by Angelena Davies “Hello Overwhelm my old friend, I’ve come to talk to you again, Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping.” I often break into song when I feel her coming again. Overwhelm. With her short breath, her pinched shoulders, her scratchy throat, her distracted conversations (“Mum, are you listening?”) her constant pull to the list, the bloody list, her tumble of thoughts, thinking thinking thinking, her creepy whispers of “That’s … [Read more...]
Teaching the Superpower of Rest & Reset with Pregnancy Yoga
by KeiShana Coursey, Opti-mum I’m awake between first sleep and second sleep. It’s 1 a.m., and for the past week I have been nursing the family through high fevers (including some gnarly hallucinations). My body has succumbed to this viral storm, waking with a sore throat and aching joints, and I’ve just taken a truckload of potions which means I can’t lie down until it’s, well, down. Last night, I dragged myself off to bed as the sun was setting – which I believe is what used to happen … [Read more...]
Finding Hope in Chronic Pain: Why I’m Rethinking Biomechanics & Alignment
by Lucinda Staniland I used to think that alignment and biomechanics were the answer to the riddle that is chronic pain. If only I could work hard enough to correct my hyperlordosis, strengthen my weak glutes, and reverse my scoliosis then my pain would ease - right? At least, that’s what I was told. Now, I’m not so sure. In fact, I’ve found that I’ve been able to reduce my chronic pain significantly without changing my biomechanics or alignment at all. In fact, I now wonder if my focus … [Read more...]
Low Energy? Ayurveda Has Some Answers
By Donna Farhi, My colleague and co-teacher Ayurvedic Clinician Melissa Spamer tells me that the most common reason that women come to her for consultation is that they “want more energy”. Poor digestion, insomnia, high-stress levels, and dramatic hormonal and metabolic shifts with accompanying weight gain, are all conditions that respond well to simple Ayurvedic practices. In this article, you'll learn how implementing one of the golden rules of Ayurveda can radically improve your energy … [Read more...]
The Beauty of Maturity: Perimenopause, Menopause & Yoga
By Donna Farhi, All my life I have had a dream that I would live in a house with a long winding driveway lined with oak trees. In my early forties, I bought thirty acres of bare land in the South Island of New Zealand with no water, electricity, septic system or house. Over a period of seven years, the task of building a house and putting in the infrastructure of power, electricity, fencing and a water recycling system was all consuming. Once the house was built my first priority was … [Read more...]
How Yoga Taught Me to Live a Fearless & Authentic Life
by Stephanie Spence, Editor's note: This is an excerpt from Yoga Wisdom: Warrior Tales Inspiring You On And Off Your Mat The setting: a luxurious villa on the Caribbean island of St. Barts. A wife and husband, along with several of his clients, are partying on a terrace overlooking the glittering ocean and sun-kissed beach. They flew in from Pittsburgh aboard his private jet that morning. The woman seems to have it all—she’s a self-made success story, wife, and mother. But beneath her mask … [Read more...]
Being Wonder Woman: Yoga & Feminism
By Sam Loe, Originally published on samloe.yoga I will admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the Wonder Woman movie featuring Gal Gadot. I loved watching a super-goddess with powers of courage, strength and age-defying perfection on the big screen. It makes a change from the usual Hollywood, male-dominated super-heroes anyway. In fact, I went to see it with a bunch of my good girlfriends last year and we came straight home from the cinema and raided the kid's dressing up box and used the … [Read more...]
Our Habits Are a Path to Deep Transformation
by Tara Fowler, Tara Spice Creative Habits are our regular and repeating behaviours which are done unconsciously. For me, this is picking my skin. For as long as I can remember I’ve picked my skin. As a small child any itchy bite I would scratch and scratch, tearing it apart. Then when it formed a scab I would pick that off also, leaving my skin covered in scars. I remember when I was around nine years old, a friend noticed the scabs and scars on my legs and said to me. “Gross, do you still … [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...]
After Las Vegas: Yoga Won’t Save The World, But it Can Be a Shelter in Stormy Times
By Christina Sell, Live the Light of Yoga This article was originally published on Christina's blog Live the Light of Yoga and is reprinted here with Christina's permission. Last night I dreamt of Las Vegas. In my dream, among other common dream-time images was something new— toxic rain. Down from the sky rained a green, thick, and rotten goo that covered everyone and stifled their ability to breathe, to see, and to speak. As the rain continued, the situation became increasingly dire and I … [Read more...]