Always cheerful and full of positive vibes, Ally believes a smile is a gift we can give for free, and almost always we get a 100% return! If we practice something as simple as this in our yoga classes, we will find it easier to do this in our daily life. And that's just one way we cane make an awesome yoga friend.
In this article Upper Hutt's resident yogini Mikayla Mary talks yoga and psychology. Mikayla embarked on her yoga journey and teacher training as a teenager. Alongside learning and teaching the practice of yoga, Mikayla has studied a Diploma in Health Psychology and is currently studying a Bachelor of Counselling and Addictions practice. Mikayla's desire is to share the practices of yoga, somatics, psychology and counselling that she herself has found useful in enhancing her wellbeing, so we can all live our lives to the fullest potential.
Yoga blocks allow you to open your body - to create space. They are for everybody at every stage of yoga - they can assist those who can’t reach their toes and, on the flipside, they can deepen the asana for those at an advanced level. We highly recommend adding one to your yoga kit today.
In New Zealand alone we discard 15.5 million tonnes of waste each year. That is 3,200kg for every Kiwi! Right now we only recycle 28% of this waste. The waste we send to the landfill is growing and becoming increasingly diverse and toxic. We therefore encourage reusing your old yoga mat and avoiding contributing to the landfill.
It's a scary thought - could your daily practice actually be detrimental to your health and wellbeing? Most yoga mats are made from hazardous materials and can easily become a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. While some of the newer mats come with anti-bacterial coatings, cork is naturally antimicrobial and odour resistant which makes it an excellent material for a yoga mat.
