by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat This is a follow-on to my last article, What is this yoga stuff all about? In that article, I put forward the concept that yoga is the realisation of the Self as God. It is the Union of Self with the Divine - understanding of course that when One becomes a Part of something, one IS something. That is - We are a Part of the Divine, one small drop of water in the larger Ocean of God. And you thought you were just going to an exercise … [Read more...]
What is this yoga stuff all about?
Yoga. It's not about twisting yourself into a pretzel - although many who practice yoga can manipulate their bodies in incredible ways. It's not about going to classes and learning how to do this posture, or that breathing technique - although practicing asana and pranayama is part of yoga. It's not about chanting, or meditating every single day no matter what because that's your sadhana - although establishing a sadhana ( a daily spiritual practice) is also a part of yoga. So what is yoga? … [Read more...]
How to start a home yoga practice
The only way to connect with your internal guide, that yoga teacher that lives inside of you and can't wait to get out, is to start a home yoga practice. And no matter what your level of yoga experience. No matter what you know or think you don't know. Starting a home yoga practice is simple. You just do it... … [Read more...]
What yoga can teach us about opening to the flow of life
One of the reasons I absolutely love teaching yoga is that I learn so much from the experience. My students are as much my teachers as I are them. I am sure this two way flow is common to many other teacher/student relationships, and also professional/client relationships as well. Take a moment to think about your interactions - whether it's teaching yoga or something else - how do you learn from the experience (and feel free to share your insights in the comments below!)? One of the … [Read more...]
Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment & Kundalini Yoga Blog
If you're working on a home practice, one fantastic, free, online resource is Anmol Mehta's blog, Devoted to the Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment and Kundalini Yoga. His depth of knowledge on these subjects and his generousity in offering free online detailed courses with feedback have turned me on to a regular meditation and pranayama practice. Under his online guidance, I feel confident in knowing that I am doing it right. … [Read more...]
How yoga will give you a body you LOVE
by Kara-Leah Grant, Common wisdom holds that if you are unhappy about your body, the only recourse is to lose weight via exercise, or dieting, or pills, or some combination of all three. But there is another way. It doesn't involve starving yourself, forcing yourself into an activity you hate or risking your health with dodgy chemicals. Instead of focusing on changing the external - i.e. your body - focus on changing the internal, i.e. your PERCEPTION of your body. Stop the hating and the … [Read more...]
How to choose your own experience of reality
One of the most valuable lessons that yoga can teach us is to observe our reactions to the world. When we practice, we pay attention to our breath, we are aware of physical sensations in the body, we notice our emotions and we watch our thoughts leaping and dancing about in the mind. In the watching, we begin to see space between thought and action. We begin to understand that we can choose our action. This gift of yoga could lead to the single biggest leap in evolution we could next make as … [Read more...]
On the power of paying attention to your words
by Kara-Leah Grant All around us lie opportunities for us to take our yoga off the mat - not just in a physical way, but in the way in which we relate to everything around us. When we practice, we listen to our breath, we let it guide us into postures, we accept ourselves right where we are, and we surrender into our body. When we live our lives, do we take the time to stop and listen to our breath? Do we allow our breath to take us into situations that we might find stressful? Do we … [Read more...]
Top Eleven reasons to start practicing yoga TODAY!
You have just ONE body to carry you through life from birth to death. This body is the only way that you can get around on our material world. It's the only way you can perceive ANYTHING. Because if you couldn't smell, taste, feel, see or hear... what would you be experiencing? (Pure consciousness, that's what. But that is another article.) So how do you treat this wonderful personal transportation device of yours? … [Read more...]
How to find true love
Somewhere out there in the world is the perfect person for you. Someone who will love you unconditionally, and meet all your needs, and shower you with love. Right? Absolutely. And you already know this person. In fact, you are extraordinarily close to this person. For this person is you. You are the one responsible for loving yourself unconditionally, for meeting all your needs and for showering yourself with love. And when you do this, you will discover something … [Read more...]