Goodness From Goop : Gwyneth, Guts, and Clean Beauty

Look, let's not live in dreamland. Goop has gotten a lot of hate over its lifetime and I am the most sceptical of all about celebrities touting wellness brands and books. In fact, I believe there are several lines across my forehead that are totally down to grimacing with every new celebrity "how to be well" glossy hardback. BUT.

But.

Goop Clean Beauty (Hachette Australia, Hardback RRP $45; eBook RRP $19.99) really is full of good, substantive advice and knowledge. Gwyneth hasn't written some "drink juice for 20 days, do yoga and you'll look like me!" style tome. Thank goodness. It's actually wry, real and it asks the leading experts in the fields of dermatology, dietetics and digestive health, fitness training, yoga and beauty manufacturing for their opinions and real life advice. Of course, the photos are fabulous. It's a good looking book, but let's face it, you don't buy a book on beauty if you don't value good looks, right?

What I also love about this book is that it doesn't have a holier-than-thou approach to all aspects of beauty. We all want to look and feel as great as we can. That means we can eat an abundance of organic foods and use only all-natural beauty products but we can also accept that age inevitably means a loss of fullness and wrinkles. Some people embrace this fully and accept it. Some of us think we wouldn't mind using the beauty of science and technology to do some plumping and freezing IN MODERATION for a natural lifting effect. The book goes through these options - including Botox, fillers, thread lifts, plasma and stem cell injections and so on. There is a no-judgement approach. I like that. There is an emphasis on being careful in selecting a practitioner and in starting small and maintaining your natural appearance only improved rather than going for a dramatic overhaul. Wise.

Here's some quick, simple "I Can Do That!" inspiration from the editors of goop.

A detox of your life does not mean you need to rule out everything that gives you some joy. It is not an abstinence regime that is only bearable for a week before you throw yourself into a weeping, wailing despair that can only be healed with organic dark chocolate and cacao smoothies. A detox rules out the most likely culprits for inflammation of the gut - which is most likely the origin of other health and beauty concerns from acne to mood swings to poor sleep, bloating, sensitive sinuses and hair thinning or loss. Here are the rules of Clean Eating according to Dr Alejandro Junger and it is recommended you follow for at least 10 days. After that time, try introducing what you really want to back to your life gradually to see if it may be the cause of mood, skin, hair or digestive problems.

No alcohol
No caffeine
No dairy
No eggs
No beef or pork
No raw fish or shellfish
No gluten
No soy
No nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers/capsicum)
No strawberries, oranges, grapefruits, grapes or bananas
No corn
No white rice
No added sugar
No peanuts (all other nuts totally fine!)
No processed oils or butters (stick to nut-based oils and coconut oil)

Before you have a breakdown thinking you'll need to eat apples and kale for 10 days, there's pages and pages of delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner meals and they are all simple, doable and delish.

After you've committed to 10 days minimum of avoiding common inflammatory foods, here's some of the other recommended detox tips and consider this, the body DOES have natural detoxifying tools in the liver and kidney but any way you can optimise their functioning and decrease the amount of pollution internally and externally, the greater energy your body can devote to absorbing the good nutrients you're filling it with and to fuelling your brain, skin, muscles, hair and nervous system. Nobody is toxin free - it's a matter of how well we can manage our own system of detoxifying to feel, look and live as purely and well as possible.

Sweat.
Yup, get yourself into an infrared sauna and sweat it out. This is a highly effective means of sweating out heavy metals as well as providing benefits in alleviating arthritis, musculoskeletal ailments and increasing endorphins (feel good hormones). Wheher it's 10 or 30 minutes, try to get into a regular practice. A regular sauna will do.

Exercise.
Moving fluid through the lymphatic system supports the immune system by filtering out toxins and avoiding retention and lethargy. Exercise also boosts happy hormones, enables us to challenge ourselves physically and mentally, provides an opportunity to do something healthy and fun with people we know or to make new friends. Weight-bearing exercise also builds bones, muscle and enables our bodies o function healthier well into old age.

Meditate.
Calm the mind. Bring yourself into the present. Find a sense of peace that isn't dependent on anyone or anything external.

Get On A Foam Roller.
Get your fascia flexible. Many instructors and personal trainers I know swear by the foam roller as a regular part of their fitness routine. Sure, it can be deeply uncomfortable, especially if you have a tendency towards really tight muscles or you rarely stretch. It's entirely worth it. It is vital to stretch, lengthen and release tightness in the muscles to avoid that tension becoming habitual or loading the joints because the muscles that should be doing the work are too fatigued, overworked or dysfunctional to do their job. Hit up google and youtube - there's loads of guidance online as to how to use a roller.

