This is the second article is this series looking all the ways in which people are excluded from yoga - reasons like social class, race, money, incarceration or general access. In this article Adhyatma shares how the Yoga Education in Prisons Trust (YEPT) got started, what the challenges have been and what she's learned from the experience. by Adhyatma, Yoga Education in Prisons Trust After I finish teaching my Yoga classes, the men in my class often come up respectfully and shake my hand … [Read more...]
Yoga Is For You (Even If You Don’t Think It Is)
In celebration of the launch of The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga, I’ve invited some friends and colleagues to write articles relating to the theme of the book’s subtitle: Because yoga is for every body. One of the most inspiring memoirs on yoga that I've read is by Matthew Sanford called Waking. I'm not going to tell you about it because I don't want to spoil Nadine's article down below, but I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy. It inspired one of the chapters in my book and has … [Read more...]
Why Yoga Studios Are Not Enough: The Community Yoga Project
My book The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga got me thinking about all the ways in which people are excluded from yoga - reasons like social class, race, money, incarceration or general access. Much as we like to think yoga is accessible for all and inclusive, the reality is that there are many barriers which prevent large numbers of our populations from benefiting from it's practice. I wanted to highlight the work that is being done to bring yoga to all the people and hopefully inspire other yoga … [Read more...]
The Well-Seasoned Yogi: Eleven Tips for Older People on Getting Started with Yoga
by guest author Eve Grzybowski, Yoga Suits Her A colleague of mine says; "If you can breathe, you can do yoga." Is that really so? Given that there are hundreds and probably thousands of yoga postures and practices, how do you go about choosing classes? In today’s climate with its infinity of yoga styles, what is the best choice for you? “Well," ... as the great Indian teacher, T.K.V. Desikachar was fond of saying; “It depends.” The class you choose or the practice you do depends on variables … [Read more...]
No More Dancers Doing Yoga on Youtube
In celebration of the launch of The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga, I’ve invited some friends and colleagues to write articles relating to the theme of the book’s subtitle: Because yoga is for every body. It’s one way of helping to smash the image and idea that you need to be thin, flexible, young and female to practice yoga - or that yoga has to involve advanced postures. Unfortunately, much of what we see in the media reflects this idea about yoga - something J.Brown discusses in this … [Read more...]
Are there Ethical Issues to Consider Before Teaching Family Members?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly is our resident yoga teacher mentor, answering questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. You can email Kelly your question here. The Yoga Teacher’s Question: "I've got my RYT 200 and have been teaching once a week for about a year. I've got a family member who could benefit from some yoga. She is not able to attend classes because of physical limitations resulting from surgery and ongoing health conditions so I think … [Read more...]
Five Ways Yoga Improved My Body Image
By guest author Anna Guest-Jelley, Curvy Yoga When I began practicing yoga in the late '90s, it didn’t occur to me that yoga would have any impact on my body image. In fact, I wouldn’t have wanted that at the time because I was spending my days bouncing between diets, waiting for the day I’d finally have the perfect body I’d always wanted. Who needs a positive body image when they have the body of their dreams, right? Ha! What I got instead, much to my initial chagrin and later delight, was … [Read more...]
How Al Gore Shocked Me & What He’s Got to do with Yoga
by Lisa Wade I turned up to be transformed. To give my all to Al Gore’s Climate Reality leader’s training program that promised to take me from being a leader to an exceptional leader, all in the name of the environment. I was expecting slogans, fanfares and maybe a few cheerleaders. When Al Gore mentioned Ghandi I yawned, yep here comes the cliché machine, tick. Then he spoke of Satyagraha, truth force; “Ghandi said the greatest power in the world is truth”. I sat up because I’d … [Read more...]
Peering into the Darkness with Ashtanga Yoga
by guest author Pip Bennett I’ve had some dark, dark clouds following me around these past couple of weeks. One day at a work lunch I found myself judging everyone for how happy they were. I was thinking, they are only happy because they have such-and-such. If I had those things, I would be happy. They don’t understand what it is like to not have choice, be in a difficult situation. Oh dear. I’ve listened to enough Buddhist teachings to know that these thoughts are not true. Things … [Read more...]
How Yoga Helped Me Deal with the Emotional and Psychological After-Effects of Trauma from Living and Working in Afghanistan
by Marianne Elliott When it comes to working with fear, yoga is one of my secret weapons. Fear is not just a thought or idea. Fear is a neurobiological reaction to perceived threat. This is where modern neuroscience catches up with the wisdom of yoga and meditation. The autonomic nervous system (i.e. the part you don't consciously control) is divided into two sections: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system acts to mobilize the body's 'fight or … [Read more...]