After all the talk about the Yoga Sutras I feel the need (maybe you do too) for some comic relief. So who else to turn to than JP Sears and his video about the importance of Yoga Photos for Instagram. My own yoga pictures do not ever rarely always turn out like I imagined them in my head. Here are few of them that I find quite funny,…
In the eight limb system of yoga outlined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali the the first limb, the yamas, are about our relationship with the outside. The second step, the niyamas, are more about the relationship we have with ourselves. You can view them as a form of a self-training to prepare mind, body and senses on the yogic path. They also offer great material for all…
In all honestly up until few years ago I did not realise playing music in yoga classes was something that a) happens and b) is a preference for some. Now, I don’t mind either way. I sometimes practise at home with music on the background, and I have been to great yoga classes accompanied with well thought through music (think drum’n’base during a strong Jivamukti class at 7…
To practise yoga, you really do not need anything else but the willingness to be present in the now and the yoga mat as we know it is a rather new Western invention. However it can bring a new aspect to the practise by creating a space for your meditation and adding cushioning and stability for the asana. These days there is a wide range of mats available,…
Here’s a round up of few yoga articles & sources I return quite often. Some of you have asked more information about the benefits of yoga and how does it compare to other physical activities so hopefully you’ll find these as useful as I have. On Philosophy: ”The Eight Limbs, The Core of Yoga” by William J.D. Doran. Probably a two-three pager if you were to print this…
Last week I wrote a piece about what yoga is (or can be.) I promised a follow up post on the benefits as well so here we go. You will not see flexibility on the list because it seems to be part of any other list of benefits/yoga discussion and I wanted to give space to all the other good stuff. Before anything we have to do a…
I have been forcing kindly asking friends and family for some feedback on the blog. My cousin suggested I write about what yoga actually is and means, for those who see it as ”sitting on the floor in an uncomfortable position, being spiritual.” Which, of course, it should not be. So I took it upon myself to try and explain a bit what yoga is (or at least…
Kysellessäni kavereilta ja sukulaisilta palautetta blogiteksteistä tähän asti serkkuni ehdotti että kirjoittaisin mitä jooga edes on. Hän perusteli tätä sanomalla että ”henkistyneenä oleminen epämukavassa asennossa ei nappaa” ja allekirjoitan tuon täysin. Yritän siis hieman selventää mitä jooga on, tai voi olla. Kirjoitus alla on täysin henkilökohtainen eikä mikään aukoton totuus joogasta joten listastani saa totta kai olla eri mieltä. Sana ”jooga” on sanskriittia ja tarkoittaa yhdistymistä tai yhteenliittymistä.…
When New York Times in January 2012 published an extract of William J. Broad’s upcoming book, titleing it ”How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” it caused a big stir in the US. Although yoga injuries have always been around, until then they had remained unknown for the wider public yoga who associated practising yoga as something that heals and cures, not the opposite. The yoga community wrote several…
I had a chat about yoga books with a friend yesterday and this old post of mine came to mindf. As nothing has changed since I first published this text, here you go again: some of my favourite yoga books. Yoga books are nothing new. The first systematic presentation of yoga in a written form, the Yoga Sutras by Patjanhali is said to dated circa 400 CE (I…