In The Yoga Experience, our aim is to give you tools to help you make your own discoveries. Our writers are experienced yoga instructors who live in the real world and bring great compassion to their personal and professional practice. They’ve interviewed well regarded yoga teachers, delved into yogic texts and drawn on years of practice to bring you hands-on advice, helpful posture sequences and a deeper insight into this inspiring, connecting, wonderful thing we call yoga.
You don’t need to be a hermit on a hill or spiritually savvy or taut and toned to practise yoga. You just need to be the beautiful, enquiring, very human you. Enjoy the experience.
editor’s letter
Science shorts • Researchers investigate the ancient practices of yoga, meditation, pranayama and more.
What I’ve learnt • You benefit from your yoga teacher’s guidance in class but it can also be helpful to hear their personal yoga journeys. Here, five teachers share what they’ve learnt on the path.
The art of self-compassion • If you beat yourself up for not meeting your own expectations, you’re not alone — and you can ease the angst by treating yourself with kindness, love and empathy.
Create a sacred space • Wouldn’t it be great to recreate your yoga studio’s supportive vibe at home? Designing a spiritual space where you feel inspired, relaxed and whole is easier than you think and can be achieved even in the smallest area and busiest household.
Adventures in yoga • If you love the outdoors just as much as you love spending time on the mat, a holistic holiday that combines yoga and meditation with adventures in nature might just take your fancy.
Flow with the rhythm • Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science, teaches that we’re not separate to the universe, we’re part of it, and it exists within us too. Learn how to flow with the rhythms of nature for a life of harmony, positivity and ease.
In pursuit of purity • Clean living” may be trending but yogis were teaching of saucha — practices to purify heart, body and mind — thousands of years ago. What is saucha and how can you live it? Read on.
The power of mantra • Do you ever wonder why your yoga teachers use Sanskrit for yogic chants, meditations and more? The sounds of this ancient vibrational language speak to more than just your intellect — they’re said to connect you to the divine.
Yoga, sex & love • Brahmacharya is a core yogic teaching that can be interpreted as “celibacy” — but relax, you don’t need to give up sex to be spiritual. This concept’s simply about stoking your vital energy and channelling it wisely.
Go slow & surrender • Yin and restorative yoga are both slow, soothing styles with the power to relax body and mind, but they’re not one and the same. Find out how they differ and which is best for you.
Yoga for chakras • The chakra system is a delicate, interconnected arrangement of energy centres which need to be carefully balanced in order to work at their best, and yoga is an ideal way to achieve that.
Yoga for self-acceptance • Through moving your body and focusing on the breath, you can quiet your inner critic and find a space of peace and contentment within yourself.
Yoga for clear thinking • If you need a break from the constant chattering and worrying going on inside your head, there’s no better way to achieve it than with yoga.
Yoga for eating • The Ayurvedic approach to enjoying the food that nurtures us brings to eating the same mindfulness that’s central to yoga practice.
Yoga & Ayurveda for winter wellness • When winter’s chilly days bring coughs, colds and sore throats your way, turn to ancient Ayurvedic knowledge and yoga asanas to return your respiratory system to tip-top shape.
Yoga for spring cleansing • As spring ushers in warmth and...