Ashram Yoga
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Yoginis at Opoutere Beach
The Level 2 and 3 one-month intensive yoga teacher training course (pictured) has just finished at the Ohui Retreat Centre. It was intense and challenging for many of us, but well worth the effort.
We are thankful for all who took part – the students who came from all over the world and the teachers: Shantimurti, Atma, Devananda and everyone who contributed to making this event so successful.
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Christmas Holidays
Christmas season is here and 2011 is coming to a close. We hope you have enjoyed this year and reaped the benefits of your yoga practice.
Ashram Yoga’s last class for the year will be at 8am Saturday 24 December. We will re-open on Monday 9 January 2012 and run a reduced schedule until February. Please check the timetable online for details.
And just because Ashram Yoga is closing for the holidays doesn’t mean that your yoga practice has to stop. A little bit of yoga everyday is the golden key. Salute to the Sun, pranayama breathing or Yoga Nidra guided relaxations can keep your energy balanced over the break.
Please note: there will be no class at 6pm on Friday 16 or 23 December.
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Parking
Please note that a new railway platform will be constructed at Mainline Steam from 17 December. Parking will not be available there until the New Year..
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Yoga Teacher Training 2012
In 2012 we have lots of options for you to become a qualified yoga teacher. Learning to teach yoga is an exciting journey in itself. It will open you to a deeper and more fulfilling way to experience life. Yoga is so much more than postures, or even beliefs. It is about discovering and living from your joyful, essential nature.
Yoga teacher training helps you in two ways. Firstly, it gives you deeper understanding of the practices and how and why they work. Secondly, by teaching yoga you gain a different perspective. Sometimes it is hard to see changes in yourself, but when you teach others the results are plain to see.
February………………Level 1 Intensive. This course is booked out.
May……………………..Level 1 Intensive. Spaces still available.
March………………….Level 1 part-time in Parnell.
April…………………….Level 2 part-time in Parnell.
November……………Level 2 & 3 Intensive
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Pixie Garvey: The Unforeseen Teacher
How did you get into yoga?
I started doing yoga 27 years ago in Wellington because I was sick. I had something like arthritis in various joints in my body but the doctors never managed to put an exact medical tag on it.
So I rang a local yoga teacher called Gwendoline Hunt and said, “Look, I don’t know if I’m able to do anything in your class but I need to do something.” And so she said, “Yes, come along. I can help you.” And she did and it was great. Read more
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Upcoming at the Ohui Retreat Centre
Revival Weekend
Relax and recharge at Ashram Yoga’s Ohui Retreat Centre on 10-11 December. Spend one or two nights by the beach. Enjoy some yoga and the natural environment. Read more
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Casual Stays
Visit us this summer at the Ohui Retreat Centre. Bring your togs, your kids and your yoga mat. Whether you want to stay in a tent, caravan or inside, we are happy to accommodate you and show you some Coromandel hospitality. Read more
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Prana Festival
Our neighbours in Ohui are hosting their annual New Year Festival. It is a lot of fun with workshops on arts & crafts, dance, meditation, yoga, healing and heaps of live music. The crowd is friendly, earthy and well-behaved (no alcohol allowed at Prana). Read more
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Kriya Yoga
Kriya Yoga is a set of techniques for liberating energy in your mind and body. These techniques awaken Kriya Shakti – literally the power of action giving you the energy to transformation yourself and move beyond the limitations of mundane existence. Become attuned with the divine energy of life with these powerful practices. Read more
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Introduction to Yogic Sexuality
The format and content will be similar, though this course will be open to singles as well. Singles will be assigned a partner.
We interviewed three course participants about their experience. Read more
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Yoga Nidra Online
Yoga Nidra is an ancient method of guided relaxation that is very simple to practice but gives profound results. Practitioners often report benefits right from their first session.
Keep an eye on the Yoga Nidra Shop as more will be added over time.
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Book Review
Read more about the book and where to buy it.
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Ashram Yoga eBook
Download Ashram Yoga’s free ebook. Simply subscribe to our newsletter. This ebook introduces the very simple Pawanmuktasana Part 1 series. These practices include ankle, wrist and hip rotations which are essential for both beginner and advanced yogis. These exercises are so simple that they are easy to overlook, yet their effect is profound.
Shantimurti has many remarkable stories of people who have healed themselves from serious afflictions with these basic exercises. A more comprehensive ebook with additional exercises will be for sale shortly.
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Swami’s Corner: The Yoga of Emotion
Written by Pundit Vamadeva Shastri (Dr. David Frawley).
Like a great artist or performer one must come to understand and be able to express all these rasas in their full scope. Then emotion becomes a tool of divine feeling and eternal joy which raises us up, not a poison that brings us down.
These emotions belong to the Divine artist. When we expropriate them at an ego level, they become poisons. We must not be incapable even of negative emotions like anger or fear, but we must touch the energy behind them, not contract in the circumstances which create them.
In Tantra, emotion is the main area in which our life energy, our prana or Shakti is held. Suppressing emotion is like suppressing life. It causes death. But expressing raw emotion at an ego level is also destructive and disintegrating. The key is to go to the rasa of the emotion in the dance of Shiva, in which the Shakti will naturally be released.
Read the whole article here.
Voices of the Divine Feminine
The course will delve deeply into the mystery of the Divine Feminine. This 5-day retreat will nourish, heal and rejuvenate your body, mind and soul. You will learn to embody the beauty and grace of natural feminine power. Read more
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Video: The Coolest Song
See it here.
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Recipe: Coconut Mung Bean Soup
From Fran’s House of Ayurveda
Although this soup takes an hour to prepare, it has a soothing quality that is so easy on the digestion, with wonderfully refreshing flavours from the coconut milk, fresh herbs and tangy yogurt.
1 cup mung beans (whole or split)
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
6 cups water
2 tbsp ghee or sunflower oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1-inch piece ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup light coconut milk
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, mint, basil or cilantro
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
See the full recipe.
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Quote
“The silence of meditation is not the silence of a graveyard; it is the silence of a garden growing.”
From The Alchemy of Awareness by Lorraine Sinkler
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