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 five day festival and in the company of an extraordinarily sexy man. The connection between us was humming and thick and a mere sideways glance was enough to bring on dry mouth and heart palpitations. And … [Read more...]
When the Price of Beauty and Presence is Sadness
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. I love home too but when I'm at home, I'm reminded of the home I don't have, the life I'm not leading. In that life I'm coming home to a man I love, who loves me. … [Read more...]
There is No Space for Me. A Short Journey into Depression
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 dragging at my insides, a rising of emotion. Usually the arrival of depression is not so noticeable. It sneaks up on me and I'm not aware until it's taken me down and I'm … [Read more...]
Reflections on Teaching the Worst Yoga Class of My Life
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 asana practice is stronger than it's ever been. However it turns out a strong asana practice doesn't necessarily make me a stronger teacher. I turned up on Saturday … [Read more...]
How to Use Your Yoga Practice to Cultivate Specific States of Being
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. I pondered that for a few days. And then it hit me. I was a long-time Tarot enthusiast and love the symbology and depths of insight revealed in Tarot … [Read more...]
Forget New Year’s Resolutions. Ask Yourself this One Question Instead
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 I'm working on launching my first webinars. Actually, I was meant to do the webinar thing last year, but I kept putting it off. Out of the comfort zone, … [Read more...]
On the Dilution of the Genuine Transmission of Yoga Part 2
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I've been contemplating the many reactions I received to this article over the past week or so, On the Dilution of the Transmission of Yoga. One person unsubscribed from the website (or at least - one person told me they had because of this article, more people may have!) saying that I had made some good points but she found the article judgemental and unyogic. Other people rejoiced that someone was speaking such things out loud. It does feel … [Read more...]
On the Dilution of the Genuine Transmission of Yoga
by Kara-Leah Grant I was recently in a yoga class with yet another teacher who's not present, not teaching to the room, and not really teaching yoga. Oh, there were postures, and alignment cues, and by the end of the class as she'd come more into herself and some presence, offering some lovely phrases and suggestions. Other people enjoyed the class. They left feeling like they'd done a "good yoga class". They were happy. Content. And they'll keep coming back. Me, I was watching my … [Read more...]
Is Ancestral Trauma a Source of Modern Day Depression and Anxiety?
by Kara-Leah Grant Since 2004 I have progressively healed myself through a combination of yoga, meditation and a wide variety of healing techniques. As I went through this process, my old coping techniques slowly but surely fell away - in the past I've used everything from drugs, alcohol, exercise and relationships to distract myself. Dropping these various distraction techniques was never easy. I didn't give up marijuana until I was pregnant. When life got really tough and I found … [Read more...]
The Conundrum of the Inflexible Yoga Teacher
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat One Sunday recently I retired to the beach for 90 minutes to work my way through a set yoga sequence a friend had posted on their Facebook page. It was total luxury. My son was with his uncle, I had no-where to be and nothing to do, but soak up the sun, the salty breeze, and washing sound of the waves while immersing myself in a yoga sequence. I hated it. Oh, not the scene, or the setting, or the child-free time but the sequence. From the … [Read more...]