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The videos and articles in this section explore the basis of what yoga really is, and describe ways of how to go about practicing it yourself.

Who are the Best Up-and-Coming Yoga Teachers in New Zealand & Australia?

September 8, 2016 by Kara-Leah Grant 14 Comments

by Kara-Leah Grant Nominations now closed.  Stay tuned for the winner of a three-day double pass to Wanderlust Sunshine Coast 2016, and the list of successful nominees.  We want to identify yoga teachers in Australasia that are flying under the wire. These teachers don't have a huge presence on social media, they're not getting booked for festivals, AND they are doing great work. They have a committed yoga practice, they are dedicated to their students, they have an intimate understanding of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Teaching Insights, The Foundations Tagged With: Australasia Yoga Teacher, Australia yoga teacher, Best Yoga Teacher, New Zealand yoga teacher, yoga teacher

The True Meaning of Yoga and Why It’s Not About Asana

August 31, 2016 by Kara-Leah Grant 7 Comments

by Kara-Leah Grant Let's get technical, technical, I wanna get technical... Let me hear your ego rock... OK fellow yoga students. Here's the deal. The word 'Yoga' gets bandied about all over the place, but it's rarely defined. We assume that we all know what we're talking about, but often we're talking about different things. First up, physical postures are not Yoga. They are called 'asana'. When you go to what is commonly called 'a yoga class', you are likely attending an asana class. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: asana, patanjali, self realization, yoga teacher

The Truth on Drinking Coffee and Teaching or Practicing Yoga

March 8, 2016 by Kara-Leah Grant 29 Comments

by Kara-Leah Grant Since stopping regular coffee drinking back in 2013, I have become fastidious about never drinking coffee before practicing or teaching yoga. Since I practice every day, and teach often, there are very rare windows when caffeine is an option for me. At a recent summer festival, I realised how deeply this belief I have about the importance of not having caffeine in the system when practicing and teaching was ingrained. A couple of hours before I was teaching a class, I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: addiction, coffee, intoxicants, teaching yoga, Yoga Sutras

Patanjali’s Five Key Attitudes for Committing to Your Yoga Practice

January 13, 2016 by Kara-Leah Grant 1 Comment

by Kara-Leah Grant Today was Day 300 of a Tantric yoga practice I'm doing, which got me reflecting on what it takes to commit to yoga. Every day, no matter what, I sit and do this particular yoga practice, which consists of seated spinal rotations with pranayama, chanting with visualisation and mudra, and meditation. My intention is to do 1000 days in a row - that's almost three years of dedicated, committed practice. If I miss a day, I have to start again on Day 1. It's taken me over … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: committment, Forty Day Practices, patanjali, tantra, Yoga Sutras, Yogic texts

Discard Your ‘Intentions’, just do Your Yoga and Pass the Ketchup

November 10, 2015 by Guest Author Leave a Comment

By David Cary I came to yoga in the early 2000s quite by accident. At the time I was struggling with ‘a big move’. Yoga was calming, and of course being in a room graced by a sprinkling of beautiful people did help. I finished one term, and, not knowing, moved to the next level class. Was that a mistake! Suddenly it was filled with lentil eaters, ujai breathers, spiritual people and other misfits from the fringes of society. And it was hard. That was the end. A year or so later, I found … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: calm, meditation, yoga, yoga teacher

How Deep Do You Really Go in Your Yoga Practice?

February 23, 2015 by Kara-Leah Grant 2 Comments

by Kara-Leah Grant On Friday, a friend who is a talented healer, did some energy release work on my shoulders. He stood behind me, pressed into each shoulder and breathed. It was a simple technique and yet I could feel pressure evaporating into the ether. Afterwards he shook his head. You had half a ton of pressure in there. I know this. I feel it and I see it in my body when I watch myself on video - this held tension that isn't so much about the muscles but the underlying … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: chakras, consciousness, prana, subtle body, The Mandukya Upanishad, vayus

How Many Years of Yoga Practice Does it Take to Get Flexible?

December 17, 2014 by Kara-Leah Grant 14 Comments

by Kara-Leah Grant This is an impossible question to answer - at least, to answer definitively, but I'm still going to give it a damn good crack. And with good reason. Despite the fact that yoga has nothing to do whatsoever with flexibility - that flexibility is a side benefit of one's yoga practice and no measure of the depth or strength of one's yoga practice - yoga and flexibility are intimately intertwined in the modern idea of yoga. There's a good reason for this. We are predominantly a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: compression, duncan peak, flexibility, flexible, forward bends, Paul Grilley, Peter Sanson, Peter Sterios, tension

The Well-Seasoned Yogi: Eleven Tips for Older People on Getting Started with Yoga

September 12, 2014 by Guest Author 2 Comments

Eve, forty three years of yoga practice and nearing her 70th year.

In celebration of  the launch of The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga, I’ve invited some friends and colleagues to write articles relating to the theme of the book’s subtitle: Because yoga is for every body. Given that yoga has enormous benefits for staying youthful - that is, being able to move freely even as you age - it's strange that we don't see more media images of older people practicing yoga. It sends the message that yoga isn't for older people which so isn't true. Today's guest author, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: Elderly, Eve Grzybowski, inclusive, Older Yoga

An Overview of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga

September 10, 2014 by Kara-Leah Grant 1 Comment

This article is an edited extract from K-L's new book, The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga, from the section called Yoga History, Philosophy and Concepts. It's a huge topic area, but in seven chapters, there is a succinct overview of much of the territory you might come across in yoga class - including Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga.  by Kara-Leah Grant, author of The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga One of the most famous of the yogic texts is The Yoga Sutras. These were either written by, or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: eight limbs, Matthew Remskis, Namas, patanjali, The Yoga Sutras, Threads of Yoga, yamas

Launching a Foundational Guide to Yoga for Beginners and Beyond

September 3, 2014 by Kara-Leah Grant 1 Comment

Pre-orders now open. Shipping September 24. See below. by Kara-Leah Grant Cast your mind back to your very first yoga class. What did it take to get there? Did you have to overcome any fears or hesitancy? Were you nervous? Did a friend take you? Was it a great class - or a bad experience? Did you keep going to yoga, or did you walk away for a few weeks, or months, or years before finally going back? Did it take you a while to find the class and the teacher that was right for you? Most … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Foundations Tagged With: gift, YEPT, yoga book

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