News & Updates
Holiday Wishes….
The YTF wishes all of those members who celebrate a very happy and healthy Easter and Passover. May life's healing and richest blessings realise us all!
The Art of Yoga Transitions…..
The importance of transitions is often underrated both in a yoga class and in life. But in yoga, transitions serve an important purpose. Their job is to get a yoga practitioner from one pose to another. The goal is to transition safely...
Embracing Change – An Ayurvedic Approach To Autumn…
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”, says the renowned Chinese Philosopher, Lao Tzu....
Inner Reset…..
Let’s just take a moment, and slow down, inside ourselves. - slow down - You can always take a moment. But you have to take it. No one will give it to you. It’s not theirs to give, but it is yours to take. Such an incredibly valuable,...
Abhyasa and Vairagya – Foundations of Yoga…….
A complete study of yoga requires us to study and apply the concepts of Abhyasa and Vairagya. They are the two main principles upon which yoga is based. Abhyasa is defined as practice and repetition of practice. “It is the art of learning...
Stepping Stones of a Yoga Pratice….
Have you ever taken a yoga class that was far beyond your level or capacity? There were no options given other than to keep ‘pushing through’? Chances are you felt very little steadiness or much feeling of accomplishment – and maybe even...
Should You Complete A Yoga Teacher Training Course?
Considering becoming a certified yoga teacher? Ask yourself these six questions before signing up: 1. Are you a good fit? In my opinion, yoga teacher training only benefits people who want to teach. It’s a good idea to have at least three...
The Essence of Yoga: Why Asana Is Only a Small Part of the Equation
As a yoga practitioner, you are part of an ancient tradition that dates back at least 5,000 years and has produced great spiritual and philosophical geniuses who have provided answers to some of life’s biggest questions. Questions such...
6 Reasons to Practice Yoga at a Studio (Instead of With a Laptop)…..
With the proliferation of online yoga tutorials and even YouTube, more and more yogis are practicing at home in front of their laptops. But as a yoga teacher who even has a few online videos of his own, I still find incredible value in...
When The Student Is Ready The Guru Appears…..
“A wise teacher guides and sustains our momentum and discipline but can’t do it for us; ultimately we empower and uplift ourselves.” There are many reasons why a first experience of yoga can be off-putting. Or, later down the line, we...
Change And What We Can Learn From Yoga….
Change is profoundly challenging. How many times in your life have you seen change rolling toward you, and deemed it unacceptable, not your plan? Found yourself working wildly to prevent or ignore it? Of course, it happened anyway. And...
Why Practice Yoga…….
“Yoga is not about self-improvement or making ourselves better. It is a process of deconstructing all the barriers we may have erected that prevent us from having an authentic connection with ourselves and with the world.” – Donna Farhi...
What is Yoga?…………….
Yoga is a way to restore our lost wholeness, our integrity as complete human beings, by unifying the personality around a centre that is silent, unbounded, spacious, and joyful. The techniques of yoga are methods of purifying the nervous...
Breaking Patterns…….
We go into change rehearsing the history that brought us to this point ~ Parker Palmer "Often we rehearse the truth until we find the courage to live it. When feeling the press of the patterns that govern our lives, it can be a slow and...
Yoga: The Freedom to Be Whole…….
As humans we all experience various forms of suffering. While caught in the midst of our universal patterns of suffering we have a tendency to get stuck in states of mind that decrease our ability to process what is happening. If, however...
Evolve or Remain…….
“You are being presented with a choice: evolve or remain. If you choose to remain you will be presented with the same challenges, the same routine, the same storms, the same situations, until you learn from them, until you love yourself...
Note To Self…….
Welcome to a New Year! Below are some gentle reminders of the teachings for your successful, healthy and fulfilling Yogic New Year as per Swami Sitaramananda. Happiness is within, calm the mind with Yoga practice to find happiness. Peace...
To A New Year…..
2025 starts on a Wednesday. Named after Mercury, Odin, and Athena. Wednesdays afford opportunities to seek wisdom, change circumstances, and improve skills. it is also the day to embrace music, art, poetry, and home in on communication...
Festive Wishes……….Stillness
In music, it is the quiet moments, the pauses that give structure and beauty to the sound. I like to structure my day around silent meditation breaks and in those breaks I remember to be as TS Eliot suggests, " at the still point of the...
