Articles

We just experienced The Great Conjunction constellation and Winter Solstice - which represent a reset, a transition to a new era, and a time to shift our way of viewing the world.  The new year of 2021 - is a renewed opportunity to align ourselves with...

On June 01, I am turning 60.  Most of us don't like to talk about ageing. I found it very interesting as we are all ageing.  We cannot avoid it, and why not ageing with Grace? Why not make it the best time of our lives?  Ageism is everywhere...

Within the midst of the slowdown, I find myself having time and space daily to listen, observe, reflect, try to learn and understand what we as a global community are currently experiencing. One of the things that I have observed during our Covid-19 “retreat” was an...

We are being asked as a collective community to pause. Time has altered, routines have changed. Our constant need to be somewhere out there is now limited to the boundaries of our house. In this time where we mostly withdraw from the external ventures, we are...

WHAT IS THE CORONAVIRUS REALLY TEACHING US? Many of you may be feeling overwhelmed due to the rapid unfolding of the past few weeks. We've gone from perceived-to-be social freedom to restriction and lockdown and the ripple effect continues to expand across all areas of life. Retreat...

Music can elevate our vibration very quickly and transport us beyond time and space. At our new sister-school Nalanda in Ubud, Bali, we want to bring more and more spiritual events and spiritual music. Some of the best teachers are coming to us this year. One of...

Adam S.Callejon is a musician, yogi and poet,  who studied Classical Singing of North India (Dhrupad style) with Yvan Trunzler (Dagar Vani) and plays the Esraj (a string instrument close to the sitar and sarangi). His practice and learning of Indian music are currently guided...

Those of us who have the privilege to live on the famous island of Bali for an extended time understand that for the Balinese harmony reigns supreme. The three pillars of the Balinese philosophy called Tri Hita Karana influence the daily life of the Balinese...

 My students often confide in me how challenging it is for you to master your mind. One of the yogic practices recommended for controlling your mind is Japa Mala: mental repetition of a mantra while using a Mala. A great number of people nowadays wear mala around...

Tim Almond is a Yoga Pranala graduate from Perth, Australia, with an amazing life story. “ I am from Australia. I was in the military for 13 years with the Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Teams. I then left the military to start a personal training...

Audrey Forbes, a Yoga Pranala graduate from the United States, has shared her success story with us.  From being passionate about Yoga, she pursued her dream to become a Yoga teacher. Audrey, born and raised in New York, moved to the Seattle area right out of...

Yoga means many things to different people.  Especially for me, it represents the ongoing journey of discovery of the Self. I started my daily yoga practice many years ago.  I soon discovered the benefits of a daily practice, the harmony and balance of a yogic lifestyle. I...

Yoga offers many techniques to direct our focus to the vibration of peace that resides within each of us.  An excellent practice for this is Ajapa Japa, a sadhana that dates from the Upanishads but was brought to the modern world by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. ...

My first yoga classes fresh out of high school were in the Sivananda style. Sivananda Yoga is a classical and holistic approach to Hatha Yoga that has not been modified or watered down and is still taught the same way as Swami Sivananda taught in...

An interesting fact from ancient Hindu texts that you probably are not aware of is that Patanjali used to teach from behind a screen. We discover this in a story from the Puranas, which tells us that Patanjali would place a large screen between himself...

I have recently been practicing  an amazing and very effective technique of yoga for the brain. Practicing this technique increases oxygen and blood flow to the brain. This causes an increase in brain function.It is a very old technique that is still nowadays practiced in...

Hasta mudras mean hand gestures adopted during asana, pranayama and meditation that directs flow of energy into our body. According to the Tantras these mudra yoga techniques stimulate different areas of the brain. “(Sanskrit: , lit. "seal") is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and...

I come across articles from time-to-time on social media describing the reasons why people stop practicing yoga, or simply criticizing some different aspects of yoga. It seems to me that many yoga practitioners do not have the correct understanding of what yoga truly means. Yoga...

Your outer world of form and experience is a reflection of your inner world of thoughts and feelings. As above, so below. As within, so without. That is the Law. The greater your awareness of the Presence of God within you, the more that Presence fills...

I have been living in Asia for almost twenty years and every time I go back to the west, as a yoga therapist, I am concerned by the number of people who have health problems due to weight issues. I once read that in the...

