Kelly Collin (Sarah’s fellow podcaster) When I was studying massage therapy, one lesson stuck with me above all the others: one good, slow, intentional stroke is better than three rushed ones. Our lecturer was teaching us about time management and giving us techniques to handle different situations, such as spending too long on the back and running out of time to do the full arm massage, for example. The arm massage procedure was to do three full effleurage (long and slow) strokes on the forearm and arm. If we were short on time, what to do? Most students naturally sped
Read More
Strengthen your yoga class
It’s great to have practices that achieve several goals at once. You may not have time to get to the gym, go for a run and make it to yoga, but you want to be strong, fit and flexible. We might be biased, but we’d say that if you only have time for one, yoga – mindful, purposeful yoga – will get you the closest, and be the most sustainable, because it does work on all three. Cardio fitness perhaps needs a more specific application (you can do it with yoga, but that’s another topic) but strength and flexibility go
Read More
Why you should invest in quality yoga equipment
If you’ve been coming to class for a while, you may be considering getting your own yoga equipment. Or you may be wondering why you would bother, since the studio is equipped with everything you need. Of course the studio equipment is there to be used, but having your own yoga gear is great for your practice. Here’s why: Hygiene We don’t need to remind you at this time that good personal hygiene is the best way to safeguard your health. If you have your own equipment, you are in control of when and how you wash it and you
Read More
Connection
Did you hear, as a child growing up, that as you get older the time passes more quickly? It seems to be ringing bells with me. My theme this year is ‘Connection’ and as the year has sped by I am left feeling that I am only just beginning to connect with my theme! Last year my theme was “Extreme Self Care” and the year before was “Slow Living” and it’s entirely possible there was another theme in there somewhere too. The thing is they are all connected to each other as they bring me to this point of wanting
Read More
Gratitude from my heart to yours
Gratitude for where I am right now. Wow, wow, wow: I am so very grateful for where I am at this mid-year point. I set myself some very significant goals this year and as well as graduating from the three-year, 650-hour Dru Yoga Therapy Course with my Yoga Therapy Diploma, I have also now achieved Senior Registered Teacher status with Yoga Australia. The process of applying for this level of recognition is to collect evidence to support the following standards: Minimum of 1000 hours specific teacher training Minimum 12 years personal practice 10 years and 1000 hours of professional teaching
Read More
Holidays – take your yoga principles with you
Oh no, it’s holiday time again! I get the feeling that most people in my classes would like them (the classes, not the holidays!) to go on for the whole year without taking a break. However, the breaks and alignment to the school term give my year a structure and framework to work with, which is something I need. I thought this might be an opportunity to give you some holiday ideas over the next couple of blog posts, and to explore what yoga means to you. Yoga is so much more than what we do in the class. Let’s
Read More
Living with awareness and being responsible
I start a class asking everyone to check in with their ‘koshas’, or layers of being. Specifically, I direct people to feel into their physical, emotional and mental layers so that they have an awareness of what they have walked into the class with. There is much written about koshas already and I see no reason to reproduce what others have done really well: here’s a great article if you want more detail on koshas. What I would like to use this space for is exploring how we can connect with these layers to make life richer. Anamaya kosha When
Read More
The meaning of Aum
At the end of my yoga classes now we finish by chanting three ‘Aums’. You may have wondered: why do we Aum? Is Aum a mantra and how might we benefit from this practice? I introduced the chanting of Aum at the request of a student. I then asked my other classes if they too would like to explore finishing the class with three Aums as the resulting vibrational effect was so profound. Some of my yoga students enthusiastically chant and others sit and feel. Regardless of the participation, which is absolutely voluntary, the classes finish with a stillness and
Read More
Meditation and Yoga.
aum, chanting, dru meditation, dru yoga, high aspirations, malas, mantra, meditation, om, and yoga.
aum, chanting, dru meditation, dru yoga, high aspirations, malas, mantra, meditation, om, and yoga.
Your Yoga Kit
As we go into the cooler months of winter many people in classes start to bring more things to keep themselves warm and comfortable during relaxation. This has prompted me to write about how valuable owning your own yoga kit can be. If you are attending classes in a fully equipped studio you get away with not having to do this however I strongly recommend that if you love your yoga then invest in a few valuable items. At the very least it is a good idea to bring along a large towel or cloth mat to go over the
Read More
How to find a safe yoga teacher
Yoga has become popular and is the preferred cardio, strength and flexibility exercise with 2.18 million Australians participating in yoga in the year to December 2017*. With the surge in available classes comes the dilemma of how to find a yoga teacher who will keep you safe and ensures your experience is one that serves you. As yoga is an unregulated industry, pretty much anyone can call themselves a yoga teacher. There are an ever-increasing number of online yoga courses now being offered as well as month-long intensives that offer the opportunity for people to become “qualified” yoga teachers. Without
Read More
