by Erica Viedma, Mindful Movement “What can we do when fear comes up for us or for our students during the practice?”. Geeta Iyengar replied, “When fear arises, you must lift your chest. You must lift your heart.”A Posture of Courage by Christina Sell The third week of our national lockdown and many yoga teachers around New Zealand, (and the world), have started teaching online. Some teachers are on Facebook Live or pre-recorded classes. I even attended a yoga class based in New York … [Read more...]
Here you'll find the collected wisdom of a wide range of yoga teachers, who have been generous enough to share the many things they have learned from teaching yoga.
Yogic hyperventilation syndrome – are your cues creating dysfunctional breathing?
by Dr Jane Hardcastle, Movewell: therapeutic yoga, massage, and movement “Take a deep breath in…and out” is synonymous with many yoga classes as yoga teachers encourage students to better access their breath, become aware of chest (or reverse) breathing and use their breath as a barometer of where, and how they are. Classes are often accompanied by publicly audible ‘ujjayi’ breath…even though students are only required to use that breath to raise or lower an arm. We witness bellies … [Read more...]
The Teachers Contract
by Donna Farhi, Beyond Methods: Yoga as Self-Inquiry Relationships with yoga students can take many forms: from a clear cut and dried professional boundary between teacher and student that has never extended beyond the perimeters of time spent together in a class, intensive, retreat or teacher training; to the less distinct delineation that happens when a student also happens to be a personal friend; to that of a peer exchange that takes place at a collegial level in which there may be a … [Read more...]
Vincent Bolletta on Developing Physical Intelligence Through Yoga
by Lucinda Staniland, Vincent Bolletta, one of New Zealand's foremost yoga instructors and teacher trainers, has decades of experience in working with movement and yoga. With 30 years of teaching and practice experience, Vincent spends much of his time travelling internationally to teach hañsa Yoga, a unique style of yoga, of which he is the founder, that integrates both eastern and western thought and methodologies. We were lucky enough to catch Vincent for this video interview, where … [Read more...]
A Return Home – I hoki mai ki te wā kāinga
by Jase Te Patu M3 Mindfulness for Children They say that the practice of yoga is a return to self, our true nature, a return home! Almost four years ago, I packed up my life in Australia and returned to Aotearoa to share my personal love and practice of yoga with our people. Little did I know that that decision was going to be the biggest yoga practice I had ever undertaken. I had fallen in love with yoga, since being in Australia. Yoga was my preferred way as a professional … [Read more...]
How to Find Your Niche & Make Your Yoga Teaching Career Sustainable
by Rebecca Harford, Adapted Yoga & Pilates As a businesswoman, teacher, mother, wife, friend and family member I have the responsibility and pleasure to support many people. In order to uphold this responsibility, I must be sustainable, along with my business as it supports our students, family and the families of our team. Being sustainable as a teacher means that you can share the best of your experience with your student (s). Being tired, hungry, cold and stressed does not become a … [Read more...]
How to Optimize the Fascial System to Move, Feel & Live Better
by Ian O'Dwyer, SOMA It interests me greatly to observe the various types of exercises and programs that are prepared and delivered by physical trainers, therapists, coaches and yoga teachers with comprehensive knowledge in their areas. Experience has empowered me to appreciate the difficulty in trying to create success for a large number of people with varied movement challenges or goals. As a Movement Practitioner, the question still arises for me “What tissues are we effecting (in … [Read more...]
Growing a Strong & Resilient New Zealand with Yoga
by Ali Hale Tilley, Perhaps the biggest highlight of my year in 2018 was presenting at the Hauora Yoga Conference, held at AUT’s beautiful North Shore campus. Thanks to the energy and efforts of Persephone Singfield, Richard Beddie and the Exercise NZ team, the Haoura event gave yoga presenters like me a chance to contribute to the Aotearoa yoga community. During the pōwhiri, our AUT hosts welcomed presenters. Throughout the hongi, the feeling of electricity and mana flowing through … [Read more...]
Slowing Down & Cultivating Interoception at the Hauora Yoga Conference
By Kylie Rook, New Zealand’s first Yoga Conference, Hauora, far exceeded my expectations. It was really great to see that the New Zealand Yoga Community is already on the G-O S-L-O-W wagon in terms of building interoception, improving vagal tone and allowing students to find what feels right for them. In many cases, this means letting go of the arbitrary alignment cues and even ‘classic poses’ to guide the students into a more felt experience and a deeper understanding of their own … [Read more...]
Finding an Internal Sense of Safe Alignment in Yoga
By Amy Green, To me, the inaugural Hauora Yoga Conference felt like an important step in this country's yoga evolution. The welcoming ceremony set the stage for a different kind of gathering than had ever been done in the NZ yoga community. Here were numerous teachers, speakers, presenters and enthusiasts, brought together to learn and share with one another. It was a gateway for an in-depth, more academic study of our beloved practice. It felt special, intimate…almost like something … [Read more...]