By Leza Lowitz, Sun and Moon Yoga Poems can be a window in to the powerful, but often subtle, transformations that occur as part of the practice of yoga. This poem, taken from Leza Lowitz's collection, Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, is a delicate exploration of the physical and spiritual dimensions of Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana. Also check out Leza's recent article, Living Your Gifts: Six Steps to Awakening a Yogic Heart. Parivritta Janu Sirsasana revolving knee to head Deep in the … [Read more...]
How Long Should I Meditate For?
by Kara-Leah Grant If you've googled your way to this article, you've likely come looking for some kind of concrete answer to your question. Like 10 minutes a day. Or twenty minutes, three times a week. If that's the kind of answer you're looking for, because you're using meditation as a way to de-stress, or chill out, or because all the cool kids are doing it, you may as well stop reading right now. This article won't help you by giving you a definitive answer. However, if you're … [Read more...]
Why it Took Me Twenty Years to Learn the Most Basic Yogic Breath
by Kara-Leah Grant Twenty one years after my first yoga class, I finally learned the most basic of all yoga - I learned how to breathe properly. Yes despite all those years on the mat, and all the many teachers I went through, and all the years of home yoga practice, I didn't master Yogic Breath until 2016. Yogic Breath is elementary to yoga practice. It involves inhaling first into the belly, allowing it to fully expand out, before filling the chest and finally the clavicular (under the … [Read more...]
How to Activate Your Chakras, Unlock Your Asana Practice & Make Your Heart Sing
By Premaloka, Yoga on Waiheke Join Premloka for her Awakened Heart Yoga Retreats and Workshops: Raglan, New Zealand 28th-30th October 2016 Kovalam, India August/September 2017. Find out more here. Would you like more Happiness in your life? Would you like your practice to not only be connected to the physical body, the mind, and your breath, but to also transform you emotionally? Through working directly with the chakras and then connecting with the Bhavas (the body’s emotional … [Read more...]
Jonni Pollard on the Nature of Unbounded Consciousness and Awakening {video}
by Kara-Leah Grant I first met Jonni Pollard at Wanderlust Great Lake Taupo in 2015. He was leading the mass meditation at 7pm on the Saturday night. I'd bumped into the other Jonnie from Wanderlust - Jonnie Halstead - hovering nervously around the Mothership, which turned into the mainstage and dance floor in the evening. Jonnie with an E confided in me that this dude from Melbourne - also called Jonni - was about to lead a mass meditation and he wasn't sure how it was going to go down. Yes, … [Read more...]
When Overwhelming Thoughts Take Over Your Restorative Yoga Practice
By Nityda Bhakti, The Yoga Wellness Space Yoga is a practice of turning inward or pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses). It can be hard to do this at times in a more rigorous yoga class, especially for those still learning the poses and therefore needing to fix their focus to others in the room in an effort to get their bodies into the right position. Restorative yoga allows us the space to hold poses for longer, with the support of props, so that we don’t have to use physical effort to do … [Read more...]
Is Laughter Yoga Really Yoga or just Another Fad?
by G-Love aka Gareth Edwards "I loved the laughing yoga, but it's not really yoga." I hear something like this every time I run sessions in a yoga context like a teacher's studio, yoga retreat or festival. For me this is the best possible response, because it means we did yoga together and nobody noticed. Like a mother who sneaks fresh vegetables into her children's meals, I managed to get a bit of goodness inside us all without battling the whine of 'aww but mum, I don't want to eat veggies … [Read more...]
Further Yoga Lessons in Bone Compression and Anatomical Limitations
by Kara-Leah Grant This week in my Ashtanga practice I've been exploring and playing with two joints in particular - my ankle joints and wrist joints. Thanks to a Yin Yoga workshop, I've identified that I have a limited range of movement in both of these joints - less than the normal range. The only posture that my limited ankle mobility appears to impact in the Primary Series (I'm up to Bhujapidasana (Shoulder-Pressing Pose)) is Utkatasana (Chair Pose). Prior to the realisation about my … [Read more...]
How Bone Compression Prevents Me from Doing Bhujapidasana
by Kara-Leah Grant I've been aware of the role that bone compression plays in our range of movement since watching a series of Paul Grilley videos on YouTube. Yet despite knowing this intellectually, it wasn't until I attended a Yin Yoga Workshop with Karin Sang and Markus Henning Giess of Yin Therapy that I realised how bone compression was impacting my yoga practice. Over the course of the day, Markus lead us through several bone compression tests so we could determine our natural range … [Read more...]
Is Meditation Dangerous?
by Kara-Leah Grant I got a call from a journalist at the Waikato Times a few weeks ago who wanted to interview me for an article on the 'pros and cons' of meditation. I wasn't sure if I could help her out - after all, I don't teach meditation - however it turned out she wanted to interview me about my experience of awakening and psychosis. Ah... I was to be the con in the article. Yes, meditation is dangerous, it can send you crazy! I pondered whether to do it or not. I understand journalism … [Read more...]