Beat the Heat – Sitali Breath
It’s hot out there! Practice Sitali breath to cool you down. Deep in the Himalayas, ancient sages observed and imitated the world around them in the noble attempt to master body, breath, and mind. They noticed the curve of a bird’s lower...
A Sensory Moon Meditation for Emotional Healing…..
“If you’re the moon, it’s not the sun that affirms your light: it’s the darkness that makes you shine.” 1. You can sit, stand, or lie down on the earth for this meditation. Begin by relaxing your body and taking a few deep breaths. 2....
By The Light Of The Moon – Chandra Namaskar / Moon Salutations……..
Most yoga students are familiar with the Sun Salutation, but what about its lesser-known counterpart, the Moon Salutation? Known as Chandra Namaskar in Sanskrit, the Moon Salutation has a cooling, relaxing effect on the body and mind....
Align with Your Sign: Combining Yoga and Astrology for Deeper Wellness………
The connection between our bodies and the universe around us has long been acknowledged in ancient wisdom traditions. Both yoga and astrology are tools that help us tune into the cycles of life, explore the depths of our inner selves, and...
Amazing Space……..
Moving from the stability of earth, through the flow of water, the passion of fire, and lightness of air, we reach the element that makes everything else possible: ether or ‘space’. Ether is both nothing and everything at the same time....
Hanumanasana (Monkey Pose)
"It was the greatest leap ever taken. The speed of Hanuman's jump pulled blossoms and flowers into the air after him and they fell like little stars on the waving treetops. The animals on the beach had never seen such a thing; they...
Ustrasana: Camel Pose
THE CAMEL “Caught up in the energy of breath, I release the spring of my being Thighs and spine recline Within this posture, bending me Curved branch of life’s tree Whose blossoms lend fingers to God Who fashioned me” Camel Pose (...
Simon Park:Liquid Flow
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2QKIFZeF8[/youtube]
More Flexibility & strength
[youtube width="400" height="300"]http://youtu.be/IOvmor-h2FE[/youtube] Ok, love the chanting!
Prepping for Eka Pada Galavasana Flying Crow
I love this presentation! Prepping for Eka Pada Galavasana Flying Crow.
A Dance of Opposites
"Yoga is a dance of opposites. suppleness and strength relaxation and vigour, lifting and grounding, darkness and light, humour and seriousness, freedom and discipline" By Stephanie Pappas (Devalila Yoga Teacher)
Inspired exercise
7 good pointers for integrating sadhana into lifestyle.Sustaining self practice or even becoming and staying fit may be a challenge. 1. Be Consistent: dedicate a set time and space for a routine that suits your day. 2. Be inspired,...
10 Tips When Practicing Arm Balances
Arm balances such as crow, side crow, peacock, flying pigeon, and eight angle (just to name a few), are a group of yoga poses that can be challenging, but they can also be fun! Floating or flying up into an arm balance doesn't happen...
Dragon Dance: Golden Seed
Bernie Clark has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1998. He has a bachelor degree in Science from the University of Waterloo Vancouver, CA, and combines his intense interest in yoga with an understanding of the scientific approach....
Hanumanasana
To paraphrase the poet William Blake, you can see the world in a grain of sand. Similarly, you can learn a great deal about all asanas by carefully studying one. We focus on Hanumasana to illustrate pose analysis, agonist/antagonist...
Antidote to anxiety
The practice of yoga offers solutions to all types of stress, including social anxiety.Whilst any yoga program can help ease social anxiety, these three poses are especially helpful. Crocodile Pose: This is a deceptively simple posture...
Inversions
Go upside down to find the inside out! The best kept anti-ageing secret known to man, inverted poses are not only gravity defying, they help oxygenate the blood in the brain and clear space for new ideas in the mind, helping you see life...
Improve your vision
Our eyes need regular exercise in order to keep them healthy, just like any other muscle in the body. We take it for granted that our eyes will deteriorate and that we will eventually need glasses or contact lenses. This doesn’t have to...
Your Own Path…..
"No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life. There may be countless trails and bridges and demigods who would gladly carry you across; but only at the price of pawning and forgoing yourself....
The Gift…..
"The greatest gift we have to offer is our presence: unconditional, loving and affirming what is. In service, we come face-to-face with the Spirit of life and know its astounding capacity to triumph, as well as its delicateness in the...
We are Travellers….
“We are travellers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment....
The Hermitage….
