Yoga practices

2014 – The End

2014 – The End

The End Always Sounds So Final
Here we are, just a couple of days from the end of 2014. For some of us, we might be saying, ‘Pshew…I’m so glad I got through that one!’ Others might be resisting the end, thinking, ‘I’m never going to have a year as good as this one.’ For most of us though, the year has more than likely been a mixture of victories and defeats, wins and losses, ups and downs.
Endings are a necessary part of life. […]

The Case for Practising Meditation  

The Case for Practising Meditation  

guest post via Michael Hollingworth
The Facts
We all know that meditation is supposed to be good for us, but here are some facts that make a tight case for it.
Fact number one: The human brain is the most complex known object in the universe. There are 100,000 miles of circuitry – enough to go right round the earth four times. […]

Temperatures Rising? Try Cool Yoga

Temperatures Rising? Try Cool Yoga

Regarding your yoga practice, when temperatures start rising, do you go to ground? I’ve learned that you don’t necessarily need to skip your yoga practice.
In Aussieland, we are experiencing a summer where the atmosphere is heavy with humidity and heat. It’s not as humid in NSW as it is in the buildup to ‘The Wet’ of our tropical north. […]

‘Being’ is the Gift of Yoga Nidra

‘Being’ is the Gift of Yoga Nidra

The Experience of Interconnected Wholeness
I enjoyed the experience of resting in my meditative heart this weekend through the practice of Yoga Nidra .
Two excellent things came out of this experience:
1. I found it very restful. Very.
2. And, I realised that the experience is as near to you as your heart is. In other words, it’s available almost any time.
The Workshop
I was fortunate to be able to attend a day-long workshop in North Sydney led by Dr. Richard C. […]

'Being' is the Gift of Yoga Nidra

'Being' is the Gift of Yoga Nidra

The Experience of Interconnected Wholeness
I enjoyed the experience of resting in my meditative heart this weekend through the practice of Yoga Nidra .
Two excellent things came out of this experience:
1. I found it very restful. Very.
2. And, I realised that the experience is as near to you as your heart is. In other words, it’s available almost any time.
The Workshop
I was fortunate to be able to attend a day-long workshop in North Sydney led by Dr. Richard C. […]

Having a Yoga Mentor is a Must!

Having a Yoga Mentor is a Must!

This last weekend, I had the privilege of teaching a group of yoga teachers and keen students in a workshop entitled “The Art of Adjusting.” In the lunch break I spoke to one of the participants about her concern that her classes seem to stay small, even though she’s been teaching them for some time.
What do we mean when we say a small class? These days classes can have fifty students in them, or more. […]

Meditation – Free as a Bird?

Meditation – Free as a Bird?

The Bird
I spotted a satin bowerbird building his ‘love shack’ in a sheltered part of our garden. My Wiki source says that these clever birds are endemic to eastern Australia. If you’re from another part of the world and aren’t familiar with bower birds, here’s a pic of a male:

I’ve known for a long time that bowerbirds are collectors of objects. They especially love blue things: drinking straws, bottle caps, and clothes pegs, for instance. […]

Yoga is Perfect for Seniors

Yoga is Perfect for Seniors

via Pinterest
I admire older individuals who put aside their fears and considerations and come to yoga for the first time. These 50 to 80 year olds are what I call the ‘grey warriors’. By joining a class at this late stage, they are setting off on the adventure of a lifetime. […]

A Day of Partner Yoga and Hands-On Adjustments

A Day of Partner Yoga and Hands-On Adjustments

I’ve been thinking for a while of putting on a partner workshop. When I was first learning to be a yoga teacher, the other trainees and I would practice together. It was fun and brought out our creativity, sometimes leading us to design new ways of doing old poses. Also, because we were working with the resistance or support of another person’s body, we found we could go deeper or further into a pose.
For a while partner yoga was popular. Then I don’t know what happened. […]

Losing Gracefully

Losing Gracefully

From the above title, you might think I’m going to be writing about a tennis match or a disagreement with my spouse.
But no, this is much more serious. I’m talking about losing memory, losing faculties, and losing muscle strength. I’m talking about The March of Time.
I came across an excellent blog post this week from Eve Johnson, another tribute to yoga guru, B.K.S. Iyengar. She got me thinking about the process of ageing. I know, I know, I’m getting obsessed with this topic.
I think I’m doing ageing reasonably well. […]

Yoga is for Everyone: Let’s Prove It!

