Years of yoga practice has peeled away layers and layers of behaviours and thought patterns. The veil of avidya (self-ignorance) is lifting, but not without pain and discomfort. It’s this pain and discomfort that sent me fleeing from class so many years ago. It’s this pain and discomfort that has made my practice sporadic and disjointed at times. Bikram in particular used to dig deep inside to this bottomless well of tears that would erupt during class and pour forth without pause until … [Read more...]
Why sangha (spiritual community) is the most precious thing on your path
In Buddhist practice, the three jewels of life - or the three refugees - are what you turn to for support, for guidance, and for friendship. These are: The Buddha nature - the ideal or highest spiritual potential that exists within all beings. The Dharma - the teachings of Buddha, or the path one walks in following the teachings. And finally, Sangha - the community of other spiritual folk walking that same path, albeit in their own individual way. While these are Buddhist concepts, … [Read more...]
How Yoga Helps Us Ride the Storms of Life
by Kara-Leah Grant They say that some of the most stressful events in life include the following: renovating selling a house relationship breakdown pregnancy job uncertainty moving Of course, there are plenty of others. But these are just the ones I'm experiencing right now. Yep, life is kicking my butt. I should probably be curled up in a corner dissolving into a puddle of tears. But I'm not. I feel more calm, more centred, and more me than I've ever felt in my entire … [Read more...]
Why nothing is a problem anymore
My work mates thought I was nuts. A four day meditation retreat, three and a half days of which were in silence. Doing nothing but sitting meditation, walking meditation, eating and sleeping. To me it sounded like bliss. No work. No website. No teaching. No relationships. No internet, tv, media, newspaper, books, magazines. Just unadulterated being, led by one of New Zealand's most prominent meditation teachers, Stephen Archer in a beautiful retreat house in Otaki. The day's … [Read more...]
How to unleash your inner Goddess
There is a Goddess that lives inside each and every woman. In some women, the Goddess is obscured by thick, heavy clouds of fear. Posture is weighted, cramped and hunched. Skin is pale. Eyes dart. In other women, the Goddess has been laquered over with a mask of perfection. Glitz, glamour and gloss strut their stuff, leaving no time nor room for the sensual, knowing, easy delight of a Goddess. Then there are those women who fear for the safety of their Goddess in this (apparently) … [Read more...]
Why it’s important to have friends that share your vision for life
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat One of the joys of being serious about yoga and meditation practice is the community of like-minded friends I've built up around me. Traditionally, a serious aspirant on the spiritual path would have a teacher or guru to turn to for help, guidance and assistance. Life in Wellington means that this teacher or guru usually shows up in my life in the guise of friends and family. Walking a spiritual path is not easy. One could liken it to the … [Read more...]
A yogic exploration of winning the Big Wednesday jackpot
The single most destructive desire present in the human race is the desire "to make money". In the name of "making money", we make slaves of other people, we rape and pillage the earth, we abuse animals, we create inferior products designed to break down and crowd our landfills, we compromise our internal values, we trample over colleagues, we burn ourselves out, we spend more time working than with our family, and we write it all off as "just business". All this because of our burning … [Read more...]
Is asana practice a totally over-rated part of yoga?
Think yoga, and likely you'll think of a person bending their body into a posture. You'll imagine the cover of Yoga Journal and think, that's yoga. Except it's not. It's one aspect of Yoga - Hatha Yoga, or physical yoga. Yoga has many paths one can walk, including Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Mantra Yoga... some of these paths don't involve twisting and turning of the body at all, yet they are still yoga. … [Read more...]
How yoga gives you faith in your ability to cope
It's been a full-on week at work - lots of different projects on the go, lots of meetings, lots of reviewing other people's writing, and lots of writing. Yesterday, it was a beautiful blue sky Wellington day. At about 1pm I decided I needed a break from the computer screen, so did the fast change in the bathroom, grabbed my yoga mat from it's posse under my desk, and dashed out into the sunshine for a power practice. … [Read more...]
What is this heart-opening stuff all about?
Is your heart closed, or open? Do you feel yourself as a separate entity, or do you feel yourself to be a part of a whole? Do you see other people in a judgmental, critical way... or do you see them through eyes of love and compassion? If your heart is closed... are you ready to open up to a new way of being? … [Read more...]