Trauma-informed Yoga
“When we take a trauma-informed approach to teaching yoga, it is best practice to both learn and then apply the knowledge about the nervous system with the help of the Polyvagal Theory.”
In this article, Bridget Hammill considers how trauma-informed yoga practices can benefit the nervous system when it gets stuck in defensive mode as a result of past trauma.
Samatvam - the yoga of balance
The ancient science of Yoga recognises that we are all in a state of imbalance.
From a philosophical perspective, everything in the universe, including our bodies and mind are subject to the ‘play of the Gunas’, fluctuations in energy that range from stagnation (Tamas) and turbulence (Rajas) to balance and harmony (Sattva).
In this article, Yogacharya Michael McCann (Spandan) explores the roots of imbalance and some yogic practices that bring us into balance again.
The Shining Mirror Of Consciousness
‘Just as it is in the nature of a mirror to shine, so all beings at their origin possess spiritual illumination. When, however, passions obscure the mirror, it becomes covered over, as if with dust. When false thoughts, under the direction of the master, are overcome and destroyed, they cease to proclaim themselves. Then is the Intellect illumined, in accordance with its nature, and noting remains unknown. It is like the polishing of a mirror’.
Tsung-mi
All the paths of Yoga are means of polishing the Buddhi mirror. Yogacharya Michael McCann explores the many ways of polishing the mirror of consciousness.
Reflections on the Sun
The spiritual sun is the source of love, creativity, transformation and our very Consciousness. While the sun’s light makes things visible, the inner light of Awareness is more luminous, because Consciousness is the greatest power of visibility. The sun would simply not exist for us were it not known in the light of Awareness.
IINTERBEING, INTERTREEING, INTERFREEING
When breathing life into our new website, the Yoga Fellowship logo suddenly and subtly shapeshifted. From a lotus of hand-holding humans, it re-emerged as a tree - a tree with many branches, fed by light, caressed by air and anchored through a deep, nascent, intertwined system of roots and soil into a whole underground mycelium network.
The Sun Behind the Sun
“As the One Sun illumines the whole world, so does the in-dweller illumine the whole body-mind field” (Bhagavad Gita).
Yoga has taught me that everything is a symbol, particularly the sun beaming from on high. A symbol can be defined as “that which points towards something higher than itself”. What is the sun communicating in secret language?
The Human Singing Bowl
The singing bowl used in Yoga or Tibetan Buddhism plays on our nadis and chakras to bring us to states of meditation or awareness.
There is something about a resting singing bowl that imparts a sense of receptivity and humility. In turn, it invites us to adopt the same attitude in our lives.
May we all become singing bowls of the Divine and follow the sound that leads to the Silence of the Heart.
5 PATHS OF YOGA AND MEDITATION
The popular idea and fallacy is that meditation is something you do, seated in a quiet place, emptying the mind of the torrent of thoughts. However, meditation is more than that - it is more being than doing. It is something that can be practised on and off the mat, in any place or situation. The 5 paths of yoga (Karma, Bhakti, Raja, Gyana, and Hatha Yoga) intersect and complement each other.
The Yoga Well Book Club - Season 5
Deepen your practice and connect with fellow Yogis through our online book club, running from October 2025 to April 2026. Each month, we explore transformative books on Yoga wisdom, mindfulness, meditation, and much more.
What is yoga?
Yoga is the most ancient form of integrated self-development, and yet it is now an established part of our modern culture. Through a wide range of amazing practices, yoga empowers the practitioner to cultivate the head, hand, and heart, and to walk confidently in the world as a dignified human being.