by Lucinda Staniland I have a confession to make. Even though I practice yoga every day and work for a yoga website, I haven’t regularly attended yoga classes in years. My home yoga practice is consistent and serious, I'm constantly consulting my bookcase of yoga books, and I attend the occasional one-on-one session with a teacher. But yoga classes? That thing where you join a group of people to be led through asana and perhaps some pranayama and meditation? The answer used to be, … [Read more...]
Lessons from the Overwhelming Success of LoveLake Festival
by Kara-Leah Grant Five weeks and three core staff - that's all it took to produce a full programme at LoveLake Festival including yoga, meditation, workshops and DJs in three different rooms over four days. Oh, and another four people who joined in the final week for delivery. That, and incredible support from Wairakei Resort Taupō, who hosted the event, and massive buy-in from the conscious community, including the presenters. Because it was a bold move by DJs Chris Scott and Sandon Ihaia … [Read more...]
The Gift of Play: Why Kids & Adults Love Family Yoga
by Rachael Lowe, The fact is that we adults don’t have much room in our lives for fun and games. Our days are filled with stress, obligations, and hard work. We may be stiff, tired, and easily bored when we try to get on the floor and play with our kids – especially difficult switching gears from a stressful day to a time of play! This is where Family Yoga gifts adults their play time. Yes, adults. Kids are wonderful at playing. They’re absolutely the best at it, and we adults need their … [Read more...]
Day 617 of my Thousand Day Practice. Ball dropped, Again!
by Kara-Leah Grant I was in the car, catching a ride to Day 3 of a three-day workshop with Ana Forrest & Jose Calarco. Nikki - giving me a ride - and I were talking about mountains and the energy they embody. I was sharing my recent experiences in Glenorchy, where I would sit outside at sunset and do my practice. My practice! My 1000 Day practice... The one I was up to Day 617 on... The one I... DIDN'T do yesterday. In that moment, I remembered. And shock hit. A wave of shock … [Read more...]
8 Reasons Why Yoga Nidra is the Hottest New Yoga Trend
By Lucinda Staniland By now you've probably come across Yoga Nidra, one of the hottest trends to hit the Yoga scene in recent years. Everyone is doing it, from your trend-setting Instagram-loving best friend to your old-school internet-free great Aunt. But what is Yoga Nidra exactly, and does it deserve its sudden popularity? To the latter, I answer with an emphatic YES, which I trust will quickly become clear in the eight points below. And for an answer to the former, I turned to Swami … [Read more...]
Dr Scott Lyons on The Art of Being Human & Embodied Flow™ Yoga
by Lucinda Staniland, It's always a joy to come across someone who takes real pleasure in the work they do in the world. Without a doubt, Dr Scott Lyons is such a person and I could tell so immediately when I began watching his conversation with Kara-Leah Grant. Although he clearly takes a serious and earnest approach to his work, there is also an overflowing sense of delight and lightness to him, which I couldn't help but be enchanted by. Dr Scott Lyons is a Clinical Psychologist and … [Read more...]
Health & Healing Through Yoga Therapy: An Interview with Mark Stephens
by Lucinda Staniland I love getting things for free. And I have a voracious and life-long love of books. So the first time I was offered a free review copy of a Yoga book (as part of my Yoga Lunchbox role) I was fairly swept off my feet. You mean, you really want to send me a free book? About Yoga? Now that's an offer I can't refuse. However, I'm now at a point where I do in fact refuse some of these offers. I've learnt that just because a book is free and about yoga, doesn't mean that it … [Read more...]
Is It Good to Go Deeper in a Yoga Pose?
by Lucinda Staniland For all the years I’ve been practicing yoga, I’ve always strived to ‘go deeper’ into the poses. In fact, I thought this was the point of asana. In the name of depth, I’ve pursued an ‘open heart’, and ‘release’ in the hips. Whatever the pose—lunges, backbends, twists—I’ve had an image in my mind of precisely how the pose should look, and the depth that I need to reach to achieve the perfect alignment. I’ve stretched my hands to my toes in standing forward bends, sunk deep … [Read more...]
Top Ten Best Yoga Articles of 2017
by Lucinda Staniland It's always fascinating to see which of the many articles we publish at The Yoga Lunchbox truly strike a chord with the online Yoga community. This year, personal, authentic stories about yoga and meditation in daily life proved to be as popular as ever. When guest author Sandi White opened up about her 40 Days of Yoga practice her article took off on social media, as did Neal Ghoshal's perceptive insights about iRest Yoga Nidra, and my musings on what I wish I knew … [Read more...]
A Review of Pathways To A Centered Body by Donna Farhi and Leila Stuart
by Neal Ghoshal, Sacred Moves In a nutshell: an exceptionally clear and extremely practical guide to core integration, stability and support I first came across Donna Farhi’s books back in 2004 and was immediately hooked by her accessible, relevant and inspiring writing and teachings. Since then Donna has become my primary Yoga teacher and I have regularly attended her workshops and teacher trainings, eventually moving on to assisting her on events and intensives. I met and studied with … [Read more...]