Photo Credit: Pete Longworth 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 can then release the wounds, the traumas and historical pain and free ourselves from the past - our own past, and the past of our ancestors. What's this … [Read more...]
Is This The Most Eco-Conscious Yoga Studio in Australia?
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 a fully ecological studio. Well, as their website says: "We aspire to have the smallest possible environmental footprint so, from the 100% … [Read more...]
The New World Paradigm: Get Clear, Create a Vision, Take Action
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 vision has now been fulfilled. Yoga is everywhere. And people are practicing. So now what for The Yoga Lunchbox? That's what I've been … [Read more...]
Russell Brand’s ‘Revolution’ – A Book Review, of sorts {Video}
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, he reduced one female interviewer to a quivering heap of hormones with his mere presence while stepping outside the proscribed boundaries of a … [Read more...]
Suzanne Sterling on Why What You Love is Key to Your Service {video interview}
by Kara-Leah Grant It's that time of year again... the run-up to Wanderlust, which means I get to interview all kinds of amazing yoga teachers. First up in the series is Suzanne Sterling, in part because she's also a founder of Off the Mat Into the World which is running some events in New Zealand and Australia this October (just been) and December. Interviewing Suzanne meant finding out the low-down both about Off the Mat and how awesome it is, and about her and how awesome she is. I … [Read more...]
The Release of Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery + Loving Your Body
By guest author Melanie Klein, Yoga and Body Image Coalition. Anna Guest–Jelley, founder of Curvy Yoga and the co-editor of Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery + Loving Your Body, and I both struggled with a distorted body image, our perception of ourselves, from early childhood on. In the process, we tried countless diets and experimented with a variety of fitness trends – all of which left us feeling shame, guilt and punishment for the bodies we lived in. Our … [Read more...]
Ourmala: The Yoga Centre Where Social Justice Comes First
This is the third article is this series showcasing yoga teachers and organisations who are bringing yoga to people who generally excluded from classes or studios for a wide variety of reasons like social class, finances, incarceration or general access. If you're doing some kind of community or outreach yoga and would like to share your story, please get in touch. By guest author Leah Davies, Paper Planes Connect “Following my heart is how I live my life. Sometimes it’s really easy, … [Read more...]
Getting Out of the Yoga Studio: What I’ve Learnt Teaching Yoga in Prisons
This is the second article is this series looking all the ways in which people are excluded from yoga - reasons like social class, race, money, incarceration or general access. I've ben a huge fan and supporter of the Yoga Education in Prisons Trust since I heard about their work when Adhyatma published her first article on YLB - Broken Warriors – reaching out to prisoners with yoga. My support means I donate $1 from print copy of Forty Days of Yoga and now The No-More-Excuses Guide to … [Read more...]
How to Change the World No Matter Where You Are or What You Do
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat This month marked nine years since I returned from overseas, after having two psychotic episodes and ending up in Vancouver's Lion's Gate Hospital's Acute Psyche Ward. I was a mess. Eight years prior to that, I'd left New Zealand after completing a journalism certificate, heading overseas to seek fame and fortunate. I'd been runner up to Dux at high school, invited into two Honours subjects at University and voted Most Likely to be Prime Minister of … [Read more...]
What’s it like teaching yoga in prisons?
by Adhyatma, Satyananda Yoga Teacher and author of Broken Warriors - Reaching out to prisoners with yoga [Editor's Note: The Yoga Lunchbox is proud to support the Yoga Education in Prisons Trust through offering free listings of YEPT fundraising events. Plus $1 from every print copy of Forty Days of Yoga goes to YEPT. It's awesome work they're doing! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.] We thought it was time for an update on the activities of Yoga Education in Prisons … [Read more...]