by guest author Carol Lux, The Yoga Life Remember those horrible flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz? Now picture those ghastly villains taking control of your brain. What a horrible nightmare that would be! So what does it feel like when a Flying Monkey Brain has taken up residence in your mind? Surprisingly, you may know the feeling well. Think of the last time your thoughts were so scattered, your mind so incessantly busy, that you just lost control over what is happening now. You … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Practicing Yoga While Watching TV
By Kara-Leah Grant During class on Wednesday, as we moved from posture to posture, I drew my students attention to the way they were beginning to intuitively move their bodies in counterposes and releases after a more intense posture. They weren't thinking about it, it was just happening as their body moved spontaneously and they followed along. One of my students looked up and exclaimed: That's what's happening when I watch TV now! A-ha! One benefit of practicing yoga while watching TV is … [Read more...]
The pros and cons of growing up as a yogini’s daughter
by guest author Jacinta Aalsma A question that pops up regularly for most yogis and yoginis is; 'How long you have been practising yoga?' I don’t have a clear memory of when I started practising or when I undertook that first life changing yoga class. I’ve been brought up with yoga, because my mum has been a yogini and yoga teacher for as long as I remember. Often, the assumption is therefore made that I’m super bendy and flexible and that I would make a great yoga teacher. After all, … [Read more...]
How to anchor your home yoga practice
By Kara-Leah Grant, author of Forty Days of Yoga If you prefer to video to reading, check out the ten minute video at the end of this article. The whole premise of Forty Days of Yoga is built on the idea that by letting go of our fixed ideas of what a yoga practice is we can find a practice that works for our life and our lifestyle. It's about being kind and compassionate to yourself and working with what you needs. However, the flip side of this approach is that it can be easy to … [Read more...]
One way that Forty Days of Yoga has revolutionised my life
By Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Today I did something that has the potential to revolutionise my life. I set an alarm and deliberately got up before my three year old son. I wanted to be up by 6:30am and I wanted the early morning peace and quiet to do my yoga practice. This is a huge break-through for me. Once upon a time, I effortlessly arose before 7am and spent a couple of hours on the computer writing, often getting my day's work down before 9am. I loved this - it … [Read more...]
How to anchor your Forty Day practice with consistency amid fluidity
by Kara-Leah Grant, author of Forty Days of Yoga In the 40,000 words of Forty Days of Yoga I give no specific instruction on asana or set sequences. That means that if you're looking for a home yoga practice book that will tell you what to do, this is not it. I know – you're looking for a magic bullet. That perfect home yoga practice that will turn you into a yogi. I know this because at workshops and in classes, via email and in comments, student after student after student asks me, and … [Read more...]
How avoiding feelings avoids the present moment and avoids life
By Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat This morning, the wonderful woman who looks after Samuel four days a week while I work told me she's finishing up with PORSE (home-based early childhood education) on April 6. This is a big deal. I live in a small town with no kindergaten or other early childhood education facility. There is no other childcare available (right now). I'm also a single parent working from home and those childcare hours are my livelihood - not just for my business but … [Read more...]
A tale of Mat Resistance, and practicing anyway
By Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Mat resistance. Happens to the best of us, no matter how long we've been practicing. Here's a glimpse into a moment of mat resistance in my life. Notice how I respond to it, notice the process, notice life isn't all peaches and cream because I'm practicing yoga everyday. ***** It's been a rough week or two. Of course, since I successfully published my first book ten days ago, it's meant to have been an exciting and wonderful few weeks. So … [Read more...]
From poison into potion: Why forty days of yoga is alchemy of the soul
by Melissa Billington We come into the new year with a desire to re-create ourselves, to arise out of last year and make a new start. While I personally consider Spring the new year and the place for emergence since 1582, with the advent of the Gregorian calendar, we observe the start of the new year as January 1. The Celtic calendar sets November 1(May 1 in the southern hemisphere) as the new year. They see going into the dark as the necessary first step to creation, like the child in … [Read more...]
Five Strategies for Starting & Maintaining Your Home Yoga Practice
by Kara-Leah Grant, author of Forty Days of Yoga If you'd rather watch a video than read an article, skip to the end of this article and you'll find a short video of me going over these same five points. These are simple and effective strategies for creating and maintaining your home yoga practice and it's the type of thing we explore in more depth in Forty Days of Yoga. None of these strategies are rocket science - it's all plain common sense, but these strategies can challenge underlying … [Read more...]