Awakening • Creating a More Beautiful World

by Lucinda Staniland

In a restless world, sleep has become something of an elusive creature. Increasingly few of us get enough deep, restful sleep and as a society, we’re starting to see the consequences in our declining physical and mental health.

My personal experience of sleep has changed dramatically in recent years. After a lifetime of watching TV, using computers […]

by Angelena Davies

“Hello Overwhelm my old friend,
I’ve come to talk to you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping.”

I often break into song when I feel her coming again. 

Overwhelm.

With her short breath, her pinched shoulders, her scratchy throat, her distracted conversations (“Mum, are you listening?”) […]

by KeiShana Coursey, Opti-mum

I’m awake between first sleep and second sleep. It’s 1 a.m., and for the past week I have been nursing the family through high fevers (including some gnarly hallucinations). My body has succumbed to this viral storm, waking with a sore throat and aching joints, and I’ve just taken a truckload of potions which means I […]

by Manmohan Singh,

The debate about whether yoga is a science or an art has been going on for a long time. However, if you really know what is science and what is art, then you probably don’t need any explanation to decide what yoga is.

Let’s look at the definition of science first:

The systematic study of the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

by Kara-Leah Grant,

Prefer to listen to an audio version of this article? Click here to listen on Dropbox.

The news isn’t getting any better. Extinction is looming for 1 million plants and animals, thanks to human activity, says the UN. Trump’s Administration heralds melting sea ice as opening new opportunities for trade. And global beverage giants continue to bottle […]

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 […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I used to think that alignment and biomechanics were the answer to the riddle that is chronic pain. If only I could work hard enough to correct my hyperlordosis, strengthen my weak glutes, and reverse my scoliosis then my pain would ease – right? At least, that’s what I was told.

Now, I’m not so sure.

In […]

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, […]

by Kara-Leah,

It can be scary and painful to see the truth of the moment as it is.

But many of us have been learning how to do this in our personal evolution as awakening human beings. We’ve been learning how to work with fear. How to sit with grief, shame and guilt. We’ve learned that by doing this, we […]

by Charlotta Martinus, TeenYoga

“All of my friends smoke a spliff every day and/or take medication, either to help them sleep, or to combat anxiety or depression or for ADHD. Those drugs get shared around and sold, especially during exams.”

Niall, age 17

In an uncertain world, young people are turning to coping strategies that are available to them. The […]

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, […]

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, […]

This is post 6 of 6 in the series “Hauora Yoga Conference 2018”

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 […]

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 […]

This is post 5 of 6 in the series “Hauora Yoga Conference 2018”

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 […]

This is post 4 of 6 in the series “Hauora Yoga Conference 2018”

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 […]

This is post 3 of 6 in the series “Hauora Yoga Conference 2018”

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 […]

by Lucinda Staniland,

In the last days of my 2018 work year, I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that I’d forgotten to do something important…

After much racking of my brain and searching of my to-do lists, I decided that I’d just have to leave it and moved on to packing my bags and preparing for a family holiday. And […]

This is post 2 of 6 in the series “Hauora Yoga Conference 2018”

by Lianne Divine,

I haven’t had much to do with the NZ Yoga community over the years.

I refrained from joining the now disbanded NZ Ayurveda Yoga Therapy Association and have had no Professional Yoga Teacher’s body to support my 20 years of Yoga […]

One of the many conversations we explored at the inaugural Hauora Yoga Conference was about yoga therapy in New Zealand.

This conversation took the form of a panel discussion with with a range of esteemed local and international yoga experts:  Donna Farhi, Katie Lane, Jac Wilson, Leanne Davis and Felicity Molloy, and hosted by the wonderful J. Brown.

In addition to […]

by Donna Farhi,

Now that the finger has been let out of the dam, there’s been a deluge of #metoo stories coming from our Yoga community.

When we do start naming names, what then? In the past, even when teachers have been revealed for serious breaches of conduct, many of those same teachers were immediately forgiven without skipping a beat, […]

This is post 1 of 6 in the series “Hauora Yoga Conference 2018”

by Lucinda Staniland,

On a rainy Saturday morning in Auckland, I found myself in a packed auditorium, with around 85 yoga teachers and students, and several hundred fitness professionals, listening to renowned international yoga teacher Donna Farhi give a keynote presentation on interoception and […]

by Lucinda Staniland,

Flow.

We’ve all heard about the concept of a ‘flow state’ – but what is it really? What does it feel like in an embodied sense? And what stops us from experiencing it?

Dr. Scott Lyons has an intimate relationship with flow.

He’s a Clinical Psychologist, a Mind-Body Medicine practitioner, the co-founder of Embodied Flow™ yoga with Tara […]

by Heather Robinson,

In that moment.

In that moment something holds me – here on my yoga mat, here I stand ready for practice, here I am connecting …. Then it happens –

Did I switch my phone off? Do I need to check?…..

Now I follow my breath with its gentle rhythm, compelling and calming me, now I’m connecting……

[…]

by Melissa Billington, MYOGA Freedom & The Amazon Academy

The advantage of growing up in the alternative health realms is that I’ve seen the evolution of these arts & sciences over a number of decades. My mother was doing yoga while I was in the womb & a few years later she became a massage therapist. When she worked in […]

by Sandra Palmer, Integrative Therapy

For most of us reading this article, entering a yoga studio and completing a yoga class will be taken for granted. We may not think twice about wearing tight and revealing yoga clothing. We may be able to follow the yoga teacher’s instructions with ease – some with more grace than others!

Sadly, there are many […]

by Donna Farhi,

On December 16, 2017, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse delivered a landmark report; the conclusion of an extraordinary five year investigation into systemic and decades long abuse within the Catholic Church.

The upshot of this broad sweeping report is the conclusion that the Catholic Church can no longer continue to operate […]

by Kara-Leah Grant,

After 10 years of championing The Yoga Lunchbox, I’m SO happy to be handing over the torch to a new team.

Yes, that’s right! I’m officially moving on from my role at The Yoga Lunchbox and handing over to our new Supporters: ExerciseNZ.

ExerciseNZ are a non-profit organisation with the mission of proactively supporting a sustainable exercise and […]

by Stephanie Spence,

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from Yoga Wisdom: Warrior Tales Inspiring You On And Off Your Mat

The setting: a luxurious villa on the Caribbean island of St. Barts. A wife and husband, along with several of his clients, are partying on a terrace overlooking the glittering ocean and sun-kissed beach. They flew in from Pittsburgh […]

by Lucinda Staniland,

The first time Hamish Kenworthy came onto my radar was in 2016 when The Yoga Lunchbox conducted a search for The Best Up and Coming Yoga Teachers in Australia and New Zealand. We were flooded with hundreds of recommendations from yoga students, but some of the most touching, enthusiastic and sincere testimonials were for one Hamish Kenworthy […]

by KeiShana Coursey, Opti-mum

As a midwife and yogi who has walked alongside women and observed (with curiosity and kindness) their navigation through all that is birth, it appears to me that the mind doesn’t mind what you believe about sensation, only that it will loyally serve you to create whatever it is you’ve unconsciously chosen to believe.

Let me […]

by J. Brown,

Originally published on J. Brown Yoga.

There is a performative aspect to teaching and promoting group yoga classes that sometimes leads to a denial of the teacher’s actual state. The conventional dynamics at play between teachers and students, both interpersonal and economic, are presenting obstacles to the kinds of exchange that encourage effective yoga transmission. Maintaining […]

By Sam Loe,

Originally published on samloe.yoga

I will admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the Wonder Woman movie featuring Gal Gadot. I loved watching a super-goddess with powers of courage, strength and age-defying perfection on the big screen. It makes a change from the usual Hollywood, male-dominated super-heroes anyway.

In fact, I went to see it with a bunch of […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

This week, I took part in an exorcism.

But let’s just call it a healing, because that word exorcism caries all kinds of connotations that can stop us from bringing our hearts and awareness into the moment.

There was nothing to fear in this healing, except, of course, fear itself.

More than ten years ago, I took […]

by Freya Vajra, Fierce Mystic

I was chatting with a good friend of mine the other day, about all this Agama/sex cult stuff. For those of you who don’t know, one of the biggest Neo tantra schools in the world, Agama, recently got outed by Be Scofield for a whole load of sexual assault and misconduct by the heads of […]

by Lucinda Staniland,

Last week, Kara-Leah sat down with Erika Bélanger of the On and Off Your Mat podcast to dive deep into conversations about yoga, leading retreats and what it really means to be an Awakened Heart Warrior.