"You should go home to your hermitage; it is inside you. Close the doors, light the fire, and make it cozy again. That is what I call 'taking refuge in the island of self.' If you don't go home to yourself, you continue to lose yourself....
Gratitude…
“Gratitude is a divine attitude in the wisdom traditions. It takes you out from the ego self and takes you into the higher self. That higher state of consciousness initiates self repair, self regulation and healing.” — Deepak Chopra
Patience…..
"I want to beg of you much as I can to be patient toward all that's unsolved in your heart, and learn to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, or like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not seek the answers,...
Self- Possession…..
"It struck me as odd that it had taken me so long to reach a feeling of sureness that there was something in me that would get on with the job of living without my continual tampering. I suppose I did not really reach it until I had...
Right Thinking…..
“ You may believe that you are responsible for what you do, but not for what you think. The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what...
Ubuntu……
"In this interconnected universe, every improvement we make in our private world improves the world at large for everyone. We all float on the collective level of consciousness of mankind so that any increment we add comes back to us. We...
The Four Reliances……….
"First, rely on the spirit and meaning of the teachings, not on the words; Second, rely on the teachings, not on the personality of the teacher; Third, rely on real wisdom, not superficial interpretation; And fourth, rely on the essence...
Setting up your day…..
"By refreshing yourself through silence and nature, you constantly revitalise the inner you. Dawn is your strongest hour. If you can rise in time to meet the day, that effort becomes a discipline that you use for establishing control. Use...
The Dance…..
" The dancer and the dance cannot be separated.So also the creator and his creation." - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
“Madiba”by Wouter Kellerman and Ricky Kej…
For something entirely different and seeing as Freedom Day is just around the corner thought this piece of music entitled Madiba was apt. Taken off the proudly South African, Wouter Kellerman's grammy award winning album, Winds of...
This moment….
"No one else can make us 'high' or 'low'. We are our own masters, the creators or destroyers of our own happiness. Therefore, let us acquire mastery of ourselves. Let us acquire mastery of the present moment to acquire mastery of the...
Seek out the Small Joys in Life…
"There are many other small joys, perhaps the especially delightful one of smelling a flower or a piece of fruit, of listening to one’s own or others’ voices, of hearkening to the prattle of children. And a tune being hummed or whistled...
Love…..
"Love has no desire but to fulfill itself, To melt and be like a running brook That sings its melody to the night. To wake at dawn with a winged heart And to give thanks for another day of loving " - Kahil Gibran
Point to the Truth….
" A teacher is never a giver of truth: He is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself" - Bruce Lee
Becoming Whole….
"People often view the spiritual path as a search for the light. In truth, spirituality asks us to bring light and darkness together in wholeness. And in fact, this is the only possible solution. In our world of duality, any effort to...
Stillness…
"It is all too easy to feel caught up by the everyday, linear, personal perception of the world and personality. Stillness beckons with a Call so deep and intimate and immediate: 'Stay with Me.' Familiarity, complacency are subtle traps...
Effortless….
"When effort is needed, effort will appear. When effortlessness becomes essential, it will assert itself. You need not push life about. Just flow with it and give yourself completely to the task of the present moment..." ~ Nisargadatta...
Detachment…
"Your heart must be a sea of love.Your mind must become a river of detachment" - Sri Chinmoy N
Kindness…
"Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate...
Adaption to change….
"A rigid or narrow minded person has difficulty in getting on with other people and with their own life. On the other hand, a broad-minded, flexible person will fit in anywhere. Being flexible, we will be willing to adapt, to fit together...
The Great Bell Chant (The End Of Suffering)
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/6518109[/vimeo]
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The Roots of Suffering: Sprouted from the Mind, Healed by the Heart
Our thoughts have power and our minds are like windows through which we see and interpret the world. Cleaning these windows until they are clear is what we aim to do in Yoga. We do this so that we can see things as they really are and...
Listening To The Voice Of Your Heart….
“Cultivate the art of listening to your intuition, your inner voice. This is the guidance of your heart. It’s a voice that speaks differently from the one in your head. The heart whispers softly; the head rambles loudly. The head has an...
6 Reasons To Practice Yoga At A Studio (Instead Of With A Laptop)…..
With the proliferation of online yoga tutorials and even YouTube, more and more yogis are practicing at home in front of their laptops. But as a yoga teacher who even has a few online videos of his own, I still find incredible value in...
