Salamba sarvangāsana, or shoulder stand, can be a thing of beauty – it combines strength, flexibility and balance in one scrumptious, iconic pose. Children do them. How hard can they be? Answer – very hard. Actually, incredibly hard! As a novice yogi I remember the indignity of trying to launch my feet over my head […]
Jessamyn Stanley – everyone’s favourite insta-star Jessamyn is a 29-year-old, big, black, gay, Southern American woman who stands out from the thin, white insta-yogi crowd. She’s 100% authentic and is inspiring a new swathe of people to have the confidence to take up yoga, whatever their body shape. Here’s what makes Jessamyn special. “Hi, I’m
Despite their superficial differences, yoga and rap are proving a great partnership. For a music genre that stylistically prizes comfort while addressing themes beyond the comfortable, what could offer more sthiram sukham than gear that lends itself to the odd spiritual gangster vrschikasana? With Vogue-approved Y7 Studios in New York and California having opened
Neophilia is the love of the new. It’s not so much focused on love for brand-new, straight-out-of-the-box things, but much more on the seeking out of new experiences. Neophiles are people who love novelty, who seek the thrill of doing things they’ve never done before. And they’re not necessarily adrenaline junkies; you can be a
Yoga teacher Maria Odugba is challenging stereotypes surrounding who can practise yoga. Described by the media as ‘plus-size’, Odugba is determined to embody her belief that yoga is for all body shapes and sizes. Her instagram account has 74.7k followers and counting, and is full of inspiring yoga selfies, workouts and posts describing her body-positive
Viniyoga, was created and developed by Krishnamacharya, the great guru and yoga master. “Vini” in loosely translated Sanskrit means “adaption,” and that’s just what this practice is, adapting yoga to the individual. It teaches students to adapt traditional yoga practices to fit their needs, limits, and goals. Viniyoga is also for everyone and anyone, taking
There is a child-like part of me that asks on a daily basis, “Why do bad things happen in the world?” Unfortunately, it’s not a question I can find an answer to, but it’s a topic of conversation that seems to recur more and more lately. For example, just listening to the news this morning
When I started my yoga journey, even the simplest balance seemed impossible. But over the years, I have found that Pattabhi Jois was definitely right – I practiced and it came! I took baby steps – sometimes it felt like I would never achieve a particular pose and then suddenly I was there. I still
It’s very difficult to get the balance right these days. Either you’re doing too much or you’re not doing enough. In my household, I tend to fall into the ‘too much’ camp, and my husband tends to fall into the ‘too little’ camp. Being creatures of habit, we take these tendencies into our yoga practice
I don’t know about you, but by the end of January my New Years Resolutions really start weighing me down. It’s always the same, I set my goals: “I want to do a handstand this year,” “I want to work up to a half hour of meditation,” or “I will hit my mat at least