Sleep.
Everyone knows this - just as you have a routine for beauty, fitness, travelling to and from work daily, so you must have a routine for sleep. Switch off social media at least an hour before bed and if you are panicking over something, write it down and know you can deal with it in the morning.

Try Yoga Nidra.
"Psychic sleep" is an ancient practice that deeply restores, relaxes and rejuvenates the body. It is a guided relaxation wherein you don't actually sleep as the mind is still active, but the body completely melts into blissful quiet. Try downloading Kirit Thacker, head of yoga at Ananda Ayurvedic spa in India.
Also try Elena Brouwer's 10 minute version from Yoga Journal.

Melbourne Yoga Teachers

In the many years I've lived in Melbourne and been doing yoga - mostly around the inner, northern and eastern suburbs, I've had the great privilege of meeting and learning from a diverse and divine variety of Melbourne's finest yoga instructors.
Naturally, the teachers we are most drawn to is a subjective matter and this is not a "Best 10" or "Top Rated" style post. Instead, these are some of the teachers that have inspired me to think, study and appreciate yoga philosophy, culture and physical poses. I would recommend seeking them out and making time to do a class. If time and location doesn't permit that though, perhaps their recommended reading, clothing and cafes will encourage you to connect with them beyond the mat!

Name: Joel Hill

Favourite Yoga Pose This Week: My favourite pose for as long as I can remember is Utthita Trikonasana, it always seems to hit the right spots.

Must Read Yoga Book: If I had to choose one book it would be Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar , I always find new inspiration from it and things I've previously missed, even twenty years after I first layed eyes on it.

Teacher Who Inspires Me: The Iyengars are always a source of inspiration as is my teacher Glenn Ceresoli. Their teaching inspires the way I approach my practice heavily. In the last eighteen months I have been following the American yoga teacher and Sanskrit scholar Christopher Tompkins work very closely. His scholarship has very much revitalised my interest in yoga philosophy and history, I highly recommend anyone interested in these areas to check out his online offerings.

Cafe Must Visit in Melbourne: For me these days it's any cafe that is kid friendly, I'm very much out of the loop on this.

Currently Teaching at: Currently I'm taking classes at Gateway Osteopathy and Pilates in Eltham and am also teaching Anatomy for The Yoga Social YTT programs.

Name: Gena Kenny

Favourite Yoga Pose This Week : I’ll begin by sharing my favourite translation of ‘Asana’ which is “To find a comfortable seat within, so that no matter what is happening without, you can remain at peace in your home.”

Yoga for me is exactly that, it is finding ‘my seat’ within.  How I do that is different from day to day; some days it requires simple and mindful breath work, other days it requires more physical movement.  Over the years my work with the physical Asana has become more refined and more subtle.  I have moved into a very different practice that is not necessarily broad gross movement but instead has it’s very foundation in the more subtle realms.  I have found that through sustained and regular practice I have learned how to move into the stillness that is in between, inside and throughout all movement.    This movement into stillness helps me to deal with my day to day life interactions and circumstances with more grace and more ease.  So not a favourite yoga pose, but a favourite way to utilize yoga for a more graceful life.

Must Read Yoga Book :  Wow.. this is a difficult question for me to answer as I love so many different yoga books; some for the anatomical information, some for philosophical learning, others for delving more deeply into the ‘Self’.  So I’ll share one of each with you . J

Anatomical:
“Yoga Anatomy” by Leslie Kaminoff

Philosophical:
“Bringing Yoga to Life” by Donna Farhi

“Self-work”
“The Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer

 Teacher Who Inspires Me : I am most inspired by Donna Farhi, who has been teaching teacher’s for close to 30 years. I highly recommend any yoga teacher who has not either read Donna’s books or delved into her teachings with the Yoga Teacher intensive programs, teacher training courses or retreats that Donna runs.. to do so!!
What inspires me most about Donna is her embodiment of the practices that she shares.  She has ‘lived’ her practices and embodies them in how she teaches, lives and moves through the world.   I share a quote for you here from her book “Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit”.

“If you go deeply enough inside yourself, you will find not something small but something immensely spacious”.

