I've been practicing yoga for over a decade now, and I'm still tight and inflexible. That's not quite true of course, but when I compare my flexibility to that of the images of yoga we see in the media, or the popular teachers on DVDs... I fall well short. And I find it perplexing. It doesn't make me feel less than in anyway, and I'm well aware that the point of yoga is not flexibility, rather flexibility is a by-product of practice. But how long does it take to lengthen the … [Read more...]
A curious approach to sitting and back-bending
By guest author Oli Wiles, Free to Move Find sthira sukham at your desk and on the mat A friend recently posted a pic on Facebook of his 3-month-old boy sitting propped up on a sofa. The caption read: "Propped up at 3 months, eventually he toppled." It got me thinking about sitting and back-bending … Now, as you sit at your desk, it is likely that the muscles of your back are stopping you from toppling into the keyboard. In playing this important role, however, parts of your back … [Read more...]
An interview with Donna Farhi
I first discovered Donna Farhi in my local library in Queenstown. Her book Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit: A Return to Wholeness was liberating, informative and challenging. She taught not asana by asana, this body part in that body place, but through universal principles that underlay every asana. It was a watershed moment in my Yoga journey as my home practice had begun to diverge from anything resembling a standard hatha class. With Donna's book within easy reach, I felt able to honour the … [Read more...]