Over the years, Kara-Leah has spent hundreds of hours interviewing interesting yogis, but this is the first time I’ve heard her being interviewed […]

by Daniel Fow, Cardinal Points: Healing Arts

All of the muscles in the body need to be exercised, stretched and worked with. Most of us know this, and we do yoga, go to the gym, walk, hike, run, or do some sort of work with our skeletal muscles. But these muscles are all generally on the outside surface of the body, […]

by Lucinda Staniland,

Denise Payne is a big-hearted yoga teacher with more than three decades of experience on the mat. Most recently, she spent the last eight years in Bali, where she taught at Ubud’s favourite yoga studio, The Yoga Barn and also at Bali’s most notorious prison, Kerobokan, where she started a yoga program with Myuran Sukumaran, one of […]

by Daniel Fow, Cardinal Points: Healing Arts

“The Mystic States (Siddhis) are attained by yogic practices from previous lifetimes, or by special plants, mantric repetition, asceticism, or by meditation.” – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

The ancient Rishis and Yogis often spoke of an ancient plant medicine known as Soma which would be made into a tea. Upon drinking it, the […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

In practice this week, I noticed that when I’ve told the story of my awakening/psychosis experience, it’s always been focused on the relationship I was in, and how that contributed to the experience.

But there’s another big piece to that story. And it’s one I’ve never told before. That intrigued me. Why had I not looked at […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I’ve never met Jennifer Allen in person, but on watching her video conversation with Kara-Leah Grant, it didn’t take me long at all to learn everything I needed to know about her.

Google can tell you that Jennifer is the founder and lead facilitator of Jayayoga, a popular yoga studio in Auckland. But perhaps more importantly, […]

by Chris Kelly,

If you’d told me years ago that the slimy secretion from an Amazonian tree frog – sometimes called “ordeal medicine” – was incredible for my health, I’d think you were a little nuts.

If you told me it was applied directly into the lymphatic system through small little burn marks on the skin, I’d think you were […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Meet Sandey Hoskin and Kylie Rook, two yoga teachers who are committed to doing the hard work of showing up, being seen and constantly learning. They are also part of the team (alongside Fiona Liu) who are leading a brand new 300 Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training at Om Yoga Studio in Auckland.

Sandey has been a teacher […]

by Tara Fowler, Tara Spice Creative

Habits are our regular and repeating behaviours which are done unconsciously. For me, this is picking my skin.

For as long as I can remember I’ve picked my skin. As a small child any itchy bite I would scratch and scratch, tearing it apart. Then when it formed a scab I would pick that […]

by Lucinda Staniland,

Meet Vincent Bolletta, one of New Zealand’s foremost yoga instructors and teacher trainers and the founder of hañsa Yoga, a unique style of yoga that integrates both eastern and western thought and methodologies.

Vincent’s been in the yoga game a long time—he’s been practising yoga since 1989 and teaching since 1991—but alongside his considerable knowledge and experience in the field, […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I have a confession to make.

Even though I practice yoga every day and work for a yoga website, I haven’t regularly attended yoga classes in years.

My home yoga practice is consistent and serious, I’m constantly consulting my bookcase of yoga books, and I attend the occasional one-on-one session with a teacher. But yoga classes? That […]

by Kara-Leah Grant,

Avoidance.

It’s one of those subtle things that can completely derail our lives. Or at least, prevent us from growing and expanding. And the thing is, it’s oh so subtle most of the time. Like, not even there almost. Like, easy to ignore.

This week, I’ve avoided making a phone call to a venue to talk about […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

You don’t have to know WHY you carry a particular belief to completely heal & release it.

A story that illustrates this…

It’s April 2017. I’m on a camping road trip of the South Island with my partner and child. I take us to Lake Middleton – my family camping spot from about age 8 until I […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Nothing has changed society more than business.

The second agricultural revolution (Britain approximately 1650 until about 1900) was defined by business, as farmers changed methods to increase productivity and food production out-stripped population growth, creating wealth. Laws around common land changed and transportation infrastructure became increasingly important, completely changing British society. And, through the British Empire, impacted […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Meet the delightful Justine Hamill, co-owner of Wellington’s Power Living yoga studio and a Senior Facilitator of the Power Living New Zealand team.

With eighteen years of Yoga practice under her belt, as well as training in Gestalt Psychotherapy, watching Justine in action makes it obvious that she brings a very deep level of experience and nurturing […]

by Lucinda Staniland

What is radical wholeness?

This is a question that Philip Shepherd has spent many decades exploring and experiencing. As an international embodiment expert and the author of “New Self, New World,” “Radical Wholeness,” and creator of The Embodied Present Process™, Philip has studied wholeness through scientific, historical and anthropological lenses and through the felt intelligence of his […]

Right from the beginning of LoveLake 2018 there was a collaborative sense of ‘we’re all in this together’. It didn’t matter that there were no international superstar teachers. What mattered was the way people showed up with vulnerability and authenticity.

by Rachael Lowe,

The fact is that we adults don’t have much room in our lives for fun and games. Our days are filled with stress, obligations, and hard work. We may be stiff, tired, and easily bored when we try to get on the floor and play with our kids – especially difficult switching gears from a stressful day […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

The last time I saw Jason Corliss – Organic Mechanic founder, wizard, shaman, healer, sage – was at Kawai Purapura on Sunday, February 11th, 2018, for a Cacao Ceremony.

He was outside, dancing, in the rain.

This weekend – the weekend of his funeral, was the International Yoga Festival at Kawai Purapura, and I was presenting. Grace […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I was in the car, catching a ride to Day 3 of a three-day workshop with Ana Forrest & Jose Calarco.

Nikki – giving me a ride – and I were talking about mountains and the energy they embody.

I was sharing my recent experiences in Glenorchy, where I would sit outside at sunset and do my […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

The guru model is dead in modern Western Yoga. And the list of scandals involving gurus, or teachers, or swamis just seems to be growing longer.

Where the hell are all the enlightened and perfect teachers?

They don’t exist. Our teachers – known and unknown, big and small, experienced and fresh, revered and loved, skilled and talented, […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

It’s been more than a decade since I started teaching yoga, and so embarked on a yoga teaching career. That career has included teaching group classes, workshops, retreats, presenting at festivals, writing yoga books, delivering corporate seminars, and publishing this online yoga magazine.

I began as a sole trader and taught yoga on the side while working […]

By Lucinda Staniland

By now you’ve probably come across Yoga Nidra, one of the hottest trends to hit the Yoga scene in recent years. Everyone is doing it, from your trend-setting Instagram-loving best friend to your old-school internet-free great Aunt.

But what is Yoga Nidra exactly, and does it deserve its sudden popularity?

To the latter, I answer with an […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

It’s the news that has ruptured the New Zealand and Australian yoga community and shattered the dreams of thousands of people. On January 12th, 2018 YEANZ Ltd, the company that held the license for Wanderlust in Australia and New Zealand, went into liquidation.

Eleven days later, the worst was confirmed – Wanderlust Great Lake Taupō was effectively cancelled.

The […]

by Lucinda Staniland,

It’s always a joy to come across someone who takes real pleasure in the work they do in the world.

Without a doubt, Dr Scott Lyons is such a person and I could tell so immediately when I began watching his conversation with Kara-Leah Grant. Although he clearly takes a serious and earnest approach to his work, […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I love getting things for free.

And I have a voracious and life-long love of books. So the first time I was offered a free review copy of a Yoga book (as part of my Yoga Lunchbox role) I was fairly swept off my feet. You mean, you really want to send me a free book? About Yoga? […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

For the last four decades, Ana Forrest has been bringing her particular brand of fierce medicine to the yoga world. She’s long woven Native American ceremony into her classes and workshops, calling on the forces that helped her heal from an abusive and challenging childhood.

So it’s no surprise that when she met and fall in love […]

by Lucinda Staniland

For all the years I’ve been practicing yoga, I’ve always strived to ‘go deeper’ into the poses. In fact, I thought this was the point of asana.

In the name of depth, I’ve pursued an ‘open heart’, and ‘release’ in the hips. Whatever the pose—lunges, backbends, twists—I’ve had an image in my mind of precisely how the […]

by Lucinda Staniland

It’s always fascinating to see which of the many articles we publish at The Yoga Lunchbox truly strike a chord with the online Yoga community.

This year, personal, authentic stories about yoga and meditation in daily life proved to be as popular as ever.

When guest author Sandi White opened up about her 40 Days of Yoga practice her […]

by Neal Ghoshal, Sacred Moves

In a nutshell: an exceptionally clear and extremely practical guide to core integration, stability and support

I first came across Donna Farhi’s books back in 2004 and was immediately hooked by her accessible, relevant and inspiring writing and teachings. Since then Donna has become my primary Yoga teacher and I have regularly attended her workshops and […]

by Rosalind Atkinson,

“If you want to teach people, you have to love them,” said the tall figure seated near me on the floor.

Shit, I thought. What am I doing here, then? I don’t love people… I hate them! I feel them frozen in fear and radiating phoney bullshit, and I can’t bear it!

I looked around the room […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Essential Oils seem to be everywhere in the Yoga world these days: whether via a diffuser, massage or taken internally. That old favourite, incense, has been kicked to the curb and essential oils are riding high as they also offer a myriad of health benefits in addition to the delicious olfactory experience.

