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Chakra Vinyasa: Meeting the Energy Body

April 9, 2011 By 2 Comments
The rainbow of chakras

You've seen the colours and the shapes - geometric designs in vibrant shades on yoga clothing, jewelry, and various yogic accoutrements. Teachers may have asked you to direct your attention to the 'third eye' between your eyebrows, or asked you to press your hands together in a prayer gesture at the 'heart center.' Some one might have mentioned 'kundalini' or similarly foreign words while directing you through a breath practice, alternatively closing one nostril and then the other. Yet … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energetic Practices Tagged With: , , ,

Why I may never take another yoga class – a teacher’s response

February 6, 2011 By 9 Comments
Healium owner and yoga teacher Jenifer Parker

Last week's article Why I may never take another yoga class generated some great discussion. Two of the comments were so beautifully written, plus added such balance and insight to my original article, that I asked their authors if I could publish those comments as an article. This one is from Jenifer Parker, a yoga teacher, and a teacher's teacher, based at Healium in Wellington. Enjoy! ~ KL From a teaching standpoint, my job is to impart a skill. That skill is accessing prana through … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hot topics, Insights to teaching Tagged With: , ,

How a non-certified yoga teacher with no guru ended up teaching (and should she be?)

June 11, 2010 By 11 Comments
Kara-Leah playing in asana

This is a question I have contemplated many times since teaching was first thrust upon me. And it's also one this website has explored extensively in recent weeks. After reading all of the responses from other teachers, I began to wonder... how on earth can I call myself a yoga teacher? I have no qualifications. I've never attended a teacher training of any real length. I've never studied under a guru, nor a teacher for any length of time. I'm a long way from mastering asana to any … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Hot topics, Insights to teaching, Musings from the Mat Tagged With: , , ,

The beginner’s guide to yoga: Part 2

February 19, 2010 By 5 Comments
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...]

Filed Under: The Basics Tagged With:

Why it’s important to breathe

January 21, 2009 By 3 Comments
Are you really breathing?

I know, you're breathing already, automatically, all the time - about 25,000 breaths day. But are you really breathing? Stop right now. Place both hands lightly on your belly. Exhale ALL the air out your lungs through your nose. Now inhale (through the nose) slow and strong right down into your belly, pushing your hands softly outward. Exhale again, all of that air. Inhale thoroughly. Keep moving your hands with your breath, up and down, up and down. NOW you're breathing - this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Breathing Practices Tagged With: ,