The Yoga with Eve Grzybowski Blog
I’ve been blogging for 15 years now. At first, I was quite nervous about publishing my thoughts. Because I was shy about writing, my old posts were almost exclusively photos of the view from our bedroom in our Tambourine Bay house.
Remarkably, my original Ville Blog still exists. Does anything on the internet ever go away? It ran from November 05, 2006 to January 12, 2010 and it’s still just where I left it. If you’d like to have a look, the address is http://thevilleblog.blogspot.com.au/.
These days, because there are way too many YSH posts to browse through-over 1200-I’ve put some major themes together in The Vault. I hope this makes it easier to find exactly what you want.
Five Minute Poses: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana: Low Back First Aid
I find Setu Bandha Sarvangasana an invaluable pose for the way it helps counteract low back compression. In my world, lower back ache is a result of gardening, long drives or sitting at my computer.
Part of why the pose is so good for my lower back and sacrum is because it stretches the abdomen, a part of my body that tenses when my back is tight. […]
Five Minute Poses: Supta Baddha Konasana
Supta Baddha Konasana: An All-Rounder
Years ago I did a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. The only yoga pose I did during the course was Supta Baddha Konasana. It helped balance many hours spent in sitting and walking meditation. When my meditation energy was flagging, Supta Baddha Konasana served to make me feel cradled and deeply nourished.
How to Do It
Props you will need: a bolster and a 3-fold blanket. The reason for using props is that you can let them do the work. […]
Five Minute Poses: Supported Child's Pose
For years, I wondered why this posture is called Child’s Pose. Sometimes babies and young children will end up in this posture and even sleep in it. But more to the point, children appear to be at their sweetest and quietest when they’re asleep. And, perhaps never more so than in Child’s Pose.
Five Minute Yoga Poses: Mountain Brook Pose
This restorative pose has a name like a flowing Tai Chi movement or a sweetly sedative acupuncture point. Actually, the name Mountain Brook Pose simply reflects the way a yoga practitioner’s body drapes over the soft props. Like water flowing over the stones in a mountain brook.
Five Minute Yoga Poses: Block Pose
‘Block-asana’ (block pose)
I learned this pose in the early 90’s from Iyengar yoga teacher, Alan Goode. Alan had me assisting him for a year in his yoga therapy classes in Newtown. Almost every student who came to do Alan’s remedial yoga programs did this block pose as their ‘arrival’ exercise.
To help me better understand the benefits of it, I incorporated block pose as part of my centring and warm-up practice routine. Apart from obvious benefits for quietening the mind and settling the body, block pose relieved my neck and upper back tension. […]
Five Minute Yoga Poses: Lazy Downward Facing Dog Pose
A Holiday Gift for You
In this busy lead-up to Christmas Day, it’s difficult to fit in a full-on yoga practice. Still, you know you need to do something for your body-mind. But what?
Over this holiday period, I’ve decided to ‘gift’ my readers some of my favourite lazy yoga poses. […]
The Art of Creating Yoga Sequences
Rules for creating yoga sequences
There’s an fine art to creating yoga sequences. But there are certain rules that, if adhered to, will help you to be successful.
In the beginning, you have to do a period of study. You’ll need to learn some set, structured sequences. These might be from class sessions you’ve attended, dvds or yoga books, for instance. On repetition, these sequences will help you build a solid foundation of experience. You’ll learn the basics of sequencing from repetitive practice. […]
The Holidays are a Perfect Time for Home Yoga Practice
Consistency is the key to successful home yoga practice. It builds a habit, a neuronal pathway or a psychological groove. This momentum will carry you along even when your mind or life tries to pull you in other directions.
I know from experience that there are times when I’m tempted to break my routine. I’m human. But I’m always glad after the fact that I did my practice, not the least because I kept my commitment.
There’s an element of faith in the beginning. You’re hoping that you’ll feel as good at the end of your practice as you do at the end of your class sessions. But your faith in yoga practice will be validated. The more practice you do, the more effective your sessions become.
