by Elly Barry, Yoga and Body Centred Inquiry Each of us contain within, a symphony of thoughts, whispers, and truths yet to be given breath. To listen within asks more than the ability to become quiet. To listen to another, more than the willingness to be all ears. Attributing a gesture of great love and attention to one body part alone, is to fall short. Deep listening begins with the ability to inhabit for a moment, the source of someone else’s longings and unmet … [Read more...]
Building Resilience with Yoga and Meditation
By Swami Karma Karuna, Anahata Yoga Retreat What is Resilience? No matter who we are, the state of the bank balance, or which country we live in; the twists and turns of life, deaths, jobs, relationship stresses, natural disasters, and trauma can affect us all. Change influences each of us differently, altering our biochemistry, thoughts, and emotions. Resilience is our ability to come back to our centre, to rebound from adversity, and to respond to a challenge in a creative … [Read more...]
The Yoga of Self-Enquiry
Exploring Witnessing, Strengths, Weaknesses, Aims and Needs By Swami Karma Karuna, Anahata Yoga Retreat Recently, we have been living through a time that has thrown the ‘norm’ out the door and, despite the challenges for many, it is also a wakeup call - an opportunity to think about our lives and take stock. Jnana yoga is a process of sincere self-inquiry with the aim of finding true inner wisdom. Whilst the physical practices of yoga continue to be important, looking in and … [Read more...]
Spring Equinox Rising
by Sonya Simpson, SSY Sonya Simpson Yoga Have you felt a slow rising of energy over the past few weeks or days? A gentle nudge from within encouraging you to start creating and building? Spring equinox is upon us and with it, the light is brightening and the blanket of winter is becoming easier to throw off. The natural slowing down that occurs in winter, those quiet months when the light is low and the weather cooler, is starting to feel less necessary. Nature is reflecting back to us … [Read more...]
Tantra and Purpose in the Time of the Pandemic
by Una Hubbard, Meditation and Yoga with Una As I write this we’re over halfway into the “Year of the Pandemic”, or what boils down to the “Year of Great Upheaval and Uncertainty”. If you’ve been on Facebook you’ve no doubt seen the many memes declaring 2020 the year we all would just as soon forget. It’s as though we’re all holding our breath until this Covid thing is over. We’re biding our time, waiting it out. And at some point in the future, there will be a fix …. and then we’ll be … [Read more...]
Mindfulness and the Prefrontal Cortex
by Dyana Wells A lot of us have heard about mindfulness and its possible benefits. Recently I have learned a few interesting things about the brain that have made the benefits of mindfulness meditation even clearer to me. Meditation produces a thickening of the prefrontal cortex – the part of the cerebral hemispheres above and behind the eyes. The prefrontal cortex increased in size massively during our evolution into human beings and it may hold the key to our human potential. Bodywork … [Read more...]
Chakras – Our Centres for Transformation to Truth
by Nisha Kumar Joon, YogaOra A chakra is an energy structure, a whirling vortex of energy that acts a bit like a spiral pulling energy through the body’s central vertical electrical current aligned with the spine. Whilst the spine curves, the main energy feeder, that draws energy into the body system’s energy line, is straight. In our human body we tend to work with seven main chakras but there are many, many more. Chakras are also known psychic centers in the subtle body, active, to some … [Read more...]
Creating Calm in Changing Times with Ayurveda
by Amy Massey, Somama Yoga and Ayurveda As we re-emerge from lockdown, we are stepping out into the midst of changing times. The seasonal change is upon us as autumn transitions into winter and we are all navigating impacts of coronavirus in our lives and worldwide. Ayurvedic wisdom brings us back to balance with tips to soothe and strengthen body, mind, heart and soul. Ayurveda (ayur meaning life, veda meaning knowledge) gives us a map of qualities that exist within us and in the world … [Read more...]
How to Harness the Power of Connection & Positivity with Satsang
by Swami Karma Karuna, Anahata Yoga Retreat Human beings are naturally social. Despite strongly held values of independence predominant in our modern society, we often gravitate towards connection and support in groups, whether in a yoga class, a rugby game, a party or a gym. Whichever environment or group of people we spend time with, at a subtle level it influences us. The grandfather clock offers us an example of this concept. Through many experiments, we know that when the grandfather … [Read more...]
Journey to Wellbeing : How Yoga & Meditation helped me find the way
by Matt Calman, The Longest Day I regard it as a minor miracle I became a yogi. For as long as I can remember, in the four-decade-long pre-yoga phase of my life I was horribly inflexible, and unable to get within a foot of touching my toes. My main pastimes in my 20s included playing rugby and drinking beer with my teammates. In my mind, activities such as yoga and ballet dwelt at the opposite end of the spectrum from my modus operandi. If anyone had suggested to the younger me that I … [Read more...]