Yoga teaching 

How Do You Say ‘Alert and Relaxed’ in Sanskrit?

How Do You Say ‘Alert and Relaxed’ in Sanskrit?

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Do you shut down in yoga class when your teacher uses Sanskrit words and concepts? Or, are you the opposite? You relish the opportunity to extend your learning about yoga, even to the point of assimilating an unfamiliar language.
Probably you stand in the middle; you don’t mind a smattering of the Sanskrit but not so much it keeps you in your head. […]

Well-liked, Sought After and Good For You

Well-liked, Sought After and Good For You

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Do you ever stop to think what makes yoga so popular? If you’re a teacher, it’s a great question to ask because you can then provide what students want.
Styles of yoga seem to hold appeal according to your age or stage of life. Hot, sweaty, music-fuelled yoga might suit a younger demographic… slower-paced, prop-supported for the older crowd, perhaps.
A friend of mine has a theory that yoga teachers attract students who are close to their age – specifically in a bracket of 10 years younger and 10 years older. […]

The Big Wet

The Big Wet

“If, from time to time, you give up expectation, you will be able to perceive what it is you are getting.”
― Idries Shah, Reflections
Australia is a crazy place to reside climate-wise. We live between drought and flood, cyclone and dust storms, biting arctic winds in the extreme south and near-equatorial heat in the far north.
Our household on Mitchells Island has been under a heavy blanket of rain over the last few days. […]

Dusting Off the Word According to Patanjali

Dusting Off the Word According to Patanjali

Yesterday I kicked off the first of six sessions in which 9 students and I will look at least the philosophy of Patanjali. The format is a discussion in which we will tease out the aphorisms called the Yoga Sutras.
It’s a privilege to give our time to considering big questions, like what is yoga? We do yoga practices daily or once a week in classes, but we seldom give much thought to why we’re doing it.
In designing this course, I’ve been able to take a fresh look at Sutra I:2. […]

A Sutra a Day: IV-25 – Finding Your Way Home

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Over the years I’ve developed a deep love and appreciation for yoga. Sometimes I joke and say that it’s the longest relationship I’ve ever had.
In the beginning I did yoga to help me lose weight after a pregnancy and to keep fit. I discovered I was good at doing the asanas so that gave me an ego boost and led me to do yoga teacher training. […]

Yoga teacher as Beginners

Yoga teacher as Beginners

I’m sorry to say that last year I made myself miserable as I participated in a weeklong printmaking in Bellingen.
Of course I didn’t realise I was making myself unhappy. I believed it was circumstantial – meaning i thought it was the fault of someone or something else that my work wasn’t as good as others’.
This year I’m enrolled in the same course, same teacher, same place, but I decided I needed an attitude change. […]

A Sutra a Day: IV-14 – What's Your Opinion Worth?

A Sutra a Day: IV-14 – What's Your Opinion Worth?

More often than not we are required to make quick decisions and then we move on and live with the choices we made. Life is usually being fired at us point blank and there’s not a lot of time to reflect even on the important stuff so as to arrive at our best options.
So it goes with impressions of people, also; isn’t it often the case that we sum up a person on first meeting, slot them in to a pigeonhole, and then there they stay.
It happens with yoga poses too. […]

A Sutra a Day: IV-11 – Memories

A Sutra a Day: IV-11 – Memories

Is it being too attached to still think about the departed, even after fifteen years?
My sister’s birthday has just past. She herself passed at the age of 51. I’m well on the other side of that age so I think of it as being young – too young to die.
Sue was her name. I miss her still. When we were together, which was not often as she lived in the States, I would teach her yoga. […]

A Sutra a Day: IV-6 – ‘Shed’ those Negative Influences

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Are you sensitive to different energies? Recently I’ve had a few visitors come to the Yoga Shed who have told me how much they appreciate the special energy of the space. Someone of a more skeptical attitude might think that’s a bunch of hooey – how can a room emit energy?
It happens over time… […]

A Sutra a Day: III-53 – What’s Happening Right Now

A Sutra a Day: III-53 – What’s Happening Right Now

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When I was first learning  Iyengar yoga, the classes I attended were two hours long. I found the intensity of them overwhelming at times and would take myself off to the toilet a couple of times during the session, just to have a break.
The teacher, Martyn Jackson, had a booming voice and would exhort his students to do more, even though sometimes we were at our limits. Poses were held for long timings and repeated. […]

A Sutra a Day: III-51 – More Than Enough

A Sutra a Day: III-51 – More Than Enough

 

I like to be the centre of attraction. Over the years, because I didn’t feel accomplished enough myself, I attached myself to several charismatic men so that I would get their reflected glory.
This vicarious way of living was never really satisfying and I never felt authentic, but I met some interesting people, had some fascinating adventures and collected some good stories.
I think it’s still the case that women are often attracted to strong, confident male yoga teachers, as I was. Is that a bad thing? I don’t know. […]

A Sutra a Day: III-50 – There’s Freedom in Letting Go

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We had a little party today chez Scotts Road, Mitchells Island. It was a celebration of Rick’s and my birthdays and Mike and Judy’s homecoming, all rolled into one.
I looked around at all the attendees and felt an overwhelming sense of love and affection for the people we’ve gathered around us in the 3 years of living in the country. […]

A Sutra a Day: III-45 – What is the ‘Extra’ in Extraordinary?

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I’m looking forward to leading a Patanjali’s Sutra study group in the new year. From writing daily posts to the theme of ‘A Sutra a Day’ on this blog, I’ve wondered how it might be to interact in person with people who are interested how this philosophy fits with yoga practice and everyday life.
Concepts like ease and firmness (Sthira and Sukha) from Patanjali’s Sutra II:46 are useful as they can be applied more widely than just to asana practice. […]

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