by guest author Sara Foley, Smells Good, Feels Good I said: what about my eyes? God said: Keep them on the road. I said: what about my passion? God said: Keep it burning. I said: what about my heart? God said: Tell me what you hold inside it? I said: pain and sorrow? He said: ...stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you. ~ Rumi I am one of Kara-Leah’s ‘beta readers’ for her upcoming book Forty Days of Yoga – Breaking Down the Barriers to a Yoga Home … [Read more...]
Keeping New Year’s Resolutions is not about willpower or discipline
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I was up early on New Year’s Day. It’s one of my favourite ways to start the year. Early morning, the world seems fresh and alive and ripe for new opportunities and new ways of being. The possibility of new choices and new ways of being seems stronger. 'How will I live this day?' 'How will I live this life?' On January 1st, this sense of potential and possibility feels stronger. New Year’s is a time for resolutions, as we make up our minds we’re … [Read more...]
The world doesn’t need another yoga practice progamme
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Last week, after publishing the article outlining Forty Days of Yoga, I received an email from a reader excited about the book. She was particularly excited about having a set programme of yoga she and her students could do. Pause. A moment of clarity. Forty Days of Yoga is not a set practice programme. There is no instruction on asana at all, and for very good reason. The world does not need more information on what postures to do, how and … [Read more...]
Yoga to the rescue: Six asanas to aid digestion
by Valerie Love When I was growing up, I experienced chronic stomachaches. They came on without warning, and were frequent and horrible. It was only when I began practicing yoga regularly in my 20s that the stomachaches began to taper off. My yoga practice not only helped to lower my stress levels, but it also helped to strengthen my digestion and regulate imbalances in my body. Here are six postures that over time can help improve digestion in the body. Forward bends and twists offer a … [Read more...]
Chakra One & Two: Feeling secure and letting go, the essence of Hanumanasana
by Melissa Billington Hanumanasana, often called the splits, is the extraordinary experience of moving in two opposing directions at the same time, without falling apart, or holding the breath, or injuring ourselves. In practicing this great leap of Hanuman, we learn to engage actively and consciously, while releasing actively, consciously and bravely. AT THE SAME TIME! Which brings me into two chakras - Muladhara, root support and Svadisthana, one’s own sweetness or … [Read more...]
Finding space for my home yoga practice in my accidental yoga room
by guest author Sara Foley, Smells Good, Feels Good Only last week I was moaning about not having a space to practice yoga, or indeed any space to call my very own. Well today, almost magically, I do. Sometimes the Universe steps in and gives me a hand (or a kick up the bum). Or whatever it is that I deserve. It seems that today I deserve my very own yoga room. This is how it happened. On Sunday I woke up early with the urgent thought that we needed to move the kids’ beds around. The … [Read more...]
Sharing Sadhana: Why yoga teachers’ home yoga practices can inspire
by Kara-Leah Grant Know what I love about this book? It delivers exactly what it promises. The tagline, on the top of the cover, proclaims: "Insights and inspiration for a personal yoga practice." And since reading Sharing Sadhana, my home yoga practice has been inspired, I've had several 'a-ha' moments of insight, and I've even been inspired to write a book on how to create a home yoga practice and stick to it. Not bad eh? And yet when I started reading it... I was doubtful. … [Read more...]
A simple life can lead to clarity, and creativity
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I'm experiencing my ideal life right now. It's a simple life - living in a town four square blocks large, living with my mother. Everything is a walk away - the post office, the lake, the shop, the cafe, the playground and childcare. It's ideal for a single mother determined to become financially independent. It means I can focus on being the best mother possible, and I can focus on building my business. It means that I'm enjoying my son more … [Read more...]
Five reasons why stock yoga photos suck, and what you can do about it
by Kara-Leah Grant Yep, stock yoga photos suck. Here's why: 1. It ain't Yoga Oh sure, the model in the photo will be approximating her body into the shape of a yoga posture, but she's not actually practicing yoga itself. Yoga isn't a posture, it's an internal state of being. It's the quality of mindfulness and presence we bring to the yoga posture. Ditto with many meditation photos. The model has got their body in the 'right' position, but they are just sitting there... there's no … [Read more...]
How to put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation
by guest author Lucinda Staniland Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone. As if life were a progressive and cunning crime with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely, even you, at times, have felt the grand array; the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding out your solo voice. Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation. - David Whyte - Community … [Read more...]