by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching I’m feeling utterly dejected this morning. Getting out of bed - struggle. Getting to work - struggle. Talking to people - struggle. What’s got me so down? While teaching last night one of my students remarked about what a difference there was between the Wednesday and Monday night classes. Wednesday, my class, on the night was six people. Monday, another teacher’s class, was overflowing. No real judgement was made - good or bad - … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2012
How to Cure a Hangover With Yoga or a Spiritual Practice
by Kara-Leah Grant I know, you practice yoga, 'you're not supposed to drink', and you're definitely not supposed to drink to excess. But it happens. And when it does, best you know how to handle it. Fact is, we live in a culture that drinks heavily, and it can be hard to break out of that mindset. Yoga most definitely helps, and so does being kind to yourself as you transition away from regular heavy drinking to mindful samplings of delicious beverages. What can help even more is applying … [Read more...]
How to help kids stay longer in yoga poses
by guest author Gopala Amir Yaffe, Rainbow Kids Yoga The benefits of the Yoga Poses increase as you stay longer in them. But staying for a long time in the poses is not easy for kids simply because, for them, it is totally boring… unless you do some of the following: Counting You can count to 10 when you bake a Yoga Pizza (Seated Forward Bend with legs apart), when you go under a yoga tunnel with your imaginary car while in the Yoga Bridge Pose, count down to launching a Yoga Spaceship … [Read more...]
Yoga Explorations #4: The Imperfect Self
by Kara-Leah Grant I'm starting to dig this video making process. Finding my groove, opening up, getting comfortable... all of which makes me feel better about being on video, which makes me better on video. It's kinda like starting yoga. When we first start, or even think about starting, we're uncomfortable, we're closed off and shut down, we're tight, we're afraid, and often these feelings are so strong, we don't start so we don't have to face them. But the only way to learn … [Read more...]
I’m exhilarated, and terrified, all at the same time
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Today I claimed my moment, owning what it is I want to do with my life. I declared to the YLB audience, and all my friends and family on Facebook, that, with their support and help, I was going to publish a book. It was petrifying. Oh sure, it was also exhilarating and exciting and awesome... but it was also petrifying. Ten minutes after Facebook'ing out the article I'd written, announcing there's going to be a PledgeMe campaign to raise the … [Read more...]
Yoga Explorations # 3: Music can move us into our practice
by Kara-Leah Grant Joy's been on my mind this week. Mostly because I was noticing a lack. Understandable - my life has been intense, on many levels, over the last few weeks. Seems just when I think I've got one area or aspect mastered, the stakes are upped again. That's cool. I can deal. But if I don't watch it, I can also get way too serious. Fortunately, I also have a magic tonic. Anytime I start getting too somber, too depressing, too serious, too stressed out, too hung up on life's ups … [Read more...]
How to deliver consistent care as a covering yoga teacher
by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching I was covering a class last week for a very popular Wellington based teacher. She had given me a set sequence to follow and wished me luck. Turns out I would need a small smattering of that luck. I sat myself behind the desk, ready to check clients in as they arrived. All was going well until a very flustered lady came rushing in. She stopped short: ‘Where’s Nicole*?’ I explained that she was away on holiday. Whose going to be … [Read more...]
This is your moment. Claim it. Own it.
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I stopped for fifteen minutes to meditate. It's 45 minutes later. This is why I'm finding it difficult to practice right now. Not because it's a chore, or because it's hard, or because I have to drag myself through it, but because I love it. I absolutely adore my yoga practice. Practice is, as Mark Whitwell says, coming into intimacy with life. Now, as I sit for a moment, I listen to the chorus of birds gossiping outside, pestering the moist lawn for … [Read more...]
Mind the Gap and It Will Set You Free. Promise
by Gabrielle Harris When I was about nine, Dad bought a strange woman to our house. She was dressed in white and had an exotic name. Our sleep-out was turned into a shrine. Suddenly suburban life was looking up. The lady was handed some cash and I had to give her something of value to myself. I gave her my teddy. I didn’t want to give her my teddy as I was attached to it. It’s good to have attachments when you are nine; it gives you something to work on in later years. Little did I know … [Read more...]