By Sandra Palmer I am a talker, a chatterbox even. So, I received some surprised responses (shocked, disbelieving and even amused!) when I informed people that I was attending a seven-day silent retreat. Some friends were plainly envious and thought it sounded divine. Many were curious: But why? They asked. Why would you do this? What is the purpose of being silent? Others wanted to know how hard it would be for me. I did not have answers to these questions. I was too busy … [Read more...]
Search Results for: prana flow
Proprioception: Some Practical Tips to Reconnect the Disconnected
by Sonya Simpson, Early in my yoga teaching career, I guided a group of five website developers in a corporate ‘one-off’ that a young, confident business owner from Sydney arranged. He called it a chance for his staff to do ‘something different’. Within the practice I guided a tall lanky man with an awkward gait through a chilled, gentle practice. He was clearly uncomfortable on the yoga mat. I got the impression that he felt anxious being with me, a stranger, in the small studio … [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...]
How Teaching Yoga on a Remote Island Helped Me Cope with Grief
by Julie Stansfield, Ebb and Flow Yoga As I travel along the road that connects the south with the north of the island to teach my weekly yoga class in Port Fitzroy, I reflect on how my life has changed since I first moved to Great Barrier Island thirteen years ago. I certainly wouldn’t have thought I’d be travelling fifty minutes to share my love of yoga with a group of enthusiastic women. Driving on a winding, gravel road which takes me from my home on the western side of the island, I … [Read more...]
How The 8 Limbs of Yoga Help Us to Touch the Deepest Self
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...]
Amy Ippoliti on Why 60-Minute Yoga Classes Might Be Watering Down Yoga
by Lucinda Staniland Meet Amy Ippoliti—yoga teacher, author, earth activist and founder of 90 Monkeys, an online professional development school for yoga teachers. One of the first things I noticed when I watched this video interview with Amy was her irrepressible enthusiasm for the practice of yoga. Yes, there's no doubt in my mind that this woman loves yoga, and loves sharing it with the world. And yet, while Amy is incredibly open hearted and enthusiastic, she also cultivates a sharp … [Read more...]
How to Connect with the Energy of the Divine Feminine
by Kara-Leah Grant I'm leading a Women's Circle at Power Living Wellington on July 8th where I've promised that women will learn how to embody and evoke the energy of Maha Shakti - one aspect of the Divine Feminine - through the practice of asana, pranayama and meditation. But what does that mean? I feel the energy of Shakti in me when I practice, when I walk, when I dance, when I write, when I make love. She is always there, within, only a breath away from my awareness. But how do … [Read more...]
The Humbling Experience of Ditching Music While Teaching Yoga
by Kara-Leah Grant Facilitating retreat is always a powerful experience, not just for the retreatees, but also for myself and the other facilitators. I know that I'm going to get triggered, that my ideas and beliefs will be challenged, and my unconsciousness revealed. This is the process of retreat, and it is immensely rewarding. In the middle of the fire though, it's damned hard work. Case in point: The Heart of Joy, Bali. I’m co-facilitating with Ben Ralston. It's only the second retreat … [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 collar … [Read more...]
What Is iRest® Yoga Nidra Meditation and How Can It Help You?
by Neal Ghoshal, Sacred Moves As the popularity of Yoga continues to expand, more and more people are being drawn into practices beyond Yoga asana (posture), into breath work, into meditation, into the subtler aspects of the tradition. One of the practices that is becoming increasingly lauded is Yoga Nidra. I first came across Yoga Nidra back in 2003 when learning to teach at the Ashram Yoga School in Parnell, Auckland. Ashram Yoga, a Satyananda style inspired Yoga school, included Yoga Nidra … [Read more...]