A Sutra a Day: I-34 Simple Breathing

by | Jun 22, 2012 | Philosophy, XSutras, xTmp, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga Therapy

Source: abeautifulrippleeffect.com via Twyla on Pinterest

 
A few weeks ago I was having a great deal of trouble falling asleep. Nervous about teaching 9 sessions in two days to a completely new group of students, I needed sleep, but it eluded me.
One of the yogic techniques I tried was echo breathing. I’d read about this type of breathing in B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Life. Here’s how Mr. Iyengar describes how to do it and what it achieves:
“Exhale slowly and fully. Pause. Then exhale again. There is always a slight residue left in the lungs. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-27 Good Vibrations

A Sutra a Day: I-27 Good Vibrations

by | Jun 14, 2012 | Philosophy, Wisdom, XSutras, xTmp, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

I’ve been looking forward all day to a visit from delightful Sydney friends who are staying with us for four days.
We are very well set up for company, with 2 guest suites of rooms and another guest bedroom in the Yoga Shed. It means they can be comfortable and private when they want, and us, too.
We gathered around the fireplace on their arrival for snacks and a glass of red wine, shared a meal of homemade soup and fresh bread, and enjoyed lively conversation.
Then, we adjourned to the t.v. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-21 Yoga Everywhere

A Sutra a Day: I-21 Yoga Everywhere

by | Jun 6, 2012 | XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga teaching , Yoga Therapy

I’m on the road, enjoying one of those strange phenomena called a “working holiday”. It probably relates in kind to being “semi-retired”. When I first moved to the country launching myself into retirement, I was not well. I was facing major surgery, after which I needed 3 solid months of recovery and rehabilitation from double hip replacements. My mind was still in working mode, though, so I translated the physiotherapy practice I was meant to do every day into yoga practice. […]

Big Questions Sutra – I-4

Big Questions Sutra – I-4

by | May 17, 2012 | Healing, Philosophy, XSutras, Yoga practices, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga teaching 

I have a friend who is doing SEO research relating to the topic of meditation; she was surprised to discover that huge numbers of people google “Why am I here?”
I get that. It’s a pretty fundamental question, but probably not one that arises often, unless one is of a philosophical bent, depressed, a spiritual seeker, or at a crossroads in life.
Another friend of mine has been searching for how to express his purpose in life and not been altogether successful to date. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-21 Yoga Everywhere

A Yogic Easter

by | Apr 7, 2012 | Being a writer, Philosophy, Wisdom, Yoga practices

Easter is an autumnal holiday in the Southern Hemisphere, but in the north, Easter is the harbinger of spring. The name Easter is likely derived from the word for the goddess of spring.
Christian religions have taken the season where rebirth and renewal are in the spring air as the time for celebrating the resurrection of Jesus – and all that that event signifies about the redemption of human beings.
I’d say the necessity of redemption would not sit well with Patanjali. The notion implies a need for salvation from sin or evil. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-21 Yoga Everywhere

Flying Home with Patanjali

by | Sep 15, 2011 | Community, Wisdom, Yoga practices, Yoga teaching 

Once the aircraft’s doors have been armed, and the plane has lifted off the tarmac, wing flaps up, I enter a no-time zone. This works better for me than trying to figure out time zone changes and strategise how to wrest the most sleep out of the worst sleeping conditions possible. We’re now about an hour out of Aukland, and it’s 2:15 am in Sydney. I’ve had about 2.5 hours sleep on a 10 hour flight, in fits and starts. Disturbed sleep seems like a perfect scenario for practicing pranayama and meditation. […]