Amélie Gagné

One of the main reasons the preparation needs to be done is that it’s important for initiants to understand and practice Kriya Yoga in its totality as a spiritual path, rather than just as a meditation technique. The preparation includes the study of Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings, lessons in the importance of the Guru-disciple relationship and meditation techniques including energization exercises, the Hong—Sau technique of concentration and the Aum technique of meditation. Kriya Yoga techniques include a number of breathing techniques, concentration exercises, and simple Kriya Yoga poses that help to control life energy, reach a higher level of consciousness and experience union with the Divine. Getting confused between Kriya Yoga and Kundalini Yoga isn’t uncommon at all, especially as Kundalini Yoga includes the use of ‘Kriyas’ in its practice and Kriya Yoga helps to awaken ‘kundalini energy’.

Why You Should Practise TrikonasanaTriangle pose is a foundational standing yoga pose; once you get familiar with trikonasana it will help you with more challenging standing poses, deep hip openers and intense hamstring stretch like forward folds. you have a look at images of trikonasana, you will see there are A LOT of variations: hips stacked on top of each other, top hip rolling in, hand on the floor, hand on the shin, fingers hooking the big toe (hi, Ashtanga!), legs really wide, legs sort of close The intention of the pose is to strengthen and lengthen the entire back and side of the body, so explore different widths with your feet and arm positions until you feel strong, open and can breathe freely and deeply. Triangle pose can go pretty much anywhere in a standing sequence, but because it opens up the body so nicely, I like it as one of the first poses after warming up with some sun salutations.

A real-world example of this would be that someone living a zero-waste life might be comfortable eating meat as long as it didn’t come wrapped in non-biodegradable plastic packaging, however, a person following a sustainable lifestyle would probably consider the wider environmental and ethical issues with animal agriculture and opt for a plant-based diet instead. Some simple everyday changes you can make to reduce your plastic use include carrying a reusable eco-friendly water bottle rather than buying single-use plastic bottles, and bringing your own bags to the grocery store rather than using the plastic bags supplied. Taking a look around your house at items you use every day and seeing if they can be swapped for reusable or plastic-free versions is another great way of reducing plastic use and increasing sustainability in the home. Some other small changes you could make at home to be more eco-friendly include turning off lights every time you leave a room, swapping your bulbs for energy-efficient ones and switching to a smart thermostat to more accurately control your home’s temperature.

We all know that bees make honey and sting us, but that’s likely where most people’s knowledge stops on the subject. Flapping their wings rapidly throughout the honey-making process and to regulate hive temperature doesn’t sound like the easiest task, does it?Now let’s turn our attention to why most vegans, myself included, do not consider honey to be vegan. Personally, I haven’t tried brown rice vegan honey, but I love maple syrup, so life is just as tasty without honey!Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is made from the sap of black, red or sugar maple trees and has a similar consistency but a more concentrated sweet flavour than honey. Bees are amazing; bees are animals, vegans strive to protect animals,