by guest author Sara Foley, Smells Good, Feels Good Only last week I was moaning about not having a space to practice yoga, or indeed any space to call my very own. Well today, almost magically, I do. Sometimes the Universe steps in and gives me a hand (or a kick up the bum). Or whatever it is that I deserve. It seems that today I deserve my very own yoga room. This is how it happened. On Sunday I woke up early with the urgent thought that we needed to move the kids’ beds around. The … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2012
Sharing Sadhana: Why yoga teachers’ home yoga practices can inspire
by Kara-Leah Grant Know what I love about this book? It delivers exactly what it promises. The tagline, on the top of the cover, proclaims: "Insights and inspiration for a personal yoga practice." And since reading Sharing Sadhana, my home yoga practice has been inspired, I've had several 'a-ha' moments of insight, and I've even been inspired to write a book on how to create a home yoga practice and stick to it. Not bad eh? And yet when I started reading it... I was doubtful. … [Read more...]
A simple life can lead to clarity, and creativity
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I'm experiencing my ideal life right now. It's a simple life - living in a town four square blocks large, living with my mother. Everything is a walk away - the post office, the lake, the shop, the cafe, the playground and childcare. It's ideal for a single mother determined to become financially independent. It means I can focus on being the best mother possible, and I can focus on building my business. It means that I'm enjoying my son more … [Read more...]
Five reasons why stock yoga photos suck, and what you can do about it
by Kara-Leah Grant Yep, stock yoga photos suck. Here's why: 1. It ain't Yoga Oh sure, the model in the photo will be approximating her body into the shape of a yoga posture, but she's not actually practicing yoga itself. Yoga isn't a posture, it's an internal state of being. It's the quality of mindfulness and presence we bring to the yoga posture. Ditto with many meditation photos. The model has got their body in the 'right' position, but they are just sitting there... there's no … [Read more...]
How to put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation
by guest author Lucinda Staniland Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone. As if life were a progressive and cunning crime with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely, even you, at times, have felt the grand array; the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding out your solo voice. Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation. - David Whyte - Community … [Read more...]
Yoga can help heal mental illness. Big time.
by Kara-Leah Grant I need to tell you a story, about a woman coming home after spending eight years overseas. This woman had left seeking fame & fortune, certain that out there in the world lay her destiny. She came home broken, tormented by her mind, which had betrayed her and cost her the world. Everything she valued - her fiance, her friends, the town she'd made her home in, her sense of Self... all of it had been torn away. She came home with nothing, except a diagnosis of … [Read more...]