Yoga Insights & Information

Monkey Mind: Why Your Mind Jumps Around, And How A Yoga Pose Calms It

How to stop monkey mind: two ways to calm a busy mind, top-down using the mind and bottom-up using the body, a held pose and a long out-breath

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin Monkey mind: the short answer Monkey mind is an old phrase for the busy mind that jumps from thought to thought like a monkey in a tree. You cannot order it to be still, […]

Breath Of Fire: What Kapalabhati Really Is, And Why It Comes Last

Benefits of breathwork: Chris Lalor sitting tall for pranayama on a blanket, eyes closed, hands resting

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin Breath of fire: the short answer Breath of fire is a fast, pumping belly breath. In Iyengar yoga it is called kapalabhati (shining skull breath), and it is a strong pranayama (yoga breathing practice) […]

The Sitting Rising Test: Can You Sit On The Floor And Stand Up Without Your Hands?

Chris Lalor seated on a block with a belt around her legs, watching the sunset over the sea in Darwin

What the sitting rising test is, how it is scored out of 10, what a Brazilian study of 2,002 adults found, and how a class practises it.

Balance Test: Three Simple Ones Researchers Use, And What They Show

Chris Lalor in Triangle Pose with her hand on a chair, on rocks at sunset

Three simple balance tests researchers use, what the studies found, and how to read your own result gently.

Loss Of Balance: Why It Happens After 50, And What Trains It Back

A Tree Pose variation with a chair close by, building balance and loading the standing leg and hip

Why loss of balance happens, what studies have measured, and what trains balance back, with a gentle way to start.

Yoga For Balance: What Ten Classes Of Standing Poses Build, And How To Start In Darwin Or Online

Chris Lalor in a standing balance pose on red rock by the sea near Darwin, arms overhead and one leg extended, captioned strength first, then balance

What yoga for balance builds, what the 2013 Sydney pilot found, and what ten classes look like, in Darwin or live online.

How To Improve HRV: Slow Breathing, The Out-Breath And Yoga

How to improve HRV: diagram comparing a rigid heartbeat with even gaps to a flexible one whose gaps change a little with each breath

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin For the full picture, see our Heart Health And Yoga guide, which sets out what Mr Iyengar, the yoga doctors and the research say. How to improve HRV: the short answer Did you know […]

Stretching Classes Near Me: Slow, Held, Supported Stretching In Darwin And Online

Flexibility Darwin class: Chris Lalor in Warrior 2 Pose with the back heel against the wall and blocks, front knee bent over the ankle, back leg straight

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin Stretching classes near me: the short answer Looking for stretching classes near you in Darwin? Flametree Yoga Studio runs 17 beginner stretch classes a week at Woolner and Coolalinga, and seven of them are […]

Malasana: How To Do Garland Pose With A Blanket And A Block

Yoga for body breath and mind & flexible mind and body, & for spirit and soul & Beginners too

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin Malasana: the short answer Malasana (say “mah-LAH-sah-na”) is the yoga squat, also called Garland Pose. You sink low with the feet close together and the knees wide, and fold the body forward between the […]

Deep Squat: Why Your Heels Lift, And How To Sit Lower With A Blanket

Stuart from Flametree's health & yoga hub Darwin demonstrating malasana yoga pose preparation at Nightcliff NT

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin Deep squat: the short answer You try a deep squat, and your heels lift off the floor. Or you tip backwards and have to grab something. If you feel you can’t squat, you are […]

Shoulder Mobility: Five Supported Moves For Shoulders That Will Not Lift

Shoulder mobility: diagram of five supported moves for stiff shoulders, from arms up the wall to chest open over a bolster

Five supported moves for shoulder mobility when your shoulders will not lift, with a wall, a chair, a belt and a bolster, and what the research found.