But are Essential Oils really […]

by Julie Stansfield, Ebb and Flow Yoga

As I travel along the road that connects the south with the north of the island to teach my weekly yoga class in Port Fitzroy, I reflect on how my life has changed since I first moved to Great Barrier Island thirteen years ago. I certainly wouldn’t have thought I’d be travelling fifty […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I’ve had a serious home yoga practice for over 8 years and I’ve been working at The Yoga Lunchbox for almost as long. Over that time, I’ve been exposed to a wide range of Yoga Teacher Training programmes. I’ve interviewed many of the teachers behind the programmes, promoted their trainings on social media, and created Guides to […]

Introduction Looking for a Yoga retreat? You're in the right place.

Whether you're a Yoga teacher searching for the perfect venue, or a student in need of a yoga retreat, we've got you covered.

We know how frustrating and time-consuming it can be to search for suitable venues and retreat centres, so we've created this Guide to make your research [...]

by Meera Watts, Siddhi Yoga

Yoga has become a mainstream activity in all parts of the world. The discipline has a lot to teach us but we are failing the practice itself. It’s great that we’ve all been introduced to this phenomenal multi-faceted means of helping ourselves, but to take it apart and use what we’re comfortable with isn’t exactly […]

by Lucinda Staniland

When I heard about Rua Hvitulv and Karen Pasquel of YogaRuka, the first Australian Yoga Studio to be fully ecological, I knew that we needed to talk to them here at The Yoga Lunchbox.

We wanted to find out who these studio owners were, what inspired their dedication to the environment and just what it means to be […]

By Christina Sell, Live the Light of Yoga

This article was originally published on Christina’s blog Live the Light of Yoga and is reprinted here with Christina’s permission.

Last night I dreamt of Las Vegas. In my dream, among other common dream-time images was something new— toxic rain. Down from the sky rained a green, thick, and rotten goo that […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Meet Leslie Kaminoff, a Yoga educator with forty years experience in the study of Yoga and the breath. Leslie studied with T.K.V Desikachar, a teacher renowned for his emphasis on the therapeutic aspects of yoga, and he is the co-author of the bestselling book Yoga Anatomy.

In Leslie’s conversation with Kara-Leah Grant, I was struck by his particular brand […]

by Lucinda Staniland

It’s interesting what happens when you ask a difficult question.

You’ll note that there is only one man featured in this edition of The Community Speaks, our roundup of perspectives from influential people in the NZ and Australia yoga communities.

This is not for lack of trying on our part—at least 11 men were invited to be […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

We all know the saying – the only thing to fear is fear itself.

But it’s wrong.

Completely totally and utterly wrong.

And if I was a conspiracy theorist, I would say that disseminating that piece of wisdom is a sneaky way to disempower people completely and turn them into comfort-seeking, convenience-addicted sheep.

Fear is not to […]

by Lucinda Staniland

When you’re contemplating which Yoga Teacher Training is right for you, one of the best resources can be speaking to someone who has already done that training. Of course, it can be hard to track down former trainees, so we’ve done that hard work for you.

In today’s world, there is a great need for restorative practices […]

By Donna Farhi

First published in the March/April 1997 Yoga Journal USA, reprinted here by permission of Donna Farhi.

It’s late afternoon and one of my long-time students has come to visit.  After a few minutes of chitchat, Sarah relates how inadequate she felt at the Yoga workshop she attended over the weekend.  Just about everyone could do the advanced […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Sandi Murphy and Sarsha Hood are two passionate, intelligent and, most of all embodied women.

These are characteristics that serve them well as co-leaders of the Nadi 200 Hour Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training, an immersive month-long training for dedicated yoga students.

Watching their interview with Kara-Leah Grant, I was greatly struck by the incredible synergy and […]

New Zealand’s Best Guide to Yoga Teacher Trainings for 2019 is now out! All styles represented including Hatha, Vinyasa, Embodied Flow, Dru Yoga, Contemporary, Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga & more.

by Lucinda Staniland

It was a small book that made a big promise.

I’ve grown to be suspicious of such books, particularly when they make prominent use of phrases like ‘life-changing’, but there was something about this one that I couldn’t shake off.

It was simple, it was sincere—very sincere, in fact—and it was practical too. Maybe, just maybe, I […]

by John Guthrie, Yoga Aotearoa | International Yoga Teachers Association of New Zealand

The whole notion of disease is an interesting subject. Those of us who take on yoga as a part of our lifestyle can easily find ourselves striving to be absolutely whole and well; after all, why shouldn’t we? To have a strong healthy body fit that enables us […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Meet Amy Ippoliti—yoga teacher, author, earth activist and founder of 90 Monkeys, an online professional development school for yoga teachers.

One of the first things I noticed when I watched this video interview with Amy was her irrepressible enthusiasm for the practice of yoga.

Yes, there’s no doubt in my mind that this woman loves yoga, and […]

by Kara-Leah Grant Hosting a travelling yoga teacher can be a successful and profitable venture for a yoga studio – if done right! It can use up “dead time” in the studio. It opens up an additional income stream. It can bring in students that don’t usually come to the studio, some of whom may come back. It can increase […]

by Eimear Gray, Anam Cara Yoga

Four weeks out things are, well, okay.

I suffered my second miscarriage at 8 weeks. (So early on, thank God. One consolation at least, I guess. So it’s said anyway, or rather whispered). Now, four weeks out, I’m getting there slowly, and when I mean getting there I mean functioning with a tad more […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Every yoga teacher brings a unique constellation of skills, interest and life history to their teaching practice, and Wellington yoga teacher Cathy Gamba is no exception.

Cathy’s on her way to becoming a clinical psychologist, has deep roots in the practice of mindfulness and is acutely aware of the connection between physical health and mental health.

She’s […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I had a moment on Sunday when I hated myself.

Or at least, hated an aspect of myself, for I recognise that it is not the Self I am hating, but a shadow that lives within.

This particular shadow is the controlling, wrathful, angry, tense, uptight aspect of me.

Here’s how this unfolded on Sunday.

I felt […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Bodies are strange things. They are our home—our only means of experiencing and connecting with the world—and yet many of us are profoundly disconnected and cut off from the lived experience of the body.

Add to that our collective obsession with the superficial experience of the body, and the relationship becomes even more confusing and complex.

We […]

by Cathryn Monro, Spilt Milk Yoga

What does self-knowledge mean? What is inner work and how do we DO it? How does one actually self-transform?

Motherhood is like the most intense, long haul retreat you could ever go on; you meet your best and your worst behaviours, and no matter what you have to show up every day and be “Mum”, […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’m leading a Women’s Circle at Power Living Wellington on July 8th where I’ve promised that women will learn how to embody and evoke the energy of Maha Shakti – one aspect of the Divine Feminine – through the practice of asana, pranayama and meditation.

But what does that mean?

I feel the energy of Shakti in […]

by Kelly Fisher, Time to Thrive

Our lives are so out of synch with nature; it’s no wonder that sub-par health and even chronic degenerative diseases are the new norm.

Diabetes, autoimmune disorders, adrenal issues, thyroid conditions, weight issues, menopausal issues, post-partum issues, insomnia, perpetual exhaustion… the list goes on. Chances are you know someone who suffers from at least […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I’ve been practicing yoga for eight years, and while I’ve experienced many benefits from a regular practice, deep sleep hasn’t been one of them.

Despite my daily home yoga practice—and the deep relaxation and release that it enables—until recently, a really good night’s sleep was an elusive thing for me.

Let me get this straight; I’ve never […]

by Donna Farhi, co-author of Pathways to a Centered Body: Gentle Yoga Therapy for Core Stability, Healing Back Pain, and Moving with Ease.

A recent collation of several back pain studies in America revealed that 8 out of every 10 Americans will have back problems at some point during their lifetimes, yet only one in ten people find out the […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I’m a perfectionist. I love getting things exactly right. So when I got interested in meditation, I had a lot of questions about how I should be doing it: How long should I meditate for? Eyes open or closed? Should I focus on the breath or chant a mantra? Visualise chakras or empty my mind completely? I tried all […]

by Jo Stewart, Garden of Yoga

A quick google search will turn up all kinds of yoga hybrids—think Bungee Yoga, Antigravity Aerial Yoga, HIIT Yoga, Beer Yoga, Vinyasa + Vino, Doga, Meowga, and Goat Yoga—and these are just a small sample of the pun-tastic world of hybridised yoga.

While I might wonder how yogic some of these combinations actually are, […]

by Lucinda Staniland

This week we started a conversation that explores the very foundations of a yoga practice.

We selected a handful of influential people in the New Zealand and Australian yoga community and asked them,

Who has had the greatest influence on your yoga practice?

Their answers are as varied and vibrant as the yogis themselves, and they showcase […]

by Ram Davies, Sivananda Yoga Centre

I was lying in bed in an apartment in South Beach, Florida, reading Meditations and Mantras by Swami Vishnudevananda, when it dawned on me: I don’t enjoy where I am and what I’m doing. Straight away I put the book down and emailed a yoga teacher that I had trained with the previous year. […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I’ve been using the word ‘ambivalent’ a lot recently. I like the sound of it. I like that it acknowledges complexity – of myself and of the world. I like that it doesn’t lock me, or anyone else, into a box.

