By Kara-Leah Grant, author Forty Days of Yoga
There are some fantastic yoga websites out there in the worldwide web, but finding them can be tricky. Luckily you’ve got The Yoga Lunchbox here to help.
People often ask me where I find the time to read so much – it’s simple. I use a RSS reader (GoogleReader) and subscribe to all the websites I love.
Every morning (or evening) instead of reading the local paper or watching the news, I open up my Google Reader and see what articles have arrived. It’s a great way to get inspired and uplifted, while often learning something. I’ve had so many “a-ha!” moments in my Google Reader. Plus I can now read Google Reader on my iPhone, which means I carry inspiring reading around with me and don’t need to resort to trashy women’s mags in waiting rooms anymore…
I get so much enjoyment out of my Google Reader I thought I would offer up a list of my best of the best yoga reads.
These are in no particular order, just articles and websites that I’m loving right now.
I’m always on the hunt for new reads too, so if you know of something great that I’ve missed, please leave a comment!
1. Shanti-Town | Lia Aprile
I’ve already featured Lia as a guest author here on The Yoga Lunchbox with her lovely article Learning to soften, but there are so many of her articles that I have just loved, loved, loved. Lia’s got a delicious, light-hearted way of zeroing in on the most subtle of yogic realisations that helps expands her readers understanding of what it truly means to practice yoga. Some of my favourite Shanti Town articles are:
2. Yoga Unlimited | Lynda Miers-Henneveld & Kelly Fisher
Local hometown Wellington girls, Kelly and Lynda are the force behind Yoga Unlimited, an intimate yoga studio on Tory Street. They started writing a blog with the shift of their website to WordPress, and it’s been delightful watching them both grow and develop as writers. I’m gold starring more and more of their articles for future reference, three of which you can check out below:
3. Te Aro Astanga | Mike Berghan
Another local Wellington Yogi, Mike doesn’t write that often, but when he does, I love his clarity and depth of wisdom. He’s a family man, a studio owner and a dedicated astanga practitioner. His latest read got me going:
4. Kenton Whitman
Now Kenton is not a yoga writer in the strictest sense of the world, but his wisdom on discerning the true nature of life is almost a leap beyond yoga. He has a way of making complex ideas and realities accessible. I’ve been following his blog for about four years now, and he’s most definitely one of my favourite writers. He doesn’t post very often anymore (but if you’re new to him there’s a HUGE archive of articles available to read) so when he does, I know it’s something worth paying attention to.
5. Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment & Kundalini Yoga | Anmol Mehta
Again, this is a blog I’ve been reading for about four years now, and it is HUGE. Anmol is a born storyteller and writes eloquently of the ins & outs of the spiritual journey from the perspective of a kundalini yoga. Some of my favourite articles include:
- Parenting Help and Advise | 3 Most Important Parenting Goals
- 20 Interesting Ways to Test Your Spiritual Development
- J Krishnamurti on Sensitivity – The Heart of Spiritual Living
6. Zen and the Art of Peacekeeping | Marianne Elliott
Marianne is a good friend of mine, and as a yogi and writer, we have a lot in common. I’ve loved reading her blog over the last year or so as she also has immense experience and understanding of the world of peace keeping – quite literally. She’s spent time in the Gaza Strip and in Afghanistan and has recently published a book about her experiences.
Marianne writes with great sensitivity and compassion, but most of all, great honesty. Some of her earlier articles, written when she was in Afghanistan, are heart wrenching at times. You’ll also find her writing here on the Yoga Lunchbox. Lately I’ve enjoyed the following reads:
- Shame-free yoga: teaching yoga without triggering body shame
- Facing your fears in five (relatively) easy steps
7. Yoga | Neal Pollack
Ok, I don’t know much about this dude – he’s new to yoga. From his blog I guess he’s doing yoga teacher training as some kind of dare, because it’s so far away from who he is. So I’m not quite sure what his story is to be honest, but what I do know is that his outsider’s view of yoga gives him this wicked way in which to lambast the silly seriousness that yoga practitioners can be prone to. You gotta read this article!
8. Mightier Than Any Sword | Anne-Marie Emmerson
A journalist and yogi living and working in Wanganui, there is something quintessential kiwi about Anne-Marie’s writing that makes the yoga perspective so fresh. She’s figuring out how to be yogic while also being a journalist in a small town run by polarizing mayor Michael Laws. Anne-Marie also has a delicious way of capturing the miniature of life lived moment by moment. And she’s a storyteller too. Articles I’ve loved include:
And the other two Top Yoga reads? That’s for you the reader to decide – leave a comment and let me know who you love to read.
Thanks so much for including me on this list Kara-Leah. Some of my favorites are here, but also you’ve found some new sites which I’ll look forward to exploring.