Yoga for Menstruation = Good Health
Women need to take into account when, how and what to practice, depending on exactly where they are in their menstrual cycle. A well-planned yoga sequence of special poses will usually help with the release of menses, eliminate tiredness and balance hormones.
Back to the Source: A Plug for Patanjali
Patanjali as source
I wonder how many yoga teachers talk about the meaning of yoga in their classes. It’s taken me a long time to acknowledge the importance of doing this, and, to do it.
My reason for not communicating on this topic? Remarkably, I thought it wasn’t what people came for. They came for a workout, for relaxation, for community, but not for talking philosophy.
There’s another reason I’ve avoided talking about the meaning of yoga. I haven’t always understood it. It’s been a slippery edge for me. […]
That Wise Old Guy: Leonard Cohen
Several years ago I saw Leonard in concert in the Hunter Valley. He must have done similar performances countless times around the world. And, his audiences would have known almost every word of his songs. Yet, when I saw him, he and his musicians performed in a manner utterly fresh. All of the music to the highest standard.
But what stood out for me were Leonard’s humility and his presence.
He frequently and warmly acknowledged his band and backing singers. We came for him, but by the end, we loved them, too.
Well into seventies, Leonard seemed as flexible as a young yogi. He got down on his knees to defer to his old guitarist. He skipped on and off stage. He bowed often and reverently.
Personal Practice: For Happiness and Well-Being
The expression ‘practice makes perfect’ doesn’t totally fit with yoga philosophy. Rather than being a perfectionist, do a ‘soul practice’. Do it to heighten your level of enjoyment and interest. This is usually the way that you get truly hooked on regular personal practice!
Eve’s Yoga Workshop in Port Stephens
May you walk in beauty — Navaho prayer and blessing
In January of this year I taught a five-day immersion course for yogis with the theme of Beauty–living life beautifully. It occurred to me that the quality of beauty is a worthy one to strive for. And yoga conveys beauty on so many levels. […]
A Little Rant: Yoga Teacher Trainings
I’m saddened when I hear of certain kinds of yoga teacher trainings that happen factory-style. Two week courses or even a month are just not enough.
Beset with Low Back Ache? Here’s a Lifeline
I discovered the morning after unpacking our car and camper trailer and doing three loads of washing, that my back was painfully sore and stiff. Perhaps it was cumulative? Possibly too much sitting and driving (15,000 km.), with too few yoga poses along the way. It didn’t really matter what caused my low back ache. I just wanted an effective way to repair it.
Icons of Australia: 'Cute Koalas'
As part of my Aussie love affair, I finally had a chance to meet cute koalas face-to-face and up-close-and-personal. Here are a couple of examples of my encounters with koalas in the wild.
Yoga and Life Lesson: Be Flexible
I thought I was was a reasonably flexible person. And I don’t just mean being able to fold up in Uttanasana like a Swiss Army knife. I mean mental/emotional flexibility. I used to be quite glib in my yoga teaching: ‘work on your suppleness and this will make you mentally limber.’
The Big Aussie Rocks: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
Big doesn’t adequately describe Uluru’s size. Three hundred forty eight metres high with a circumference of 9.4 km. And, that’s just what is showing; it’s not generally known that most of Uluru”s bulk lies underground.
Looking for Beauty: Coober Pedy and the Breakaways
To say nothing is out there is incorrect; to say the desert is stingy with everything except space and light, stone and earth is closer to the truth. – from Blue Highways By William Least Heat-Moon, American travel writer.
Outback Yogini: Camping Couture
Pack your favourite (old) things. You’ll be wearing them a lot more than you do in your ordinary life, but it’s like having brought your friends with you.
Take things that don’t show dirt! Im wearing a lot more greys than I normally do but I can always accessorise with colour. Because I’m wearing greys, every
Pack clothes that can cope with being washed over and over in a commercial machine. After a while, my denim skirt and jeans have become as comfy as loungewear.