— Australian Yoga Life

Australian Yoga Life is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this December. This time of the year is time again for our bumper Teacher Training special issue.

Over the last few issues we have been gathering together inspirational Australian stories of well-known personalities for whom yoga has been an integral part of their life. This time around, on page 26, we have the cover story by our writer Karen Farrell, who has looked into the life of the successful entrepreneur, TV personality and founder of the iconic company, Boost Juice, Janine Allis. Janine has been practising Ashtanga yoga for the last twelve years, and this year she completed a 350-hour teacher training course, gaining her first professional qualification. Her candid conversation with Karen Farrell, which shows what an integral part of her life yoga has become, is an interesting read.

In our last issue, we covered the story of ardent environmentalist and eco-activist Jamie Durie. Taking inspiration from this account, in this issue AYL journalist Suvi Mahonen talked to different business owners and practitioners about the issue of climate change in relation to use of props in the yoga industry (page 14). Exploring the potential of new eco-friendly innovations, she calls on teachers and students alike to emphasise the use of props to support their yoga practice. This is a great read.

It's been one year since the sudden passing of Geeta Iyengar. Based on a conversation with Abhijata Iyengar (page 42), Linda Apps reports how the Iyengar community is in a state of generational change. Abhijata describes the challenge of taking over the leadership of the community while also being a mother and taking care of her kids, and how the solid foundations of the Iyengar community is helping to navigate this transition and to grow into this next phase.

In this second part of the series YOGA: the ultimate activity for children (page 54), Loraine Rushton delightfully covers the cognitive benefits of yoga practice for children and teens. Her article provides a handy list of Tips and Tools for practicing yoga with your children, making connections clear between yoga and the mental health of young people.