The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Having focused on each of the 8 Limbs in previous newsletters, we are now going to delve deeper into the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. In future newsletters we plan to explore the various translations of [...]
Living the 8 Limbs, the fifth of the niyamas: Isvara Pranidhana – Surrender to God’s will
Before we look at the essence of this, the last of the niyamas, let’s just deal with the ‘God’ word. Yoga does not promote any religion. There is no requirement to believe in God, or [...]
Living the 8 Limbs, the fourth of the niyamas – Svadhyaya, self study
For most of us, Svadhyaya starts on the mat. We begin to study ourselves as we practice asana: our thoughts, our emotions, our reactions, our habits and our intentions. Then we see how this is [...]
Living the 8 Limbs – the third of the niyamas: Tapas
The most common translation of Tapas is ‘self discipline’. For the yogi the heart of this is the self-discipline to practice, ideally every day. We come back to the mat day after day despite what [...]
Living the 8 Limbs – the second of the niyamas: Santosha
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” – Lao Tzu We continue our journey through the 8 [...]
Living the 8 Limbs – the first of the niyamas: Saucha
“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves.” – Mahatma Gandhi As our journey through the 8 limbs of yoga [...]
Raw Chocolate Brownie
Base: 2 1/2 cups walnuts 3 cups dates 1/2 cup cacao powder Process all ingredients together in a food processor till the base turns moist and dough-like! With a non-stick baking sheet place the brownie [...]
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
Many people’s favourite pose, pigeon is a most rewarding when held for several minutes. A deep hip opener it’s a great preparation for backbends and a prerequisite for getting your foot behind the head in [...]
A Passion for Positive Birth – Star Despres
You have two children, can you share your birth experiences and how yoga can help prepare women for birth? My children were born 17 years apart and so they were very different experiences. There is [...]
Ten days in the life of a wannabe Yoga Therapist
Written by Ana Davis For ten straight days a group of committed yogis lived and breathed ‘yoga therapy’ from six in the morning to half eight at night. During the meal breaks the intensity did [...]