Finding A Suitable Yoga Teacher Who Is Right For You……
“A wise teacher guides and sustains our momentum and discipline but can’t do it for us; ultimately we empower and uplift ourselves.” There are many reasons why a first experience of yoga can be off-putting. Or, later down the line, we...
Welcome To A New Year…….
Welcome to a New Year! Below are some gentle reminders of the teachings for your successful, healthy and fulfilling Yogic New Year as per Swami Sitaramananda. Happiness is within, calm the mind with Yoga practice to find happiness. Peace...
Festive Wishes….
“May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be happy.May all beings be safe.May all beings awaken to their true nature.May all beings be free.”- Metta Prayer Wishing you peace and love in abundance over the festive season going forward...
Sitting In Stillness……
“When we are constantly doing something, we are simultaneously constantly stimulating our nervous systems to the point of exhaustion – and an overexerted, depleted nervous system can most certainly give birth to an array of health...
Rest and Renew…….
Resting is an art. We continually try to relax but don’t really know how to do it. Often, we feel that we should do more important things first, so that we can enjoy a well-deserved rest later. But somehow the time for rest never comes. ...
Children Of Unity Foundation……
Children are bearing the effects of stress more than ever before in any time of history. Anxiety, depression, panic attacks and fear have crept into the minds of our children. The time is now to address this. The world has evolved on many...
Children……
Sound Therapy As A Healing Modality…..
From a very young age, music played a vital role in my life. As my life continued, so did my music journey. I received classical training in the piano from the age of 6 and later the flute when I was about 12. It became my life, and I...
Unlocking the Power of Yoga to Calm the Mind……..
Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you struggling to find a moment’s peace and relaxation from the stress of everyday life? Knowing that you aren’t alone probably isn’t enough to make you feel better. But rest assured that because this is...
Unfold Your Body Naturally With The Bowspring Method……
The Bowspring method is an enervating postural template that can be applied to any yoga pose, athletic movement or functional posture for optimal performance. It is a relatively new (ten years now) and revolutionary way of consciously...
Your Spine and Yoga…..
We usually don’t talk about the spine much in our yoga classes – you are much more likely to hear something about your hips, hamstrings or arms. Yet the spine is the structural and energetic centre of the body. From the structural...
The Unfolding of Life…..
"Wrapped within young leaves: the sound of water." ~ Soseki Wrapped within young leaves is the sound of water that will nourish them once they have opened. It’s already there prompting them to unfold and grow. To believe that this is...
Follow Your Heart: Anahata Chakra…….
Our body is a complex structure with layers of physical, astral, and spiritual bodies. The astral or energy body is a complex system governed by energy centres known as chakras. Anahata Chakra, also called Heart Chakra, is the fourth...
Women’s Day……
Today I'm flying low and I'm not saying a word. I'm letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep. The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth. But I'm taking...
Take A Breath of Fresh Air……..
With its qualities of lightness, clarity and movement, the air element has been connected to gods, goddesses and deities for thousands of years. In ancient Greece, the four wind gods governed north, south, east and westerly directions,...
Wintering…….
"[Since childhood] we are taught to ignore sadness, to stuff it down into our satchels and pretend it isn’t there. As adults, we often have to learn to hear the clarity of its call. That is wintering. It is the active acceptance of...
Relax and Renew with Restorative Yoga…….
The practice of Restorative Yoga can be defined as a yoga practice in which we support the body to such an extent that we feel safe enough to completely relax the body and mind. The postures are restful and are held for a long time in...
Rest and Renew…..
"Winter is a season of recovery and preparation."– Paul Theroux Resting is an art. We continually try to relax but don’t really know how to do it. Often we feel that we should do more important things first, so that we can enjoy a well...
Sivananda World Peace Foundation and The Yoga Teachers Fellowship of Southern Africa Celebrate The International Day Of Yoga…..
In Praise Of Tumeric ….
While turmeric is mostly praised for its anti-cancer properties, yogis have their own reasons for loving this special root. Here are five reasons why you'll love this special spice, too! Detoxifies One of turmeric’s most amazing actions...
We Practice In The Light That Which We Wish To Remember In The Dark……
Very few humans, if any, escape suffering in their lives. And whilst this is not something to dwell on, it is comforting to know there are ways to help us when darkness descends, in whatever form that may be – physical, mental, emotional...