Do we know how to breathe?

Category : Asanas (Postures), General advice, Philosophy 4th February 2012

Inside Yoga 48 (4/2/2012) It’s a simple message and one that is repeated frequently in yoga’s teaching, yet it can be one of the hardest skills to learn and equally hard to maintain – I am speaking of breathing! We breathe every day; so why can it be so difficult to learn if it’s actually a skill we have already […]

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Can yoga wreck your body?

Category : Asanas (Postures), General advice, Philosophy 21st January 2012

Inside Yoga 47 (21/1/2012) On January 5, this year, the New York Times Magazine published an article titled “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”, which caused such a backlash within the yoga community that last weekend the Observer carried an article (“Health warning: from the plough to the lotus, yoga can damage your body” January 15), as did other publications, […]

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Time to think! Or not?

Category : General advice, Philosophy 16th January 2012

Inside Yoga 46 (16/1/2012) Time!? What is this “time” that we struggle with? We seem to be obsessed/puzzled/frustrated/confused (choose where appropriate) by time. We feel thwarted when there is not enough of it and relieved when you sense plenty of it. Yet, did we ever have a shortage or surplus of time? We act as if we can control time, […]

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Sentence looters and rioters to yoga

Category : General advice, Philosophy 11th September 2011

Inside Yoga 42 (11/9/11) During the summer in the UK some of our cities experienced riots and looting. The debates ever since have focussed on why this happened, and to some extent, many voices highlighted that many of the rioters were simply looters driven by greed and the desire to have certain goods. I have toyed with the idea of […]

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You cannot “do meditation”!

Category : General advice, Philosophy 11th July 2011

Inside Yoga 40 (9/7/11) How do we know if we are meditating? In our yoga classes, we sit in meditation, but are we really meditating? There are some useful tips for meditation. One states that you cannot do meditation. The word, “do” being the key to this. Another guidelines states, “If you think you are meditating, you are not”. Meditation […]

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Living in the present

Category : General advice, Philosophy 30th May 2011

Inside Yoga 38 (30/5/11) “The past is history, the future is a mystery, and today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” This is often quoted sentence highlights one of the most important teachings within yoga, Buddhism and most spiritual traditions. This was the theme of my classes last week. In yoga we learn about the […]

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Meet my other half!

Category : General advice, Philosophy 9th May 2011

Inside Yoga 36 (9/5/2011) On April 29 an estimated 2billion people watched the royal wedding… almost 30 per cent of the world population. Leaving aside Republican and Royalist views, the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton was a celebration of love and partnership – an important part of human ceremonial life that dates back far into our past. Is […]

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What is happiness?

Category : General advice, Philosophy 14th April 2011

And where is it? Inside Yoga 34 (14/4/11) This week it was reported that the “the world’s first membership organisation dedicated solely to spreading happiness has been launched in London.” “Action for Happiness” was launched on April 12 and it is a campaign calling for positive action to promote happiness at home, at work or in the community. This has […]

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Inside Yoga 33

Category : Philosophy 3rd April 2011

Who am I? What is the mind? Is it my mind? And is my body really my body? When one answers these questions from the viewpoint of yoga, the answers can change the way we, in the West, see things. Especially as Western philosophy takes the view, as Descartes – seen by some as the father of modern (western) philosophy […]

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Inside Yoga 31

Category : General advice, Philosophy 18th March 2011

(First published 23/6/2010) There is one word in yoga that can be described as a summary of all we seek in a yoga practice. It covers all points in one word – or to be precise in its three words that come together to make one; which in itself is a metaphor for yoga, a practice that brings together seemingly […]

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