This is the first post in a series of yoga stories from readers. Tell us how yoga changed your life and go in the draw to win a yoga prize package. Submitted by Tash of Lower Hutt, winner of a Yoga Prize Package At fourteen years old, I felt completely depressed, empty inside and lost in the world. I was overweight and stuck in toxic friendships. I was at rock bottom. I found yoga when I was browsing the TV listings (Yoga TV with Kris Mcintyre, Barbara Behal and Nils Vesk) and … [Read more...]
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Even yoga and meditation can be a way to escape from reality
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I rolled out my yoga mat this afternoon, grabbing an opportunistic moment to get in my practice. My lunch was well digested. The baby was sleeping. My partner was outside practicing his guitar. And I knew I needed to practice. No asana for two days and my body felt tight. There was tension in my left shoulder shooting up into my neck, and my lower back has been uncharacteristically achy for a few weeks. One long om shanti track into my … [Read more...]
An exploration of non-attachment, or vairagya
by guest author Swami Muktidharma Saraswati For details of a retreat this weekend at Anahata Retreat on non-attachment, please see the end of this article. Attachment is one of the main causes in our lives of unhappiness. Attachment causes fear and fear is the trigger for a lot of other emotions such as anger, stress and lack of satisfaction in life. When there is attachment to an object, however small, there is fear of losing it. … [Read more...]
How do I go about becoming a yoga teacher? Part III
I'm still getting a fantastic response from yoga teachers on what it takes to be a yoga teacher. This week we have an in-depth exploration from Satyanada representative Swami Karma Karuna. Satyananda teachers are amongst the most immersed in the world of yoga. Their training is both deep and wide, taking many years to complete, but perhaps most important of all, Satyananda teachers all have a relationship with a guru, creating a direct line to true knowledge. … [Read more...]
Broken Warriors – reaching out to prisoners with yoga
by guest author Adhyatma, Yoga Education in Prisons Trust I first came across the idea of teaching Yoga to prison inmates when I was staying in an ashram in the northern parts of Bihar, India. I had traveled there without much prior knowledge of why I was really going there, what I was in for, or how it had even happened so easily, and so quickly in my life. But it had! I had been attending some Yoga classes in Mt Eden, Auckland for a couple of years with a Satyananda yoga teacher before I … [Read more...]
How to fit well-being into your holiday season
Ah, 'tis the season to be jolly, and merry, and over-indulge, because by golly you've earned it. 'Tis also the season to rush around like crazy, attending parties and drinks, buying presents and gifts, and squeezing as much fun and leisure into your holiday break as possible. In short, 'tis a time of madness, when long established patterns of well-being - think solid eating habits and regular yoga practice - fall by the wayside like Christmas wrapping paper on Boxing Day. To make it … [Read more...]
The path to true abundance lies within
We live in an infinitely abundant universe. This is a fact. Stare up at a clear sky night and try and count the stars. Cut open a capsicum and try and count the seeds. Stand on the corner of Lambton Quay and Willis Street and try and count the people flowing in all directions. Life is abundant. It flourishes under even the harshest of conditions. Deserts. Mountain tops. Ocean depths. … [Read more...]
What’s yoga got to do with climate action?
Well, plenty actually. And this is the perfect time to write about that connection. One, it's International Blog Action Day, when bloggers around the world write about one topic that matters - this year the environment. And two, next Saturday October 24th is International Climate Action Day, also happening worldwide. Here in Wellington, there will be meditation at Frank Kitts Park all day, and The Big Stretch - a free yoga class at 3pm. We want to get as many yogis to the free yoga … [Read more...]
How yoga has the power to transform and release avidya (self-ignorance)
My first experience with the power of avidya came about twenty minutes into my third ashtanga yoga class. Or maybe my second. The exact number is not important, just that I was a broke backpacker partway through a pre-paid ten week yoga course. The teacher, a long, lanky woman in her early forties, brought us into Warrior One - Virabhadrasana I. My hips were skewed decidedly sideways. My back heel struggled to connect with the floor. My arms were crooked and screamed in protest as I … [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...]