I had read Donna’s books for many years, but hadn’t actually been to any of her teaching intensives until I suffered a debilitating back injury whilst working as a Firefighter in the Melbourne Fire Brigade.  At that point, I didn’t know if I could ever work as a firefighter again or even complete a yoga practice without pain ever again.  But through Donna’s in depth teachings on the structure, the nervous system and movement patterns, I am now pain free and teaching yoga for spinal care.

 Cafe Must Visit in Melbourne : My favourite new café is in Albert Park and is called Zea Food Journey on Victoria Avenue (just next to Jocks Ice cream).  For those who know me, you will know that I have a sweet tooth and Zea meets that sweet tooth with a fusion between France and Greece. French style crepes with a Greek style yumminess packed inside!!  Plus they have amazing coffee and real love packed into whatever they do.

Currently Teaching at: I have my own yoga studio which is in Port Melbourne and is called Ohana Yoga.  “Ohana” is a Hawaiian word which is translated to mean ‘connections’ and that is what Ohana Yoga is about.  We  have an incredible community of students and teachers who get to know each other through classes, coffee/tea after class and different events that we offer; which include free talks on different subjects to share knowledge, insight and just simply those moments of being able to connect with others who are in the community.

We also offer a really fair teacher rate which is $10 to encourage teachers to take time for themselves and give back to themselves .. we all know that being of service can lead to the ‘sharing, caring’ people in our world sharing a bit too much, so we like to encourage teachers to give back to themselves through restorative and mindful practices.  I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity, inclination and energy to be able to create a studio that offers an enriching daily yoga practice, yoga teacher training’s and most importantly a space that is real community hub for those who have found us.

Name: Andrew Mournehis

Favourite Yoga Pose This Week: Savasana (Corpse pose) / Yoga Nidra.
In my eyes, THE MOST IMPORTANT ( yet often neglected) POSE in our yoga practice.
As my Ayurveda teacher and mentor would say... you WILL practice Savasana and yoga nidra for 5 mins every day for the rest of your life... the teaching has stuck!

Must Read Yoga Book: The Bhagavad Gita ... favourite translation by Stephen Mitchell. A must read for any yoga practitioner or teacher on learning how to live, love and serve.

Teacher Who Inspires Me: Elena Brower... for her courage to face her shadows, live with integrity and congruence ..:and be willing to live a life of Forgiveness, Light, Love and Truth.

Cafe Must Visit in Melbourne: Oooohhh, so many, but my current fave is Merri Cafe at Ceres ... beautiful community.


Currently Teaching at:

• Pranahouse in Thornbury Mon and Wed mornings 930am-11am
• Workshops and intensives from "Breathing space yoga" in Prahran
• Teacher and facilitator for TT at Academy of Yoga Learning since 2003 
• Retreats both nationally and internationally since 2003

Details at Divine Grace

Name: William Wong

Favourite Yoga Pose This Week: Handstand!!!

Must Read Yoga Book: Not specifically a yoga book but The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle

Teacher Who Inspires Me: Claudia Whitney

Cafe Must Visit in Melbourne: Pana Chocolate or Raw Trader

Currently Teaching at: Power Living Fitzroy, Yoga 37, Virgin Active and Fitness First

Name: Amanda Pittard

Favorite Yoga Pose this Week: Natarajasana | Dancer Pose as it allows me to open up my body, clear my mind and breathe evenly so that I can unlock truly profound discoveries about myself, physically my flexibility and balance, energetically opens my sacral, solar plexus & heart chakra allowing me to find balance in the realm of sensuality, personal power and love & compassion, Spiritually allowing me to notice where I get unstuck, so I can release my samsara.

Must Read Yoga book: "Your Body, Your Yoga" by Bernie Clark

Teacher Who Inspires Me : Sarah Cresswell at Teacher & owner at KX Yoga Malvern. When I'm on my mat I love listening to her kind thoughts, mindful manner & positive reinforcements of how wonderful we all are & what we bring to ourselves each & every time we come to practice.

Cafe Must Visit in Melbourne : The Bakers Wife in Burke Road, Glen Iris, the menu is amazing & fresh.

Styles of Yoga I teach : Vinyasa Flow, Slow flow, Yin, Yin Yang, Kids & Teens

Currently teaching at : Endless Lifestyle Balwyn, KX Yoga Malvern (assisting) Goodlife Camberwell, ReCreation Malvern, South Pacific Chadstone, Swift Fitness (kids/teens), Genesis Caulfield, Firbank Grammar Brighton (kids), Prana House Thornbury. Will commence shortly at the Habitat Space Malvern & Daya Wellbeing Hawthorn.

