Sadhana: practice for day five
If you’re going to commit to a yoga practice, one that is “cultivated skillfully and continuously for a long time,” as Sutra 1.14 specifies, then there’s a question you have to answer. If your body isn’t ready for arm balance, headstand and shoulder stand every day, what do you do while waiting for it to […]
Sadhana: the practice for day two
The first day of Sadhana went off without a hitch. In fact, from where I sat, it felt comfortable and familiar. I know I wasn’t the only one. On her way out the door, Rosaria said: “It feels like we just picked up where we left off last year.” Savasana was short, and for reasons […]
Five-Minute Yoga Challenge: build your inner strength in half arm balance
Photographer Alan Turkis calls this “Joy in the Cascades” Full arm balance holds a special place in the great yogic enterprise of becoming and remaining conscious in our bodies. In part, that’s because standing on your hands opens your armpits like almost nothing else, and as B.K.S. Iyengar has famously said: “If you keep your […]
Five-minute yoga challenge: extend, don’t grip in headstand
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said, “And your hair has become very white; “And yet you incessantly stand on your head – “Do you think, at your age, it is right?” Who can blame the inquisitive young man for asking? Anywhere outside yoga culture, headstand is an odd thing to do. Certainly […]
Five-Minute Yoga Challenge: disarm practice resistance with small steps – and Viparita Karani
“Building a practice has been impossible for me,” Susan, a new student, wrote in an email. “There is a part of me that is fighting yoga – it’s so weird.” Not weird at all, really. Undertaking a yoga practice will change your life. You can let your practice grow gradually – in fact it seems to […]
Arm balance: a love story continued
Hanging out in Victoria: Sukhasana in the ropes.I spent last week at the Iyengar Yoga Centre of Victoria at the Intermediate Teacher Training Intensive. It’s a workshop for Iyengar teachers preparing for the third, fourth and fifth levels of certification. The elf in the photo is Shirley Daventry-French, 78, senior teacher and founder of the […]