Take getting married for example.

My partner and I were married in January 2017, and for […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Recently, I moved back to Glenorchy, a small mountain town where I’ve lived a few times previously.

I was exciting about the move, and also feeling some anxiety. Preparing to write my third book, Love’s Shadows, I felt called to come home to the mountains. Yet it also meant moving my son, now seven and at school, […]

by Lucinda Staniland

I already knew that Jennifer Allen, and the Jayayoga Teacher Training she leads, were awesome.

But I didn’t quite realise how awesome.

The Yoga Lunchbox has interviewed Jennifer before, so I was aware that she is an unusually perceptive and gutsy teacher, with a teaching methodology that offers a different perspective on yoga from much of the contemporary yoga scene.

Yes, […]

By Sandi White, Breath and Beyond Two weeks ago I set out on a quest to conquer forty days of home yoga practice.

It wasn’t something I had ever really thought I could or would do. However, after reading Kara-Leah Grant’s book, Forty Days of Yoga, I felt compelled to start.

I am now two weeks into my journey and this is what […]

by Lucinda Staniland

We want to generate more meaningful and constructive dialogue in the yoga community, especially around the hard questions we face, and to create a space for the community to share their stories and perspectives.

So here it is: The Yoga Lunchbox’s first edition of our Influencer Roundup, The Community Speaks.

This week we asked a handful of influential people […]

by Bhavani Davies, Sivananda Yoga Centre and one of our Best Up-and-Coming Yoga Teachers for 2016

I enrolled to take my first yoga teacher training in 2008, in an ashram situated in the lush greenery of Val Morin, Canada. The ashram was founded in 1962 and is located on 350 acres in the beautiful Laurentian Mountains.

In the first couple of days […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Yoga Nidra has long been an important and regular part of my yoga practice. I found it invaluable when I had a newborn baby, as a way to rest and restore in less than twenty minutes. And, even more interesting, after doing it consistently for over a decade, I’m starting to reap some of the more esoteric […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I adore Jase Te Patu – he’s a man with so much heart, and so in love with New Zealand and his Māori culture. Plus he’s passionate about yoga – both the practice and the teaching of it.

When he and I sat down to have a chat about Power Living’s Yoga Teacher Training here in New […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Almost six years ago I put an ad in Student Job Search for a Personal Assistant who could help me run The Yoga Lunchbox.

The winning applicant was Lucinda Staniland, a young university student who loved yoga. She had a beautiful, open-hearted way about her and was eager to learn. I hired her on the spot, and […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’m in one of my favourite places in the world – Glenorchy. The sun is shining. The day is still. It’s at least 20 degrees, which passes for a good summer’s day in what has been the worst summer in years.

There’s so much in my life to be grateful for – a loving partner, growing […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Prior to this video interview, all I knew about Chaitanya Deva was that he and his wife Bex owned Studio Evolve in Nelson, and that they ran Evolve Festival. And that they were preparing to launch their first teacher trainings this April.

Then Chai sent me an email giving some background information for this interview. Not only […]

by Persephone Singfield, Courage My Love

Courage My Love has a summer sale beginning Feb 15th where all of our stock will be reduced in price. This is a great time to get a bargain and support a New Zealand brand!

I’ve been hooked on Wanderlust since the beginning…

Wanderlust Festival began in North America in 2009 and moved to New […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Most of us come to yoga with a whole lot of misconceptions about what yoga is. I was no different. Here are some of the mistakes that I made, and lessons that I learnt, as a new yoga student.

1. Asana does not equal yoga.

When I started doing yoga I was awed by the strength and […]

by Leza Lowitz, Sun and Moon Yoga

The Japanese have a word, ikigai (生き甲斐) which means “reason for being.” In Japan, finding one’s reason for being requires a deep, long search for self. This search itself is considered central, as the discovery of one’s ikigai is what brings satisfaction and meaning. Ikigai is a compound of two Japanese words: iki […]

by Nikki Ralston, The Ralston Method

At school I had no interest in the sciences whatsoever, let alone in anatomy. At that age, it was boring and irrelevant!

However my attitude to anatomy changed in my second to last year at high school when I was on the verge of failing my exams. A great teacher stepped in and finally […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

If you’ve googled your way to this article, you’ve likely come looking for some kind of concrete answer to your question. Like 10 minutes a day. Or twenty minutes, three times a week.

If that’s the kind of answer you’re looking for, because you’re using meditation as a way to de-stress, or chill out, or because all the […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Recently in our Heart of Tribe Facebook Group, one of the participants asked me to elaborate on what it means to love people – especially family – unconditionally.

“For me, to do this fully would at times be to my own detriment. Sometimes it’s just too much ‘stuff’, too much drama. What do we do […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Facilitating retreat is always a powerful experience, not just for the retreatees, but also for myself and the other facilitators. I know that I’m going to get triggered, that my ideas and beliefs will be challenged, and my unconsciousness revealed.

This is the process of retreat, and it is immensely rewarding. In the middle of the […]

Life can bring us to our knees in many ways – be it through depression, loss, illness or some other catastrophe – but we always have a choice. Yoga helps us to harness the power of our awareness and to move beyond our limited perceptions and beliefs.

by Kara-Leah Grant

Twenty one years after my first yoga class, I finally learned the most basic of all yoga – I learned how to breathe properly.

Yes despite all those years on the mat, and all the many teachers I went through, and all the years of home yoga practice, I didn’t master Yogic Breath until 2016.

Yogic Breath […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

It’s a diverse list of articles that made the Top Ten for this year.

As always, there’s a few interviews that made the list, including a Skype video interview with Les Leventhal and a written interview with Tom Myers. Kundalini articles prove as popular as ever, as so articles on the relationship between men and women.

A […]

by Neal Ghoshal, Sacred Moves

 As the popularity of Yoga continues to expand, more and more people are being drawn into practices beyond Yoga asana (posture), into breath work, into meditation, into the subtler aspects of the tradition. One of the practices that is becoming increasingly lauded is Yoga Nidra.

I first came across Yoga Nidra back in […]

When you’re contemplating which Yoga Teacher Training is right for you, one of the best resources can be speaking to someone who has already done that training. Of course, it can be hard to track down former trainees, so we’ve done that hard work for you.

Golden Flow Yoga is based on Golden Bay, at the top of New Zealand’s […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

One month ago I wrote about creating a new vision to orient The Yoga Lunchbox behind. Normally when I set sail on a course of action like that, things move fast. Normally that vision would be laid out clear by now.

But these are not normal times, at least, not in my world.

Over the last six […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I recently read a well-articulated and thoughtful open letter to Tiffany Cruikshank by Nikki Cook of the Yoga and Body Image Coalition.

In the article, and the comments, Nikki suggested that it is our responsibility as yoga teachers to be mindful of our language and not use language which may be triggering*.

My initial response to this was […]

IntroHathaRainbow YogaVinyasaYogalatesZen Ki YogaIntro Catch the New Zealand Guide to Yoga Teacher Trainings 2018 here. Introduction So you're thinking about doing Teacher Training? You're in the right place.

Choosing who to train with is a big decision. It's not just about the financial cost, or the training location, or the timing. It's about the people leading the training and the [...]

by Kara-Leah Grant

An extract from The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga

The number one thing that freaks out new yoga students is the thought of opening their mouth and making a vowel sound followed by a consonant in a room full of strangers.

Yes, the simple sound of OM makes people want to run screaming from the room.

There are […]

By Kara-Leah Grant

Meet Cathryn Monro, artist, facilitator, mother of two, and author of Spilt Milk Yoga, a companion guide for mothers that applies the lessons of yoga to the everyday experience of motherhood.

Cathryn is passionate about honouring mothers, and about sharing her hard-won wisdom that motherhood is a spiritual path.

Join us as we discuss the complexities and beauty of […]

By Kara-Leah Grant

When you’re contemplating which Yoga Teacher Training is right for you, one of the best resources can be speaking to someone who has already done that training. Of course, it can be hard to track down former trainees, so we’ve done that hard work for you.

We spoke to Helen Thomas, a Napier-based yoga teacher who did […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Eight years ago this week I began The Yoga Lunchbox with a vision in mind – to Bring Yoga to the People.

Daily practice had made an enormous difference to my physical, mental and emotional well-being and I envisioned a world where everybody knew about yoga and meditation, and 10% of the population was practicing regularly.

That […]

By Lucinda Staniland & Kara-Leah Grant

The explosion of yoga in the last decade has also seen an explosion of yoga festivals. Of course, festivals focused on consciousness have been happening for much longer – Prana Festival here in New Zealand had a 25 year history. While it is sadly no more, there are many other festivals that you can attend […]

by Kara-Leah Grant & Lucinda Staniland

Phew! What a job!

