Grand openings There is something about long, bright, sunny days that make backbends feel like the perfect asana to incorporate into your summer practice. We spend many months of the year curled in on ourselves in self protection against the elements. When the sun finally comes out we naturally feel the urge to open up and reach for the sky – making us feels more in tune with nature. Backbends are energising, stimulate the nervous system, aid digestion and constipation,…
A student was talking to me after class recently and mentioned that her friend is really ‘good at yoga’ and that there are loads of people in class who are ‘better than her’. It strikes me that there is a tendency for all of us to focus on the aesthetic of the postures without really examining our thought patterns and judgements while we move through postures. That is to say, we automatically jump to how things look, and put the…
Tree pose is one of those yoga poses we see really often in advertising and the media, it is the archetypal ‘yoga pose’ known by most people, whether or not they practice which means we can overlook it and all its subtleties when we delve into this posture on the mat. It’s a wonderfully grounding and balancing pose, helping us to learn how to find a peaceful focus in the present moment as we balance on one foot. But it…
A lot of beginners and experienced yogis alike can find it uncomfortable and a little bit strange when they are invited by their teacher to chant ‘om’ at the beginning or end of a yoga class. For many people who go to yoga for the more physical benefits, it might be tempting to completely dismiss this aspect of yoga. But when you understand the meaning behind it, you might find a whole new depth in the practice of saying ‘om’…
Savasana (pronounced shih – vah- sah – nah) is the final posture in each yoga class where all students are guided to lie down on their backs with their hands by their sides – hands and feet about as wide as the mat. Savasana translates to mean ‘corpse pose’ not only because it emulates a corpse on the floor. In the karmic tradition where death is seen as an important part of life, savasana is part of the acceptance of…
More and more people are turning to yoga to help prevent and recover from injuries as doctors, physiotherapists and trainers are increasingly aware of the positive benefits of a long-term yoga practice. As yoga enters the sports arena (so to speak) it is becoming another key tool for athletes and those who are looking to maintain their fitness in a way that will complement their injury prevention or recovery plan. In terms of injury prevention, yoga is an excellent way…
Inversions are everywhere Instaversions! Inversions are definitely having a moment in the limelight on every social media platform! For most of us, when we start exploring inversions they can be quite daunting, and push us out of our comfort zone – which is not a bad thing. They force us to see the world from a different perspective physically and mentally, and plays with our relationship to gravity. Some inversions are calming – like shoulderstand and Viparita Karani; and…
We’ve allll been there. You’ve been flowing through a 60 minute yoga class, and then that final, and often most challenging, pose arrives – Savasana. It’s one of the most important part of our practice – check out this previous blog post on why! But sometimes we get there and our mind can’t help but drift – soon we’re planning what we’re going to make for dinner, deciding what time we have to get up in the morning, and planning important…
If you are one of the many people who have recently started yoga, you will probably have read or heard a lot about vegetarianism. A lot of yoga teachers and practitioners will often take up a vegetarian diet once they get serious about their yoga practice – you might be wondering what that’s all about. The answer lies in the historic roots of yoga. There are two main historical reasons for this connection, and both of them lie in the…
Here at YogaHub we love the practice of yoga nidra, which is often called “yogic sleep.” Yoga nidra Is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping, like the “going-to-sleep” stage. It is a state in which the body is completely relaxed, and the practitioner becomes systematically and increasingly aware of the inner world by following a set of verbal instructions. If you are able to stay awake, it can bring clarity of mind and deep insight. Yoga nidra is among the…