There are many songs written with the subject matter of spring, ‘It might as well be Spring’, ‘They say it’s Spring’, ‘You must believe in Spring’, in which the singer’s voice is light and soft and spring is associated with tulips, robins, love and yearnings of the heart, melancholy equally with hope and gladness. ‘You […]
Waiting for Spring, the light and the dark – reawaken with yoga View Post ➚
Very soon, parts of the world will witness an almost total solar eclipse, a phenomenon so powerful, it entrances even the most consummate astronomers already familiar with spectacular celestial events. The untimely nightfall that occurs must have frightened our ancestors into imagining the permanent extinction of the sun, the end of the world, human life
Snowflakes and their study are a perfect metaphor for developing appreciation of our lives and everyone else’s – all of us alike, made of the same material and all unique in design. If we pause to remember that each snowflake is singular, something inside sighs with awe and hums with wonderment. Awe and wonder are
Meditate on snowflakes – what else can we do but appreciate beauty? View Post ➚
Already a dedicated practitioner, Esther Myers wondered what would happen if she devoted even more time to her personal yoga. Vanda Scaravelli suggested we practise as though there was ‘infinite time and no ambition’. When asked how strong the gravitational force and how deep it’s possible to release in a downward direction, Vandareplied, ‘To the
The Dalai Lama speaks of cultivating hopeful, appreciative, heartening thoughts and feelings and how the vibrations of these thoughts really, truly, exist and affect others. He gives talks on ‘Inner Peace/Outer Peace’ and suggests both are so closely interrelated as to be one. What we do to help ourselves – releasing our physical tension, soothing
Personal yoga practice isn’t only self-serving – its positivity affects everyone View Post ➚
by Monica Voss Roses have cheered our mental state, delighted our senses, soothed our nervous systems and stimulated memory and longing for over six thousand years. Their form, that leads us from outside to in, their colour, from the most delicate pinkish to ‘flagrant crimson’, their scent, delicious and otherworldly – all combine to stir
by Monica Voss Young children learn to sort by colour and shape, later by action and meaning. Do you remember choosing which image didn’t fit in? Or playing memory matching games? Finding the monkey in a complicated drawing? In the image above, what links the 4 animals? Making comparisons and noting contrasts, naming and repeating,
by Monica Voss ‘Drishti’ or gazing is a yogic meditation exercise during which one focuses eye attention on a person, an object or a scene, taking in all there is without judgement. In the summer or whenever our schedule is lighter or when we’re on holiday, gazing is easy-going and meandering and the colours and
Develop the skill – and art – of lazy gazing this summer with yoga and meditation View Post ➚
by Monica Voss In Chinese medicine, eating pears helps clear the thorax and lungs of heat and excess moisture. Many of us experience dryness and tightness as we endeavour to breathe deeply or slowly in a yoga class. The air in Canada in December is almost always cold. How do we mitigate the effects of
by Tama Soble We begin moving from the spine in utero. Once born, we progress through a series of developmental movements that support our journey toward the complex act of walking. During this period in our lives we utilize and perfect the four basic movements of the spine: flexion, extension, side bending and rotation. We
Remembering What the Body Knows View Post ➚
by Monica Voss Getting into the body is exactly what Monica Voss intends to do. She does it deliberately, repetitively, as she chooses her words, observant of her students’ abilities, the tenor of the – room and the pacing of her exercises. But moreover, Monica’s class enables a deliberate blurring of the categories that we
Work, Play and a Certain Come – What – May View Post ➚
by Monica Voss One question I have in this predicament called human life is how to thrive in the environment we find ourselves inhabiting. Some people struggle to feel any degree of peace within a “concrete and clay” world dominated by traffic, noise and news of violence. Some live in a quieter, more natural place,
Love Where You Are View Post ➚