ANCIENT WISDOM FOR OUR MODERN LIVES
Musings and words of wisdom from Rachel and friends
Bare minimum (digital) marketing
The most talented, experienced, highly qualified and dedicated yoga teacher is not the one whose classes are full, retreats are wait-listed, with students beating a path to their door. It’s the teacher who takes marketing seriously. My experience over the last 10...
The power of an understanding community
Chronic pain can be such an isolating experience that can cause suffering, also known as dukkha, and lead to closing the heart space. Daily ongoing pain takes energy or prana away from being able to socially connect with others as pain can activate the nervous system...
Why Yoga teachers are natural at marketing
Yoga teachers have a natural advantage in marketing themselves and their businesses. Regardless of whether you’re a studio owner or a jobbing teaching, travelling from gig to gig, regardless of whether you’re building an empire or want a ‘lifestyle business’ that’s...
Intentional Healing – how to create a Qi Change
The ancients believed that given the right environment the body and mind could heal itself of many common ailments. Rest, acupressure, gentle movement, herbs and foods were the mainstays of a return to health and creating a balance of Yin and Yang energies. In our...
Gayatri Mantra
oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥsvaḥ tatsaviturvareṇyaṃ bhargo devasyadhīmahi dhiyo yo naḥprachodayāt – Rigveda 3.62. An ancient prayer to the Earth, space and heavens from the Rigveda, a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. My mornings start with this mantra, traditionally...
Autumn – A time for letting go
Have you been feeling sluggish, tired, slower, or just weighed down by the hot/humid weather? These feelings are pretty common this time of year if you live in the southern hemisphere or most of the year if you live close to the equator. Appetite, digestion and mood...
Beyond Āsana – What makes your heart sing?
Most of us have experienced the heart opening effect of Yoga āsana, the powerful effect of postures that open the chest region. They are known for their uplifting effect of opening the major prānā area of the chest. Prānā Vayu is responsible for our emotions, our...
Yoga, Buddhism and Self-Compassion
Precept One of the Five Precepts of Buddhism is ‘to abstain from causing harm to living beings’, or as Patanjali names it, Ahimsa, or non-violence. Buddha’s core philosophy, the central tenet of Buddhism, says that life is Dukkha, or life is suffering, and that the...
ACUPUNCTURE – the theory behind this mysterious therapy
Yin and Yang (pron. ‘young’) was first conceived through patient observation of the forces of nature. The Taoists who developed the system of traditional Chinese medicine 3000 years ago, saw the universe as a unified field, constantly moving and changing...
Indian Food
Visiting India is an incredible experience on many levels – including the cuisine! One of the predominant traditional items you will find on menus throughout India, particularly in Southern parts, is the thali (pronounced ta-lee). As this dish can be vegetarian or...