We had 243 nominations for 93 teachers for New Zealand & Australia’s Best Up-and-Coming Yoga Teachers.  Based on the written testimonials from students, and some research of our own, we whittled the 93 down to 22 teachers. Those last 22 teachers we asked three questions:

What does teaching yoga mean to […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Today I received a long comment on the article I wrote about my disappointment at how Madonna has chosen to age, because it means I’m now looking for another role model on the ageing front.

The author, Cherise, shares her perspective on the way I wrote the article.

You know what? I read this article this morning […]

WIN a copy of Kara-Leah’s new book ‘Sex, Drugs & (mostly) Yoga – Field Notes from Kundalini Awakening’, publishing in November 2018. Guaranteed to take you on an intimate journey into the depths of the Kundalini experience. Click here to sign up for the book launch list and go into the draw to win one of THREE print […]

By Victoria Bruce

I first stumbled across the 2016 Great Emptying Out Yoga Retreat on Facebook and after reading the theme of the retreat – Self-Love – I knew I needed to attend.

Why? Because I had a shitload of stuff to empty out and filling that void with some self-love sounded like a brilliant idea.

At thirty one years […]

By Premaloka, Yoga on Waiheke

Join Premloka for her Awakened Heart Yoga Retreats and Workshops:

Raglan, New Zealand 28th-30th October 2016  Kovalam, India August/September 2017. Find out more here.

Would you like more Happiness in your life? Would you like your practice to not only be connected to the physical body, the mind, and your breath, but to also transform […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Recently I read a post on social media which went something like this:

Here’s so & so teacher making up a new yoga pose for you.

WTF? Since when were yoga poses – asana – ‘made up’?

Since they began being taught through intellectual understanding rather than embodiment, that’s when.

Yoga postures are a physical result of an […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Recently I received an email from a woman I have mentored through my Forty Day Process. She asked:

Ok, ethics!  I have a question for you and I have never thought of asking this of any of my other teachers in the past! I have a student who was just here practicing with me in Mexico.

Here is where […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Nominations now closed.  Stay tuned for the winner of a three-day double pass to Wanderlust Sunshine Coast 2016, and the list of successful nominees. 

We want to identify yoga teachers in Australasia that are flying under the wire. These teachers don’t have a huge presence on social media, they’re not getting booked for festivals, AND they are doing great […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Let’s get technical, technical, I wanna get technical… Let me hear your ego rock…

OK fellow yoga students. Here’s the deal. The word ‘Yoga’ gets bandied about all over the place, but it’s rarely defined. We assume that we all know what we’re talking about, but often we’re talking about different things.

First up, physical postures are not […]

by Ben Ralston

I’ll tell you straight: I didn’t have a clue what to do when my son was born.

I had good instincts, I’d read a number of books and done my due diligence, but the stress of the situation I found myself in overwhelmed me. I didn’t have the internal resources to be able to cope because I […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I watched Madonna on the Grammy’s a few years ago and I almost wept.

Who was this shell of a woman, her papery-thin and paper-coloured skin stretched tight across her face? We all know she’s nearly 60, where’s the deviant wrinkles, the glorious salt & pepper hair, the relaxed winks as she settles into enjoying her undisputed reign […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’ve known Melissa Billington since 2008 and been close friends with her since 2010. We’ve had -literally – hundreds of discussions about the nature of yoga, what it means to teach and what it means to practice. Melissa has also been a regular writer on The Yoga Lunchbox. She used to teach yoga on The Morning Show, back […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I didn’t expect to feel this way when he arrived in my life.

But this man who I’d been friends with for four years online before finally meeting in person landed in my heart with the softness of a blown dandelion flower gone to seed.

Looking back, I asked myself, when did I know? When did I realise […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I first met Jonni Pollard at Wanderlust Great Lake Taupo in 2015. He was leading the mass meditation at 7pm on the Saturday night. I’d bumped into the other Jonnie from Wanderlust – Jonnie Halstead – hovering nervously around the Mothership, which turned into the mainstage and dance floor in the evening.

Jonnie with an E confided […]

WIN a copy of Kara-Leah’s new book ‘Field Notes from Kundalini Awakening’, publishing in 2018. Guaranteed to take you on an intimate journey into the depths of the Kundalini experience. Click here to sign up for the book launch list and go into the draw to win one of THREE print copies.

by Kara-Leah Grant

Recently, I sat down […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

A beautiful set of mala beads made their way into my hands a year or so ago.

They are gorgeous. I’ve put them on so many times, tried them with this outfit and that. Yet every time… I end up taking them straight back off.

They look amazing. But there’s something about it that doesn’t feel right. […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Peter Fernando has been living with chronic illness for almost two decades, including seven years spent as a monk in the Thai Forest tradition.

He’s seen over 24 different health professionals in different modalities, including both conventional, Tibetan, Chinese, and alternative medicine. At some point though he realised that his experience may not go away and his focus […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

A few months ago I wrote an article stating that if you teach yoga, you must have a daily self-practice. That article was widely shared, and read. And it triggered some strong reactions.

There were comments, and emails where people shared with me the reasons why they couldn’t practice yoga every day. Some of these teachers were […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

He started yoga because he had lower back pain, moving from Bikram to Vinyasa to Yin at East West Studios in Auckland. Then Nikki Harris, the studio owner asked musician Arli to play his soundscape ambient tunes for a yin class.

Fast-forward a couple of years and Arli is about to go on a multi-continent tour playing […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Today is Day 138 of a 1000 Day practice I’m doing. It should be about Day 500. But earlier this year, on Day 338 something happened and I dropped the ball.

I’ve been doing Forty Day practices for nearly a decade now. At first, it took great dedication, commitment and mindfulness to practice yoga every day for […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Camilla Maling is a fascinating woman with a deep perspective on our embodied experience as sensate beings, honed through her many years of dance, yoga, storytelling and life experience. She’s endlessly fascinated about the intersection of our being – our psyches and our bodies and how these things map to each other.

Spend time talking to her […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’ve long been aware that I’ve had a particular way of operating in the world that doesn’t serve me. I’m addicted to getting things done. To being productive. And it comes from being in my head, rather than from being.

There are some big gains from this particular behaviour – like prodigal production. Given the limitations of […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I spoke to Jennifer Allen of Jayayoga last year in a video interview about her yoga teacher trainings. Jayayoga’s mantra is ‘safe, sustainable yoga’ and is built on Jennifer’s 15 years of  personal development, yoga teaching, and teacher training. Her focus is on understanding of the way our bodies respond to yoga, not just on a physical level, […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Facebook. Arguments everywhere. About whether guns kill people, or people kill people, or guns with people kill people without guns.

Often it’s arseholes waging arguments.

Wait.

Digression.

I’m going to be using that word liberally throughout this article so if swearing offends you please take the following precautions:

Stop reading Keep reading, and inquire into yourself to […]

There are two ways to live life.

One is as a victim, getting upset and angry at what life throws at you, and trying to change the people and circumstances around you to make life easier.

The second is as a Master, taking whatever life throws at you and using it to change yourself, making yourself stronger and more resilient so life becomes easier and easier.

by Neal Ghoshal

When I started teaching Yoga thirteen years ago I thought I’d be showing anybody who turned up to class a few Yoga postures and hopefully they’d enjoy themselves. Yet Yoga seems to have its own plans and it’s own drive.

Teaching Yoga has lead me on unexpected journeys and to unforeseen places.

And it appears to be the […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

The same month that the new owners of Power Living Wellington signed a lease on their Johnston street premises, unbeknownst to them, Hot Yoga Wellington signed a lease on their second premises just around the corner on Featherston Street.

Two new yoga studios, both featuring heat, one with the capacity for 60+ students in class, in a […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

The back of his book says it all:

‘How did the crystal-meth addicted, alcohol-abusing porn star cross the road to become a beloved, world-famous yoga teacher?’

And how did he? How did Les Leventhal transform and rise from the depths of the darkness to a place of light?

Like all transformative journeys, Les Leventhal’s certainly didn’t happen […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

She’s sometimes referred to as “the Madonna of Yoga” – at least, that’s what Vanity Fair called Shiva Rea when she did a desert photo shoot for them in 2007. But magazines love catchy monikers and as someone who grew up idolising Madonna and has studied with Shiva… the two women are nothing alike.

“I’m not sure what exactly […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

It’s one of the most luscious areas of New Zealand, and now you have even more reason to go and spend some time unwinding and tuning in to the beautiful vibrations.

Golden Flow Yoga is launching the first yoga teacher training course available in Golden Bay, near Nelson at the top of the South Island. Facilitated by Aeven Kelly, […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Recently on social media, a yoga teacher was talking about the difficulty of fitting in going to yoga classes with her busy schedule, and admitted that her home yoga practice was poor. This teacher displayed zero awareness of the importance of a personal practice for anyone who teaches yoga.

She’s trained as a yoga teacher. Which implies that the […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

There is a man I was recently immensely attracted to – on all three levels, sacral, heart and wisdom.

It felt like that attraction was reciprocal. It felt like we had a similar depth and perspective on life, similar histories, values, vision and lifestyle.

