Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

SA gets serious about yoga

3 min read

South Africa is becoming a yoga hotspot for leading international teachers.

This month we have Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, who practises kundalini yoga, Sharon Gannon and David Life, who practise jivamukti yoga, and Seane Corne, a practitioner of vinyasa flow, teaching at yoga workshops in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Yoga — once thought of as a passive form of exercise — has done an aboutturn and is now known as an active, dynamic and a hard-core ‘evolutionary” form of workout.

Medical research shows how this form of mind-body balance creates self-awareness and vitality that helps gain mental and emotional energy, peace of mind, concentration, deep inner calm and self-confidence.

  • Kundalini Yoga is a challenging form of yoga that combines exercises, mantra, meditation and breathing techniques. Known as the yoga of awareness, it helps to balance emotions, strengthens the nervous system, increases energy levels, brings clarity to the mind, reduces stress, strengthens the immune system, increases lung capacity and encourages personal transformation. Pritam Hari, the head of Kundalini South Africa, says that commitment and attraction to this kind of practice is growing. ‘Sweat every day, laugh every day and serve others as best as you can — that’s the key to a successful and ever-youthful life,” writes Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa.

  • Vinyasa and jivamukti yoga styles, which come from the same foundation, are suitable for creative, energised types. Vinyasa yoga is known as meditation through movement, a form of gymnastics with the yogic benefit, originally created for the Maharajah of Mysore. Attending these classes, you will break out into a sweat from all the twists and turns. It is a strong, endorphin- releasing and liberating practice that will leave you feeling compassionate and gentle.

    • The owner of Living Yoga studio in Johannesburg, Cheryl Duncan, says: ‘The jivamukti method presents us with an opportunity to use our compassion, to become more sensitive to it, as a means to personal liberation.”

    Seane Corne says: ‘I see vinyasa in every single moment, from the mundane to the profound. It’s moment by moment, breath by breath, learning to stay absolutely present in whatever is right in front of you. ‘Not looking for it to be different, but embracing it for what it is and seeing the unfolding happening quite magically.”

    These teachers have become great sources of inspiration for their roles as global ambassadors for causes around the world, such as Gurmukh for Women Upliftment and Child Education in India, Tibet and South Africa; Sharon Gannon and David Life through their partnership with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; and Seane Corne for her work with youth.

    February 2010 Yoga events

    • Seane Corne Feb 4-6 in Jo’burg. Contact Clara Woodburn: info@yogawarrior.co.za

  • Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa Feb 20-12 in Cape Town and 24-26 in Johannesburg. Contact Anton: info@gururamdas.co.za, somapervina@hotmail.com

  • Sharon Gannon and David Life Feb 23-24 in Cape Town and Feb 26-28 in Johannesburg.
    Contact cherrylduncan@livingyoga.co.za General inquiries: bhavini333@gmail.com