More questions than answers on how we view and work with pain in yoga By Veronica King A recent post about a pain relief ad in a pharmacy sparked a lively discussion around yoga and pain, one which I was interested in exploring further. It seems to have created more questions than answers. A topic dear to my heart as I tore my hip labrum in a yoga class, this injury and the subsequent pain management was to become my greatest teacher. Many teachers and students have been injured in … [Read more...]
Kara-Leah Grant gets up close & personal about life on and off the yoga mat as she puts her life back together after a Kundalini Awakening experience.
Does ambition belong on your yoga mat?
Teaching yoga as your career By Veronica King Luckily my first and most influential teacher always spoke about being a yoga professional. This was her livelihood and treated it with that respect. This helped shape me. As a yoga teacher, I would always treat my career with that same respect. It's not uncommon to feel shy about sharing this. There is in the teaching of any spiritual tradition an ongoing tension between being of service and charging for that service. You have every … [Read more...]
Travelling Yogi
How yoga helped me stay grounded before flying. By Veronica King Feels surreal to be writing this piece on my parent's kitchen table in Adelaide. The trip that was cancelled 3 times due to border changes, it would appear that it was 4th time lucky. The last few years we have been shrouded in fear, separated from our loved ones, and unsure if anything we planned would actually go ahead. As I prepared for this trip, I knew my practice was helping me stay steady and grounded. I’m sharing … [Read more...]
The joys and challenges of practicing yoga online
Students experience of online yoga Part 2 by Sandra Palmer “Since the arrival of Covid 19 into our world, the way we teach yoga has changed. Studios and teachers rapidly adapted to close brick and mortar studios and many immediately started teaching online. Some teachers and students love this online environment and, equally, many people loathe it”. Registered Psychologist and Yoga Teacher, Sandra Palmer shares her insights and experiences on the student’s perspective of … [Read more...]
To Zoom or not to Zoom?
The joys and challenges of teaching and practicing yoga online. By Sandra Palmer Since the arrival of Covid 19 into our world, the way we teach yoga has changed. Studios and teachers rapidly adapted to the closure of their brick and mortar studios and many immediately started teaching online. Some teachers and students love this online environment and, equally, many people loathe it. I refer in this article to teaching online yoga as a valid choice and method of teaching … [Read more...]
When it turns out Exile was just a Sabbatical • My return to the Yoga World
by Kara-Leah Three weeks ago, after a three or four year sabbatical, I stepped back into a Yoga Studio to teach. I’d stopped teaching because my practice no longer resembled a studio yoga class, and it was impossible to teach something I wasn’t doing. It felt contrived, and wrong. Walking away from teaching felt like walking away from a core part of my identity. But sticking it out felt like a lie. So I stopped teaching. And I stopped going to studios because I was invariably … [Read more...]
A New Beginning for The Yoga Lunchbox: Meet Our New Supporters, ExerciseNZ
by Kara-Leah Grant, After 10 years of championing The Yoga Lunchbox, I'm SO happy to be handing over the torch to a new team. Yes, that's right! I'm officially moving on from my role at The Yoga Lunchbox and handing over to our new Supporters: ExerciseNZ. ExerciseNZ are a non-profit organisation with the mission of proactively supporting a sustainable exercise and fitness industry in New Zealand and they're super stoked to be able to support The Yoga Lunchbox to serve the yoga community here … [Read more...]
How to Re-Write Your Past and Free up Your Future
by Kara-Leah Grant In practice this week, I noticed that when I've told the story of my awakening/psychosis experience, it's always been focused on the relationship I was in, and how that contributed to the experience. But there's another big piece to that story. And it's one I've never told before. That intrigued me. Why had I not looked at that aspect of the story before? Scanning through my life's history, I saw the pattern repeated over and over again: My story has always been told … [Read more...]
How to Blast Through Avoidance & Clear Out Your Psychic Space
by Kara-Leah Grant, Avoidance. It's one of those subtle things that can completely derail our lives. Or at least, prevent us from growing and expanding. And the thing is, it's oh so subtle most of the time. Like, not even there almost. Like, easy to ignore. This week, I've avoided making a phone call to a venue to talk about pricing. I've avoided downloading and reading the notes from my editor on my book. And I've avoided calling someone on treating me bad. These are just the avoidances I'm … [Read more...]
Day 617 of my Thousand Day Practice. Ball dropped, Again!
by Kara-Leah Grant I was in the car, catching a ride to Day 3 of a three-day workshop with Ana Forrest & Jose Calarco. Nikki - giving me a ride - and I were talking about mountains and the energy they embody. I was sharing my recent experiences in Glenorchy, where I would sit outside at sunset and do my practice. My practice! My 1000 Day practice... The one I was up to Day 617 on... The one I... DIDN'T do yesterday. In that moment, I remembered. And shock hit. A wave of shock … [Read more...]