Yoga therapy aims at cleansing and purifying the body and mind but more importantly at connecting us with our higher self. Yoga therapy teaches us to regard the experience of illness as a challenge not to be feared and as an important teacher for the...

by Linda Madani The body is our greatest teacher and sometimes pain is necessary to put us on the right track. We need to listen to our body by paying attention to the areas that are sore or stiff, without judgment. The practice below is designed to...

The city of Rishikesh has always sparked my imagination ever since I started practicing yoga. So finally, this year while in India I decided to make a detour and spend a couple of weeks in this holy city which is located on the banks of...

New students to yoga are often surprised or even alarmed when strong emotions arise either during, or after, a yoga class. However, as we become more experienced we start to understand that this is the gift that yoga offers us. Yoga is often presented as a...

Many people have a limited understanding of yoga, thinking that it is restricted to the asana practice of increasing flexibility, toning up muscles, relaxing the body, increasing strength, improving balance and finding stress relief. While yoga does all of the above that is a limited...

Chanting has been a part of my daily practice for several years now and I have received so many blessings from it. I truly feel that chanting the Vedas has allowed doors to be opened in the depths of my consciousness and has also been...

śraddhā-vīrya-smṛti samādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām  Practice must be pursued with trust, confidence, vigour, keen memory and power of absorption to break this spiritual complacency. Yoga Sutra I-20 The other day someone posted a ‘scientific’ article on Facebook stating that it’s a proven fact that yoga isn’t effective in the...

Michelangelo wrote at the mature age of 87:  I am still learning I am currently in India studying Vedic chants.  I love being a student and I thrive at learning new knowledge. I get excited and enjoy the novelty. Of course sometimes learning something new makes one...

[caption id="attachment_1313" align="alignleft" width="288"] Balinese ceremony of Potong Gigi "tooth filing" for self-awareness and mastering of the Shadripu (sadripu), the six enemies.[/caption]   We are spiritual beings having a human experience.  Unfortunately our mind pollutes our whole being.   In order to remain the spiritual being we truly...

Yoga Nidra is a practice that is widely taught in many yoga studios around the world these days. The yoga nidra that we know now was adapted and popularized in the 1960’s by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923-2009) from the Bihar School of Yoga.  It originates...

Many people live pretty stressful life-styles these days, never taking the time to stop.  Every one is running all the time.  Everyone is busy.  They take very little time to truly relax and just cannot stop being busy.  When they do stop, it is for...

  When we are children, it is necessary for us to have some kind of framework or discipline within our lives. This helps to make us feel safe and creates a strong foundation for the future. And as we grow into adults, we realize that we...

  We all know how certain sounds can be soothing, such as the voice of a mother comforting her baby, and how certain noises can be frightening and make us feel ill at ease, such as thunder and lightning. The sounds of Mantra Chanting are definitely...

Allow the asana to create bandhas in the four part breathing cycle, the intelligent cooperation of muscle groups in the polarity of above/ below, inhale/exhale, strength/receptivity” ~Teachings of Mark Whitwell   An important component of yoga, the bandhas are primarily meant to serve our yogic practice. They are often misunderstood. If...

For many of my students the best part of my yoga class is the practice of Yoga Nidra or psychic sleep. Yoga Nidra a very deep relaxation.  At the beginning of this practice, yogis and yoginis are given the opportunity to make a resolve.  A...

The discipline of yoga is very wide and has a large number of practices but they all have communality. In the end, they all lead back to the source, which is our ultimate teacher. The goal of yoga is union of the individual consciousness with...

Aum Bhur Bhuva Svaha, Tat Savitur Varenyam, Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi, Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat My assistant, Ngurah was recovering from brain surgery when he started chanting the Gayatri mantra 108 times every night in our studio, Intuitive Flow. I would hear him at night from my...

“As the moon derives its light from the sun, so other holy places shall derive their sanctity from Arunachala. This is the only place where I [Shiva] have taken this form for the benefit of those who wish to worship me and obtain illumination. Arunachala...

Greetings from India! This is the time of the year when I go to India and resource myself and take my exploration of yoga a little deeper.  There is a vast ocean of yogic knowledge that is inexhaustible and available to us and I love swimming...