Name: Tania Perry

My Favourite Yoga Pose This Week: Humble Warrior. I named my business after this pose and tend to incorporate it into most of my classes. It reminds me to stay strong and grounded, to surrender and let go of that which no longer serves, with grace and humility. Humble Warrior symbolises for me the strength and beauty of yoga. It requires a balance of effort, ease and courage.

Must Read Yoga Book: The complete Guide to Yin Yoga by Bernie Clarke. I have always been a Yang Yogi, this book has taught me how to find stillness and to yield in my practice, to take time in transitions and to be more mindful. I am a convert to Yin Yoga. I always try to find a balance in life, and yin Yoga brings me closer to this. Yin makes me a better Yoga teacher. This a wholistic approach, nurtures the body and softens me both on and off the mat.

Teacher Who Inspires Me: There have been so many over the years, but any teacher who connects with me personally, gets to know my practice, offers adjustments, inspires me and makes me a better yogi. I love Nicky Hanley (AYA Prahran), for her free spirit and creative sequencing. For my own professional development I attend classes with Zoltan - Swami Gopal (Yoga in Daily Life/ Fitness First), he has an authentic, calm nature and his classes always challenge and inspire.

My go to cafe in Melbourne: Combi in Ormond Rd, Elwood. The best raw treats, tumeric lattes, organic, healthy....food to make you glow, from the inside out. The raw caramel slice (sugar free/vegan) is to die for!!

Currently teaching at Om Yoga Sth Yarra, Fitness First, Sth Pacific Gyms and Humble Warrior Yoga and Wellness.
I also teach Meditation, Pranyama  and Chair Yoga at Salts of the Earth Prahran.

Name: Jennifer Crescenzo

Favourite Yoga Pose This Week: Elephant Pose - it's a dynamic variation of a wide leg forward fold that involves keeping your legs strong and feet grounded while playfully twisting your trunk!

Must Read Yoga Book: Yoga: Fascia, Anatomy, and Movement by Joanne Avison

Teacher Who Inspires Me: Paul and Suzee Grilley - I have studied with them for nearly 8 years now and through the years they have changed the way I understand and experience my own body in movement and meditation.  Whether they are teaching functional anatomy or the Bhagavad Gita, Paul teaches with great precision, passion, and humor and Suzee's boundless curiosity about movement makes the asana practice both practical and playful .  I just returned from studying Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with them and when I arrived we hugged and then they immediately started quizzing me about my Olympic Lifting and how it was influencing my body and the way I'm teaching yoga.  The way they engage with their students makes for a really dynamic and creative training environment and I always leave their company feeling simultaneously grounded and charged!

Cafe Must Visit in Melbourne:  I live and teach south side so locally I like Magic for coffee and Urban Projuice for healthy, nourishing food.

Currently Teaching at: For the past few years I've been writing and co-facilitating 200 Hour Hatha Yoga TT's at The Yoga Social and MOVE Yoga and developing and facilitating Yin Teacher Training in Australia and internationally.  I teach weekly Yin, Yin/Yang, and Flow classes at MOVE Yoga, Ohana Yoga, and Yoke Yoga.  And I'm about to rejoin the team at Yoga Flame at their new Windsor studio!  My schedule of classes and events is available at yoga.jencrescenzo.com

I'm 100% sure I'm still to meet many fantastic Melbourne yoga instructors. Come and let me know whose class you absolutely wouldn't miss on Core Integrity With Cat Facebook.

