by Kara-Leah Grant Shambhavi Sarasvati I discovered Shambhavi Sarasvati when I went looking for Tantra books to deepen my knowledge of the Trika Shaivism lineage. I found The Play of Awakening, which is an accessible, enjoyable, gem of a book. I felt like I was sitting in satsang with Shambhavi, and had many insights and a'ha! moments through reading her words. I love her approach to Tantra and Self-Realisation - it feels relaxed and grounded in day-to-day life. She says that direct … [Read more...]
Dr Scott Lyons on Somatic Stress Release, Trauma & Boundaries
by Lucinda Staniland It's always fascinating to touch base with Dr. Scott Lyons (DO, PhD, MS, MFA, CHT, BMCP/T, RSMT, SME, BMCP, IDME, SEP, CST, BFA, RYT-500), co-founder of Embodied Flow. Scott has done a lot of academic learning (as evidenced in that extremely long string of letters after his name!) but the thing that is so refreshing and surprising about Scott is that, above all else, he prioritises learning and teaching from an embodied, experiential place. As you'll quickly notice in … [Read more...]
Why Meditating WITH The Body is So Important
Screenprint by Dyana Wells by Dyana Wells, Open Ground School of Meditation & Somatic Enquiry In the modern world, there is a tendency for us to live exclusively through our conceptual minds. We live in bubble worlds of thoughts and emotions, rather than in the world of direct experience. The body, however, experiences itself and the world directly. It is shaped – moment to moment – by its direct interaction with life. The conceptual mind sees the world through the filter … [Read more...]
Tongue Scraping: Does it Really Work?
by Lucinda Staniland If you try to sell me something, I will always approach it with a healthy dose of skepticism. And for good reason. In our consumerist world, I am constantly bombarded with “life-changing” devices and programs, many of which fall more than a little short of their magnificent marketing claims. In my experience, it ALWAYS pays to ask: What is the history of use behind this product? Who is making and marketing it and what motivates them? Are their claims … [Read more...]
A Return Home – I hoki mai ki te wā kāinga
by Jase Te Patu, Awhi Yoga & M3 Mindfulness for Children They say that the practice of yoga is a return to self, our true nature, a return home! Almost four years ago, I packed up my life in Australia and returned to Aotearoa to share my personal love and practice of yoga with our people. Little did I know that that decision was going to be the biggest yoga practice I had ever undertaken. I had fallen in love with yoga, since being in Australia. Yoga was my preferred way as a … [Read more...]
Yoga of Action! How to Embrace Kriya Yoga for Positive Change
Image by Sofie Zbořilová from Pixabay by Heather Robinson There is something in yoga practice, isn’t there, which brings us in touch with ourselves. It is a fascination often motivating us to practice – a positive action. So... Let’s take positive action with our practice of yoga. And what would that action look like? Finding my mat perhaps, being somewhere out of the normal hubbub of life – in a personal space, or in a group setting. … [Read more...]
Pranayama: It’s Not All Mung Beans & Tofu
Image by Benjamin Balazs from Pixabay by Mary Watson, My passion for Pranayam was fostered during a 3-year sojourn at the Sivananda Yoga Centre/Ashram in Henderson, Auckland, in the mid-1980s; over 34 years later, I still feel excited about it. To this day, the old tradition of unifying body, mind, and breath into one practice continues to teach me. Having the good fortune to learn from my teacher standing/sitting next to me for 3 years, sharing his then 47 years of practice, … [Read more...]
5 Social Media Strategies for Yoga Teachers & Studios
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay by Travis Mattern, Fitness Education Online I’ll start this off by saying I am by no means a yoga expert! But, the good news for you, is that over the last five or so years my company, Fitness Education Online, has been helping fitness professionals build their Bootcamps and improve their social media presence through some simple hacks. So today I’m going to share with you 5 key strategies you can implement to improve your social media … [Read more...]
Trust in The Flow: How Reflection Can be a Tool for Yoga, Singing & Life in General
Image by Pexels from Pixabay by Sarah Spence ‘Mindfulness’ is a buzz word these days. I ponder whether ‘reflection’ will join it, given that leadership teams in corporate organisations are now given journals to write in. Regardless, let’s celebrate that these kind of tools are making it to the mainstream. The quality of self-observation is key to both yoga, mindfulness and to managing the mind. I discovered reflection as a yogic tool when I showed up at a yoga ashram in Western … [Read more...]
Yoga, the Digestive Fire & Health
by Swami Karma Karuna, Anahata Yoga Retreat Fire is a force of nature. It is used for survival, however, if it is over-activated it can destroy and if it is under activated it goes out. Often fire is associated with flames but this is only the most physical aspect of the fire element. In the yogic view, fire is a powerful and transformative energy existing in the macro cosmos and the micro cosmos. The digestive system is the inner fire within the physical body that sustains … [Read more...]