by Kara-Leah Grant There's nothing flashy about child's pose. It's unlikely to ever grace the cover of Yoga Journal magazine. No one ever gets all excited about how awesome their child posture is either. But child's pose is the rock of a home practice. Its the place we turn to when there is no other place to go, it's the place we go when we want to come home to ourselves, and it's the place when we find our internal source of power. This week, I've been experiencing grief and sorrow. It … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2012
How to help kids do yoga better
by guest author Gopala Amir Yaffe, Rainbow Kids Yoga When you teach yoga to anybody, remember this: Open your eyes, your ears, your mind and your heart, and really look. Look at who is standing in front of you and start from where they are. If you start from where they are, there are no limits to what you can achieve together. If you start from where you expected and planned for them to be, or from where someone told you they are, or from where the book says…man, you’re in trouble! … [Read more...]
I’ve fallen off the Yoga Practice Bandwagon
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat My practice has fallen by the wayside. Oh, something's happening every day, be it Yoga Nidra in bed before falling alseep, or a snatched moment of pranayama while my son watches a DVD, or a moment of standing backbends at the bench while doing the dishes. But rolling out a yoga mat, putting on yoga clothes, and doing a sustained practice? Twice a week. Maybe. I miss it. I yearn for it. I stop for a moment and tune into my breath and feel the … [Read more...]
Yoga Explorations #1: Unlock your home practice
by Kara-Leah Grant Last week, I published an article called Free your pelvis and the rest will follow. I'd written this at the request of a long-time loyal reader who was having lower back issues. In the article, I included a short video of me talking about using yoga to heal, and written explanations for seven ways to explore the pelvis and spine. The article was a big hit, and it's now inspired this new series designed to support you in your home practice. For many of, the idea of … [Read more...]
My perfect job? Right under my nose
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Seven short weeks ago, I wrote about my excitement in choosing corporate work over teaching yoga for making a living. Now everybody's asking me if I've found a job yet. Well, yes. And no. What I've found is the ideal company to work with, and what I've found is my people. What I still haven't found is a full-time salaried job. For one, as I applied for both full and part-time work, I soon realised that I was kidding myself about getting a … [Read more...]
Free your pelvis and the rest will follow
by Kara-Leah Grant Years of yoga practice and yoga teaching has taught me that our ability to freely move our pelvis is a key aspect to unlocking our spines, and releasing any chronic low back issues or holding patterns. I've also learned that it's not always the muscles, ligaments and tendons that are locking our pelvis in place. It can be our minds. Yes, the psyche can affect the way that our pelvis moves. Fortunately, over time, yoga practice can unlock both the physical body and the … [Read more...]
How yoga helped me….find my beautiful truth
Submitted by Tracy Pepper of Mount Maunganui My yoga teacher training programme required that I spend 25 days on an ashram practicing, and this had a profound effect on me. We happened to start these 25 days with hip opening. As we went through the various types of postures - which are grouped into these emotional releasing areas, it brought up a lot of "stuff". Stuff I thought I dealt with through years and years of therapy. Stuff I didn't want to deal with again. Stuff that made me … [Read more...]
Treading water on the void – an interview with Zoë Wild
by guest author Peter Fernando, A Month of Mindfulness This interview is part of a one hour conversation I had with Zoë, a former Buddhist nun, in April 2012. You can the rest of her insightful and heartfelt reflections on the Month of Mindfulness blog, here. Peter: You seem to have a fluidity in terms of your relationship to spiritual forms. Looking at your path so far, there seems to be a real sense of an understanding of the transparency of forms, as well as a great respect for them. … [Read more...]