This is the third 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 Lisa Morrison of Otago: From my very first class 8 years ago, I was totally and utterly hooked on yoga! There are no exact words for the feelings I experienced during and after a class, but it sort of felt like I'd 'come home to myself'; a feeling of blissful contentment. This was just the tonic for me as I was a type A … [Read more...]
Learn the practice of neti and experience a clear head space
by Guest Author Do you suffer from allergies? Sinus problems? Frequent headaches? Nasal infections? How is the autumn effecting you? Find your nostrils are blocked, affecting your pranayama? Looking for a way to gently clear the mind before meditation? The practice of Neti is for you. Neti is one of the easiest and quickest shatkarmas* to learn. Its mastery can be accomplished within a couple of goes then effortlessly incorporated into your daily life. You can do Neti in the … [Read more...]
How yoga practitioners can integrate Ayurveda into their practice
by guest author David Timbs Ayurveda means ‘knowledge of life’ and Yoga means ‘union’ or “a system of exercises practiced to promote control of the body and mind.” From Dass Vishnu, Ayurveda and Yoga, Ancient Sister Sciences: Ayurveda and yoga are sister Vedic sciences that have been united for thousands of years for the sake of healing body, mind, and consciousness. Generally speaking, Ayurveda deals more with the health of the body, while yoga deals with purifying the mind and … [Read more...]
How yoga helped me… find steadiness and beauty within my body
Submitted by Zoe of the North Island (not her real name) The sexual abuse of the body started before I turned 4. I say it that way because although it happened to all of me, separating from the body it happened to became a way to survive. I could vanish into the wallpaper or the light shade in an effort to tolerate the intolerable. By the time I was in my mid-twenties my life was coming unraveled. A fiercely honed intellect wasn't sufficient for living a fully engaged life. A … [Read more...]
How yoga helped me… lose weight and feel good again
This is the first 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 Tash of Lower Hutt, winner of a Yoga Prize Package At fourteen years old, I felt completely depressed, empty inside and lost in the world. I was overweight and stuck in toxic friendships. I was at rock bottom. I found yoga when I was browsing the TV listings (Yoga TV with Kris Mcintyre, Barbara Behal and Nils Vesk) and … [Read more...]
Reflections on hope, inspired by a poetry competition
by guest author Alys Titchener I didn’t win. I kind of knew that already when they didn’t phone that day. I waited till the next day, thinking maybe; just maybe they were being disorganized, over worked, or one of those students is filling in and doesn’t really care to follow up. See, there was a little bit of hope left over. It was still possible that I could have won that poetry competition. The day before, I spoke with conviction to my flatmates; it doesn’t matter if I win or not. … [Read more...]
Share your yoga story and inspire others in their practice
by Kara-Leah Grant Has yoga made a real difference in your life? The Yoga Lunchbox wants to know all about it, as there's nothing more inspiring than reading stories about real people who've been helped by yoga. Use the form down below to share a paragraph or two about how yoga has changed your life, your body, your mind, your spirit, your attitude, your job, your relationships... Anything at all! All the stories of yoga benefits and changes will be including in an up-coming Yoga … [Read more...]
Even yoga and meditation can be a way to escape from reality
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I rolled out my yoga mat this afternoon, grabbing an opportunistic moment to get in my practice. My lunch was well digested. The baby was sleeping. My partner was outside practicing his guitar. And I knew I needed to practice. No asana for two days and my body felt tight. There was tension in my left shoulder shooting up into my neck, and my lower back has been uncharacteristically achy for a few weeks. One long om shanti track into my … [Read more...]
Music as a spiritual tool
by guest author Premratna (Sarah Spence) Over the last few years I have started to see the difference between the different levels that music can take me to. After the hip hop, pop and theatre music of my teens and early adult years, I was relieved and excited to find a world of fun upbeat music that is spiritual in nature: kirtan and mantra came into my life. I can liken my musical journey to a music pyramid (like the healthy food one). I started at the wide bottom … [Read more...]
Kundalini Yoga – the Yoga of Consciousness
by guest author Amanda Reid Kundalini Yoga is an ancient and powerful school of Yoga utilising the science and technology, and reaping all the benefits, of Hatha, Raj, Mantra and Laya Yoga. Maintained as an oral tradition for thousands of years to protect the techniques from abuse, this secrecy also created an unnecessary image of mystery which remains today. Brought to the West in 1969 by Yogi Bhajan, there is no tradition of asceticism in Kundalini Yoga, no need to take oneself away … [Read more...]