Hey Marianne,
My pleasure – I love reading your feed. Enjoy the new reads 🙂
Blessings,
KL
Great Article. Trying to get up on the times. I never understood the whole rss feed stuff. I did the google reader thing as you said which is really neat. I still think I like old school e-mail notifications though. That way I can go to one spot and get everything instead of having to check my e-mail and then check the reader. I also do Google Alerts for yoga and Yahoo alerts for Yoga which is cool.
Looking forward to reading the blogs you featured here.
Fab list K.L, now how about a ‘yoga porn’ list? e.b, top ‘yoga’ hits on youtube, and of course yogajournal – the playboy of yoga mags!
Hey Shanna,
Ah RSS feeds… I fell in love with them many years ago because as a blog junkie, I’m subscribed t about 40 or sites. If I’m offline for a day or more… I end up with 40 to 150 unread articles clogging up my inbox. Shifting to Google Reader meant I could keep my reading separate from my correspondence… plus Google Reader archives everything nicely and lets me Gold Star my favs.
Enjoy the reads!
Hey Roger,
Kudos for showing your face! Nice to see a man with a gravatar. Just makes the comments that much more friendly 🙂
And a yoga porn list eh? I like the way you think… I have say, I’ve noticed cruising YouTube for Yoga that there is some rather questionable videos with scantily clad women filmed from intrusive angles masquerading as yoga… but that’s neither here nor there. You want the real deal – great yoga on YouTube… will see what I can do.
And of course Yoga Journal… was once subscribed but the amount of dubious advertising sent me packing. They do have a fantastic website though packed full of all kinds of goodies… will see what I can compile. Watch this space.
Blessings,
KL
Hi Kara-Leah,
Thanks for including me in this list — it looks like I’m in great company! =) It’s lovely to see yoga approached from so many angles. Also, love the idea of reading what your RSS reader bring in each morning. Yipee!
Hey Kenton,
My pleasure, I have SO enjoyed your writing over the last four years or so. You tackle the difficult task of explaining the unexplainable with the insight of a zen master 😉
Cheers,
KL
Oh my gosh, Kara-Leah, I JUST stumbled on this…I’m doing my intensive teacher-training right now and I have just been totally an absentee blogger! I’m so, so, so flattered to be on this list. Thank you, thank you! And I will be back articlin’ it up once my training is through…and then I will be OFFICIAL!!
Best,
Lia Aprile
Hey Lia,
Oh how exciting for you! It’s awesome getting to do yoga all the time… And my pleasure… I love your writing, heaps 😉
Blessings,
KL
Always on the lookout for great yoga blogs. Thanks so much for this! I can’t wait to dive in!
THanks for the list!
Inspired.
CHeers.
Lauren
Twitter:ldaka
The best place for practice YOGA is in peruvian amazon. There is a special place call KAPIEVI. KAPIEVI is a little family ecovillage with a special area on the top of the tree for practice YOGA with the jungle energy. http://www.tambopataecotours.com/stays-kapievi.html
Hey Milagros.
Normally I mark comments like this as spam, but something about your comment made me decide to keep it. Maybe that eco-village is the best place to practice yoga…
Blessings,
KL
Thank you for the list – great and appreciated!
This week I put up at the Amazon Kindle Store my satire on yoga, The Book of Shmoga. As a practitioner of yoga, I in no means am being negative about the practice. But I did find a way to be funny about those who are lazy, who don’t get off their butt, and who seem to be satisfied using the index finger of their right hand to click their remotes and call it exercise.
I have written 18 books, some of them NY Times Bestsellers, and this one is the one that made me laugh all the way through the writing. I would love to share some of the short chapters with your readers. Or suggest that perhaps that you might take a look and review it.
I will make it a free book this coming Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 12-13), you you’d like to see it. (Amazon.com) Otherwise, it’s still pretty inexpensive.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Grobel
323-851-9652
Hey Lawrence,
Thanks for letting viewers know about your e-book. I hope it does well for you.
Blessings,
Kara-Leah
I’m so thrilled to have found your site through Pinterest! I’d love for you to take a look at our Namaste Yoga series. If you aren’t familiar, you can find them at http://www.namaste.tv. This is a yoga practice designed by Kate Potter, and the DVDs of the series are available on the website. I write for the blog (www.namaste.tv/blogs/blog) and hope you might enjoy some of our posts. What a wonderful resource you have here. I will enjoy perusing some of these links!
Hello KL
Thanks for all your lovely information, love it.
I went into GOOGLE READER and they say they have discontinued, some of the comments are quite interesting.
Namaste Margo
Hey Margo,
Has it? that shows you how long it’s been since I logged into mine… Here’s a list of ten alternatives to Google Reader.
Enjoy,
KL
Hey Lawrence,
Thanks for your feed, it is great and appriciated.
Jeevmoksha yoga gurukul also a nice institute for learn yoga in india
Blessings,
Vinay