by Kara-Leah Grant Never more am I reminded that every moment is an opportunity to wake up than during a morning with a crying baby. We came home last night from a week in the mountains to a cold, damp, empty house and discovered the fridge had been accidentally switched off and the kitchen was rank with defrosted fish bait. It's been cold enough in Dunedin that most of the contents of the fridge are salvageable but the freezer's a write-off. No worries... open some windows, light some … [Read more...]
Confessions of a shiny new yoga teacher
by Seka Ojdrovic-Phillips, I never planned on this happening but, in the immortal lyrics of John Lennon: Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. Now I find myself standing in front of a class full of eager yogis and yoginis, all eying me in expectation. Though I’ve memorised my teaching sequence, filled my water bottle and set my (meticulously planned) iPod soundtrack, I feel under-prepared and, well, kind of terrified. No where in my brain does it register that most … [Read more...]
How a Non-certified Yoga Teacher With No Guru Ended Up Teaching (And Should She Be?)
by Kara-Leah, This is a question I have contemplated many times since teaching was first thrust upon me. And it's also one this website has explored extensively in recent weeks. After reading all of the responses from other teachers, I began to wonder... how on earth can I call myself a yoga teacher? I have no qualifications. I've never attended a teacher training of any real length. I've never studied under a guru, nor a teacher for any length of time. I'm a long way from mastering … [Read more...]
Is regular yoga practice a good way to lose weight? Part II
by guest author Jude Mahood, nutritionist and yoga teacher The first part of this article described the way yoga practice is thought to result in weight loss. In summary, weight loss may be the direct result of vigorous regular practice or it may be indirectly related to the cultivation of mindfulness. An important point to reiterate is that successful weight loss is more likely to happen if yoga practice is combined with sound weight loss strategies. I have to be very clear at the … [Read more...]
An interview with Donna Farhi
I first discovered Donna Farhi in my local library in Queenstown. Her book Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit: A Return to Wholeness was liberating, informative and challenging. She taught not asana by asana, this body part in that body place, but through universal principles that underlay every asana. It was a watershed moment in my Yoga journey as my home practice had begun to diverge from anything resembling a standard hatha class. With Donna's book within easy reach, I felt able to honour the … [Read more...]
How Yoga Has Helped Me… With Sarcoidosis
This is the fifth post in a series of yoga stories from readers. Tell us how yoga changed your life. Submitted by Danelle Wilson of Pennsylvania, USA I have been living with Sarcoidosis for three years. It has caused scarring on my lungs and prior to practicing Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga, I only had 40% lung capacity. At first my practice was very difficult. I could not breathe or focus on my asanas. It has been just a little over a year and I have reached so … [Read more...]
Will you still be doing yoga at 90?
by guest author Emma Furness, owner of the Dunedin Yoga Studio I recently attended the Yoga Aotearoa IYTA convention in Auckland. This was a wonderful opportunity to connect into a wider yoga community – a community that included teachers that had been teaching and practicing yoga for more years than I had been alive. In my practice I often run into my own expectations of what my practice ‘should’ bring me: health, longevity, enlightenment, great body. None of these is guaranteed, even … [Read more...]
How yoga helped me to… become curiouser and curiouser
This is the fourth post in a series of yoga stories from readers. Tell us how yoga changed your life and go in the draw to win a yoga prize package. Submitted by AF of the North Island I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then. - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland I was newly single and reeling from my first ever broken heart. I was over-worked and highly stressed. I was in my third year of business (owner/operator) and trying desperately to not fail at … [Read more...]
Exposing oneself to the news – what’s the real story?
by guest author Alys Titchener My reflections from one of the Yoga Off The Mat sessions. It’s the toughest homework assignment so far, as far as I’m concerned. All sorts of defenses and red lights are flaring as the instructions settle; I have to tune in to what’s going on in our world; listen to the news, read the papers or news sites online, and then watch my reaction to these stories. I pull a face, obviously not happy with this prescribed task. And for so many reasons! I … [Read more...]
Is regular yoga practice a good way to lose weight?
by guest author Jude Mahood, nutritionist and yoga teacher I often get asked whether yoga practice is a good way to lose weight. I would love to be able to reply, unreservedly, “Yes. Yoga melts away the kilos’. It would certainly be great for business, but it wouldn’t be ethical because it is not 100% truthful. In my experience, people inquiring about yoga and weight loss really want to know about the physicality of yoga in regards to calorie-burning. Fair enough since how much you … [Read more...]