Supplied by Anahata Yoga Retreat Centre It is that time of year again where we are about to enter a significantly beneficial astrological period. In India, these months are at a time of changing seasons, and it is a time set aside for practicing sadhana - a set period of intensified yoga practices. Traditionally the main part of that sadhana involves chanting. We have the pleasure of welcoming back Swami Muktimurti of the Satyananda Yoga Academy, Australasia. She will share with us how … [Read more...]
Keeping New Year’s Resolutions is not about willpower or discipline
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat I was up early on New Year’s Day. It’s one of my favourite ways to start the year. Early morning, the world seems fresh and alive and ripe for new opportunities and new ways of being. The possibility of new choices and new ways of being seems stronger. 'How will I live this day?' 'How will I live this life?' On January 1st, this sense of potential and possibility feels stronger. New Year’s is a time for resolutions, as we make up our minds we’re … [Read more...]
Sharing Sadhana: Why yoga teachers’ home yoga practices can inspire
by Kara-Leah Grant Know what I love about this book? It delivers exactly what it promises. The tagline, on the top of the cover, proclaims: "Insights and inspiration for a personal yoga practice." And since reading Sharing Sadhana, my home yoga practice has been inspired, I've had several 'a-ha' moments of insight, and I've even been inspired to write a book on how to create a home yoga practice and stick to it. Not bad eh? And yet when I started reading it... I was doubtful. … [Read more...]
Oct 15 – 24: Anahata Yoga Retreat, Mantra, Meditation & Reflection – Navaratri Sadhana Retreat
Mantra, Meditation & Reflection - Navaratri Sadhana Retreat, with Swami Gyan Dharma Expand your consciousness with an intensive period of mantra chanting (specific sound waves), intended to purify, energise and awaken. This powerful 9 day period of astrological significance, is deemed most auspicious to do any spiritual practice (sadhana). It is said an hour of sadhana during this time is equal to 100 hours of sadhana any other time of the year. This retreat follows a slightly lighter … [Read more...]
An interview with Swami Muktimurti about the power of sound to transform
There is a rich Satyananda Yoga tradition in New Zealand, which means we are fortunate to often play host to traveling Satyananda Swamis from around the world. Next month (March 2010), Anahata Retreat just outside of Nelson is hosting Swami Muktimurti from Mangrove Mountain near Mountain. An expert in Mantra and ancient Sanskrit, she is hosting a nine day/ten night retreat focused on Nada Yoga, or the yoga of sound. Swami Muktimurti is well known for her singing. She has pursued a deep … [Read more...]
Completion of a loving-kindness sadhana, Day 30 to Day 40
This was the easiest sadhana (daily spiritual practice) I've done. Simply sitting cross-legged and repeating four lines (in English no less!) over and over. May I be filled with loving-kindness May I be well My I be peaceful and at ease May I be happy I finished yesterday, with a twenty minute meditation. Yet this morning, getting stuck into work, I couldn't wait to do my meditation. So I did. Day 41. This may just be a daily practice for me until... well who knows? … [Read more...]
What is a Sadhana and Why Do I Need One in My Life?
By Kara-Leah, Regular readers will well remember I started a forty day sadhana (spiritual practice) oh... a few months ago. It was an Infinite Wealth and Prosperity meditation, and I was loving doing it. But then something happened. I found out I was pregnant, and as this particular meditation involved stomach pumps (a no-no for pregnant women), I had to stop. But I couldn't write about it immediately, because I had to wait to tell people I was pregnant. Now I can tell people... so I can … [Read more...]
Committing to a Forty Day Sadhana of Sodarshan Chakra Kriya
As an avid reader of Steve Pavlina's blog, Personal Development for Smart People, I have long admired his tenacity in determining a course of action and sticking to it. He is the champion of the thirty day trial - a process whereby he'll try something out for thirty days to see how it impacts his life. After thirty days, the practice is sufficiently ingrained into his day so that if the results have been beneficial, it is simple to carry on. It's a great way to make a lifetime commitment to … [Read more...]