It's day number.... something? on my Prana Flow teacher training with Shiva Rea. The training is at Exhale Spa, Venice, California and the apartment I'm staying in with another student is a short walk along Venice Beach. Ah Venice Beach... like no other I've ever encountered. Shops and cafes on one side... a wide pavement of walkers, bikers, rollarbladers & skaters, dogs and skateboards in the middle... and vendors, musicians, and hanger-ons on the other side. Beyond the vendors … [Read more...]
Search Results for: Shiva Rea
Confessions of a shiny new yoga teacher
by Seka Ojdrovic-Phillips, I never planned on this happening but, in the immortal lyrics of John Lennon: Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. Now I find myself standing in front of a class full of eager yogis and yoginis, all eying me in expectation. Though I’ve memorised my teaching sequence, filled my water bottle and set my (meticulously planned) iPod soundtrack, I feel under-prepared and, well, kind of terrified. No where in my brain does it register that most … [Read more...]
The beginner’s guide to yoga: Part 2
Part 1 of this series in the Beginner's Guide to Yoga gave you a heads-up on things to be aware of before rocking along to your first yoga class. You might have been to a few classes now and so have got your head around the right clothes to wear, how to fuel your body before and after class, how to position yourself on your mat and how to forget about what other people are thinking. Now it's time to start investigating the process of posture (asana) a little more deeply. It's so easy to … [Read more...]
How yogis can have a critical impact on the world
By Kara-Leah Grant, author Forty Days of Yoga Global Mala is happening this Sunday, September 20th, in Wellington - but it's also happening right across the globe this weekend. Started by Shiva Rea, this is part of the yoga community's contribution towards creating world peace. Ultimately peace is something we cultivate within, and then we witness it's material manifestation without. It is not something we can "fight for", nor something we can impose or control. It is only by being … [Read more...]
What’s it like to do 108 sun salutations in a row?
by Kara-Leah, Mention doing 108 sun salutations in a row to most people, even regularly practicing yogis, and their eyes widen as their mind says "No way!" Yes way! Not only can your average yoga practitioner easily complete 108 sun salutations, but it's such an energizing practice, that at the end of 108, some people actually feel like they want to do more. Remember, yoga is not "exercise". It doesn't wear out the body, but energises the mind, body and soul. Sun salutations open and … [Read more...]
A Return Home – I hoki mai ki te wā kāinga
by Jase Te Patu M3 Mindfulness for Children They say that the practice of yoga is a return to self, our true nature, a return home! Almost four years ago, I packed up my life in Australia and returned to Aotearoa to share my personal love and practice of yoga with our people. Little did I know that that decision was going to be the biggest yoga practice I had ever undertaken. I had fallen in love with yoga, since being in Australia. Yoga was my preferred way as a professional … [Read more...]
When it turns out Exile was just a Sabbatical • My return to the Yoga World
by Kara-Leah Three weeks ago, after a three or four year sabbatical, I stepped back into a Yoga Studio to teach. I’d stopped teaching because my practice no longer resembled a studio yoga class, and it was impossible to teach something I wasn’t doing. It felt contrived, and wrong. Walking away from teaching felt like walking away from a core part of my identity. But sticking it out felt like a lie. So I stopped teaching. And I stopped going to studios because I was invariably … [Read more...]
Are Plant Medicines Part of Traditional Yoga?
by Daniel Fow, Cardinal Points: Healing Arts "The Mystic States (Siddhis) are attained by yogic practices from previous lifetimes, or by special plants, mantric repetition, asceticism, or by meditation." - Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The ancient Rishis and Yogis often spoke of an ancient plant medicine known as Soma which would be made into a tea. Upon drinking it, the third eye would awaken and mystical states would occur, even the state of samadhi or enlightenment. The use of Soma as a plant … [Read more...]
Jason Corliss: Love Fully, Live the Moment, Believe in the Magic
by Kara-Leah Grant The last time I saw Jason Corliss - Organic Mechanic founder, wizard, shaman, healer, sage - was at Kawai Purapura on Sunday, February 11th, 2018, for a Cacao Ceremony. He was outside, dancing, in the rain. This weekend - the weekend of his funeral, was the International Yoga Festival at Kawai Purapura, and I was presenting. Grace meant I was scheduled only for Friday and Sunday, so I was able to go and sit with Jase at the funeral home on Saturday morning before … [Read more...]
Has Modern Yoga Been Dominated By The Masculine?
by Lucinda StanilandIt's interesting what happens when you ask a difficult question.You'll note that there is only one man featured in this edition of The Community Speaks, our roundup of perspectives from influential people in the NZ and Australia yoga communities.This is not for lack of trying on our part—at least 11 men were invited to be part of this, but the majority of them didn't reply to emails. Perhaps it's an indication of how uncomfortable and challenging this question can be, or … [Read more...]