by John Guthrie Sitting quietly, the dawn chorus yet to begin, I think of that one word, compassion. The image of a hermit in a cave somewhere comes to mind, and I reflect on this as the embodiment of compassion. Away from the world, yet radiating out the peace that arises from compassion, which has been birthed in the depth of their silence. A place that could just as well have its roots in suffering. There are those whose compassion has arisen from personal suffering. In the last … [Read more...]
There’s More to Us Than Meets The Eye: Exploring The Five Koshas
By Trish Brown, co-director of Dru Yoga Australia If you have ever suspected that there was more to you than just your physical body, yoga philosophy reveals that you are right. According to ancient yoga texts, we are indeed much more than just the physical, being made up of five distinct layers known as the koshas. The koshas are often compared to the layers of an onion. If you can see the physical body as the outer layer, traveling inwards through more subtle layers of energy, emotion and … [Read more...]
How Yoga Helped Me Overcome Depression
by Caren Baginski I remember the first time I took an antidepressant. It was my third year of high school and I couldn't swallow pills, so I had liquid Prozac in a tiny cup. It didn't taste like anything, but during that time nothing did. I looked intensely at that drug for an hour before I took it, tears streaming down my face, feeling like a big fat failure. I remember the last time I took an antidepressant. I had moved to a new state, was on Zoloft, and weaned myself, thinking I … [Read more...]
How to Get your First Yoga Teaching Job
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Typically when you finish your first yoga teacher training it can feel as though you're bursting with equal parts fantastic information to share and uncertainty about how or where to share it. Unless you've completed teacher training with an organisation that rolls new teachers onto an existing schedule, it can be a challenge to figure out how you can get into teaching in your town. Often studios will want teachers with previous teaching experience and/or … [Read more...]
Men and Yoga: Creating A Healthy Yoga Habit With 40 Days of Yoga
By guest author John Falepau, Yogi John Who would have thought I’d be doing ten minutes of yoga every morning before a bowl of porridge and a cup of coffee? I’ve always been an early riser, getting up and off to work. Not that long ago I got up to heave heavy weights before going to work. There’s still a heavy weight of sorts, throw in a yoga mat, and here I am. Getting on my man mat every morning is the start of my day, and it’s what I look forward to when I turn in the night before. … [Read more...]
My Worst Yoga Class Ever
By guest author Zahir Gilani I have been doing Hot Yoga for six years. I have been nomadic in my practice and have tried many different studios and instructors. Some classes have been great, and some instructors have been amazing. I have left classes feeling tranquil, and have even carried on the rest of my day in an ineffable euphoric state. But even if I do not achieve an inner peace while there, at the very least I’ll know I have got a good workout in and had a chance to … [Read more...]
What if Enlightenment was just Dropping into Total Ordinariness. What then?
by guest author Emma Fernbloom, author of Conscious Creation of Wholeness & Community It’s strange to find myself free of ambition. It’s been a slow change, but now it’s happened completely, it feels a bit weird. It leaves gaps in conversations, like when everyone is talking about some TV programme you haven’t seen and they’re all wrapped up in the drama of it, but you haven’t been pulled into it so your smile is merely polite with a tinge of enjoyment or irritation at their … [Read more...]
Why Older Yoga Teachers are Often the Best Yoga Teachers
By Susan Grbic, Growing Younger So many younger people are taking to yoga these days, as opposed to forty years ago when I was cutting my teeth as a student and yoga was still considered way too esoteric for your average citizen. Nowadays there’s a dizzying confusion of yoga ‘styles’ to choose from. And precisely because yoga is attracting so many young people, hundreds of young yoga teachers are emerging. I started teaching when I was forty-five, pretty old by today’s yoga teacher … [Read more...]
How I Practiced Hot Yoga for 100 Days Straight
by Anthony Light Editor's Note: Anthony recently completed 100 days of yoga classes at Flow Hot Yoga in Christchurch. Downward dog can actually become a resting posture. Sound a little exaggerated? Well it can sound that way on days where I am feeling tight or tired. But for most of the time I’m now content hanging out in Downward Dog and observing how my body and mind adjust to the posture. If you had said that to me before a few months ago, I would have laughed with a small … [Read more...]
An Ordinary Life: An Experience of Awakening
By Karen Le Cussan A little over a week ago I had the most amazing experience of my life, something which has now changed forever the way I see the world and how I feel. Before I go into any detail, I'd like to tell you a little about myself: I am forty nine years old, and I am married with three teenage children, two of whom live at home. I am a personal trainer, Balance and Pump Instructor and I work at a local ladies gym in Queenstown, New Zealand. I do not follow any particular … [Read more...]