Was Swami Sivananda The Most Generous Yogi That Ever Lived? Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887-1963) is one of the great yoga teachers of our time. Throughout his lifetime he founded the Divine Life Society, the Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy, and left a rich list of publications and teachings. He is most fondly remembered as one of those […]
Ever been in class and see someone looking very yogic and wise by making funny gestures with their hands? These are mudras, and they’re more powerful than they look. When used with awareness, mudras can alter our mood, change our attitude and increase our concentration. On advanced practitioners, it is thought that mudras can be
Have you ever felt stuck on your yoga journey? Or got the niggling feeling that something’s getting in your way? Read on to discover the five obstacles that might be blocking your path. Road Blocks Happen In part two of the Yoga Sūtras, Patañjali introduces the concept of the five kleśhas. This chapter is considered
Many people are attracted to yoga by its physicality rather than its spirituality. Teaching some simple deep breathing techniques is a great way to introduce pranayama to novice yogis. So What is Pranayama Anyway? In its simplest form, pranayama is just deep breathing. Yes, we can make it technical by using only one nostril, closing
Born in Riga, Latvia to European aristocracy in 1899, Indra Devi was the first female to been allowed into an Indian ashram (let alone the first woman to study in an ashram) in the 1930s. Studying with the “godfather” of modern Hatha Yoga, Krishnamacharya (famous for also teaching Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois), Indra Devi is
Born in Brasil in 1939 and teaching yoga since 1967, Dharma Mittra has been teaching yoga for almost 50 years, and is still teaching at the Dharma Yoga Centre in New York City, as well as offering courses and retreats around the world. After years of reading books about yoga as a teenager, Dharma Mittra
The Yoga Sutras were composed nearly 2,000 years ago and have become one of the classic yogic texts. You may have seen it on the bookshelf at your local studio, on the reading list for teacher trainings, or heard it alluded to in class. But it can often remain shrouded in a certain mystery. So,
A good career, enough money, great health, a good time and spiritual fulfilment – too much to ask? Surely you can’t have it all? Well, actually, yes you can. Desire is what makes us human, and by understanding what the heart truly wants, we can uncover our soul’s deepest desires to live a well balanced
There is one thing that you can guarantee all yoga teachers will share: a love of yoga. Apart from that, the only other thing you can guarantee is that they will be entirely different. And that’s what’s so great about them! But, there is a clichéd view that if you’re a yoga teacher you should
There are three ways to practice authenticity in yoga. The first is to learn how to connect with your heart. The second is to connect in with your heart every day. And the third is to honour the wisdom of the heart by taking appropriate action. How to do this? Let’s find out. 1. Connect