So potential and possibility arose, and on my side at least, intense desire. […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

There are many people doing yoga poses today, but there are far less people who have a yoga practice.

Postures are everywhere – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, advertising, magazines, yoga classes, yoga retreats, yoga teacher trainings.

However, postures do not make a yoga practice.

A yoga practice requires at least two other important elements before it can […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Back in 2001, movement specialist Tom Myers published a book called Anatomy Trains. In it, he put forward an idea that was to forever change the way that people understood “stretching” – a systems-oriented view of our musculo-skeletal anatomy.

That is, that when we stretch, we’re not just stretching separate and individual muscles, but that we’re also working […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

In February this year I spent five days at Wanderlust and then rolled straight into an Immersion with Shiva Rea.

Now, a month or so later, everything around me is the same as it was. But I am not. I have deeply changed. I can feel it in the way I stand upon the earth. I can feel it in […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’ve been seeing Emma Mildon and her new book The Soul Searcher’s Handbook all over social media for the past few months.

And then at Wanderlust, in the Presenter’s chill out space, there it was, on the coffee table – The Soul Searcher’s Handbook. Published by Simon & Schuster – a MAJOR American publisher.

Who was this […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Since stopping regular coffee drinking back in 2013, I have become fastidious about never drinking coffee before practicing or teaching yoga. Since I practice every day, and teach often, there are very rare windows when caffeine is an option for me.

At a recent summer festival, I realised how deeply this belief I have about the importance […]

by Nik Robson On Sunday the 17th of January I taught Yin Yoga continuously for 12 hours.

My experience that day was paradigm shifting and has led to me creating a new way to offer my teachings. We need not limit ourselves to linear, hour or even 90 minute yoga classes when possibilities are infinite.

Imagine Socrates back in the days of Ancient Athens, sitting around all day with an openness to […]

by Michelle Jayne, Yoga Facilitator, Therapist, Coach

One of my favorite teachers, Seane Corn, credits Maty Ezraty as one of the single most important influences in her life. Maty encouraged Seane to become a teacher even when she didn’t want to.

Maty is also well known as the force behind the popular YogaWorks brand, which […]

by Ben Ralston

The first step in truly healing anything – which means uprooting the cause of the problem – is to take responsibility for the problem. Many of us begin this journey by getting on the yoga mat. However, sometimes, that’s not enough.

At the root of all our problems – everything that needs healing today – is trauma. […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

When I was twelve years old I started a long short story – more of a novellete – about a young woman snatched from her home who finds herself in this other-worldly detention centre for teenagers. She’s feisty as all hell, and makes a break for it with one of the other teenagers – a boy.

As […]

by Melissa Billington, MYOGA Online School

My partner loves chess and when he asked me to play I said I’d be willing to try, but that backgammon is my game. Chess seems too complicated – too many things to keep track of and too many possibilities. I like the mix of math, chance and skill that backgammon requires. And […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Holy Wanderlust.

What a trip.

It began like it ended last year – with Pete Longworth. We’ve become amazing friends over the last year since meeting at Wanderlust Great Lake Taupo 2015 (one of the best things about this gathering – the quality of friendships you form) and this year, Pete flew out early […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Two years ago I interviewed the team at Samyak Yoga Teacher Training and they talked about the difference between Yoga in life versus life as yoga.

It was an illuminating interview where we covered many aspects of and details of yoga. Now the team are back to share deeper revelations on the way they lead their yoga […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

A couple of months ago, I went to George FM’s Blue Skies three-day music festival in Fiji as part of Yoga Rhythms. I wrote about that experience in this article: How George FM Blue Skies Challenged my Judging, Critical Self. This is the follow-up.

Once I got over my angst and judgment about spending three days in the […]

by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat

I attended an all-girls high school in Dunedin and remember clearly one year the annual production was Lysistrata. Written by Aristophanes and first staged in 411 BCE, it’s a comedy detailing one woman’s extraordinary mission to end the Peloponnesian War.

Her method? Lysistrata convinces the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Today was Day 300 of a Tantric yoga practice I’m doing, which got me reflecting on what it takes to commit to yoga.

Every day, no matter what, I sit and do this particular yoga practice, which consists of seated spinal rotations with pranayama, chanting with visualisation and mudra, and meditation.

My intention is to do 1000 days in […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

My road to a life of outrageous joy began with waking up in the Acute Psych Ward at Lion’s Gate Hospital in Vancouver.

I’d been “committed”, which meant I wasn’t free to leave until the doctors had deemed me sane and safe enough – to myself and to others.

But being committed to a psych ward wasn’t […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I love checking the data and seeing which articles came up tops out of the 100+ that The Yoga Lunchbox published in 2015. After awhile, you start seeing the patterns.

First are my personal articles which detail my breakdowns and breakthroughs on everything from men to my yoga practice to my relationship with teaching and money. People […]

by Ben Ralston, co-facilitating The Heart of Freedom in May, 2016

I started this year with a vision quest. 4 days and nights without food, water, or shelter, alone on a mountainside.

In those four days and nights I remembered what it is to be a human; the simplicity of what it is to be alive between the earth and […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I have been observing a pattern of mine in relationship for some fifteen years now.

I first became aware of it in 2000, during a two and a half year relationship with a beautiful man that adored me. Despite becoming aware of it then, and seeing how destructive it was for our relationship, that same […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Once, I taught a weekend workshop to an eager group of students, including the studio owner and some teachers from the studio.

My style of yoga and teaching was fairly different to the usual style on offer at this particular studio. My offering was lapped up and everyone enjoyed the workshop, excited to have a […]

By Nityda Bhakti, The Yoga Wellness Space

Yoga is a practice of turning inward or pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses). It can be hard to do this at times in a more rigorous yoga class, especially for those still learning the poses and therefore needing to fix their focus to others in the room in an effort to get their […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Over the last eleven years I have done some deep personal work. At times it has been difficult and heart-wrenching, but always it has been rewarded and en-lightening.

That work has brought me into a clear and lighter space within my own being, plus it has given me the ability to shift states of being almost at […]

Catch the New Zealand Guide to Yoga Teacher Trainings 2017 here. Catch the Australian Guide to Yoga Teacher Trainings 2017 here.

—–

Welcome to the YLB’s comprehensive guide* to New Zealand-based Yoga Teacher Trainings available in 2016 and early 2017.

Although we can’t claim to feature every Teacher Training on offer, we are amazed at the number and diversity of the trainings […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’ve been dying to go to a pacific island for a few years now, but just haven’t had the available cash to pay for a holiday.

So when Rire, the other half of Yoga Rhythms, called me to say she’d landed us a gig in Fiji, all expenses paid, I was thrilled. And I didn’t ask too many […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Ever since I interviewed Vincent Bolletta last year I’ve wanted to do a private yoga session with him. I knew from that interview that this was a man who knew his yoga inside out, on the energetic and physical level.

Over the last few years, I’ve worked with a couple of teachers, both teaching in the Ashtanga […]

By David Cary

I came to yoga in the early 2000s quite by accident.

At the time I was struggling with ‘a big move’. Yoga was calming, and of course being in a room graced by a sprinkling of beautiful people did help.

I finished one term, and, not knowing, moved to the next level class. Was that a mistake! […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Meet Hamish Kenworthy, New Zealand’s first certified Baron Baptiste teacher and Budokon teacher. Hamish runs Apollo Yoga Studio in Christchurch, and is leading a 200 hour Power Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training in Methven & Maruia Springs in 2016.

I was very curious to speak to him because Baron Baptiste was an early and powerful influence on my […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I am not a luxury kind of woman. At least, I can really enjoy luxuries when they present themselves to me, but I don’t tend to seek them out or spend money on them.

Part of that is because I run a tight ship, choosing freedom, passion and creativity over money – although I’m not suggesting that […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Meet Jennifer Allen, a former professional dancer and musical theatre performer, who has been practicing yoga since 1995. Jennifer is now the senior facilitator at Jayayoga where she teaches safe and sustainable yoga classes and teacher trainings.

I was intrigued by that concept, so Jennifer and I sat down to talk about what it means to practice […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

A few weeks ago was the seventh anniversary of The Yoga Lunchbox, which began life as Prana Flow NZ after I did my first Prana Flow teacher training module with Twee Merrigan.

Within the first year though it became clear this website was about far more than one style of yoga, so two weeks after my son […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Yoga might be one of the faster growing pursuits in the West, but there’s still plenty of people showing up to class, having one – or multiple – bad experiences and being put off for life.

And unfortunately, that initial interaction with a studio and/or teacher can set the tone for the way someone will forevermore think […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Meet Nianna Bray, international yoga teacher and tantric yogini. Nianna has studied with many talented teachers, including Shiva Rea, and Mark Whitwell, and now teaches yoga trainings and retreats all over the world.

And if you’ve been reading The Yoga Lunchbox for awhile, you might have met Nianna last year, when we first interviewed her about teaching […]

By guest author Mike Kuplevatsky

The fundamental nature of happiness and our relationship between our inner world and the external world most often intertwine. Without realizing it, our happiness is often governed by the external world.

