“Gratitude is a key for welcoming more of what you love in life.” This was said by a man named Benjamin Hjertefølger (surname translated in English as “Heartfollower”). Benjamin and his family live in an eco-house that they constructed themselves in Northern Norway. Their way of life is simple and pleasant. They grow their own food, are given energy from the sun, and live on a daily dose of curiosity and laughter. Many people may look at the Heartfollower family…
One important aspect of yoga that is a rarely explained yet consistent feature of any class is the correct sequencing of counterposes. Used to neutralize the effects of certain strenuous (and some not so strenuous!) or deeply-held asanas, counterposes are vital to ensure we not only receive maximum pranic (energetic) benefits from our practice, but also to physically balance out our muscles, tissues and joints to avoid over-extension and return our bodies back to their natural state. Counterposes in Yoga …
There are many times in yoga that you might find yourself upside-down. Whether it’s a forward fold, a handstand, head stand, or even downward dog, they all different ways of doing what’s called an inversion. A yoga inversion is basically any variation of a pose in which your upper body is either completely upside down or about 45 degrees upside down (like in downward dog). There are many things we all experience when doing inversions. It might feel like all…
All of us at YogaHub are very excited to announce the new YogaHub Teacher Spotlights on our blog. Every 3-4 weeks, we’ll tell the story of one of our beautiful instructors. Enjoy! Chris Flack tells us about his yoga journey by breaking down his experience with meditation, and offers helpful meditation tips! www.UnPlug.ie I meditate 24×7. I, am a legend. …I don’t and, I’m not. Although when I started meditating I’m pretty sure that was my goal. On a yoga…
You may have heard that doing just 5 minutes of meditation a day can greatly improve your health. We all know that it’s good for us, but what does it actually do? It decreases stress. Stress is something that is experienced when the brain interprets a situation as being threatening or demanding. All situations, however, are neutral. They are a state of being. The way a person interprets a situation is what can potentially cause stress, if interpreted negatively. The…
Yoga Studios and Health Food Cafés – A Match Made in Marketing Heaven? While it may seem that every second yoga studio is now all of a sudden expanding and exhaling coffee machines, fruit juicers, tables, chairs and funky hipster tunes from the depths of their cashew-nut strewn duffel bags, the trend of new health food cafés emerging in cohorts with yoga studios nowadays has far deeper-rooted sit bones than you may think. One thing yoga teaches us is to…
Ikigai No, it’s not the contact details of that oddly-smelling dude from the bar last weekend who you assured you’d text after one too many cocktails. (iki-guy, get it? ….). I recently stumbled upon this picture of a venn diagram centred around the word ‘ikigai’ in an article on elephantjournal.com, and through a bit more research, was truly uplifted by what I read. ‘Ikigai’ is a Japanese word which translates to ‘the reason for being’ or a ‘reason to wake up…
It was Valentine’s Day this past Tuesday. And while it lends itself to being a romantic holiday, it can be celebrated for all types of love. Valentine’s Day–or any day, really–is a day to celebrate love in all its forms. Love for our friends, love for our family, love for ourselves, love for life! The word “yoga” means “union”, the union of all things, the interconnectedness of us all. It encourages us to love one another, as well as ourselves,…
When I first started Meditating I could hardly sit still for 3 minutes let alone 5. I’d manage to go through the motions for 5 days or so and then something would happen and I’d fall out of it. Then I’d beat myself up about not doing it. Then I’d do it again. Maybe for a little bit longer. Maybe not. Erratic. Unpredictable. All over the place. My practice was an analogy for my mind……………..and me. It’s now a year…
There’s a great story I always come back to about a doctor in Hawaii who ended up “cleaning” a criminal psych ward just with the power of his thoughts. Dr. Hew Len was hired to work at a ward for the criminally insane nearly 30 years ago at the Hawaii State Hospital. This particular ward had a high turnover rate of staff and many who endured their time at the ward rolled their eyes as they saw the calm and…
