Editor's Note: Since this article was published, several accounts of sexual harassment and assault have been made public by Mark Whitwell's female students. We do not in any way condone Mark's behaviour. You can read more about the accounts here. by Kara-Leah Grant I was fortunate enough to attend one of Mark Whitwell’s classes at Wanderlust Great Lake Taupo 2015. Mark is teacher of considerable standing who spent many years with Desikachar and studied directly with Krishnamacharya, the teacher … [Read more...]
The Eight Essentials of Restorative Yoga
by guest author Neal Ghoshal, Sacred Moves A few years ago I enrolled on my second Yoga Teacher Training course for a year at the Yoga Academy Auckland - I was on a mission to learn more about this practice and to equip myself with as much knowledge as I could. If I was going to teach Yoga, then I wanted to be good at it. About half way through the year, course tutor Jude Hynes gave us a new practice, brought out some Yoga bolsters from the cupboard and introduced us to the wonderful world of … [Read more...]
November 2 – 4, Te Moata Retreat, Coromandel, The Breath and the Heart Yoga Retreat
In this weekend workshop we explore the connections between our breath and our heart. Weaving somatic enquiry, yoga asana and loving-kindness practices we will restore ease-full breathing, a calm mind and an open heart. This will be a weekend in which to release into the organic soft support of the heart and the breath. Te Moata is the perfect setting for our deepening yoga practice – the beauty and spirit of the land, the nourishing and delicious food, and the sensitive kindness of the … [Read more...]
An interview with Donna Farhi
I first discovered Donna Farhi in my local library in Queenstown. Her book Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit: A Return to Wholeness was liberating, informative and challenging. She taught not asana by asana, this body part in that body place, but through universal principles that underlay every asana. It was a watershed moment in my Yoga journey as my home practice had begun to diverge from anything resembling a standard hatha class. With Donna's book within easy reach, I felt able to honour the … [Read more...]
Auckland Yoga Teacher: Sue Grbic
Sue's yoga path started in the late '70s in South Africa when she was initiated onto a path of meditational yoga - a path she still follows today. Hatha yoga followed soon afterwards and happily saw her through three pregnancies. When she moved to New Zealand, her three girls were very little, but once the youngest started school she was faced with the option of looking for a full-time job or continuing her yoga teacher training that she'd started in Cape Town. No contest there! Sue … [Read more...]
Insight into experiences from a Donna Farhi workshop
by guest author Sue Grbic, Director, Albany Yoga Room For many students the experience of working with Donna Farhi for the first time is a truly transforming experience which amounts to nothing less than a paradigm shift in their yoga practice. What is it that brings about such change? I guess there are as many answers to that question as there are students who have worked with Donna. Speaking for myself however I can say that there were two specific ‘ah-hah’ moments the first time I … [Read more...]