregnant, and as this particular meditation involved stomach pumps (a no-no for pregnant women), I had to stop. But I couldn't write about it immediately, because I had to wait to tell people I was pregnant. Now I can tell people... so I can finally … [Read more...]

How do I know what type of meditation would suit me?

Kara-Leah in meditation

This is a question a reader posed to me this week: How do I know what type of meditation will suit me? How will you know? And possibly more interesting, how can I possibly know what meditation might suit you, especially when I don't know 'you' at all? So there is really no answer to this question at all. There are many, many different ways to meditate, and the only way to figure out which one is going to work for you is to dive in and do it. … [Read more...]

How to introduce your children to yoga

Kids love yoga!

The power of yoga to improve the quality of life for our children is an untapped resource. by guest author Amanda Reid of Samadhi Yoga Although yoga has enjoyed popularity with adults for many years, it is only recently that we have come to understand how helpful it can be for children in their formative years, increasing their self-awareness, building their self-esteem, and strengthening their bodies - truly a welcomed oasis in a culture that offers little in the way of mindful yet … [Read more...]