For example, if someone frowns at us, honks a horn at us, calls us crazy, disagrees with with some of our viewpoints or thinks […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Meet Tara Judelle, an international yoga teacher and featured teacher with Yogaglo. Tara has over 27 years’ experience working with movement, and now focuses her yoga classes, and her own practice, on the discovery of embodied anatomy.

I had the pleasure of attending a weekend workshop with Tara last November, at a time I was beginning to […]

By Michelle Jayne, Yoga facilitator, therapist & coach

“Step your foot forward and stretch your arms up.”

I looked around the studio I was practicing in, trying to figure out if we were still on the right leg, or without warning, this had changed.

“Square your hips forward, breath in, stretch your arms, breath in, bend your front knee, and […]

By Nina Rogocki, The Soul Laundry

About three years ago I was new to Auckland from the UK, and embarking on a new journey that was unexpected but welcome. To settle into my new environment, I found myself a gym, as you do, and I started to attend classes and set my routine.

One afternoon in a daze, I got […]

By Leza Lowitz, Sun and Moon Yoga

I never thought I’d open my own yoga studio, let alone do so in a foreign country. Years ago, while I was meditating at a yoga retreat in Haiku, Hawaii, a voice had said,

“You must move to Japan and open a yoga studio in Tokyo.”

Was it my inner voice? The voice […]

By Brook McCarthy, Hustle & Heart

Brook is launching the next round of her popular Hustle & Heart 9 Week On-Line Course on September 28. Sign up by September 20 to receive the early bird price.*

There’s a time for working for free, a place for charitable yoga teaching and a role for working for profit.

As a yoga teacher, knowing […]

By Lucinda Staniland

I started doing Crossfit because I wanted to get strong and build good bone density, not because I wanted to improve my Yoga practice. And I didn’t think that my daily Yoga practice would help much when it came to the high-intensity strength training and cardio workouts that form the basis of Crossfit.

Turns out I was wrong.

[…]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Meet Daniel Aaron, one of the founders of Radiantly Alive, author, chocolatier, herbalist, Human Potential coach, and Yoga teacher.

He’s going to be leading a Radiantly Alive Level 2 week-long Teacher Training at Mana Retreat this December.

Daniel was a self-proclaimed “lazy, fat, stiff” child who thought that yoga was for “pansies”. When he finally did make […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

This article was written in February 2014 for Wanderlust NZ & Australia that year. I’ve re-published it as Amy is appearing at Wanderlust Sunshine Coast October 2015 and it was a fabulous interview.

When I first heard that Amy Ippoliti was teaching at Wanderlust NZ and Australia, and saw photos of her, I made the assumption that she […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

The more research I do, and the more I observe my own experience and that of people around me, the more I become convinced that understanding trauma and how to release it is the key to our evolution as human beings.

Fortunately, there are many amazing researchers and therapists working in the field of trauma work, including […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I felt it when my alarm went off on Monday morning a few weeks back.

I was not ready to get out of bed. Yes, I was tired, after a big weekend on the road with my son, but this not wanting to rise was deeper than that.

I did rise though, and like every morning for […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Meet Judith Hanson Lasater. A yoga teacher since 1971, and the co-founder of Yoga Journal, Judith is a physical therapist, and holds a PhD in East West psychology.

She’s also written eight books and recently released a second edition of her popular book Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life.

(The first edition was released in […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Every year, for two weeks, Mark Whitwell retreats to Fiji, to the island of Taveuni. He invites students and potential teachers to join him, for as long as they can. They can choose to just retreat, or they can clock up teacher training hours.

Mark chose this particular location because it’s accessible to the entire Pacific Rim, […]

By guest author Nityda Bhakti, The Yoga Wellness Space

“I am so interested in trying yoga- I just need to wait until I lose this last fifteen pounds.”

“Yoga? Me?! Do you see my size? I could never lift myself off the ground like that!”

I’ve heard comments like these for the past decade that I’ve been teaching.

I’ve made […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

One thing has become very clear to me over the past year or so – how very complex our lives have become, and how full we are as human beings.

Very few of us have space on a daily basis to just sit and chill – without a phone, without a book, without the TV on, without […]

by G-Love aka Gareth Edwards

“I loved the laughing yoga, but it’s not really yoga.”

I hear something like this every time I run sessions in a yoga context like a teacher’s studio, yoga retreat or festival.

For me this is the best possible response, because it means we did yoga together and nobody noticed.

Like a mother who sneaks […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

This week in my Ashtanga practice I’ve been exploring and playing with two joints in particular – my ankle joints and wrist joints. Thanks to a Yin Yoga workshop, I’ve identified that I have a limited range of movement in both of these joints – less than the normal range.

The only posture that my limited ankle […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

If you prefer video over reading, click here to jump to the end and watch my video review of Revolution. The article doesn’t review the book so much as give relevant background. 

Russell Brand first entered my consciousness when I saw a clip of him via Facebook being interview on MSNBC (below).

In the eight minute interview, […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’ve been aware of the role that bone compression plays in our range of movement since watching a series of Paul Grilley videos on YouTube.

Yet despite knowing this intellectually, it wasn’t until I attended a Yin Yoga Workshop with Karin Sang and Markus Henning Giess of Yin Therapy that I realised how bone compression was impacting my […]

by Annie Vitale

I wouldn’t call myself a “yogi”.

I’m not sure I’m at that point yet.

I still struggle to touch my toes some days. I haven’t even set foot in a yoga studio. The thought of sweating profusely in a 90° room in front of other people does not appeal to me.

And it embarrasses me to say […]

By Lucinda Staniland

It’s the holy grail of the yoga world: A Yoga Teacher Training that is transformative, comprehensive, and great value for money.

But how do we find such a thing?

Currently, the price of Yoga Teacher Trainings can vary hugely, from (very rare) free or koha based trainings, to  $4000 for an average NZ or Australian based training, to […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I got a call from a journalist at the Waikato Times a few weeks ago who wanted to interview me for an article on the ‘pros and cons’ of meditation.

I wasn’t sure if I could help her out – after all, I don’t teach meditation – however it turned out she wanted to interview me about my experience […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

This came up in conversation this week – a new teacher expressing a fear that her yoga sequences weren’t interesting enough and that she was going to be boring her students. She wanted to know how to make her sequences more interesting.

However, there is a fallacy of logic here. The teacher has a fear arising – […]

Gina Brezini of Circling Adventures as interviewed by Kara-Leah Grant. Kara-Leah: Can you introduce yourself to The Yoga Lunchbox readers? Who are you?

Gina: My name is Gina Brezini. I have two passions—for creativity and for spiritual development. As I write this, it occurs to me that both are rooted in authenticity. So, it seems that what I deeply care […]

By Donna Farhi, Yoga teacher and author

When I first began formal Yoga Teaching Training, yoga postures were taught as a series of check-lists, with a point-by-point focus on each and every body part.

While this Simon-Says approach of monkey see, monkey do led to a pretty successful replication of a picture, it seemed to bypass the internal process of […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I just wrote some 700 words and I realised that I’ve been telling the same damn story on this website for the past five years. A story of struggling to earn money through teaching yoga and writing.

And now, I’m dropping the story and simply saying:

I give up.

I’ve had enough.

I don’t care anymore.

I’m […]

By Laura Brookes

If ACC’s got it right, all New Zealand yoga teachers should be on immediate hazard alert.

They currently face the same risk of injury in their workplace as downhill ski instructors.

Yoga instructors are charged $1.37 for every $100 earned in ACC levies, a higher rate than prostitutes ($0.40), firefighters ($0.92) and professional netball players ($1.31).

ACC […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

This week, Bianca had this question.

I always find it difficult to keep my hips balanced without a mirror….where should I feel that I’m balanced? I often get corrected when it actually felt right to me. Seeing it though in a before and after picture I was way off. How do I know where balanced alignment is […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Running a popular yoga website means I get all kinds of emails from people wanting me to review or share their yoga-related products and services. My favourite so far was the press release from a company launching a range of yoga shoes. Because we all know you wear shoes while practicing yoga right?

So I was sceptical […]

By Michelle Jayne, Yoga Facilitator/Therapist/Coach

I love teaching yoga but like any job, there are pros and cons.

On the pro side, I go to ‘work’ everyday and do what I love. I usually see the best in people and the essence of possibility and growth, all interwoven into a well themed yoga class. I have freedom […]

By Neal Ghoshal, Sacred Moves

A little while ago I wrote an article on the eight essential principles of Restorative Yoga. Since then I’ve been continuing to delve deep into this beautiful practice. Deep rest is always calling!

I’m happy to be sharing some more … and one of the most profoundly restful of the Restorative postures is Supported Child’s […]

Donna Farhi, author and yoga teacher, as interviewed by Kara-Leah Grant

Donna Farhi is a world renowned yoga teacher who has been practicing yoga for thirty nine years, and teaching it since 1982.