Yoga is for Everyone: Let’s Prove It!

We yogis are a force worldwide. Those who practice yoga represent about 3% of the adult population in Australia. The numbers in the United States are likely to be even higher. We who do yoga can do good and we do.
It makes me happy that we yogis want to give back after having received so much from our practice. We join organisations with a social conscience like Yoga Off the Mat and Into the World and Care2Causes. […]

Meditation: All in good time

Meditation: All in good time

via pinterest – calmdownnow.com
There’s a reason meditation is recommended as a tool for training a busy mind to become quiet. Because, if you give meditation a go and stick with it, like yoga, it works.
I’ve had a patchy history of the sticking-with-it part of the equation, although I have tried doing meditation on and off over the years. […]

When You Fall Off the Yoga Wagon….

When You Fall Off the Yoga Wagon….

It’s hard. It’s very hard. It’s just plain hard, and that’s all there is to it.

When you fall off the yoga practice wagon and try to clambour back on, it’s difficult to find the muscles you need.

I’m talking about those events that upset your disciplined routine: going on extended holidays, being laid low with an illness, moving house, or suffering a big emotional upset.

I have an expectation that because I said I’m going to get back into my practice as soon as I’m on home ground that I will. No so. […]

The Old and New of Yoga

The Old and New of Yoga

image via Pinterest
Yoga is elastic. It stretches to fit you now, and then, miraculously, it will give you a perfect fit in the future. All you have to do is jump on for the ride and stay on.
The best thing about yoga for me is the very way it is defined: union. And also that it so naturally cultivates community and connection.
Yesterday I had breakfast with three old students of mine. I don’t mean they are old. They are younger than I am. Actually, we’ve all grown older since we started on the yoga path. […]

Vive La Yoga Difference

Vive La Yoga Difference

In a world where yoga is practiced everywhere and at all times, global travelers who want to sample different schools and styles are fortunate to have countless classes at the tips of their fingers.
This last week I experienced an unimaginable contrast in the two yoga classes I attended, one in Boston, the other in New York City.
Jamaica Plain (Boston) is a lively neighborhood where ethnic assimilation is still going on. Eateries include African, Asian and European cuisines. […]

A Little Yoga Hammock

A Little Yoga Hammock

 

 
The head is proportionately a heavy part of your body. The average weight is 6.6 to 8 pounds. So your neck may end up feeling compressed, especially from long hours at your desk or from doing detailed work.
Here’s a way to lengthen the back of your neck. Use a wide strap with a looped to make a sling from which to suspend the back neck. The strap goes over a chair and then round the occiput (base of your skull). […]

Supported Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana)

Supported Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana)

 

Benefits:

Stretches your shoulders and improves the flexibility of your upper back.
Calms the brain and nervous system
Improves digestion ans massages and stimulates the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
Flushes mucous from your lungs.
Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause.

Here’s a youtube video to help you find your way into the pose (easier than you think):
  […]

The Burgeoning Field of Yoga Therapeutics

The Burgeoning Field of Yoga Therapeutics

Tomorrow I’m heading off to the yoga capital of Australia, Byron Bay.
I’m part of the faculty of a Yoga Therapy course that is run annually at this time of year over the course of 12 days.
My particular contribution to the course is in the area of Yoga for the Aged, which it would seem I am qualified to teach by dint of my advanced years and experience!
I thought it fitting to contribute a-therapy-pose-a-day to “Yoga Suits Her” this week in case you are interested in seeing what some of these poses look like. […]

Do We Need Courage to Relax?

Do We Need Courage to Relax?

Long ago, American yoga teacher and writer, Judith Hanson Lasater*, carved out a niche in the world of teaching. She created workshops on the theme of ‘Restorative Yoga’ and her approach to relaxation and renewal has spread across the globe. I teach in this style and was honoured to lead a day long workshop for 20 students at YogaSphere.
This restorative style of practising yoga uses props to support the body in relaxing, so physically, emotionally and mentally the student can move to a state of balance. […]

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