Activism, psychology, yoga
Nina Vukas
Yoga in a Divided World

Even though I stay well-informed about global events, including politics, and often discuss these topics in my personal life, I usually avoid bringing them into platforms I use for work, including social media, or blog posts, unless I feel it’s important. A conversation with a new friend, a fellow yogi and self-described “refugee from the US” reminded me that this is one of those times, and inspired me to share some thoughts. She expressed heartbreak over what she sees as the slow erosion of democracy and equality in her country and how many in the yoga community contributed to it. “That’s what hurts the most,” she said. I have to say I agree and am worried about the future.

Yoga in a Divided World
psychology
Nina Vukas
The importance of perspective-taking

While, for many, the holiday season is all about joy and happiness and (re)connecting, it brings anxiety and stress for some. This happens for many reasons, including spending time with friends and family we don't often see eye to eye. A spiritual teacher, Ram Dass, once said, 'If you think you're enlightened, go and spend the week with your family.' Still, the challenges are often opportunities to learn and change. Last year, I wrote about ‘navigating the holiday season using Buddhist principles’. This year, I will focus on a more contemporary type of wisdom offered by Social Psychology and the theory of perspective-taking.

The importance of perspective-taking
Yoga Therapy
Nina Vukas
What is Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and why is it ...

Trauma seems to be a buzzword in yoga and wellness circles lately, with various modalities, from movement and breathwork to chanting and various ceremonies, advertised as trauma healing. However, can trauma be something we can move, breathe, sing or dance out? Of course, it is not that simple. When it comes to something as complex as trauma, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. While a particular asana, breathing pattern, or any other practice or technique might be healing for one person, it can be triggering for another.

What is Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and why is it important?

yoga

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Yoga in a Divided World

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Yoga in a Divided World

Even though I stay well-informed about global events, including politics, and often discuss these topics in my personal life, I usually avoid bringing them into platforms I use for work, including social media, or blog posts, unless I feel it’s important. A conversation with a new friend, a fellow yogi and self-described “refugee from the US” reminded me that this is one of those times, and inspired me to share some thoughts. She expressed heartbreak over what she sees as the slow erosion of democracy and equality in her country and how many in the yoga community contributed to it. “That’s what hurts the most,” she said. I have to say I agree and am worried about the future.

Living from the Essential Self: The Path to True Liberation

Living from the Essential Self: The Path to True Liberation

We start to be conditioned from the moment we are born. Before we even draw our first breath, we are labelled without choice— our gender determined, our name given, and our religion and social status inherited from our family. As we grow, this conditioning continues through cultural norms, societal expectations, and the stories we are told about who we are and should be. But it doesn’t stop there. Our experiences, both joyful and painful, add new layers to this conditioning. For instance, traumas leave deep imprints on our psyche, shaping how we see ourselves and the world, often creating limiting beliefs or protective patterns that are difficult to unravel.

Tools for growth

Tools for growth

In the past month, I had one-on-one consultation sessions with my 300-hour YTTC graduates. Instead of having a long lecture about where to go from here for everyone, the idea was to discuss each unique situation. I believe it was helpful for them, but it also made me realise that most of us (yes, I include myself as this was me before) are reluctant to promote ourselves. 

The Future of Yoga

The Future of Yoga

In just over two decades, since I have been witnessing the unfolding of Yoga in the West, the perception of Yoga and it’s practices have been changing and transforming quite fast. I say perception, because it is not up to us to decide what something which has been defined thousand of years ago is, but rather to see how it can expand, grow and evolve, taking into the account the age we live in and everything available to us today like science and information.

How to pick a Yoga Teacher Training course that's right for you

How to pick a Yoga Teacher Training course that's right for you

I wanted to write a blog about this for a long time now, but being a teacher trainer myself, I was always worried that some of my peers might take some things they don't agree with, personally. This is not my intention at all of course, and everything I will write here is just my opinion, nothing else. Some is based on my beliefs and some on my experience. But, as a yoga teacher, I feel my responsibility lies in serving the community, and that is my intention with this post. I hope it serves and helps some of you reading it.

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Lessons of Water – The Yoga of Surrender

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Lessons of Water – The Yoga of Surrender

Water is patient and always finds her way through the smallest cracks. It doesn’t anticipate or plan; it sees and flows through the opening. It doesn’t question; it trusts and follows. It teaches us that everything is intertwined, interconnected and co-dependent. There is nothing we can control but ourselves, how well we can adapt to external and internal circumstances and how much faith to find small openings and keep on flowing, trusting that life will show us the way, and how fearless we are in following our path non knowing where it may lead us.

 

photography: Sanjin Kastelan / web design; Nina Vukas
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