by Kara-Leah Grant Twenty one years after my first yoga class, I finally learned the most basic of all yoga - I learned how to breathe properly. Yes despite all those years on the mat, and all the many teachers I went through, and all the years of home yoga practice, I didn't master Yogic Breath until 2016. Yogic Breath is elementary to yoga practice. It involves inhaling first into the belly, allowing it to fully expand out, before filling the chest and finally the clavicular (under the … [Read more...]
The Art of Conscious Relationship
How's your relationship? Intimate, connected, open, transparent, loving, caring, nourishing, and satisfying? If not, what's getting in the way? One of these articles might provide some insight for you.
Lessons from a Yogi: How to Deal with Criticism & Being Called Out
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...]
How Love’s Shadows Invite Us Into Deep Intimacy
by Kara-Leah Grant I didn't expect to feel this way when he arrived in my life. But this man who I'd been friends with for four years online before finally meeting in person landed in my heart with the softness of a blown dandelion flower gone to seed. Looking back, I asked myself, when did I know? When did I realise that we had this connection, this intimacy, this opening into relationship? Was it when he stayed at my house after getting off the plane? Was it when he got off the … [Read more...]
Is Meditation Dangerous?
by Kara-Leah Grant I got a call from a journalist at the Waikato Times a few weeks ago who wanted to interview me for an article on the 'pros and cons' of meditation. I wasn't sure if I could help her out - after all, I don't teach meditation - however it turned out she wanted to interview me about my experience of awakening and psychosis. Ah... I was to be the con in the article. Yes, meditation is dangerous, it can send you crazy! I pondered whether to do it or not. I understand journalism … [Read more...]
So that’s what Brahmacharya is all about. Containing my Inner Vamp
by Kara-Leah Grant This New Year’s Eve was a watershed for me. For the first time in my life, I tamed the wild demon of my sexuality. Never have I felt more powerful or more in integrity, and that sense of power and integrity has since spun out, infusing every element of my being. I was at a five day festival and in the company of an extraordinarily sexy man. The connection between us was humming and thick and a mere sideways glance was enough to bring on dry mouth and heart palpitations. And … [Read more...]
When the Price of Beauty and Presence is Sadness
By Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Yesterday we got home from six days away - my son with his father, and me in Napier teaching yoga classes and workshops. I love being on the road, catching up with the many friends I have around the country, teaching at a variety of studios, sharing my passion for yoga in workshops. I love home too but when I'm at home, I'm reminded of the home I don't have, the life I'm not leading. In that life I'm coming home to a man I love, who loves me. … [Read more...]
What is Love? Deep Acceptance of the Other, and Opening to Vulnerability
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I've been pondering the nature of Love over the last year or so, holding many deep conversations with my wonderful girlfriends and reflecting over two decades of short and long-term relationships. I've got plenty of material to draw upon! And you know what? I think I've got it. I know what love is - and what it is not. Love is a deep acceptance of the other person. Out of that ground of deep acceptance arise actions that create one's day to … [Read more...]
Can We Manifest our Way into True Love? (How about Yes!)
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Six months ago, I decided I wanted to step into relationship again. No big deal right? But when you're a single mother in your late 30s living in a small town with only 300 people... the chances don't sound very high. Factor in a serious commitment to yoga and conscious relationship - whatever that means - and it seemed the chances were even less. But I wanted a relationship, wholeheartedly, and so I did what I could to open up to this … [Read more...]
How to Consciously Face into Relationship Issues with Love
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I'm shaken to write this article barely three weeks after exploring the concept of loving without attachment. In that article, I faced squarely into the possibility of losing my man in order to let go of the fear and attachment I had around our love. And yesterday morning, my man packed his bags and left. Not because he doesn't love me deeply - he does - but because he can't take on my son as well. Stepping into a parenting situation with a … [Read more...]
Why Letting Go is a Crucial Aspect of Loving Well
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat It's the summer of 2000 and I've just come back to Whistler, BC after nine weeks living on the side of a volcano in Maui. I'd been on a mad adventure with a man I'd meet waitressing that winter in Whistler - but that's another story. My life is packed full of stories from that time, many of them involving men. I was young, carefree and a permanent traveller. It was four years since I'd graduated my Journalism Course and bailed on New Zealand, … [Read more...]