Bringing Yoga To Life

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are many books on yoga, but not many really delve into what it means to study and engage in yoga practice beyond the mat. What makes yoga different to simply doing stretches or gymnastics at the local recreation centre?
In Bringing Yoga To Life, Donna has an easily relatable and no-nonsense style of writing and teaching. She can illuminate very complex ideas and concepts through stories, both personal recollections from her classes and retreats, and also from yogic texts like the Bhagavad Gita.
Essentially, though this concept is easily articulated, it is the very heart of yoga and cannot truly be appreciated and integrated into our practice and our daily living until we are open to learning. Yoga is the unity of not only our own body and mind, but a unity with the world. It is, as Donna tries to examine and explain, finding our self in every thing (leaf, animal, air) and every person and also, knowing that we are in everything around us also. Donna describes this idea as being like a matrix of energy, or a silence, that exists behind all the noise of daily living and our own mental chatter. It is our connection to the universe that hums along eternally. This is also the concept of Om, often chanted before and after class. The unity of our bodily selves with our infinite selves and with everyone and everything around us.
If I’ve lost you already, then this book may not be for you yet. If you have just done your first class, or your fifty-thousandth class, this book will confront and challenge your ideas about yoga and about your life. I know I have spent nights awake and stopped at the traffic lights considering everything from my approach as a teacher to whether I’m breathing fully and what my intentions genuinely are for every choice I make. As yogis, we aren’t going to do everything perfectly. Donna recognises the obsessive and ritualistic approach of a well-known yoga instructor in her book and his rigid adhesion to his own practice is so determined, he leaves the class he is conducting to go and do his personal practice alone.
What this also illustrates, inadvertently, is that yoga is a diverse school and there are many approaches. Donna’s most enlightening chapter, for me, was about seeking the teachers who resonate for us and recognising the traits that we most seek, require and benefit from in our teachers are what we really need to absorb into our approach to ourselves.
For me, I seek teachers who are frank, no-nonsense, challenging but also with a deep joy for living, movement, sharing and able to challenge my ideas and movement so that I push further than is comfortable, but doing so with a compassionate and attentive instructor overseeing.
I seek teachers who are passionate about what they know and always open and curious to learning and seeing what they know in a new light. I seek teachers who are exceptional students. I see this in myself as a deeply curious person.
Using anecdotes, spiritual texts, poetry, stories passed down from family and friends, Donna has not written a step-by-step guide for dummies on the spiritual life by any means. This is, however, not also a prescriptive text but one that like all great teachings, invites us to question what we think we are certain about and then to indulge new ideas and practices in our daily life and to also appreciate that our approach to life and to yoga will change with circumstances, age and experience.
My only niggles are very few really. I also think that with time and consideration, and more practice, I may change my mind on finding them niggles at all. Towards the end of the book, one chapter makes a few references to what particular age groups, from the 20s to the 30s “normally do”. As a yoga instructor and a writer, I meet many people of all cultures, ages, gender identity and what I have learned, is that there is no “normal”. In yoga particularly, instructors are a wild and diverse group of spiritual seekers of all ages and physical abilities. To define age groups and what they should or should not be doing is an exercise in narrowing down what a life ought to look like. This is perhaps just my sensitive interpretation though!
Donna is candid to a very controlled and short extent, in revealing family trouble that lead to an eating disorder in her twenties, exacerbated by dance training where her teacher made derogatory remarks about her less-than-bony physique. This is a common experience for many who studied dance or gymnastics as children and teens and found their bodies became battlegrounds for control and aesthetic worth. I know I have had my battles and it is enormously comforting to me to also know there are many well-known and honest international yoga teachers who speak about overcoming these lethal disorders to find a love and appreciation for their bodies through yoga. This may sound simplistic, and it is not through doing tree pose and having some amazing moment of enlightenment that acceptance and appreciation is nurtured in the body.
It is, as Donna reveals in Bringing Yoga To Life, through questioning, studying, and also accepting the mystery of life and having faith. This doesn’t mean worshipping God or Buddha or identifying with a religion. This means accepting the enormous joy and rarity of actually being here at all, of all the endlessly possible genetic and energetic combinations of a human being, you are here. This means accepting that we are not alone – we exist as part of the universe, and it exists in us. I am still considering what I read in Donna’s book. Hourly, daily, weekly. It has inspired me to seek more reading and to approach my classes with a greater curiosity and desire to inspire that same curiosity and joy in yoga as a spiritual practice in which asanas are an element but not the end goal.
Originally published in 2005, this is a book that has not aged nor can I imagine it will ever be redundant. For curious yogis and those who seek to embrace yoga on, off and beyond the mat and the routines of daily life. I had the great fortune to read this book via SocialBookCo.

View all my reviews

Denise Payne Teaches Yoga at Kerobokan

I had the great fortune to meet Denise when I went on holiday to Ubud, Bali a few years ago. A weekly pass to The Yoga Barn ensured I was a regular Power Yoga participant and her teaching, her delivery, her appreciation and compassion and knowledge of yoga beyond physical asanas to the real essence of what it is to live yoga emanates from her in class and outside it.

As well as taking Yoga Teacher Training in Indonesia and internationally, Denise also teaches at The Yoga Barn in Ubud, Bali as well as volunteering her time to inmates at the infamous Kerobokan Prison.

