by Kara-Leah Grant It's that time period between Christmas and New Year's where the madness of the silly season is almost over but the shops and roads are packed. It's that time when our family obligations are usually done, but we haven't quite started our holidays yet. It's that time when the old year is done, yet the new year has yet to start. It's the space between. And a space when Auckland-based yoga teacher Katy Carter has decided to host a five day retreat at Mana Retreat … [Read more...]
J. Brown on the Three Sensibilities that Shape Our Yoga Practice {video interview}
by Kara-Leah Grant I've been following J. Brown for a few years now, inspired and impressed by the consistent and constant magnifying glass he applies to the yoga world. J. has no qualms about challenging the accepted flow with his articles, calling into question elements of yoga teaching and practice that he finds problematic. But then, J. Brown is an upstart who has always gone against the grain right from the beginning of his career, deliberately taking a different approach from the … [Read more...]
Matthew Remski: What Are We Really Doing in Asana? {Video Interview}
by Kara-Leah Grant Matthew Remski is a yoga teacher, writer, Ayurveda practitioner therapist and author of Threads of Yoga - A Remix of Patanjali's Sutras. For years he's been concerned about injuries in yoga, but had not been concerned enough. Like many of us, he believed that yoga injuries were the result of poor instruction on the part of the teacher, or overwork on the part of the student. But over time, Matthew began to notice that even well-instructed poses, executed mindfully, … [Read more...]
Healing the black hole: John Ogilvie’s story from drug addict to yoga teacher
John's article first appeared in Australian Yoga LIFE by guest author Ana Davis John Ogilvie is one of those rare people you meet with whom you feel an almost instant heart connection. There is a glint in his eyes that tells of an inner-spring of joy and a hint of boyish cheekiness. His presence is one of yogic lightness that makes it difficult to imagine him ever having plumbed the depths of despair and spiritual emptiness that characterise a destructive drug addiction. Nowadays John … [Read more...]
How a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis led to daily home yoga practice and teacher training
By guest author Susan Kitson, author of In Search of Health Ed. note: See the bottom of this article for a chance to win a copy of Susan's book. Fifteen years ago I had barely heard of yoga. Eleven years ago I was attending two classes a week in the hopes it would help improve my chances of conception. Now I practice every day. Here's how my yoga journey unfolded: In June ’07 I left Napier with my family for our annual winter break in Fiji. Bliss right? Not so much on this … [Read more...]
Thoughts on living in an awakening world
An Interview with Prajnaparamita, an awakened Master Prajnaparamita is leading a retreat at Kawaipurapura on Feburary 16 and 17. Find out more here. 1. There seems to be a big shift in the way businesses are being run and in the way people are reconsidering their lives. What do you see happening? Globally, structures are breaking down on all levels. They can no longer hold themselves. The banks, politics and many corporations, the way they were used to operating is no longer … [Read more...]
Hope for the world – Swami Muktidharma speaks
by Kara-Leah Grant The last time we had Swami Muktidharma on YLB, he shared the story of dreaming about his guru before meeting him. To our western minds, it sounds magical and mystical. But in the world of yoga, and yogis, it's commonplace. Yoga deals with many different layers of reality, and indeed, is a way of seeing clearly what reality actually is, beyond our limited sense of the material world. It's that ability to see deeper, and wider, that makes sitting in the presence of Swamis … [Read more...]
Treading water on the void – an interview with Zoë Wild
by guest author Peter Fernando, A Month of Mindfulness This interview is part of a one hour conversation I had with Zoë, a former Buddhist nun, in April 2012. You can the rest of her insightful and heartfelt reflections on the Month of Mindfulness blog, here. Peter: You seem to have a fluidity in terms of your relationship to spiritual forms. Looking at your path so far, there seems to be a real sense of an understanding of the transparency of forms, as well as a great respect for them. … [Read more...]
An interview with Swami Samnyasananda, a consultant neurophysiologist
Article courtesy Anahata Yoga Retreat Swami Samnyasananda is a consultant neurophysiologist whose research explores the effects of pranayama, meditation and relaxation on the heart, brain and autonomic nervous systems. He is a Certified Yoga Teacher, Life Member and Fellow of the World Society for Clinical Yoga (Lucknow, India), and has over 30 years of experience in classes, personal tuition & clinical counselling in yoga, meditation, relaxation and stress management (M.B.T.I. … [Read more...]
An Interview with Swami Muktimurti on the Yoga of Sound
Supplied by Anahata Yoga Retreat Anahata Yoga Retreat, just outside of Nelson, is once again hosting Swami Muktimurti from Mangrove Mountain, Australia during the Navaratri (9 nights) celebrations. An expert in Mantra, ancient Sanskrit and singing, Swami Muktimurti and Swami Muktidharma (NZ Acharya) are presenting a retreat focused on Nada Yoga, or the yoga of sound, during this auspicious astrological time. We caught up with her during this retreat to gain some more insight on this … [Read more...]