‘Breath is central to yoga because it is central to life. And yoga is about life.’
Sri T. Krishnamacharya
I have Just completed a training in Vinyasa Krama with Srivatsa Ramaswami, who trained with the legendary Krishnamacharya for over 30 years. Going back to the source of yoga was a gift that I will share in my classes.
In the meantime, during the seasonal break at Yoga Nieuw-west, here are some little pearls of wisdom for those choosing the path to freedom: Continue reading
“Yoga is an internal practice…the rest is just a circus.” Sri Pattabhi Jois.
Here are 10 ways yoga has changed my life. Continue reading
“Freedom from wanting unlocks the real purpose of existence.”
Yoga, like anything else in your life, needs to be sustainable to work. When you start something new, something you find you like, you can throw yourself into it with great enthusiasm. Or you can find that something new is challenging and therefore needs you to put a lot of energy into it as you process many new things. After a while you will start to see the results. This is often the moment when you can let things slide. It is at the moment when something is working well for you that you need to readjust to keep things in balance for yourself. Perhaps slacken off a bit in how much you do of it, or relax the way you look at it as it becomes more manageable for you. But don’t drop it. Continue reading
It’s always worth remembering that only you can practice with awareness. Your teacher is only your guide…
Yoga by its nature should be sustainable, yet yoga injury is becoming increasingly common. This could be due to the surge in popularity of yoga worldwide as well as a growing willingness of people to talk about their injuries, owning up that even the universe doesn’t protect yoga practitioners from injury in their practice.
Flickr.com FiberArtGirl
The benefits of practicing yoga are many, and regular practice of yoga postures increases flexibility, strength and balance, with increased sensitivity being the side-effect. Despite this increased sensitivity, it might seem strange that even the most experienced yoga practitioners and teachers suffer yoga injury at some point over time.
Although there is no sure way never to get injured–we are only human after all–there are some things to keep in mind when you do yoga postures.
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A six minute forty second presentation on what hot yoga is can leave you breathless — but if you do yoga…well, it helps! And hey, if it isn’t perfect, then remember three things: Practice, practice, practice. It’s all about the breath.
http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/maastricht/presentations/healing-with-heat
Healing with heat
Breathing through imperfect lines: Sketch by Natasha Gunn
When used as a tool for self-transformation and awakening to clearer awareness, yoga starts the moment a student first pays attention to what he or she is doing in the practice.
If a student is unsteady, falling, in pain, or distracted by discomfort, the tendency will be to go back into his or her analytical or agitated mind. Sthira and sukham— steadiness and ease— give the asanas their transformative potential.
Being steady does not mean being perfectly still in a pose that you hold for a very long time. Asanas, by contrast, are alive, in each moment a unique expression of the human being doing them.
Yoga by its nature should be sustainable, yet yoga injury is becoming increasingly common. This could be due to the surge in popularity of yoga worldwide as well as a growing willingness of people to talk about their injuries, owning up that even the universe doesn’t protect yoga practitioners from injury in their practice.
Flickr.com FiberArtGirl
The benefits of practicing yoga are many, and regular practice of yoga postures increases flexibility, strength and balance, with increased sensitivity being the side-effect. Despite this increased sensitivity, it might seem strange that even the most experienced yoga practitioners and teachers suffer yoga injury at some point over time.
Although there is no sure way never to get injured–we are only human after all–there are some things to keep in mind when you do yoga postures.
The main type of breathing we do in yoga is called ujjayi (ooh-JAI-yee). Ujjayi breathing, known as the victory Breath is characterised by an audibly hollow, deep, soft sound coming from your throat.
Ujjayi breathing is not difficult to learn. It involves narrowing the aperture in your throat by gently tightening the epiglottis, which is done like this:
Yoga for the Community 