How yoga helped me… lose weight and feel good again

Tash practicing yoga

This is the first post in a series of yoga stories from readers. Tell us how yoga changed your life and go in the draw to win a yoga prize package. Submitted by Tash of Lower Hutt, winner of a Yoga Prize Package At fourteen years old, I felt completely depressed, empty inside and lost in the world. I was overweight and stuck in toxic friendships. I was at rock bottom. I found yoga when I was browsing the TV listings (Yoga TV with Kris Mcintyre, Barbara Behal and Nils Vesk) and … [Read more...]

How yoga has the power to transform and release avidya (self-ignorance)

KL experimenting in a variation of Virabdrasana I

My first experience with the power of avidya came about twenty minutes into my third ashtanga yoga class. Or maybe my second. The exact number is not important, just that I was a broke backpacker partway through a pre-paid ten week yoga course. The teacher, a long, lanky woman in her early forties, brought us into Warrior One - Virabhadrasana I. My hips were skewed decidedly sideways. My back heel struggled to connect with the floor. My arms were crooked and screamed in protest as I … [Read more...]

Wellington yogi Kelly Fisher interviewed on Forever Fitness

Kelly Fisher of Yoga Unlimited

Co-owner of Wellington's Yoga Unlimited, Kelly Fisher, has just been interviewed on Forever Fitness by Ish and Bevan. It's a great 30 minute podcast, and well worth a listen (click to hear). If you've never listened to a podcast before, and get antsy siting at the computer listening away... throw it on and do what I did, clean your bedroom at the same time! You'll get the housework done while you listen. And if you're thinking about starting yoga, Kelly gives a great low-down on how to … [Read more...]

How yoga practice teaches you to listen to your intuition through life’s transitions

Wellington Yoga Teacher Lynda Miers-Henneveld

by guest author Lynda Miers-Henneveld of Yoga Unlimited Yoga teaches us to embrace the natural rhythms of life. Through our practice we can ground ourselves in times of instability, or motivate and energise ourselves when we feel stuck. A personal practice has to reflect our changing circumstances if it is to support us in our journey through this life. If we stay present to what is happening in our bodies, minds and hearts, we can adapt our practice intuitively. … [Read more...]

How to use yoga to help you be a better parent

Kids love yoga!

Yoga is 'union' and there is no greater path to union than that of the relationship between parent and child - and a parent's relationship with themselves. by guest author Amanda Reid of Samadhi Yoga Where else do you have the challenge and opportunity to be your most mindful at each moment? Where your every communication has the potential to create conflict or upliftment?   Children respond either consciously or unconsciously to each moment and can make us painfully aware of our … [Read more...]

Why kirtan is one of the most powerful yoga practices you’ll ever do

Kirtan reveals the inner treasures

I want to let you in on a secret. Ok, it's not really a secret, because I'm telling you right? But until I actually experienced this for myself I had absolutely no idea of how powerful this particular yoga practice is. It is the most powerful practice I have done. Ever. … [Read more...]