by Swami Karma Karuna, Anahata Yoga Retreat The depth of yoga that is understood and shared in our modern times is primarily touching the tip of the iceberg. In a goal-oriented, pleasure-mad world, the dynamic postures of Hatha Yoga have captured many and become synonymous with the word 'yoga'. While postures are an important base, often the greater expanse of yoga remains like hidden gems in the ocean of wisdom. As yoga teachers and practitioners living in times of incredible … [Read more...]
Journey to Wellbeing : How Yoga & Meditation helped me find the way
by Matt Calman, The Longest Day I regard it as a minor miracle I became a yogi. For as long as I can remember, in the four-decade-long pre-yoga phase of my life I was horribly inflexible, and unable to get within a foot of touching my toes. My main pastimes in my 20s included playing rugby and drinking beer with my teammates. In my mind, activities such as yoga and ballet dwelt at the opposite end of the spectrum from my modus operandi. If anyone had suggested to the younger me that I … [Read more...]
Meeting Life As It Is: iRest Yoga Nidra & The Practice of Opposites
by Una Hubbard, Meditation and Yoga with Una I used to be a perfectionist living life in black and white, ‘either/or’. My understanding of the depression I experienced, for instance, was to find a way to be happy. If sad, be happy. I mean, simple really. I also had a real beef with anger. And that beef was simply this: I really didn’t like it. I didn't like it when someone raised their voice or showed displeasure. I wanted it all to go away. I wanted calm instead. If angry, be calm. … [Read more...]
The Teacher’s Contract
by Donna Farhi, Beyond Methods: Yoga as Self-Inquiry Relationships with yoga students can take many forms: from a clear cut and dried professional boundary between teacher and student that has never extended beyond the perimeters of time spent together in a class, intensive, retreat or teacher training; to the less distinct delineation that happens when a student also happens to be a personal friend; to that of a peer exchange that takes place at a collegial level in which there may be a … [Read more...]
Vedanta: Why This Ancient Yogic Philosophy is Relevant in Modern Times
by Swami Karma Karuna, Anahata Yoga Retreat The term ‘Vedanta’, or ancient texts such as the Upanishads, may ring a bell, but for many they are shrouded in mystery, scholastic views, or firmly wedged in history. Perhaps one wonders how these ancient philosophies relevant to the modern-day yogi, engaged in holding a Warrior II Pose? According to Vedanta, anything that is changeable or measurable, or which has a beginning and end, is Maya. It often translates as illusion or magic, … [Read more...]
How Yoga Gave Me a Way Out of the Cycle of Blame and Shame
by Nicole Allan, Raw Yoga Modern Yoga has become like therapy for a lot of us. Far from the traditional goal of gaining enlightenment, most are simply looking for a tool to help us stay sane. When it comes to our sanity there are many factors to consider, for now, I have focused on a societal foundation - the blame/shame model of modern societies. Blame and shame have become so ingrained it’s hard to know where it all began... It is embedded in our thoughts, language and … [Read more...]
Cultivating Unshakeable Peace & Wellbeing with iRest Yoga Nidra: An Interview with Fuyuko Toyota
by Neal Ghoshal Ten years ago I had the great pleasure to meet Fuyuko Toyota. We were both assisting our teacher Donna Farhi on a long 21-day training and I was immediately drawn to Fuyuko for her warmth, her humility and humour and her deep, compassionate wisdom. Over the three weeks, we developed a beautiful appreciation for each others' teachings, and a delightful friendship which has only deepened through the years. Now we are like brother and sister on the Yoga path! It has … [Read more...]
Why Meditating WITH The Body is So Important
by Dyana Wells In the modern world, there is a tendency for us to live exclusively through our conceptual minds. We live in bubble worlds of thoughts and emotions, rather than in the world of direct experience. The body, however, experiences itself and the world directly. It is shaped – moment to moment – by its direct interaction with life. The conceptual mind sees the world through the filter of its own beliefs and expectations. It experiences a second-hand world that tends to … [Read more...]
Feeling it in Your Bones: How to Explore the Skeleton in Yoga
by Paul Cohen, Bone Yoga I love inquisitive questions, particularly those that change the way we look at our bodies and challenge us to have a different focus and relationship with ourselves. Not just in the gross movement of our structure but also the more subtle engagements including different ways to use our breath to support movement. So what is my fascination with bones all about? These are some of the questions I like to pose in my yoga classes. What relationship do our bones … [Read more...]
A Return Home – I hoki mai ki te wā kāinga
by Jase Te Patu M3 Mindfulness for Children They say that the practice of yoga is a return to self, our true nature, a return home! Almost four years ago, I packed up my life in Australia and returned to Aotearoa to share my personal love and practice of yoga with our people. Little did I know that that decision was going to be the biggest yoga practice I had ever undertaken. I had fallen in love with yoga, since being in Australia. Yoga was my preferred way as a professional … [Read more...]