During this uncertain time, more than ever, our yoga practice has a LOT to offer us. The challenges we’re facing are various and different people will, of course, be suffering in different ways and to different degrees.
But if you practice yoga, or are interested in it, now is a really good time to find new ways of taking your yoga off the mat and integrating it into your way of life. Really, that’s what yoga is — it’s never just postures on a mat. Sometimes, we need the motivation of new challenges to make us see that.
20th March is the International Day of Happiness. A day to celebrate feeling good — and to acknowledge how important it is to look after your own happiness every single day.
In his bestselling book The Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama wrote “happiness is determined more by one's state of mind than by external events.” And while that book is packed with useful gems, this sentence really does get to the heart of matter.
And so the silly season approaches again. While we all take a moment to ask ourselves, how on earth did this happen so fast?! — this is also a great time to ready ourselves for the chaos to come.
Because although the holidays can be rich with joyful moments and closeness with the people we love the most, it’s not unusual to be really stressed at this time of year. Maybe even so stressed that you’d rather hop on a plane and spend the time on your own in a tropical country, sipping coconut water and wishing your family well from a safe distance.
Ayurveda is the oldest accepted medicine system in the world. And yet, despite its age, around 70% of the population of India still use Ayurvedic medicine. About 240,000 American adults use it. I couldn’t find any stats for Australia, but here Ayurveda comes under the umbrella of ‘complementary medicines’ — and two in three Australians do use some form of complementary medicine.
Let’s talk about Vishuddhi: the throat chakra. If you struggle to communicate openly with those around you — or feel unable to speak truthfully from the heart — then working with this chakra could be particularly useful for you.
But first, have a quick read of this blog post: An Introduction to the Chakras. It’ll give you a good grounding in the basics so that you understand what the chakras are and how they influence you.
One of the most important skills you develop through yoga and meditation practice is witnessing. By learning how to be aware in every moment, you also learn how to observe.
Most of us place judgements on everything, all the time. We judge other people. We judge our circumstances. We judge external events; and perhaps most importantly, we are constantly judging ourselves.
Translated from Sanskrit, Pratyahara means ‘withdrawal of the senses’. It’s the fifth limb of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga which make up the path to holistic wellbeing and connecting with your true self.
Pratyahara is, according to yogic tradition, the first step in concentration — with the later steps taking you deeper and deeper into a state of meditation.
What does it mean to ‘withdraw the senses’?
When you practice withdrawing the senses, you give yourself more freedom to become aware of what’s happening within you. The senses, when not being used purposefully, can distract you in meditation. You are pulled away from your focused awareness by sounds, scents and sights.
The fourth chakra is Anahata: the heart chakra. Let’s look at the qualities and functions of this love-laced energy centre.
Anahata Chakra and the Body
Anahata is located in the spinal area, in the region of the heart and the cardiac plexus. It is behind the sternum and level with the heart centre. Its colour is sky blue, with 12 petals.
Associated with the air element and with deep love and compassion, Anahata governs the sense of touch and the skin.
…if you can breathe, you can practice yoga!”
And that’s what Global Yoga Therapy Day is all about. The message? That yoga can have a positive impact on anyone’s life — it excludes nobody.
Yoga has been proven (quite an impressive number of times, in fact!) to be an incredibly power preventative medicine for a huge variety of illnesses, ailments and conditions — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Studies show that yoga can…
Winter can be a calming time if you work with the season, rather than against it. It can be a time to settle into yourself and rediscover the steadiness within; to take stock, reorder, and care for your energy with kindness.
In An Introduction to the Chakras we touched on the basics of each of the seven chakras.
Here we delve into more detail on Manipura — the naval chakra.
Manipura Chakra and the Body
Manipura is located in the spine, behind the naval. Its colour is yellow and it has 10 petals. Its element is fire — and in particular, agni, the digestive fire. So it governs our metabolism and digestion.
