Image: Pete Longworth by Susan Pryor, Kara-Leah Grant's third book, Sex, Drugs and (mostly) Yoga: Field Notes from a Kundalini Awakening, is an epic auto-biographical journey spanning fourteen years of Kara-Leah's life. The journey begins in an acute psyche ward in Vancouver where Kara-Leah found herself after her first psychotic episode involving hallucinogenic drugs. Kara-Leah, a practicing yogini, went from being a freedom-loving 29-year-old engaged to-be-married party girl … [Read more...]
The Power of Just Being: Reflections on a Silent Retreat
By Sandra Palmer, I am a talker, a chatterbox even. So, I received some surprised responses (shocked, disbelieving and even amused!) when I informed people that I was attending a seven-day silent retreat. Some friends were plainly envious and thought it sounded divine. Many were curious: But why? They asked. Why would you do this? What is the purpose of being silent? Others wanted to know how hard it would be for me. I did not have answers to these questions. I was too … [Read more...]
Proprioception: Some Practical Tips to Reconnect the Disconnected
Legskin tights by Courage My Love Clothing by Sonya Simpson, Early in my yoga teaching career, I guided a group of five website developers in a corporate ‘one-off’ that a young, confident business owner from Sydney arranged. He called it a chance for his staff to do ‘something different’. Within the practice I guided a tall lanky man with an awkward gait through a chilled, gentle practice. He was clearly uncomfortable on the yoga mat. I got the impression that he felt anxious … [Read more...]
Low Energy? Ayurveda Has Some Answers
By Donna Farhi, My colleague and co-teacher Ayurvedic Clinician Melissa Spamer tells me that the most common reason that women come to her for consultation is that they “want more energy”. Poor digestion, insomnia, high-stress levels, and dramatic hormonal and metabolic shifts with accompanying weight gain, are all conditions that respond well to simple Ayurvedic practices. In this article, you'll learn how implementing one of the golden rules of Ayurveda can radically improve your energy … [Read more...]
The Beauty of Maturity: Perimenopause, Menopause & Yoga
"Exuberance is Beauty" ~ William Blake By Donna Farhi, All my life I have had a dream that I would live in a house with a long winding driveway lined with oak trees. In my early forties, I bought thirty acres of bare land in the South Island of New Zealand with no water, electricity, septic system or house. Over a period of seven years, the task of building a house and putting in the infrastructure of power, electricity, fencing and a water recycling system was all consuming. Once … [Read more...]
Growing a Strong & Resilient New Zealand with Yoga
Ali presenting historical & contemporary insights into how NZ’s yoga trends have changed over time. by Ali Hale Tilley, Perhaps the biggest highlight of my year in 2018 was presenting at the Hauora Yoga Conference, held at AUT’s beautiful North Shore campus. Thanks to the energy and efforts of Persephone Singfield, Richard Beddie and the Exercise NZ team, the Haoura event gave yoga presenters like me a chance to contribute to the Aotearoa yoga community. During the pōwhiri, our … [Read more...]
How to Claim Back the Freedom of your Body with Interoceptive Awareness
By Sonya Simpson, Interoception, sometimes considered the 8th sense, is the felt sense or mindfulness of the body, and Interoceptive awareness is the ability to process the signals you receive from your body. Some examples of this are; levels of energy and how to respond, pain and what to do with it, and sickness and its interpretation. Well-developed interoception has been shown to increase resilience [1], help with emotional regulation [2], improve health and wellbeing [3], support pain … [Read more...]
Slowing Down & Cultivating Interoception at the Hauora Yoga Conference
By Kylie Rook, New Zealand’s first Yoga Conference, Hauora, far exceeded my expectations. It was really great to see that the New Zealand Yoga Community is already on the G-O S-L-O-W wagon in terms of building interoception, improving vagal tone and allowing students to find what feels right for them. In many cases, this means letting go of the arbitrary alignment cues and even ‘classic poses’ to guide the students into a more felt experience and a deeper understanding of their own … [Read more...]
Finding an Internal Sense of Safe Alignment in Yoga
Through trainings and teachings I've done over the last couple of years and my own personal experimentation and study, my lens of "safe alignment" has drastically started to change. By Amy Green, To me, the inaugural Hauora Yoga Conference felt like an important step in this country's yoga evolution. The welcoming ceremony set the stage for a different kind of gathering than had ever been done in the NZ yoga community. Here were numerous teachers, speakers, presenters and enthusiasts, … [Read more...]
Embracing the Wisdom of Our Tribe at the Hauora Yoga Conference
by Sonya Simpson, When Donna Farhi was mentioned as a speaker at the Hauora Yoga conference I knew that I would move heaven and earth to attend. She is a teacher from my yoga lineage, she wrote the book Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit that I carry around all dog eared and tatty (the book not me… well, sometimes me as well) and I feel that it is a rare thing that brings her out of her cosy place of residence to speak with us in Auckland. The Hauora Yoga Conference was just that rare … [Read more...]