When it comes to balance in yoga, a big key is the drishti. You may have heard this word before in class, but it’s likely that you heard it while trying not to fall over, which is why we’ll be going a bit more in-depth in this post. Drishti is the Sanskrit word for “focused gaze”. It’s when you focus intently on one spot, finding peace and strength in your physical and mental awareness. It’s so small of a movement that…
Step 1: Close your eyes and take 3 natural breaths in and out of your nose, counting to 3 seconds on every inhale and every exhale. Step 2: Place both of your feet on the floor. Draw your attention to the soles of your feet connected to the earth. Take 30 seconds (about 5 long breaths) to notice how this feels. Step 3: Place one hand over your belly button. Close your eyes and take 3 natural breaths. Notice the…
A few students have asked recently about one of the amazing scents that some of our teachers use. Although there are a number of different things teachers can to bring to class, Palo Santo is a favourite these days. Palo Santo is a piece of wood from a wild tree that grows in Central and South America. A small piece of the Palo Santo wood is burned to let off a medicinal smoke. Its naturally sweet smoke is light, compared…
YogaHub is really excited to be bringing the very knowledgable Tom Toher to our studio this weekend for an amazing Sound Bath workshop. Below is a Q and A we did with Tom so he can tell you more about what sound baths are. Hope to see you there! Hey Tom! So, what is a sound bath? As the name suggests, a Sound Bath is an immersion in beautiful sounds and vibrations that are healing for your body, mind and…
Hip openers tend to be both very challenging, but also very loved in a yoga practice. Even when they feel somewhat uncomfortable, pretty much everyone who keeps up a continuous practice grows to love them. So what is it? What is that strange mixture of unease and wonderful release in hip openers? 1 – Releasing Stress – One of the main benefits of hip openers is stretching and strengthening muscles that are directly connected to our stress response. One muscle…
You know it well. For some of you, it’s your favourite part of a yoga class. It’s that super delicious time at the end of a practice when you lay on your back and drift into nothing-ness. Time for Savasana. The word Savasana is actually 2 Sanskrit words, Sava and Asana. Sava translates as “corpse” and Asana translates as “pose”. So, at the end of a class, when you’re ready to completely let go and do blissful nothing, you are in a “corpse pose”. The purpose…
Author: Paddy O’Rourke “If you don’t think you were born to run then you are denying history. You are denying who you are” is probably the most repeated quote from Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run”. There’s no doubt we should all participate in some form of running on a weekly basis. It alleviates stress, battles signs of depression, reduces the risk of cancer and enhances mental clarity and focus among many many other benefits. Running is many peoples escape but…
While a yoga practice can often be thought of as relaxing, flowing, and meditative, it can also be a great way activate your energy, feel revitalised, and create a FIRE within you. For days when you want to tap in to your vibrant life force, check out a few of the following ways of bringing the element of fire into your practice. 1 – Wear the colour red or yellow. While (according to the chakra map) the colour red is…
1 – Being barefoot 2 – The yummy feeling after Savasana when you slowly roll over 3 – That yoga “glow” 4 – Wrapping up in blankets 5 – Laughing mid-pose 6 – That burst of joy when you arrive in a challenging asana for the first time 7 – Practicing with your favourite songs, or to the sound of your own breath 8 – Messy hair 9 – Feeling your own heartbeat 10 – Falling in love with yourself
I remember when I was a beginner at practicing yoga. It was about 10 years ago. I had been to a few classes over the course of a year and it was by no means consistent. I was interested in continuing, but there was something about it that felt daunting. How was I ever going to remember all those poses? How could I get to a point where I could count my breaths on my own? And what’s with all those…
