Indholdsfortegnelse for Mindfulness Yoga & Meditation i Mindfulness Yoga & Meditation

“What if there were only 60 more days left in your life, or 50 more summers, or 10 more times you’ll wake up early enough to watch the sunrise? What if there were only 15 more times you’ll fall asleep listening to the ocean beat against the shore? What if you’ve already read your favourite book? What if you only have three more times to see someone you love? What if you only have one? How fast does that change things — to think that maybe you do not have forever, though it feels like you have so much longer to survive? How differently would your eyes set their gaze the next time you arrive at one of those sacred moments, those irreplaceable days? How much more would you pay…

With more and more people being drawn towards yoga as a practice to support all manner of health ailments, from physical to mental to emotional to spiritual, it is valuable to understand the importance of yoga; why and how the practice works. The practice of yoga is less about gaining and striving, yet transformation does indeed occur through regular practice — just not often in the ways we expect. “Yoga is not a work-out,” writes author Rolf Gates, “it is a work-in. And this is the point of spiritual practice; to make us teachable; to open up our hearts and focus our awareness so that we can know what we already know and be who we already are.” In this way, we can look at yoga as an unravelling of…

As well as being a devoted mother to her two children, Bryony Lancaster is the co-founder of Egg of the Universe yoga studios and wholefoods cafe in Sydney along with her husband, Harry Lancaster. Bryony has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years and remains inspired to guide her family, yoga studios and life from the inside out, allowing what she creates to be an extension of her personal practice. Bryony has trained and studied with many amazing teachers who have led her to a deeper understanding of bringing yoga to life. Her main teacher Sarah Powers invites a combination of self-inquiry, Buddhism, yin yoga and meditation as a method for unfolding into freedom. Bryony continues to be inspired by the transformational capacity of yoga when the process moves…

To start meditating, all you need is a comfortable seat, a dedicated period of time (anywhere from a few minutes to 20 minutes is ideal), and the willingness to be present to your experience. “You can come with any attitude you have: skepticism, curiosity or enjoyment,” guides Lorin Roche in his book Meditation Made Easy. We encourage you to come into your practice with an open mind and willingness to allow the experience to unravel naturally. “Be willing to be surprised and energised, and be willing to fall asleep because you are so relaxed,” Lorin continues. Like any skill, meditation needs to be practised consistently in order to achieve the most benefit. “The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit,” guides author Fabienne Fredrickson.…

“Yoga is bringing fitness in body, calmness in mind, kindness in heart and awareness in life.”Amit Ray There are many different definitions of the word “yoga”, but its most common translations are “union”, “concentration” and “a path”. Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means “to yoke”, “to unite” or “join”, which is why yoga is often understood as a form of union. This union, in yoga, is of the mind, body and breath, which means that each element works with one another. Author and head of Shambhala International, Sakyong Mipham, describes this interplay: “The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.” Ultimately, yoga helps deepen our connection with ourselves and others, as well as offers clarity on what our role is in this world. “By…

Being mindful allows us to appreciate so many delights in life — from the taste of delicious food to the soothing sounds of nature to the warmth of connecting with your loved ones. But it also allows us to have grace in the moments that test us — such an unexpected challenge with our health, stressful experience at work or disagreement in a relationship. In this way, mindfulness is not just a tool we can use to extract the most joy out of moments in life. It’s also a powerful way to cultivate ease in challenging times. This is the true beauty of mindfulness — being able to wholeheartedly experience life as it unfolds, moment to moment. “Mindfulness teaches us that all we have is now. By waking from the…

Ryan Mannix has been teaching yoga and meditation in Australia and abroad for more than 10 years. He is the co-founder of yoga studio It’s All Yoga in Torquay (itsallyoga.com.au), is a Lululemon ambassador and leads trainings and a mentoring program for new and current yoga teachers. Instagram: @ryanmannix_yoga An unexpected introduction I ask Ryan whether he found yoga or if yoga found him. “It started for me as a physical practice to rehab an injury,” he begins. Ryan was a professional athlete who raced duathlons and triathlons, running mainly, until he was hit by a motorbike and broke his hip. “I started practising yoga as a way to rehab my body and come back to professional racing,” he explains. “One of the phyisos I was working with, Rosie, had…

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a pioneer in mindfulness and founder of mindfulness-based stress reduction, suggests that “the best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness”. Author and meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg explains the two key elements to practising mindfulness or, as Jon mentions above, to paying attention: first, the kind of attention being used and second, the degree of formality in the practice. Kind of attention We can harness our attention on a small detail or widen our lens to whatever arises in the moment. For example, you might be mindfully aware of a bright, red tomato growing on a tomato bush, focusing your attention on this single object. Or, you can set your gaze to the sky above, watching the clouds and the birds…

For more than 5000 years, Eastern traditions have turned to the wisdom of meditation to support overall wellbeing. Now, meditation has become a widely used mind-body practice in the Western world, and for good reason. “Meditation is a naturally occurring rest state; it is resting in yourself while remaining awake and alert,” describes Lorin Roche in his book Meditation Made Easy. The author also suggests that meditation is something we already have an inherent ability to do. “Meditation is innate, and your body already knows how to do it,” he guides. “The human body has an instinctive ability to shift into profound rest states in order to heal, energise, integrate, tune itself up and assimilate learning” he continues. Calm but alert A paradox in meditation is the opposing forces at…

Michael Dunstan is a 27-year-old Western Australian indie folk artist with a peaceful focus on all things bigger than us. With an undying awe and appreciation for the natural world, Mike has prioritised spending much of the past decade in the ocean, touring Australia and New Zealand, and more recently trail running through Australia’s most untouched and remote National Parks. Everything changed when a self-admittedly naive, unaware younger form of himself was suddenly struck with severe anxiety and panic attacks after a confronting sequence of events. Mike knew from this moment that life would never be the same. Importantly, it was during this adversity when Mike was first introduced to mindfulness. What he could never have seen coming was that amidst the suffering, it would be one of the most…

As author and founder of Elephant Journal Waylon Lewis describes above, meditation isn’t designed to fix or change anything you are experiencing in the moment. Rather, it is a practice of accepting what is occurring right now while remaining open, aware and compassionate. However, meditation shows us that when we consciously choose to accept things as they are, this is when things have the ability to transform and, as a consequence, positively affect our lives. This is one of the reasons why meditation enhances not only your life, but also the world around you and those who inhabit it. “You want meditation to be in the service of a better relationship with yourself and the world,” writes Lorin Roche in his book Meditation Made Easy. “This means having a more…