She lives here in New Zealand but teaches intensives and teacher trainings internationally, and is the author of several well loved yoga books including The Breathing Book, […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Apparently one in ten Swedish people own a variation of the Shakti Mat – a modern-day rendering of the bed of nails.

Consisting of a thin foam filler inside a cotton case mounted with 6000 plus plastic spikes, the Shakti Mat is meant to “increase blood circulation and stimulate the body to release endorphins which help to bring […]

by Lucinda Staniland

The benefits of yoga are well advertised.

We hear that yoga will help us (among other things): lose weight, breathe better, live longer, have better sex, recover from depression, cure sciatica, heal our digestive system, build core strength, alleviate back pain, heal mental illness, and build bone health.

But does science agree that yoga can really heal us […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Over the past decade I’ve become skilled at working with the unconscious and that which holds us back from realising our dreams. I’m adept at identifying something I would like to experience, and then making it happen.

I wanted to write and publish a book. I’ve now written and published two.

I had a dream of teaching […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

New Zealand born yogi Mark Whitwell has been teaching for a couple of decades and studied with both Desikachar and Krishnamacharya.

He is also the author of Yoga of Heart, and The Promise of Love, Sex and Intimacy and editor of TKV Desikachar’s book The Heart of Yoga. You can see a Skype video interview we did […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Never before in human history have we known so much.

We have unlimited information at our fingertips, and that information is constantly being updated.

We know how to maintain optimum health including how to eat, how to exercise and how to practice yoga. We can learn any new skill for free – a new language, a musical […]

by guest author Madi Das, Kirtan Shakti

Courtesy of Integral Yoga® Magazine, Summer 2015

Most days, I go to my regular job, wearing my regular clothes, and I type regular things into my regular computer until it’s time to go home.

My co-workers know me as Joe, that guy who has enough light banter to be social, but not so much as […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

This New Year’s Eve was a watershed for me. For the first time in my life, I tamed the wild demon of my sexuality. Never have I felt more powerful or more in integrity, and that sense of power and integrity has since spun out, infusing every element of my being.

I was at a […]

by Lucinda Staniland

Editor’s Note: This List was published in 2017 and some information is no longer up-to-date.

The yoga teachers and spiritual leaders that established and spread yoga in the Western world—people like K. Pattabhi Jois, Krishnamacharya, TKV Desikachar, B.K.S. Iyengar and Indra Devi—are largely no longer with us.

There’s no denying their influence on contemporary yoga, but it’s […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I first came across Feldenkrais in a yoga teacher taught by a friend in Wellington – Oli Wiles. He was smitten with the technique and skilfully wove it through his yoga teaching to great benefit.

Now that I’ve been practicing yoga for almost two decades, I’ve also become very interested in how the body opens up, or […]

By Jennifer Hanning, Yoga In Tahiti

Kia ora, fellow Kiwis! Even though I moved to Australia in my early twenties, I still call New Zealand home and try to get back every year.

Australia has been good to me, helping me get over a devastating betrayal – which is why I ran away from home – and providing me with […]

By Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat

Yesterday we got home from six days away – my son with his father, and me in Napier teaching yoga classes and workshops.

I love being on the road, catching up with the many friends I have around the country, teaching at a variety of studios, sharing my passion for yoga in workshops.

[…]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Yin Yoga has been around for a couple of decades now. Actually, that’s not quite true. Yin is not so much a style of yoga as a way of practicing yoga. It’s likely that yoga has been practiced in a yin manner for thousands of years. But it’s only come to prominence in the West in the […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

On Sunday afternoon, lying on the grass outside under fluffy white clouds and a lazy blue sky, I felt the snaky tendrils of depression slither into my heart and settle in my being.

One moment, everything was as it was.

The next, I felt a heaviness of being, a reluctance to move or act or even be, a […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Ten years ago I was six months out of an Acute Psych Ward after two psychotic episodes, and was just beginning the process of cutting down the medication I’d been given after a diagnosis of bipolar.

The emotional pain of being dumped by my fiance was still fresh and raw, and I’d only just stopped sobbing my […]

By Tom Sutherland, Traveling Yogaman

I left my small, humid, rotting Calcutta hotel room at 6:00am and set out on a mission to find the historical center of yoga therapy established by the late Yoga guru Buddha Lall Bose in 1937, the Yoga Cure Institute.

Publicly, little is known about the Yoga Cure Institute.

However, my teacher, Tony Sanchez, and […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Last week, Hannah, the marketing guru over at Power Living, emailed me and asked if I would promote an event that Power Living is running from March 23 – 29,  The P.L.A.Y Instagram Competition.

The event involves people taking a series of photos of yoga-related topics and uploading them to Instagram with the tag #modernyogachallenge.

At the […]

By Premratna, Premratna Music

If I try to imagine what the course of my life would have taken without yoga, I get an image of the movie Life of Pi: a small boat, huge swells, a tiger on board and a lot of fear.

Yoga found me while I was doing my ‘big O.E.’; that phase of life where we are […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I was fortunate enough to attend one of Mark Whitwell’s classes at Wanderlust Great Lake Taupo 2015.

Mark is teacher of considerable standing who spent many years with Desikachar and studied directly with Krishnamacharya, the teacher of teachers and the godfather of Western Yoga. His approach gets right to the heart of yoga.

Unfortunately, […]

By Lucinda Staniland

The internet is full to bursting with articles debunking the ‘Top Yoga Myths’.

They tell us that contrary to poplar belief, Yoga is not a religion, that it’s not just for skinny, rich, flexible young women, and that it really is good exercise, as well as a holistic spiritual experience.

Opinion is divided in these articles as […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

And by that I mean the best yoga teacher I can be, not the best yoga teacher in the world. 🙂

Yes, the four days of Wanderlust were the best four days of my life.

It’s my ideal way to spend time – hanging in community surrounded by literally hundreds of heart-open people, practicing yoga, listening to music, […]

By Astrid Vause

I have been practicing yoga for a while now, in fact I am a yoga teacher, but it wasn’t until I got sick that I fell deeply in love with this beautiful practice and it’s healing powers.

It was a warm sunny and vibrant day in my new home in Los Angeles and my children were building […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

On Friday, a friend who is a talented healer, did some energy release work on my shoulders.

He stood behind me, pressed into each shoulder and breathed. It was a simple technique and yet I could feel pressure evaporating into the ether.

Afterwards he shook his head.

You had half a ton of pressure in there.

I […]

By Kara-Leah Grant & Lucinda Staniland

Content warning: Some accounts of sexual abuse in this story contain explicit details and strong language that some may find upsetting or triggering.

Editors Note: This list was last updated on 30 May 2019. To our best knowledge, the information given here is accurate but there may be new developments which we are not […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

It began with Ana Forrest’s class Tracking Transformation at midday on Thursday, the first day of Wanderlust Great Lake Taupo.

I was wary of taking her class that afternoon as I was doing a Speakeasy at 4:30pm and Ana has a reputation for breaking people open. However, it was my only chance to make one of her […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Over the years I’ve collected a large collection of yoga books, DVDs and accessories. Many of them I never use. So I’ve decided to gift them out to The Yoga Lunchbox community.

Plus, the New Zealand distributors of Shakti Mats have kindly offered two Shakti mats as prizes for this competition (see below for information on the […]

 By guest author Lucinda Staniland

You’d think an afternoon spent on Youtube watching Yoga video parodies would make for a good time.

But it didn’t.

In fact, it was draining. And my quest to find ‘The Ten Best Yoga Video Parodies’ quickly became ‘The Ten Best Yoga Video Parodies (That Don’t Suck)’ and finally left me quietly fuming on ‘Why Funny […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

Wanderlust Great Taupo 2015 – everyone I spoke to agreed it was a resounding success and totally exceeded expectations, on all fronts – even the weather!

Despite a forecast that promised solid rain for four days, the festival was mostly dry and sunny, only succumbing to drizzle on the final day. Then, it felt therapeutic and atmospheric.

[…]

by Kara-Leah Grant

On Saturday I taught my first yoga class in five weeks, as it’s summer holidays here and I’ve been doing just that – holidaying. Possibly it wasn’t prudent to take so much time off teaching when I’ve got a major festival within a week – i.e. Wanderlust.

Although as I’ve been on a Forty Day Practice, my […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

When Wanderlust asked me to submit four classes to teach at the inaugural four-day festival in New Zealand, I pondered how to theme those classes.

One of my yoga students had recently told me how she thought my teaching was Goddess-focused and she always felt like I was helping her step into her feminine power in class. […]

By guest author Charlotta Martinus, TeenYoga

I was 37 when I started yoga and to be frank, I thought it was all pretty weird!

And so did most people. A lot has changed since then.

There has been a 25% year on year increase in the UK in people involved in yoga, one way or another in the last ten years. […]

by Kara-Leah Grant

It’s my first day back at “work” in 2015. I’m starting by renaming “work” as “creation”, because that’s really what I do. I create. And I love it.

I create words, movement, ideas, processes, life and ultimately, myself.

This year I’m cranking up the mojo on my speaking career (find out more about booking me here) and […]