by Nicole Allan, Raw Yoga Modern Yoga has become like therapy for a lot of us. Far from the traditional goal of gaining enlightenment, most are simply looking for a tool to help us stay sane. When it comes to our sanity there are many factors to consider, for now, I have focused on a societal foundation - The blame/shame model of modern societies. Blame and shame have become so ingrained it’s hard to know where it all began... It is embedded in our thoughts, language and … [Read more...]
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...]
Shambhavi Sarasvati on Direct Realization Tantra & The Play of Awakening
by Kara-Leah Grant Shambhavi Sarasvati I discovered Shambhavi Sarasvati when I went looking for Tantra books to deepen my knowledge of the Trika Shaivism lineage. I found The Play of Awakening, which is an accessible, enjoyable, gem of a book. I felt like I was sitting in satsang with Shambhavi, and had many insights and a'ha! moments through reading her words. I love her approach to Tantra and Self-Realisation - it feels relaxed and grounded in day-to-day life. She says that direct … [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...]
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...]
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...]
Top 10 Best Yoga Articles of 2018
LoveLake Festival – rocking the best hugs ever. Demonstrated here by Jase Te Patu and Luke Tomlinson. Photo by Cameron Sims of Plant Culture. 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 finally, just when I … [Read more...]
A Review of the 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 kinesthesia. As Donna lead us through ten slow diaphragmatic breaths, the whole audience dropped into deep, yet focused, stillness. There were so many magical moments like this at the Hauora Yoga … [Read more...]
Scott Lyons on What it Really Means to be in Flow
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 Judelle, and a voracious learner who has explored many healing modalities. (Seriously, check out his bio - it's off the hook). He … [Read more...]