In this blog, we explore the essence of Buddhism and the significance of taking refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha. It's not about escaping life's complexities but embracing them with wisdom and compassion.
A prominent and experienced personal trainer in the NY fitness scene in the 1990s had gotten quite interested in yoga. She was making the connections between all she had learned in anatomy and physiology for sport and what she was experiencing in the physical postures, breath management, and mental focus in yoga class.
Completing a Yoga Teacher Training is an experience of a lifetime but what happens next? Many students are happy just to carry on with their newly deepened understanding of yoga and the lifelong friendships made during the training. Others continue training to maintain the momentum of the learning process. Others teach their friends, get jobs in established studios or take the leap to establish their own business. Whatever happens we take our own unique path and the journey unfolds sometimes in unexpected ways.
Are you ready to take your Yoga Education to the next level? Arielle Nash introduces her 100 hour Advanced Anatomy Teacher Training for yoga teachers and movement specialists. This course forms part of the Centered Yoga 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training at Samahita Retreat,
When I think about the origin story of “Centered Yoga”, I remember a time in New York where yoga was not as widely practiced. I was making my way through university working as a trainer in Crunch Fitness gym before and after a long day of classes and it was one of my clients who I think saw how stressed I was and recommended I take Paul’s class. She kept reminding me and finally I gave it a go.
This video introduces the Centered Yoga Pranayama training. This practice of pranayama is part of a living tradition. Paul has learnt the full practice in a special one-to-one capacity over the past 20 years with Tiwariji
Prior to coming to Samahita, I had read the Yoga Sutras in two attempts. At first, I was intrigued by the Sutras but found them really difficult to understand and a bit dry. This changed when I started to read Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, a fascinating book that brings alive yogic saints and the concepts of spiritual practices and miracles.
You’re committed, ambitious and competitive. Dedicated to your practice, getting up every morning without fail or taking those 3 classes in a row at the studio. All is well and your friends comment on how much improvement you’ve made until one day you’ve hurt your knee, wrist, lower back and shoulder! Maybe its time to calm things down and reflect on the true motive behind your effort.
"The understanding of this has really helped me put things into perspective.
Having been anxious and holding onto previous experiences and jobs that haven't gone as planned,
and having also struggled with finding self-worth as a full-time mum."
Watch this video to get an inside view of the Centered Yoga 200 hour Teacher Training. Filmed in-situ with messages from the teaching team and students and a close look at what is on offer here at Samahita!
Back in the Day 2008 at Yoga Thailand Neil Barker demonstrates the safest method to assist Supta Kurmasana. Often performed dangerously and over forced. Get it right with this video.
Back in 2006 when I was 26 years old traveling in India and thinking about where life would take me next I had a conversation with a yoga teacher (of whom there were plenty). He recommended traveling to Thailand to take Paul Dallaghan’s one month Training course. Paul who? At that point I had no plans to become a yoga teacher but the thought of spending a couple of months in Thailand learning even more about yoga was appealing. So I applied for the course whilst still in India and received an acceptance email shortly thereafter.
Somatic Movement is nothing new. It is, however often bypassed amidst the frenzy of what is “trending” in yoga or fitness to push you to your limits and increase your caloric expenditure. How sad.
Somatics do just the opposite. The process of somatic education turns you internally, rather than focusing on external form. Ultimately, we produce more efficient movement, meaning that we actually use less energy. Working intelligently with movement by tuning into the somatic nervous system forces you to move slowly while you learn movement to create healthy neuromuscular patterning.
As I was about to write this introduction I found my mind drift to many of the great wonders and benefits my life has received in these many years in yoga. I happened to just go to Daphne Tse’s pledge site and play her new song, which she sang with us back in July and will again this Christmas. It always stirs my heart. Similar for me is the great music of Jack Harrison, a good Irishman who I have been happy to be part of his music journey out there.
Questions that come up in every training and retreat — without fail! -reflect concern about a woman’s monthly cycle. And it is always surprising how many students deal with amenorrhea (absence of periods) or irregular periods.
My last article left you at Sirsasana while I was 27weeks pregnant with twins. I had gained 14kg and was feeling fantastic on the mat and off. That 14kg turned into nearly 30 by full-term and Sirsasana became a calculated risk, but I still felt amazing, for the most part.
Many pregnant women look to start a yoga practice during pregnancy, and although they should go to a Prenatal Yoga class, what happens when they show up to yours? Without the proper knowledge, it can be frightening to glance up at the group when your class is starting to see a woman with a baby on board. Too often, pregnant women are actually ignored in classes, or just told to “skip this one” because the teacher doesn’t know what to do.
A woman experiences two or more (depending on pregnancies) significant hormonal shifts in her life, which can dramatically impact what’s going on for her physically and emotionally when she comes to the mat everyday. If you are teacher, ask yourself… before you adjust someone in an asana, do you take into consideration what tendencies they are predisposed to because of their gender?
