By Sandi White, Breath and BeyondTwo weeks ago I set out on a quest to conquer forty days of home yoga practice. It wasn’t something I had ever really thought I could or would do. However, after reading Kara-Leah Grant’s book, Forty Days of Yoga, I felt compelled to start.I am now two weeks into my journey and this is what I have discovered so far. 1. Yoga may not change my life experiences, but it can help me to deal with them. This past week I have been dealing with a range of … [Read more...]
10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Yoga
by Lucinda Staniland Most of us come to yoga with a whole lot of misconceptions about what yoga is. I was no different. Here are some of the mistakes that I made, and lessons that I learnt, as a new yoga student. 1. Asana does not equal yoga. When I started doing yoga I was awed by the strength and grace of the physical practice I saw my fellow students doing. I couldn't wait for the day when I too would move with such beauty. I fell in love with asana.But asana (physical postures) is not … [Read more...]
Melissa Billington on Why It’s So Hard Showing up for Yoga Self-Practice {video}
by Kara-Leah Grant I've known Melissa Billington since 2008 and been close friends with her since 2010. We've had -literally - hundreds of discussions about the nature of yoga, what it means to teach and what it means to practice. Melissa has also been a regular writer on The Yoga Lunchbox. She used to teach yoga on The Morning Show, back when it was filmed in Wellington.And a couple of years ago wrote, produced and acted in a one-woman show called PocaHAUNTus: Shapeshifting history into … [Read more...]
Home Yoga Practice: What Counts if You Are a Yoga Teacher?
by Kara-Leah Grant A few months ago I wrote an article stating that if you teach yoga, you must have a daily self-practice. That article was widely shared, and read. And it triggered some strong reactions.There were comments, and emails where people shared with me the reasons why they couldn't practice yoga every day. Some of these teachers were only teaching one class a week, on top of working 50+ hour jobs, and they were often teaching disadvantaged groups. They felt like what they were … [Read more...]
Teaching Yoga? You Must have a Home Yoga Practice. Here’s why
by Kara-Leah Grant Recently on social media, a yoga teacher was talking about the difficulty of fitting in going to yoga classes with her busy schedule, and admitted that her home yoga practice was poor. This teacher displayed zero awareness of the importance of a personal practice for anyone who teaches yoga.She's trained as a yoga teacher. Which implies that the yoga teacher training she completed didn't hammer home the importance of a personal practice for those who teach yoga.She's … [Read more...]
Learn How to Practice Yoga By Yourself with MYOGA Online School
by Melissa Billington, MYOGA Online School My partner loves chess and when he asked me to play I said I’d be willing to try, but that backgammon is my game. Chess seems too complicated - too many things to keep track of and too many possibilities. I like the mix of math, chance and skill that backgammon requires. And it plays out quickly. However, I really like this guy so I sat down with him and he explained the name of each piece and where it could move. It was tedious and I was still … [Read more...]
The Best Home Yoga Practice Book You Can Buy
by Kara-Leah Grant, author of Forty Days of Yoga & The No-More-Excuses Guide to Yoga (coming soon) It's been 18 months since I published Forty Days of Yoga and over a thousand people have now bought the book in print or electronic versions.The message I consistently hear is that: Thank you so much for opening my world and showing me that a daily yoga practice doesn't mean crazy postures on my mat for 90 minutes and failing if I miss a day. Thank you for helping me find a calm, … [Read more...]
Putting the Flow Together: A Complete Mandala Surya Namaskar {video}
by Kara-Leah Grant Welcome to the last article and video in this series of Yoga Explorations.Yes, you've made it all the way to the end and now it's time to bring everything together in one smooth flow.Circular sun salutations work on a few different levels. Usually on our mats we work in a purely linear manner - we move left and right, back and forward. Plus we usually only face forwards, or sideways to one direction.However when we do circular sun salutations we use all four sides … [Read more...]
Home Yoga Practice Questions: Do I Need a Home Practice if I’m Regularly Going to Yoga Class?
by Kara-Leah Grant, author of Forty Days of Yoga It's easy when you regularly go to yoga classes to dismiss the idea of home yoga practice - after all, you don't need it right? You're already practicing in class 2 or 3 or maybe even 5 or 6 times a week.However, even if you are going to class, there is much to be gained by also doing a home yoga practice.It doesn't have to be every day, and it doesn't have to be long. Ten minutes is enough. Even such a small amount of time can have … [Read more...]
Home Yoga Practice Questions: Can I Practice Yoga with A Herniated Disc?
by Kara-Leah Grant, author of Forty Days of Yoga This week's Home Yoga Practice questions comes from Catherine in India. She writes: I have practiced yoga for many years and for the last 6 months have been doing a regular home practice. However last month I had an MRI scan due to persistent backache and discovered that I have a slipped disc. My doctor has asked me to stop yoga - forward bends are a definite no - and his opinion is that I should walk and swim as exercise (which I have been … [Read more...]