By Michael Reynolds, of Roimata Food Commons and Toha KaiI have been working at the intersection of community development, food justice & sovereignty, and long term systems thinking for nearly 10 years.I am a big picture thinker, a creator, a doer and a companion within ecologies. I love seeing life thrive…Our food system is broken, which may not come as a surprise to anyone here. While we’re in a cost of living crisis, supermarkets are reportedly making in excess of $1,000,000 profit per … [Read more...]
Lets talk about cultural appropriation in Yoga
Sometimes an email arrives in your inbox and you have to share it. A well written and important contribution to the conversation around cultural appropriation of Yoga. An invitation to have a difficult conversation. See what arises for you when you read this? What actions can we take to make a difference? How are we complicit? More questions than answers, but that doesn't mean we should not ask them. THE EMAIL: As world celebrates UN Yoga Day on June 21, Hindus upset at trivialization … [Read more...]
The challenges of Yoga and pain management.
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...]
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...]
Don’t Despair the Tear
By Veronica King, Teaching Yoga and navigating a labral hip tear. Monday night, advanced yoga class. Parsvakonasana, a warm-up pose early in class, and as I anchored my legs and rotated my body upwards, I felt a rip inside my groin. I nearly screamed, tears streaming down my face through the rest of the class, wondering if this was the last yoga class I might ever do, knowing something BAD had just happened. It turns out that labral hip tears are common amongst dancers, yogis, … [Read more...]
Interview with Carlos, Part 3
What to look for in a yoga teacher, By Cara Butler In this final instalment of conversations with my teacher, Carlos Pomeda, I asked what advice he would give someone seeking a ‘Teacher’ or ‘Guru’ in these modern yoga times. Witnessing so many schools and lineages of yoga facing serious allegations and having terrible abuse exposed, I believe that discernment of your teacher is something to take very seriously! With SO many yoga trainings on offer, with huge variance in … [Read more...]
Conversations with Carlos – Part 1
by Cara Butler, Once upon a time in Christchurch…. actually quite a long time ago….way before any earthquakes, way before I had kids, while I was still very much figuring out what I was doing back in New Zealand after a decade trying my best to stay away…. I somehow found myself a very novice yoga student attending classes in a very cold church hall with a very capable and intelligent teacher from the USA, Katie Lane. Anyone who has had the pleasure of studying with Katie will know … [Read more...]
Journeys in Mindfulness – Part one
by Erica Viedma, Yoga with Erica As a yoga teacher, I am aware of the delicate somatic connection between our physical sensations, thoughts and emotions. In yoga we often instruct people to stand tall and broaden the chest - opening the heart area. We ask people to open into areas that may have been guarded and held tight. At times I have observed myself and others struggle with the emotions that this kind of movement can evoke. With this in mind, I have chosen to study towards a … [Read more...]
Yoga Nidra for Sobriety – A journey to wholeness.
By Veronica King, The Yoga Nidra Project As a tantric yogi I have always enjoyed saying yes to life, all of it! For years I’ve had boundless energy to work, play, practice and party. All in equal measure. But over the last few years I noticed a significant shift, my tank that was always full, was not topping up and suddenly I had a completely empty tank. I was depleted, exhausted, facing a health crisis. So I sat with the questions: what depletes me, and what nourishes me? I … [Read more...]