Yes, the same one that Australians Schapelle, Myuran and Andrew were imprisoned for drugs charges. Denise met both Myuran and Andrew, though it was Myuran who took to yoga with greater interest and effort.

Here's my interview with her and if nothing else, perhaps it will make you re-think how you pigeon hole people - any and all people. It might even make you consider how you could donate your time and skills in a way that uplifts people who need it. And don't we all?

Cat: When did you first begin teaching yoga at Kerobokan? 

I first started teaching at Kerobokan prison in 2011

How did you find out about the opportunity or did you approach them?

I was contacted by Myuran Sukamaran, who had gotten my information from a woman involved with the silver program, Joanna Witt.

We communicated for about 2 weeks about starting the program and going through the proper channels.

How did the authorities respond and has that changed over time?

I felt very fortunate, as Myu had initiated so many programs by the time I showed up, the class was very well received. The guards were always friendly and some of the participated in class at times.

It changed over the years for various reasons. There was a riot a few years ago that set the program back for a couple of months. Or a new head of security would need time to adjust and then the class would be on hold. Once Myu and Andrew were moved in February of last year, there was also some upheaval, but the classes continued, as well as after the execution. I’ve always done my best to keep the consistency of the program for the other inmates.

Many Australians are familiar with the prison because of Myuran and Andrew. Did you meet them and what can you tell me about them as you knew them?

Myu and I had a wonderful relationship. He loved the yoga and always participated in classes. During the last few months before being moved, however, it was very hectic at Kerobokan. He had a lot of family visiting and had numerous meetings with his lawyers. The classes were on hold for a while and I would do private sessions with him.

I was able to get to know Andrew a little bit over the years, too.

Who else have you met at the prison and has their responsiveness or commitment surprised you?

The people that participate in the yoga program are there every week and always amaze me with their smiles and hugs and dedication.

Do you introduce spiritual aspects of yoga or is it purely the physical asana practice?

It’s hard to have one without the other, really. I have a tendency to wrap it all up in one package anyway. There is so much mediation and spirituality opportunities in each asana, it makes it easy. :-)

How often do you teach there?

We have classes twice a week now, and I’m so lucky to have another teacher that has taken this to heart. I could use two more teachers with her dedication to giving back!

What are the conditions like for inmates and has this changed over time?

I’m going to pass on this one.

What have been the major learnings for you from working with the prisoners?

Going to the jail is quite often the highlight of my week. It’s kind of funny because most people might think that the prisoners are the ones that get something out if it, and they do, no doubt, but the truth is it’s me that gets a does of medicine when I see everyone's smiling faces, rocking up with their mats and ready to work. It can be quite depressing to say the least about being in jail, yet the hearts still shine. So, what I've learned mostly for the classes and the group is to let my heart shine in the worst of times.

What I learned from Myuran is how to surrender completely.

What do you think most people misunderstand about those in Kerobokan?

I don’t really know how to answer this question, Cat. I’ve never thought about it.

Do you conduct the class in Indonesian or English and what nationalities are your students?

I teach in English, and the yogis are from all over the world, including Indonesia. Most of the foreigners speak English, and the locals follow along. Our classes are very giggly.

Is there a favourite pose? Do you work on handstands?

Yes of course! Loads of handstands and other inversions. I’m lucky to have 90 minutes for class so we have plenty of time for everything, including a nice long savasana.

What do the Kerobokan students struggle with most?

I’d imagine the same things we all struggle with. Do we feel loved unconditionally? Do we feel like we are good enough? Do we feel like we do enough?

Further information on Denise and her YTT courses are on her website, Denise Payne Yoga

Black Yo)))ga Asanas Ritual

A couple of weeks ago, an article in Body + Soul introduced me to a range of new yoga styles. This included aerial and horseback yoga. The most interesting and appealing, though, was Black Yoga. What began as vinyasa yoga set to drone, noise, stoner metal, ambient, industrial and "space doom" meditation music in 2012 has made its way out of Pittsburgh and into the international sphere via the first Black Yoga DVD, Asanas Ritual: Volume 1.
This, as Black Yoga would say, is some #zenshit. I have listened to the soundtrack several times now and practiced to it while awaiting my DVD to arrive. It is ideal music to contemplate life, yoga and the universe to - there's no screaming, no thrashing, nothing Rammstein about this. It's the surprisingly peaceful creation of metallic hippies and doomlords.
It may, initially, seem like a juxtaposition. The ferocity of metal and doom combined with the all-embracing, loving nature of yoga?
In fact, yoga is more complex than that. It asks us to be fully present, right now. Black Yoga does that. It asks us to bring passion, curiosity and intensity to our bodies, minds and practice. Black Yoga does that. It asks us to meditate and to follow some universal truths and values for our own benefit and that of others, and to detach from the actual results of doing so.

