by Kara-Leah Grant Life has been rich with opportunities to practice deep acceptance lately. Samuel is now 17 months old, generally awake from 7am to 7pm, and active, even measured by toddler standards. It's impossible to work around him anymore, or write morning pages, or meditate, or practice asana. These things were the mainstay of my waking hours - if I wasn't on the computer, I was doing some form of yoga or writing. In the last month, I've had to accept that this is just not … [Read more...]
How Yoga Helps Us Ride the Storms of Life
by Kara-Leah Grant They say that some of the most stressful events in life include the following: renovating selling a house relationship breakdown pregnancy job uncertainty moving Of course, there are plenty of others. But these are just the ones I'm experiencing right now. Yep, life is kicking my butt. I should probably be curled up in a corner dissolving into a puddle of tears. But I'm not. I feel more calm, more centred, and more me than I've ever felt in my entire … [Read more...]
How to connect to other people while holding your centre – a new loving-kindness sadhana
Perhaps my biggest discovery this year has been the power of sadhana. I started my new years with a Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya. It took me a bit longer than forty days to finish it, as I missed a day at day 35 and had to start all over again... but boy was it powerful when I finally finished. I was super excited when I started my next sadhana - all about accessing infinite energy and prosperity. Unfortunately, I had to stop that one at Day 15 because I discovered I was … [Read more...]
Why it’s important to have friends that share your vision for life
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat One of the joys of being serious about yoga and meditation practice is the community of like-minded friends I've built up around me. Traditionally, a serious aspirant on the spiritual path would have a teacher or guru to turn to for help, guidance and assistance. Life in Wellington means that this teacher or guru usually shows up in my life in the guise of friends and family. Walking a spiritual path is not easy. One could liken it to the … [Read more...]
Day 15 to 21: Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya
Read the first posts in this series here: Committing to a Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya Day 1 to 7: Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya Day 8 to 14: Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya I'm over halfway through this sadhana, and the results have been incredible. Last week I shared some of the burning away process, whereby the movement of prana in the body releases old samskaras. This can be a painful and at times bewildering process, yet ultimately it … [Read more...]
Day 8 to 14: Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya
Missed the beginning of this series? Catch up here: Committing to a Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya Day 1 to 7: Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya There have been so many "ah-ha!" moments this week, brought about by a combination of this sadhana, but also an amazing book I am reading called Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, by Stephen Cope. Regular practice of yoga transforms us form the inside out - psyche and all. It's a process I've largely done by myself, … [Read more...]