by Lucinda Staniland As the new year begins, I like to take a moment to reflect on all the amazing content that has passed through my hands in the last twelve months. As Editor of The Yoga Lunchbox, I'm blessed to regularly engage with a range of yoga teachers, thinkers and writers, many of them based right here in New Zealand, and to share their reflections with our community of yoga-loving readers. This year, our most popular articles covered some topics that were big talking points in … [Read more...]
Vincent Bolletta on Developing Physical Intelligence Through Yoga
by Lucinda Staniland, Vincent Bolletta, one of New Zealand's foremost yoga instructors and teacher trainers, has decades of experience in working with movement and yoga. With 30 years of teaching and practice experience, Vincent spends much of his time travelling internationally to teach hañsa Yoga, a unique style of yoga, of which he is the founder, that integrates both eastern and western thought and methodologies. We were lucky enough to catch Vincent for this video interview, where … [Read more...]
Resolutions for 2020 Guided by Yoga
by Sonya Simpson At this time of year, I find myself stepping away from the Asana of yoga and sitting within contemplation of the Yamas. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I stop teaching around now and spend some time living in my caravan at the beach, it could be that school holidays mean that each time I move through the poses my five-year-old decides that he should be on my back, or maybe it’s due to the fact that one calendar year is drawing to a close and I can reflect on how my … [Read more...]
Dr Scott Lyons on Somatic Stress Release, Trauma & Boundaries
by Lucinda Staniland It's always fascinating to touch base with Dr. Scott Lyons (DO, PhD, MS, MFA, CHT, BMCP/T, RSMT, SME, BMCP, IDME, SEP, CST, BFA, RYT-500), co-founder of Embodied Flow. Scott has done a lot of academic learning (as evidenced in that extremely long string of letters after his name!) but the thing that is so refreshing and surprising about Scott is that, above all else, he prioritises learning and teaching from an embodied, experiential place. As you'll quickly notice in … [Read more...]
The Yoga Teachers & Studios Who Won Big at the NZ Exercise Industry Awards
Yoga was well represented at this year's New Zealand Exercise Industry Awards. Justine Hamill of Wellington's Awhi Yoga won the prestigious Mind Body Instructor of the Year award, and Christchurch yoga studio, Adapted Yoga and Pilates won both the Studio of the Year and the Supreme Facility of the Year, beating local and international gym franchises to take out the title. They are the first yoga or pilates studio to ever win this award. Mind Body Instructor of the Year Persephone … [Read more...]
Announcement: Mind Body Instructor of the Year Finalists 2019
It’s that time of year when we publicly honour and celebrate the Yoga and Mind Body teachers who are making an impact in their communities. These are teachers who are deeply present and connected, intimately know their stuff and share it with passion and delight. Collectively they have helped thousands of people to access holistic mind body practices that calm, enliven and nourish, Introducing the Mind Body Instructor finalists for 2019 Zuri Brudenell , ParaparaumuJustine Hamill, … [Read more...]
Tongue Scraping: Does it Really Work?
by Lucinda Staniland If you try to sell me something, I will always approach it with a healthy dose of skepticism. And for good reason. In our consumerist world, I am constantly bombarded with “life-changing” devices and programs, many of which fall more than a little short of their magnificent marketing claims. In my experience, it ALWAYS pays to ask: What is the history of use behind this product? Who is making and marketing it and what motivates them? Are their claims … [Read more...]
A Review of the Valka Yoga Cork Yoga Mat: Non-Toxic & Eco-Friendly
The Elephant Cork Yoga Mat from Valka Yoga. by Lucinda Staniland, As the editor of a popular yoga website, I receive a lot of requests to review various yoga-related products. Over the years, this has resulted in me getting a lot of practice at the all-important skill of saying ‘No’. I’ve learned the hard way to only say yes to doing a review when it’s a ‘"hell yes!" Thoroughly testing a product and writing a review takes a significant amount of time and energy and there’s nothing … [Read more...]
When Yoga Isn’t Enough: The Importance of Varying Your Movement
Photo by Anupam Mahapatra on Unsplash by Lucinda Staniland Movement. It’s a big deal. Humans move often, and in varied ways, and when we don’t do this (like when we sit for 8+ hours a day which is the norm in many countries now) there are consequences. Most of us will have experienced some of these consequences in our own bodies to some extent, whether that's through pain, injuries, disease or other physical challenges. In recent times, yoga has become increasingly … [Read more...]
Nominate your Favourite NZ Yoga Teacher!
Jase Te Patu, winner of the 2018 Mind Body award, with Persephone Singfield by Persephone Singfield, Courage My Love Hey New Zealand – it's time to nominate your favourite yoga teacher for ExerciseNZ's Mind Body Award! True Dedication You may not realise it but hundreds of hours go into making an amazing yoga teacher. It takes true dedication and your teacher will have studied and practiced to get to a point where he or she can hold the space for your transformation within … [Read more...]