Following the recent Body-Mind Centering Workshop with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, I am keen to share my experience and hopefully a lesson about Ahimsa - to do no harm to your body when practicing yoga.  

Ahimsa "non-violence is on the top of the list of yamas, or ethical guidelines, that form the foundations of Patanjali's eight limbed system of yoga described in the classic, yoga sutras.

“Non-violence" (ahimsa) is not a garment to put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Almost all the healthcare professionals attending the Body-Mind Centering Workshop were practicing yoga or yoga teachers themselves. Through gentle breathing and yoga (asana) practice, healthcare professionals are discovering the benefits for healing their patients.

Ms Cohen explained that healing is an experiential process which can be supported through touch, breath and movement. She facilitated the experiential tuning into your body's inner cellular movement such as blood flow or lymph movement and aligning this with the external expression of movement through space. The expressive movements Bonnie talked about were often similar to yoga flow movements.

I believe that meditation at the beginning of each yoga class is so important to give you the time and space to tune in and acknowledge how you are feeling in your body, mind and spirit, before you start your asana (yoga poses). Your yoga practice becomes nurturing and healing once the meditation is there to guide you.  

On Sunday, I went to an early morning advanced yoga class which I often attend. I arrived a bit late and missed the meditation practice before class. Throughout the class, I was neither tuned into my intention nor aware of how I was feeling in my body and mind, having missed the meditation.

On that day, yoga poses that I have done hundreds of times before seemed so much more challenging! 

Meditation followed by warm up stretches are an essential component at the beginning of my classes at Wylies Baths. Mindful meditation and Savasana at the end of our yoga practice also have an enormous role in the healing process - that's a story for another blog..

The gentle yoga and meditation is key to nurturing & healing your body and doing no harm. The importance of meditation before you practice the asana (poses) is vital - so be on time, if not early so as not to miss it out one of the most important part of the practice - meditation.

Try this Mindful Breathing Exercise To Get You Started Here or download the Smiling Minds app. for mindful meditation for kids or adults. 

Looking forward to seeing you on the mat at Wylie's Baths at our Beginners Yoga Class Tuesday 930am or our Foundation Class Friday 9am - both ideal for beginners and gentle yoga.

Join us at our upcoming yoga retreats 7-9 April at Swami's Yoga Retreat and in India for a 10 day yoga journey in October 2017.   India Yoga & Wellness Tour is here.  INDIA INFO NIGHT IS THIS THURSDAY.​

On International Women’s Day (IWD) 8 March 2017, women all around the world united are dedicating themselves to driving greater change for women and moving closer to gender parity. 

Early this morning, I joined hundreds of women as they gathered from all parts of Sydney to be empowered & inspired by women at the largest Women's Yoga & Meditation Class at Sydney's KGV's Recreation Centre. 

President of the International Yoga Teachers Association Marie-Louise Parkinson who led the sunrise meditation devoted to World Peace said, "Peace starts in the kitchen sink and it spreads to your family, friends, your workplace and to all those around you. Once you're peaceful inside than it will naturally permeate out to others.

"There's no use marching on the streets and raising the banner, when you're angry at home," she said.

"The meaning of yoga is to unite and so through our yoga & meditation practice today women in Sydney and worldwide were able to connect physically, emotionally & spiritually to acknowledge the power women have to bring peace to the planet".

​Following this empowerment, recent surveys reveal that women believe that it is more challenging for them to climb the career ladder compared to married men.

Employers can perceive mothers as not fully committed to their job due to other family commitments and women can simply miss out on the opportunity to climb up the career ladder.

Almost 5 years ago, IWD changed my life when I was introduced to a small but powerful advocacy group, Chief Executive Women (CEW) that support Women leaders enabling women leaders. CEW was keen to make a difference, to empower women to connect, to help women climb the ladder in their field.  I had felt the impact of being a working mother and was not recognised as being committed enough to my job.

Only a small number of women knew about International Women's Day back then and its wonderful to see it flourish worldwide impacting women and men of all ages. Both executive women and men addressing issues such as unconscious bias in the workplace - whether its gender equity in pay, board positions or in senior/executive management.
 
Personally I have felt the impact of unconscious bias in the workplace and have chosen to grow my own small businesses, yogarama – taking yoga and mindfulness to the people of all ages 8-80 years, starting with my committed yoga students at Wylies Baths in Coogee. Yogarama students experience most beautiful outdoor yoga studio in Sydney.

Wishing women all around the world a Happy International Women’s Day.  

2017 is the Chinese Year of the Fire Rooster.
“The rooster shines like a bright star in the dark sky, bringing hope and transformation to those who know how to act harmoniously around prevailing circumstances”

For those of us celebrating Chinese New Year today, you will know that 2017 is a year of immense change. What does this mean for our yoga practice ?

January 28, 2017 to February 15, 2018 is marked in the lunar calendar as the Year of the Fire Rooster, a period when the fiery temperament of the Rooster is expected to infuse enthusiasm and energy into our activities increasing hopes for better prospects for everyone.

In our yoga practice, we will be doing asana to brace ourselves for this period of change and transformation.

