GARUDA MUDRA

Garuda, the king of birds and of the air, is the enemy of the snakes.  It’s the powerful and mighty bird that Vishnu rides. Birds generally have sharp eyes, a distinct sense of orientation, and strong survival instincts. Large birds have such an enormous wing span and so much strength in their wings that they [...]

TAPAS (HEAT) – TRANSFORMING SPIRIT FROM MATTER

Tapas, defined as the “concentration of the spiritual willforce”, means to burn.  It refers to the heat created from intense discipline, and is one of the Niyamas from the second limb of Patanjali’s eight-limbed tree of yoga. Physical Tapas – Likened to heating up base metal to refine gold from ore, the body softens in [...]

CORE STRENGTH AND THE SUPPORT OF BANDHAS

In yoga, movement is initiated from the inside, or the core of the body.  We move from the pelvis and the spine, i.e. from the bones and the central structure of the body, rather than from outer muscle strength. Yoga postures stretch, lengthen and tone muscles, rather than contracting and tightening them. We create core [...]

MARICHI

In total there are eight Variations of Marichyasana in the sequences of Ashtanga Yoga: the first four in the First Series, the others in the Fourth Series.  This lateral twisting posture is named after the sage Marichi. Rishi Marichi is the son of Brahma, the cosmic creator, and also one of the Saptarshi (Seven Great [...]

METALLICA: “Enter Sandman”

YOGA FOR INSOMNIA Yoga benefits our sleep in many ways. Yoga has been proven to calm the mind, relax the body and release anxiety, all crucial components of drifting off into quality slumber and staying there all night long. We have a snooze-inducing ally in yoga. Yoga helps to fall asleep sooner and improves the [...]

R.E.M. : “Man On The Moon”

Parivrtta Ardha Chandrasana (Revolving Half Moon Pose) This standing balance posture requires balance and strength.  Suitable build-up poses are Vrksasana (Tree Pose), Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana (Standing Splits) and Trikonasana (Triangle Pose).  You can start from the latter pose to come into Ardha Chandrasana.  Turn the back foot outwards and open the hip.  Bend the [...]

CARTEL: “The Perfect Mistake”

I discovered yoga by chance, by mistake almost.  I had been doing long-distance running for a number of years, until I ultimately ran a 42.195 km distance never to repeat it again in this lifetime. Only humans are a species crazy enough to focus on a random number like that, and to spend a few [...]

CAT STEVENS: “Morning Has Broken”

The night evaporates in the morning dew; a long shadow that stretches itself out behind me like a lazy cat. The lion city roars rather like a sleepy kitty at this merciless early time of the day. A bird tweets for attention, happy to be noticed before the increasing swell of street sounds will drown [...]