So I'd ask you to shrug off those sceptical thoughts, question your preconceived ideas and expectations about yoga and about Black Yoga, and start with the soundtrack. If you dig it, like I do, then venture forth and give the Asanas DVD a whirl. You don't have to be a stoner rock loving hippie peace unicorn. You just need a body that breathes and a readiness to confront your darkness in order to appreciate the light. Check out the trailer for the DVD below. Enjoy.

      

Being In The Moment

There is no harsher critic than the voice in my head. My family has a history of OCD and I see it in my anxious thoughts over what I HAVE done and what I MUST do.
By no means are yoga, meditation, dance and fitness a "cure", but I know I am a calmer, more aware and more content person when I'm practicing.

As part of my yoga course, I am required to do classes on top of teaching my own. While I struggle with the scheduling of this, I have been gaining so much from listening to, watching and absorbing the methods and delivery of the instructors. From the actual poses, sequencing and cues to their tone of voice, introduction and ending, and their relationships with regulars and new class participants. While some of this is lost in doing online classes, I am still really enjoying the diversity of instructors and classes on Yoogaia.

I have been doing yoga and pilates at local YMCAs and this week I'll be checking out Australian Yoga Academy in Northcote and Xtend Barre in Hawthorn. If you're a Melbourne yogi, let me know what classes you love and where you do them. I have done Power Yoga at MSAC and that was fantastic.

Just as I dipped into Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet for inspiration and soul nourishment, I'm currently flipping open the pages of Rumi's poetry and seeking nuggets of wisdom to hold onto. Not only does this herald the start of Spring, but it also reminds us to be right here, right now because every moment matters. Just because you're here.


Don't flounder in the preambles of the past
Wounded with regrets; don't let autumnal
Nostalgia blind you to the sounds and scents
Of the present's Spring; you're a native of 
The pellucid moent, make it infinite beyond
The curving snake of passing time and space.
Learn to die in the infinitely elusive moment.

Ruba'iyat

Online Yoga Classes - Let's Do It Together

Most of you know I'm currently doing my Yoga Teacher Training. This requires 3 extra classes a week, which doesn't sound like much, but I'm already teaching 10 barre classes a week and it's physically exhausting!
Then there is the financial and logistical issues. As you can imagine, there isn't a yoga class every hour of the day at a convenient location. Most of them are running at the same time as I'm teaching. SO.
I admit online yoga classes do not have the same communal atmosphere of a real yoga class, with the awkward smile you get when you almost trip over someone's mat or the teacher gently adjusting your hip or foot... but:

• there are a diversity of classes from "Relax" through "Energy & Sweat" options
• there are  Master Workshops
• instructors are highly qualified, experienced and come from all over the world
• if a class doesn't work for you, stop and change without causing any offence!
• your dogs, cats, rabbits can stay for class

Most of all though, it's super convenient. Do it before work, after work, in the middle of the night or the early hours of morning. There are live classes you can book for as well as pre-recorded classes. 

It's much cheaper than signing up to a studio too. In fact, you could do both in an ideal world. Being able to do your meditation at home, in your own time and space might suit you best. Perhaps you're not much of a team player and you'd prefer to do pilates in your loungeroom. Perhaps you'd just prefer to do it in your loungeroom on Tuesday and go into a busy class on Thursday. That's the beauty of Yoogaia. I have signed up for the length of my teacher training.

I am aiming to go to actual classes the majority of the time, but when I'm struggling to fit it into my schedule alongside recovery time (essential for body and mind!), I will be using my Yoogaia membership to explore meditation, power yoga, core strength, pilates and Yin yoga. In fact, I did my first Yin Yoga class last week! It was difficult, as a restless soul, to hold long poses (4 minutes...of stillness...) but it became easier with every minute and actually, time passed pretty quickly once I got past the first 10 minutes. I did Heidi Poon's class. I'd love you to try some classes and give me your recommendations! I started with the free 7 day trial. Do it! Yoogaia.com

Yoga Books For Inspiration

I start my Yoga Teacher Training this weekend, and I won't lie, I'm nervous about launching into it. I'm excited, too. And mostly, I feel that it's the right choice. As someone who questions herself constantly, to feel so sure about something speaks volumes to me.
I want to be practicing, exploring, teaching and sharing yoga for the rest of my life. Flowing, vinyasa, meditation-on-the-mat yoga.