Yoga for Change and Transformation
Asana to open you up for change are inversions of any kind where the heart is lower than the head. Asana like downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), forward fold (uttanasana) are good ways of achieving this. Full inversions like supported head stand (salamba sirsasana) or supporte shoulder stand (salamba sarvangasana) where your body is turned upside down so that your heart and feet are above your head are wonderful for opening your mind to change and transformation in your life.
 
Importantly, whilst you are transitioning through the sea of life ebbs and flows, during these ups and downs, you must stay present and grounded. In our class, we will be practicing asana such as the warrior 1 & 2 (Virabhadrasana 1 & 11) poses that are grounding as well as child’s pose to the earth.

Look forward to exploring this in class. See you on the mat in our outdoor studio at Wylie’s Baths.

Wishing every one a Happy Chinese New Year filled with positive change.

With love and gratitude
​
Daniella

As I reflect back on the year, I am filled with gratitude to have spent time with so many inspiring yogis. Each of these gurus have influenced my personal yoga practice and teachings in so many ways.

Jasmine Tarkeshi, the beautiful yogi dancer from Laughing Lotus in San Francisco returned to Sydney after the wonderful response to her Chakra teacher training workshop in Sydney in 2015. This year, Jasmine was here to teach us about her Ayurveda approach to yoga in a 50-hour yoga retreat.  

Ayurveda is the holistic science of health, focusing on maintaining a physically and emotionally balanced state. It began over 5000 years ago by monks in India who were looking for new ways to be healthy. Over thousands of years of observations, they gathered all their conclusions and advice and preserved it for future generations. This collection of knowledge came to be known as the "science or knowledge of life" -- Ayurveda.

In the five day teacher training course, I gained an appreciation of Ayurveda and the principles of three doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Importantly, I now understand how yoga practice is influenced by the seasons and have incorporating these into my yoga class sequence plan. You can read more about Ayurveda all in an article here http://www.mindbodygreen.com/wc/nadya-andreeva

Donna Fahri, an enlightened yoga guru based in New Zealand was in Sydney to explore the best yoga practice for a healthy spine at a four and half day workshop in Sydney for yoga teachers and students. One of the highlights was learning the importance of our psoas muscles that lie deep in your core to maintain stability and strength of your spine. The pair of psoas muscle are the only ones that wrap around and connect to the front and to the back of the body. The psoas is critical in almost all yoga poses (asana).  Many yoga poses focus on releasing the tension in the psoas muscle as the tight psoas can cause lower back pain. You can read more about psoas here. https://yogainternational.com/article/view/a-sequence-for-your-psoas.

With 35 years of yoga experience, Donna has written many books including, The Breathing Book, Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit: Bringing Yoga to Life and more. She is a brilliant teacher who knows so much more than she was able to share with us during her four-day intensive. Keen to do another Donna intensive.

Good things come in threes. Jacinta MacDonell, co-founder of the huge franchise Anytime Fitness studios in Sydney (photo of Jacinta & I)  is the third yogi that has truly inspired me this year. Not because she is a yoga teacher, rather because yoga has been transformative in her life. As a female entrepreneur (there are fewlike her in Australia) she has now followed her passion and set up Urban Yoga studio in Sydney’s CBD offering a unique immersion experience. After listening to Jacinta share her personal story and life long commitment to help others in the third world through the Human Kind Project, I was determined to meet her in person. We have met and are now connected with an intention to catch up again soon, I hope.

2016 has been an intense and exciting year that has inspired my yoga practice and teaching in so many ways. Look forward to sharing all this inspiration and learnings with you on and off the mat in 2017.  

WYLIES BATHS YOGA SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY - 21 June 2016

To show our support for INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY, Tuesday 21 June, Wylie's Baths Yoga and Pilates will be offering free Sunrise and Sunset Classes to align with the world-wide activities to promote the physical and mental health benefits of yoga to prevent and manage disease.

FREE Yoga Classes:
Tuesday 21 June- International Yoga Day

• 630am - 730am: Sunrise Yoga and Mindful Meditation. Teacher. Daniella Goldberg
• 500pm- 600pm Sunset Yoga, Relaxation and Meditation. Annette Field

With much gratitude to Jasmine and the group of 40 + enthusiastic yoga teachers at our 50 hours workshop, I am now inspired to create a new series of yoga classes that are focused on each one of the five chakras. Jasmine, a former dancer and long standing yoga teacher has a wide range of flowing sequences and beautiful music that she has shared with us to help awaken, balance as well as heal each of your chakras.
It is wonderful to be able to incorporate Jasmine's new yoga poses, sequences and music into my classes. Look forward to sharing all of Jasmine's wonderful yoga experiences and knowledge with my yoga students.

2015 has kicked off to be a promising year for alternative therapies. This week, I read about a new study showing the benefits of yoga on heart health published in a respected medical journal. 

Ironically, the same day the ABCTV's 730 Report had a investigational story looking at whether alternative therapies like yoga should continue to reimbursed by Government. The question about reimbursement arose on the back of a Report soon to be released in Australia looking at the scientific evidence base for the benefits of Alternative Therapies and Complementary Medicines. You can watch the program here.

As a yoga teacher & qualified medical scientists, my thoughts are that alternative therapies like yoga will continue to show their benefits in improving and maintaining our health and wellbeing. As a scientist, I appreciate that it will take a different type of clinical study design to show the evidence base for yoga.. however I do believe that yoga will prevail and science will help lead the way!