Let’s make yoga a part of daily life in New Zealand

More people doing yoga, yeah!

On Friday night we had Swami Muktidharma from Anahata Yoga Retreat here at our house for Kirtan. It was a treat. Just the singing would have been amazing. But in between mantras, Swami Muktidharma spoke about life, about transformation, about the planet, about spirituality. One thing he said really stuck in my mind. I'm totally paraphrasing here... but it went something like this: The Green Party is all good and well, but in the end, in order to create real and lasting change, the … [Read more...]

What I’m doing in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake

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I'm resisting the urge to head over to Stuff.co.nz right now and watch all the footage of the earthquake in Christchurch. I did earlier, and it was overwhelming. Emotions coursed through my body as visceral as if I was there - which I was energetically. Watching people in distress on camera is just the same as being in the same room as them from an energetic perpective - at least it is when your heart is open. As I watched, and felt the emotions well up inside, I asked myself: Why am I … [Read more...]

Practices for the Heart Chakra, Part 2

Heart Chakra

Embodying the Heart In Part One, The Meaning of Anahata, I wrote about the energy of the heart center, the compassion and love that it exemplifies and gave simple breath-focused meditation exercises to help you turn towards the sweetness within.  Here in Part Two, I’d like to offer a few body practices to further your journey toward Anahata. That backbending postures open the heart is a familiar concept to most yogis.  Physically a backbend straightens the thoracic spine, it does not … [Read more...]

Practices for the Heart Chakra, Part 1

Nothing like a backbend to open up the heart chakra

Regular contributor Jessica Powers looks at ways to open the heart - crucial if we're going to shift out of mind consciousness and into heart consciousness. The Meaning of Anahata The Sanskrit name for our energetic heart center is Anahata, ‘the unstruck sound’. While that at first seems to be a Zen koan, in actuality it speaks of the vibrational basis of the Universe and the place within each of us that resonates with it: beginningless, endless, eternal. Anahata refers to the … [Read more...]

The one thing you can be to create positive change on planet earth

Standing tall in truth

I'm feeling a real desire to simplify and streamline my life right now. Beyond what's the normal de-clutter of a spring-clean. Yesterday I watched a video which helped me clarify why this is so. Kiesha Crowther Little Grandmother is one of the 12 young Shaman wisdom keepers from the United States speaking clearly about what's going on in our world right now. It's nothing new. We've heard it all before. This is a crucial time for Planet Earth. We're doing great damage. We're living … [Read more...]

Christchurch Anusara Yoga Teacher: Katie Lane

Anusara Teacher Katie Lane

I'm delighted to introduce our first Christchurch yogi, and our first Anusara teacher. Anusara means “flowing with Grace,” “flowing with Nature,” and “following your heart", and it was founded by John Friend in 1997. It's a style of hatha yoga with an uplifting philosophy, epitomized by a "celebration of the heart," that looks for the good in all people and all things. That goodness and that delight shines forth clearly in Katie's answer to the questions below. She may be … [Read more...]