by Kara-Leah Grant The guru model is dead in modern Western Yoga. And the list of scandals involving gurus, or teachers, or swamis just seems to be growing longer. Where the hell are all the enlightened and perfect teachers? They don't exist. Our teachers - known and unknown, big and small, experienced and fresh, revered and loved, skilled and talented, wise and powerful - they are also human. Which means that our teachers, like us, have unconscious shit that can get in the way of their … [Read more...]
I can do it. (And so can you)
By Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Oh yes... the pressure has been on this week. I leave this Saturday for Auckland in preparation for launching Forty Days of Yoga at the International Yoga Conference Festival next Friday. My book hasn't gone to print yet. There's been issues with corrupted files. Scheduling difficulties with layout folk and designers. Couriers that don't deliver. Trimming accidents. And finally, font issues on the print proof. It's to be expected. There's always … [Read more...]
From poison into potion: Why forty days of yoga is alchemy of the soul
by Melissa Billington We come into the new year with a desire to re-create ourselves, to arise out of last year and make a new start. While I personally consider Spring the new year and the place for emergence since 1582, with the advent of the Gregorian calendar, we observe the start of the new year as January 1. The Celtic calendar sets November 1(May 1 in the southern hemisphere) as the new year. They see going into the dark as the necessary first step to creation, like the child in … [Read more...]
Unravelling the stories that shape our yoga practice
My life right now is a fluid mix of story & yoga. I'm studying creative writing at Victoria University and I'm finishing off my Prana Flow Yoga Teacher Certification (posted off all the book work in the mail on Monday! Woo hoo... now just have the exam to sit.) This combination of story and yoga has dovetailed into a deeper understanding of how we write the scripts for our lives, how we cast ourselves and the people around us as characters, and how we react to these scripts and … [Read more...]
What plank pose can teach us about transformative power
by Kara-Leah Grant In the novel I have just finished reading (and highly recommend) - People of the Weeping Eye by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear, one of the main characters is a "Contrary". She goes by the name of Two Petals, and ever since her mother died, has had trouble staying grounded in reality. She hears voices, sees visions, and is overwhelmed in crowds because she connects with every single person's soul. What makes Two Petals a Contrary is that everything is also … [Read more...]