how to use essential oils for meditation and yoga

We're all familiar with pressure points in the body and the deep impact they can have on our wellbeing. In yoga, these pressure points are called Marma. Ayurvedic texts outline 117 yoga pressure points or marma points. They have both a diagnostic and a curative feature. Diagnostic in that – when...

All possibility of connection with others - is based on the level of connection we have with ourselves. Also - the success of our work as a yoga teacher is largely based on the level of self-connection that our students have... and this is not easy to have...nor easy to...

Keeping oil in your mouth and swirling it around might not sound like the most attractive practice. But google “oil pulling” and you will find that it is hailed as a bit of a health miracle. It has been attributed to whiter teeth, healthier gums, kill bad breath, cavity and...

  In yoga we see the body as composed of 5 layers from the physical to the subtle.  The five bodies are called the Koshas and they give us a beautiful understanding that can deepen our yoga practice, our intuitive self-care and our daily wellness. The layers can be thought of...

"I was pretty delighted to be on Daytime Television's Elaine Show on Thursday to talk about tips on establishing a meditative practice. It's great to see how mainstream meditation has become. Elaine asked me "what do you think is the biggest block people have with meditation" Good question. I think the biggest...

While undertaking her Panchakarma, Yogandha founder Sinéad Duffy heard a wonderful story that just had to be shared... A Buddhist monk sees a bear, sitting on a park bench, crying. The Buddhist goes over to the park bench and asks the bear why is he crying. The bear answers "because I'm...

What is sandalwood oil? Sandalwood oil is one of the oldest and most important natural oils used with gandha today; in fact it is the oldest known material used for its scent, dating back to over 4000 years ago. It is considered sacred in Buddhist and Japanese tradition and is known for...

Yoga, as we know it in the modern world, is mostly associated with physical exercise, stretching, moving and thereby relaxing. It's now common to go yoga classes to find a bit of balance in our busy lives.   But our modern yoga classes are in fact very modern and new....

Most spiritual traditions and religions have ethical guidelines. Such as the ten commandments in Christianity or the ten virtues in Buddhism. In the philosophy of Yoga, and specifically in the classic Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, we have the Yamas and Niyamas. These are the first two steps from the eight limbs...

This is such a big topic and one rarely asked any more. But what we want to affirm is that it’s not all about the yoga studio, yoga leggings, and moving into strange and challenging shapes. Yoga is so much more. In one text on yoga called Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras,...

Yoga and some of the Yogic texts may be old. But they are certainly not outdated. We've previously introduced Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Often called one of the Yoga classics it has wisdom that we use in our modern life too. Part of that is the concept of the eight limbs of...

Sandalwood is the quintessential oil of yoga and of India. And it’s one of our favourites to pacify the nervous system. An interesting fact is that the Sanskrit word for fragrance is Gandha and this is also the word for Sandalwood! Our name yogandha is inspired from the combination of scent and...

We are all probably aware the state of our digestion both impacts on and is reflective of, our state of mind. According to Ayurveda, the medicinal arm of yoga the quality of our digestion and the imbalances that can lead to digestive issues, are determined by our digestive Fire – or Agni....