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...]
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. In this article Adhyatma shares how the Yoga Education in Prisons Trust (YEPT) got started, what the challenges have been and what she's learned from the experience. by Adhyatma, Yoga Education in Prisons Trust After I finish teaching my Yoga classes, the men in my class often come up respectfully and shake my hand … [Read more...]
Ashtanga: Why it’s so Important to Trust the Process
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat One of the great gifts of sharing my internal processes of life so honestly on-line is that I learn from myself. Often, a few years after I’ve written an article, I will re-read it and see the illusions that I was labouring under at the time. Yes, the article is usually about an insight into a difficulty, but there is always another layer or level of illusion. Through re-reading my own articles I’m able to watch myself wake up and become more … [Read more...]
Ashtanga: I Don’t Want to Break My Knees
by Kara-Leah Grant My knees ache. They have been since about April of this year - about three months into a regular Mysore-style Ashtanga practice, two or three times a week. I also do a regular home practice of vinyasa, prana-led asana (slow and steady), meditation and pranayama. I've been able to do Half Lotus for some years now, including Standing Bound Half Lotus (without the forward fold). I have never had any prior knee issues or pain. Although my grandmother (maternal side) and mother … [Read more...]
Giant Integration: Feeling Good vs The Truth of the Moment
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat For over a decade now I've been living deep journeying into the Self. Post-Bali was no exception. I'd stirred up, identified and released a negative core belief centred around the third chakra. This was difficult work and intensely liberating all at the same time. I'm already seeing concrete results from the clearing of this old belief in the way i'm organising my yoga classes and new chakra course here in Wellington. But that old third chakra … [Read more...]
Whereupon the Giant Flashes Back to Early Childhood and Wakes Up
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I'm on a 500hr Yoga Teacher Training with the Power Living Crew called Allow the Giant to Emerge. I'm triggered, massively, and have spent four days of mired deep in my shit. This Thursday evening I'm exhausted and I'm sitting in a Core Belief session with Keenan Crisp and Kristi Clark leading. (Which is really all about working with vasanas.) I'm sick of hearing about core beliefs, I'm sick of hearing about people's childhood memories, I'm even … [Read more...]
But First The Giant Must Dissolve in a Puddle of Tears on the Yoga Mat. Again
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat It's post-Bali yoga teacher training with the crew from Power Living and I am totally spaced out. I don't know whether I'm coming or going. One minute I was in conversation with Duncan & the PLAY crew poolside at Potatohead in Seminyak, then I was in a taxi and off to the airport, flying for eight hours overnight, arriving the next day in Auckland, driving 2.5 hours to Tauranga to pick up Samuel, sleeping some more, and driving four hours to … [Read more...]
Forty Days of Meditation and Manifestation – Did It Work?
by Kara-Leah Grant I've just finished a Forty Day Meditation and Manifestation practice. It's something I completely made up. I'd been wondering for many months about combining daily meditation with a conscious manifestation process because I'd observed in my own life that the first key step for creating anything new is always getting clear. Usually, before I write, I meditate or walk first. This helps to shift me into the ground of being, and out of my head. Out of this space, creativity and … [Read more...]
If All Ambition Falls Away, How Does Anything Get Done?
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat It's a crisp, clear, clean autumn morning in Napier, New Zealand. Almost a frost, but not quite. Cold enough for me to see my breath as I stood waiting for the jug to boil. I have entire day stretching out before me with no appointments and no yoga teaching. My only commitments today are to The Yoga Lunchbox and writing. Something's missing though. Something that's been with me for a long, long time. Possibly since childhood. Actually, … [Read more...]