The Top Twenty Best Yoga Articles of 2013

It was the year of the book launch!

by Kara-Leah Grant, founder & editor of YLB

Wow. What a year.

In February, YLB launched an electronic version of Forty Days of Yoga, and in April due to popular demand, went to print.

In June, the MYOGA Basics Series Photobook & CD was launched in both electronic and hard-copy, and finally, in November YLB released a download-only version of The Unwind and Re-Energise Collection Yoga Nidra CD by Will Fenton.

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Plus, in August, Inside the Box was launched giving members unlimited access to all articles and access to the Yoga Resource Library, to which new PDFs are being added regularly.

What did all of these things have in common?

They were all designed to support your yoga journey – and specifically your home yoga practice.

This was not accidental – one of the recurring themes from emails, messages and conversations with YLB readers was about how to start and maintain a home yoga practice. Going to class is great, but it’s only the first step – home yoga practice is when we really start to reap the rewards of yoga.

In the coming year, you can expect more support for your home yoga practice, plus support for other aspects of the yoga journey – like going to yoga classes for the first time, attending yoga teacher training, becoming a teacher and running a yoga business.

The yoga journey is both different for each and every one of us, and the same.

There are familiar landmarks and obstacles along the way, and by sharing our collective knowledge, we can help each other over the humps and around the walls.

That’s why I started this website back in 2008. I was over-flowing with passion for yoga and what it had done for me in my life, and I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. A website provided that forum.

What I hadn’t considered was all the people that would find their way to this website and join the YLB community. I’m getting more and more emails and messages from people around the world who have been touched, inspired and informed by the articles and video on YLB.

I love hearing from you all – it makes me feel incredibly wealthy to be part of this community. It’s a reminder that we are never alone, that somebody can always relate to what we’re going through, and that someone has always been there before us.

It’s no coincidence that the most popular yoga articles of 2013 reflect the many different aspects of a yoga journey.

There’s articles on yoga philosophy like the Koshas and Niyamas, plus articles on aspects of practice like Mula Bandha and surrendering into postures at #5, #12 & #13.

We touch on one of the big issues in yoga media this year, looking at the images we use to portray yoga in #7. Plus, thanks to Yogi John at #16, we’re doing our best to show that regular men practice yoga too (not just super athletes).

Yoga teacher training and yoga business articles were amongst the most popular, taking out #2, #3, #8, & #17 on the list.

Always popular, intimate articles I shared in Musings from the Mat about the inner workings of my psyche and how yoga helps me navigate life’s difficulties show up at #10, #14 & #20.

Plus the love and heart chakra continue to do well! People love love! See #6, #10, #14 & #15.

A surprise success at #4 is an article I started years ago… that I finally finished – about how our thoughts don’t create our reality, but they do impact our experience of our reality. That important distinction had readers sighing with relief.

The proper behaviour for a yogi is always a contentious issue – do real yogis eat meat, have sex, wear Lululemon, smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol? At #11 you’ll find an exploration of just one of these questions – alcohol.

Kundalini continued to fascinate people, and hit the list at #19.

And finally, the #1 article for the year, proving that people are seriously excited about Wanderlust, was Jonnie Halstead’s announcement that he’d secured the rights to bring the festival to both New Zealand and Australia. Nice one Jonnie!

No doubt there were many more articles that touched you along the way, and I can promise many more for next year.

Thank you all for everything you give to this website – the emails, the comments, the articles from the many wonderful guest authors, the linking on social media and your enthusiasm for the books and products launched this year.

You guys rock!

Much Love,

Kara-Leah

The Top Twenty Best Yoga Articles of 2013

1. Official Announcement: Wanderlust Festival is coming to New Zealand and Australia
2. Five Mistakes I Made As a New Yoga Teacher
3. How to build your confidence (and resume) as a new yoga teacher
4. Your thoughts do not create your reality. Stupid.
5. The Five Koshas Explained: How They Impact our Yoga Practice
6. How to Open Your Heart Chakra in One Simple Step
7. Where Are All the Fat Chicks in Yoga Media?
8. Five things a yoga instructor should never say in class
9. Your most valuable tool as a Yoga Teacher (it’s not what you think)
10. Can We Manifest our Way into True Love? (How about Yes!)
11. Drinking Alcohol: A Big No-No for Serious Yogis?
12. Exploring the Niyamas: How does Saucha affect our lives?
13. How to use Mula Bandha (root lock) to strengthen every pose
14. Oh the obsessive, compulsive, lusting nature of deep desire
15. What Does it Mean to Open Your Heart Chakra?
16. Getting on the man mat for Forty Days of Yoga
17. Are You Sabotaging Your Yoga Business? Five Common Pitfalls to Avoid
18. You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em
19. Kundalini Awakenings: Symptoms, Process, Benefits, Support & Help
20. There is nothing wrong with you. You don’t need fixing

Note: Results generated via Google Analytics. This list isn’t terribly scientific because articles published in the first half of the year have more time to make the list. Anything published in the last few weeks is unlikely on there, even if it was awesome.