by Meera Watts, Siddhi Yoga Yoga has become a mainstream activity in all parts of the world. The discipline has a lot to teach us but we are failing the practice itself. It’s great that we’ve all been introduced to this phenomenal multi-faceted means of helping ourselves, but to take it apart and use what we’re comfortable with isn’t exactly the point of yoga. One can master poses and look the part but when yoga doesn’t capture your soul, teach you how to be still, or alter how you live your … [Read more...]
Search Results for: ashtanga
Deepening • The Yoga of Life
Time to Thrive: How I Learned to Take Deep Care of My Body, Heart & Mind
by Kelly Fisher Our lives are so out of synch with nature; it's no wonder that sub-par health and even chronic degenerative diseases are the new norm. Diabetes, autoimmune disorders, adrenal issues, thyroid conditions, weight issues, menopausal issues, post-partum issues, insomnia, perpetual exhaustion… the list goes on. Chances are you know someone who suffers from at least one of these things, and maybe a few of you know someone for each of the above. Even those of us who consider ourselves … [Read more...]
The Real Meaning of Aum and Why We Chant It
by Kara-Leah Grant An extract from 'The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga' The number one thing that freaks out new yoga students is the thought of opening their mouth and making a vowel sound followed by a consonant in a room full of strangers. Yes, the simple sound of OM makes people want to run screaming from the room. There are a few reasons for this - one is that Aum (as it's correctly written) has a bad rap. It's weird, strange and the butt of all kinds of jokes. Plus, making a sound like … [Read more...]
Shiva Rea on the Evolution of Prana Vinyasa Yoga {video interview}
by Kara-Leah Grant She's sometimes referred to as "the Madonna of Yoga" - at least, that's what Vanity Fair called Shiva Rea when she did a desert photo shoot for them in 2007. But magazines love catchy monikers and as someone who grew up idolising Madonna and has studied with Shiva... the two women are nothing alike. "I'm not sure what exactly what they were referring to, whether it was my boldness, but I'm not into being a yoga celebrity at all. At all! Humility for me is a really important … [Read more...]
The Truth on Drinking Coffee and Teaching or Practicing Yoga
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...]
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 of … [Read more...]
I’m Afraid my Students are Going to Get Bored with my Yoga Sequences
by Kara-Leah Grant This came up in conversation this week - a new teacher expressing a fear that her yoga sequences weren't interesting enough and that she was going to be boring her students. She wanted to know how to make her sequences more interesting. However, there is a fallacy of logic here. The teacher has a fear arising - that of boring her students. Her approach to working with that fear is to ensure that the external circumstance triggering the fear is removed - bored … [Read more...]
The Real Stories Behind The Top 4 Yoga Myths
By Lucinda Staniland The internet is full to bursting with articles debunking the ‘Top Yoga Myths’. They tell us that contrary to poplar belief, Yoga is not a religion, that it’s not just for skinny, rich, flexible young women, and that it really is good exercise, as well as a holistic spiritual experience. Opinion is divided in these articles as to whether yoga really does or doesn’t give you great abs and fantastic orgasms. But, in general all these articles paint the same picture. Don’t … [Read more...]