Starting - The Foundations of Yoga
Whether you’re brand new to Yoga, or just want to dive a little deeper, our collection of Starting Yoga articles will rapidly expand your understanding of the essential Yoga practices and concepts.
Nourishing the Yoga Community since 2008

Whether you’re brand new to Yoga, or just want to dive a little deeper, our collection of Starting Yoga articles will rapidly expand your understanding of the essential Yoga practices and concepts.

You’re a yoga teacher, or you’re on the path to becoming one, and you’re ready to inquire deeply into the art and ethics of yoga teaching and business.

Maybe you’ve had some awakening experiences and are looking for greater clarity on what they are all about. Maybe you’re curious about Kundalini, or how to integrate Kundalini experiences into ordinary life.

You’ve been practicing yoga long enough to know that it’s about so much more than just physical postures and you’re ready to deepen your understanding and your practice.

Choosing who to do your yoga teacher training with is a big decision. It’s not just about the financial cost, or the training location, or the timing. It’s about the people leading the training and the philosophy behind what they do.
We’ve created our Best Guide to NZ Yoga Teacher Training to make your research that much easier. This is your one stop shop to NZ Yoga Teacher Trainings, with a variety of styles represented.

by Kara-Leah Grant I discovered Shambhavi Sarasvati when I went looking for Tantra books to deepen my knowledge of the Trika Shaivism lineage. I found The Play of Awakening, which is an accessible, enjoyable, gem of a book. I felt like I was sitting in satsang with Shambhavi, and had many insights and a’ha! moments through reading her words. I […]

by Lucinda Staniland It’s always fascinating to touch base with Dr. Scott Lyons (DO, PhD, MS, MFA, CHT, BMCP/T, RSMT, SME, BMCP, IDME, SEP, CST, BFA, RYT-500), co-founder of Embodied Flow. Scott has done a lot of academic learning (as evidenced in that extremely long string of letters after his name!) but the thing that is so refreshing and surprising […]

Yoga was well represented at this year’s New Zealand Exercise Industry Awards. Justine Hamill of Wellington’s Awhi Yoga won the prestigious Mind Body Instructor of the Year award, and Christchurch yoga studio, Adapted Yoga and Pilates won both the Studio of the Year and the Supreme Facility of the Year, beating local and international gym franchises to take out the […]

by Dyana Wells, Open Ground School of Meditation & Somatic Enquiry In the modern world, there is a tendency for us to live exclusively through our conceptual minds. We live in bubble worlds of thoughts and emotions, rather than in the world of direct experience. The body, however, experiences itself and the world directly. It is shaped – moment to […]

It’s that time of year when we publicly honour and celebrate the Yoga and Mind Body teachers who are making an impact in their communities. These are teachers who are deeply present and connected, intimately know their stuff and share it with passion and delight. Collectively they have helped thousands of people to access holistic mind body practices that calm, […]

by Paul Cohen, Bone Yoga I love inquisitive questions, particularly those that change the way we look at our bodies and challenge us to have a different focus and relationship with ourselves. Not just in the gross movement of our structure but also the more subtle engagements including different ways to use our breath to support movement. So what is […]

by Lucinda Staniland If you try to sell me something, I will always approach it with a healthy dose of skepticism. And for good reason. In our consumerist world, I am constantly bombarded with “life-changing” devices and programs, many of which fall more than a little short of their magnificent marketing claims. In my experience, it ALWAYS pays to ask: […]

by Jase Te Patu, Awhi Yoga & M3 Mindfulness for Children They say that the practice of yoga is a return to self, our true nature, a return home! Almost four years ago, I packed up my life in Australia and returned to Aotearoa to share my personal love and practice of yoga with our people. Little did I know […]