(First published 23/11/09) There are numerous reasons why we start yoga, and for many of us as we travel down our own individual yogic journey, we discover that there are unexpected benefits and lessons from yoga. By nature, yoga is a holistic practice – tailored to fit every individual and also something that reaches the parts other practices might not […]
more >(First published 27/10/09) “A major part of the art and skill in yoga lies in sensing just how far to move into a stretch,” writes American yoga teacher, Erich Schiffmann, in his book, Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness. The skill comes in knowing the middle path, the line that falls between “not enough and too much”. […]
more >(First published 5/10/09) In the second chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, called Sadhanapada, the yoga master describes the “qualities necessary to change the mind effectively and gradually from a state of distraction to one of attention.” Patanjali’s short aphoristic sentences are designed to guide the student, to stimulate reflection and inquiry into the practice and our relationship with it. The […]
more >(First published 16/9/09) “Asana will make the body light, Pranayama strengthens prana, Dharana purifies the intellect, Dhyana purifies the mind.” These words were written by T. Krishnamacharya, a renowned and influential yoga teacher, who lived for 100 years – dying just a few days short of his 101st birthday in 1989. He taught his son, TKV Desikachar, and also BKS […]
more >(First published 6/9/09) “The practice of asanas and pranayama is not only the most effective, but also the most natural therapy for stress,” says yoga master BKS Iyengar. Stress has been with us since the beginning of civilisation. Our ancestors might have had different pressures and worries to deal with, but the inner turmoil they experienced would have been the […]
more >(First published 27/7/09) Here are some thoughts about yoga and practice for you to contemplate and explore during the sultry, stormy and changeable summer months. TKV Desikachar, renowned yoga teacher based in Chennai (Madras), India, was asked “Can anyone practice yoga?” He responded: “Anybody who wants to, can practice yoga. Anybody can breathe: therefore anybody can practice yoga. But no […]
more >(First published 15/6/09) When we feel down, sad, anxious or other negative emotions, one of the feelings that arise is a sense of separation. A feeling of disconnection – from our bodies, from those around us, or perhaps, from everything. From this arises a feeling of isolation. This is where suffering (and by this, I mean anything from a slight […]
more >(First posted 9/4/2009) Do you know your tadasana from your gomukhasana? All yoga postures have a name which is written in Sanskrit, the ancient language from India, so to help you know your paschimottanasana from your marichyasana, this chapter of Inside Yoga translates a host of yoga asanas for you. Sanskrit words are often written as one word, so that […]
more >(First published 7/3/09) Following on from the last chapter of Inside Yoga, about the mind, I want to speak about the heart, not the physical blood engine that sustains us, but the emotional heart. “Chitta also means the heart and dwells in the heart. This is not the physical heart but the central core of deep feeling and profound knowing, […]
more >(First posted 23/2/2009) “The mind is the vital link between the body and the consciousness,” says BKS Iyengar. In my classes, I often refer to the mind, in connection with the breathing and the physical body. But what is the mind? The mind is the collection of our thoughts on one hand, and on the other, it is where our […]
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