BeCalmed Studio

One spot left in my super-relaxing (shed the stress) forest day yoga retreat this Saturday. Only restorative yoga and guided meditation - nothing strenuous. No yoga experience needed. Only a desire to feel better. Lunch included, and forest bath, spa and more.

https://www.becalmedstudio.com/yoga-retreats

Kia ora all. No Kai Tahi Yoga For All class or Calm Life class this Sunday as I go and celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday! See you the week after. Take care. Some free tracks and inspiration in my blogs, including Learnings From a Little Bee....

Blog 2 — BeCalmed Studio Janie Walker 01/08/2026 Janie Walker 01/08/2026 Learnings from a little bee. A bee is just a beeYoga is about slowing down enough to be aware of what passes through the field of awareness. It is like being the watcher of a movie of your own life.If you use your superpower of observation, through the...

Yoga achieves this too, and a whole lot more! Gosh those ancient yogis were clever. My favourite part of teaching yoga is at the end - the yoga calm effect. People sit a minute or two longer, basked in their change of state. Needing nothing. Knowing everything. Without effort. Complete. Sure. And this stays throughout the day beyond, to some extent. Struggle arises and their practice leads the way. Peace cannot be known by the mind. Ishva. Come and learn with me in BeCalmed Studio's little forest haven in Titahi Bay.

What's the neuroscience behind a 'runner's high'? Exercising until you reach a temporary state of euphoria, calm, or clarity delivers much more than pleasure.

Kia ora e te whānau. You don't need to go to Bali, or pay thousands for a yoga retreat, or be in a luxury rainforest (code for native bush) to feel what yoga and meditation can do. If you are an ordinary person who struggles, please reach out. Yoga-meditation is for everybody. Traditionally, it was people who had absolutely nothing except for the clothes on their skin and an open heart who walked the path. They were the ones, the sages and rishis, who found a quieter way to be in the world, and walked the path and then shared it with others. Yoga is ordinary. The path is for everyone. Let me know what kind of time and resources you have and we will begin. Aroha nui e hoa.

Yoga is not just asana - that's just the bit that escaped from India to the 'West" via Hollywood. I hear a lot that "but that's what people want". How do they know what they don't know? Isn't it up to us to change the story? What is most peoples' favourite part of yoga? Shavasana, the lying down bit, where we get to integrate and practice being our true selves.. When I first started doing yoga in my 20s, the teacher would say 'now go into shavasana for relaxation, or you can leave now if you want". So I did. I hated being still. Now it's my favourite thing to teach.

Here is this challenge, from a great master, one that I take up right now. I pledge to continue to guide students into yoga's true purpose - meditation and seva (service).

"Today the world is practicing yoga asana, but they are not living the yogic lifestyle. Yoga is not just a quick work out you do for one hour and forget about it. It is a way of living with mindfulness, simplicity, discipline, positivity and clarity...if your yoga doesn't make you a better person then it is not complete...the real expression of spirituality is kindness"

These important words are from Bihar School of Yoga's Sawmi Niranjananand Saraswati from the Satyanana yoga tradition. Here is the full address. It may be the most important video on yoga you will see this year.

Swami Niranjananand Saraswati's Message on 12th International Day of Yoga #internationalyogaday Swami Niranjanananda Sarawati has given a message to all the yoga a...

I love these teachings.

Awareness inside changes what you see outside.

The goodness has been in both places.

Sunday Darshan holds it together tomorrow.

There is a specific direction in which awareness moves once it settles inward, and Gurudev Shri Amritji names it with warmth.

The inner recognition does not remain private. What is seen inside begins to be recognized outside, in others, quietly, as the same reality wearing different clothes.

He teaches, "Seeing all the goodness and joy within ourselves will also cultivate the awareness of seeing it within those around us."

The teaching is precise. Inner awareness of goodness becomes outer awareness of the same goodness.

The two movements are one movement, running in both directions.

This reframes what practice actually produces.

The inner work of Yoga Nidra, the cultivation of witness, the recognition of the qualities of awareness, all of it feeds directly into how you see the people around you.

The awareness of goodness inside is the same awareness of goodness outside. What has been quietly cultivated in the practice becomes visible in relationship, in conversation, in the ordinary encounters of the day.

Sunday Darshan with Gurudev tomorrow is direct practice in this shared field.

Sitting together in the teachings, the awareness that has been cultivated privately meets the same awareness in everyone else in the room.

The goodness recognized inside is recognized outside at the same time, and the collective field carries what individual practice reaches for.

What arrives is the felt taste of shared awareness, available together in a way solo practice can approach but rarely establish alone.

Comment DARSHAN for tomorrow's session with Gurudev.

Have you every tried Yoga Nidra? Would you like to try a class, for free, tomorrow night Tuesday 21 July, 6pm-7pm? In my little Titahi Bay forest studio? I really want people to experience how relaxing this ancient, lying-down guided meditation is. Yes that's right - lying down! Yoga Nidra is great for people who find meditation difficult. If you'd like to give it a go as my guest, please PM me. Maybe this has come at the perfect time for you. 😍

Being calmer, creating more space, being nicer, feeling happier - for most people, it's a practice. Join my 5-week BeCalm Yourself series and find easy, free ways to be calmer, have more space, be nicer and feel happier. If we aren't practicing those things, what are we practicing? Yoga is not just about moving the body - in fact, traditionally, Yoga is more about moving the body to prepare us to move the mind. So let's do that! No experience necessary. Maybe the time is right to prioritise your own wellbeing so you can be there for others differently. The BeCalm Yourself series starts Saturday 18 July, 10am-11.30am, and runs for four weeks (the last class is a double of three hours). Because it takes time to rewire your body and brain. Many people have life-changing shifts in this little forest studio in Titahi Bay. They remember who they truly are. Bliss is a practice - so let's practice!
https://www.becalmedstudio.com/studio-classes See less