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Lessons from a Yogi: How to Deal with Criticism & Being Called Out

October 12, 2016 by Kara-Leah Grant 2 Comments

by Kara-Leah Grant Today I received a long comment on the article I wrote about my disappointment at how Madonna has chosen to age, because it means I'm now looking for another role model on the ageing front. The author, Cherise, shares her perspective on the way I wrote the article. You know what? I read this article this morning and mulled over it all day. There’s something in here that really annoys me Kara-Leah. I am a contemporary of Madonna. I am nearly 58, which I believe she is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Living Your Yoga Tagged With: conscious relationship, criticism, ego, feedback, Relationship, waking up

Peering into the Darkness with Ashtanga Yoga

August 6, 2014 by Guest Author 2 Comments

The Goddess Kali, who looks dark and scary but who removes the ego and liberates the soul.

by guest author Pip Bennett I’ve had some dark, dark clouds following me around these past couple of weeks. One day at a work lunch I found myself judging everyone for how happy they were. I was thinking, they are only happy because they have such-and-such. If I had those things, I would be happy. They don’t understand what it is like to not have choice, be in a difficult situation. Oh dear. I’ve listened to enough Buddhist teachings to know that these thoughts are not true. Things … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Yoga & Community Tagged With: Acceptance, ashtanga, cleansing, compassion, dark spaces, ego, guilt, hard times, healing, judgement, Pema Chodron, wounds

How Living Your Yoga Can Mean Taking Parenting Lessons From The Rock (Dwayne Johnson)

January 16, 2014 by Kara-Leah Grant Leave a Comment

by Kara-Leah Grant First night in Napier, staying at my Uncle's house. The TV's on. I haven't lived with a TV for three years. It's novel. I sit to eat my dinner and catch the beginning of a movie. By the time I've finished my dinner, I've grasped the plot and I'm chuckling at the weirdness of the Universe. The movie is about a high-achieving, selfish, self-centered football player who discovers - when she shows up on his doorstep - that he has an eight year old daughter. The plot revolves … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Musings from the Mat, Yoga & Parenting Tagged With: awareness, children, ego, motherhood, parenting, story

What if Enlightenment was just Dropping into Total Ordinariness. What then?

October 28, 2013 by Guest Author 15 Comments

Waiting for imminent enlightenment

by guest author Emma Fernbloom, author of Conscious Creation of Wholeness & Community It’s strange to find myself free of ambition. It’s been a slow change, but now it’s happened completely, it feels a bit weird. It leaves gaps in conversations, like when everyone is talking about some TV programme you haven’t seen and they’re all wrapped up in the drama of it, but you haven’t been pulled into it so your smile is merely polite with a tinge of enjoyment or irritation at their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Process of Kundalini, What's Real Yoga & a Real Yogi? Tagged With: awakening, change, ego, emma fernbloom, stories, world. *ITB

How to Change the World No Matter Where You Are or What You Do

October 23, 2013 by Kara-Leah Grant 3 Comments

Pondering how to save the world?

by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat This month marked nine years since I returned from overseas, after having two psychotic episodes and ending up in Vancouver's Lion's Gate Hospital's Acute Psyche Ward. I was a mess. Eight years prior to that, I'd left New Zealand after completing a journalism certificate, heading overseas to seek fame and fortunate. I'd been runner up to Dux at high school, invited into two Honours subjects at University and voted Most Likely to be Prime Minister of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Activism, Musings from the Mat Tagged With: dissolution, drugs, ego, psychosis, self, shadows, world

Exploring the Niyamas: How does Svadhyaya affect our lives?

April 25, 2013 by Kara-Leah Grant 4 Comments

by Kara-Leah Grant I've been pondering the yamas and niyamas for a few years now. Reading about them, thinking about them, writing about them... and of course, living them out. The niyama on my mind right now is Svadhyaya, often translated as study. Seems to sum up my entire approach to yoga really - the study of the practice and the study of the Self. Without that, there is no yoga, just a bunch of fancy moves thrown together on a mat. Svadhyaya is the difference between rotely moving … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Living Your Yoga, The Foundations Tagged With: belief, ego, idea, identity, niyama, no-self, svadhyaya, thought

How teaching yoga can trigger your issues

August 28, 2012 by Elissa Jordan 9 Comments

by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching I’m feeling utterly dejected this morning. Getting out of bed - struggle. Getting to work - struggle. Talking to people - struggle. What’s got me so down? While teaching last night one of my students remarked about what a difference there was between the Wednesday and Monday night classes. Wednesday, my class, on the night was six people. Monday, another teacher’s class, was overflowing. No real judgement was made - good or bad - … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Teaching Insights Tagged With: bad, class size, confidence, ego, good, labels, process work, storytelling, success, teacher

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