With that in mind, I've added to my bookshelf. Three different but inspiring yoga books.

Yogavataranam: The Translation of Yoga is intended for those studying yoga. It is an exploration of Sanskrit intended for university courses, yoga students and self study.
The Indian method of learning Sanskrit is by memorising texts and then learning what they mean. The Western approach is to learn the alphabet, grammar, syntax and then build the vocabulary (like all language lessons of my school years!). This book by Zoe Slatoff-Ponte incorporates both methods. It promises

• step-by-step instructions on writing the alphabet 
• sidebars on Indian philosophy and culture
• a glossary of Sanskrit terms
• original translations of passages from classic yoga texts including Yogasutra, Bhagavadgita and Upanisads

There's web-based audio files linked to each chapter so that you can perfect your pronunciation too. I know this is a book I'll be returning to...a lot.

Yogavataranam by Zoe Slatoff-Ponte @ Pan Macmillan

The Eight Limbs of Yoga looks deceptively slender and thankfully, it fits in my handbag so my guilt over not reading what is on my bookshelf can accompany me every day, everywhere. This is "a handbook for living yoga philosophy".

This little volume shows how to apply the principles of yoga to everyday life and our perspective on the big and small issues. This is not designed to be academic or deeply investigative. Perfect for yoga students and also just the mildly curious. 

The Eight Limbs of Yoga by Stuart Ray Sarbacker and Kevin Kimple @ Readings

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are:

1. Yama: The first limb, yama, deals with one’s ethical standards and sense of integrity, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in life. Yamas are universal practices that relate best to what we know as the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
2. Niyama: This has to do with self-discipline and spiritual observances. Regularly attending temple or church services, saying grace before meals, developing your own personal meditation practices, or making a habit of taking contemplative walks alone are all examples of niyamas in practice.
3. Asanas: These are the postures practiced in yoga, with the ultimate aim of caring for and nurturing the body. Through the practice of asanas, we develop the habit of discipline and the ability to concentrate.
4. Pranayama: Generally translated as breath control, this fourth stage consists of techniques designed to gain mastery over the respiratory process while recognizing the connection between the breath, the mind, and the emotions. 
5. Pratyahara: This means withdrawal or sensory transcendence. It is during this stage that we make the conscious effort to draw our awareness away from the external world and outside stimuli.
6. Dharana: As each stage prepares us for the next, the practice of pratyahara creates the setting for dharana, or concentration. Having relieved ourselves of outside distractions, we can now deal with the distractions of the mind itself
7. Dhyana: Meditation or contemplation, the seventh stage of ashtanga, is the uninterrupted flow of concentration.
8. Samadhi: Patanjali describes this eighth and final stage of ashtanga, samadhi, as a state of ecstasy. At this stage, the meditator merges with his or her point of focus and transcends the Self altogether.

Do Your Om Thing is a memoir by Rebecca Pacheco, better known as @OmGal . Bec challenges the idea of the perfect yogi - flawless in their intentions, integrity, every living breath and perfectly executing every pose every time. It is an exploration of what it is to love yoga and to approach it as it ought to be approached, as a road to wisdom that isn't about striving to be the best, or to master everything, stop and pin a badge on yourself... Yoga is going to be different things at different times of life and circumstances. The idea of yoga off the mat is really explored. How to merge ancient philosophy and traditions from an Eastern world into a hectic, constantly evolving Western world is the cause of much angst for yogis (isn't it? I find it is!) and to read Bec's memoir is to find humour and joy in being imperfect but deeply curious and passionate about yoga as a practice and a school to learn about your everyday self and your infinite self.

Do Your Om Thing by Rebecca Pacheco @ Harper Collins

Mulga's Magical Colouring Book Finally! This one is for fun. An exercise in mindfulness, this colouring book is by Sydney artist Mulga, a freelance illustrator, poet, mural painter, t-shirt designer and market stall master. He draws quirky animals, zombies and bearded ragamuffins. I am starting with the seahorse, because...well, why not start with the seahorse?

Mulga's Magical Colouring Book @ Hachette