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...]
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...]
Ten Ways to Deal with a Crisis in Confidence
by Kara-Leah Grant You've finally done it - committed to that big dream of yours even though you're shaking down into your boots. You've taken that big, bold step that shifts your dream from being something inside your head, to something that other people can see. You've maybe even a good way towards making that dream of yours an actual reality out there in the big wide world. Maybe you finally pitching an article to a national magazine, or entered in your first marathon, or recorded your … [Read more...]
Getting back on the bandwagon: The evolution of a home practice
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I'm practicing again, most days. Happened as soon as I arrived in Glenorchy and put Samuel back into childcare. It happened because I made it a priority. It happened because I knew I needed it. Craved it even. It happened because I wanted it. It wasn't that I'd ever stopped practicing - I still was. Every day I taught yoga, I practiced asana. At home, I practiced bits and pieces or asana here and there, a seated session after dinner, a … [Read more...]
Money is not the be-all and end-all for scoring life
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat On Saturday, I was on a Skype call with a sales rep from MediaPass. He's been great at helping me navigating my way through the implementation of a subscription system for The Yoga Lunchbox, answering all my many and varied questions with great patience - except for one thing. I wanted to use a subscription system where people could decide how much they wanted to pay to receive premium access to The YLB. I asked him about letting people choose how … [Read more...]
On the importance of closing energy leaks in the system
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat On Tuesday, in conversation with Lucinda, my super-duper virtual assistant, I noted that of the 1200 subscribers to The Monthly Digest, 378 had never opened an newsletter. It's no surprise really - we live in a world saturated with information, and many of us are in total overwhelm. The quantity of stuff and ideas and articles and videos and books and e-courses and e-books available to us is staggering. We say yes just in case we miss something … [Read more...]
Take everything as it comes, discomfort and comfort alike
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat The day we arrived at Anahata Yoga Retreat, nature and God were both sodden, and the retreat was wrapped in the clouds. I hadn’t thought to check the driving conditions before arriving at Anahata, and Samuel and I were traveling in my long, low, loaded-up station wagon. I made it round the first muddy gravel corner and thought. “Nope, there’s no way I’m going up there.” There was a sense of defeat in letting the road stop me now, after I’d got … [Read more...]
How a Journey into the Underworld Brought Me Home at Last
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I'm leaving Wellington soon, and part of my impending shift down south to Glenorchy is about wiping the slate clean. Starting fresh. Letting go of everything, and then allowing back in only what truly matters. People keep asking; 'Are you moving down for good?' Good? What does that mean? I know I'm going for a couple of months. After that... who knows? I don't know what will arise in these two months. This is the letting go. This is … [Read more...]
Hope for the world – Swami Muktidharma speaks
by Kara-Leah Grant The last time we had Swami Muktidharma on YLB, he shared the story of dreaming about his guru before meeting him. To our western minds, it sounds magical and mystical. But in the world of yoga, and yogis, it's commonplace. Yoga deals with many different layers of reality, and indeed, is a way of seeing clearly what reality actually is, beyond our limited sense of the material world. It's that ability to see deeper, and wider, that makes sitting in the presence of Swamis … [Read more...]
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...]