James Phillips was one of the finest rock musicians ever to kick out the jams, but there’s a fair chance that, unless you’re a South African of a certain age, you probably haven’t heard of him. Perhaps some day he will be more widely known as a result of Michael Cross’s magnificent documentary The Fun’sContinue reading “James Phillips and the Lurchers, purveyors of party music that exposed the madness of apartheid South Africa”
Author Archives: Martin Yelverton
A deeply relaxing guided meditation in which you use your breath and body to travel towards open awareness
When I first started meditating, I was strongly against the idea of guided meditations. I believed quite rigidly that someone else’s voice added too much noise to the practice. In more recent years, however, I’ve come round to the idea, and even occasionally offer guided meditations in my yoga classes. Here’s one in which IContinue reading “A deeply relaxing guided meditation in which you use your breath and body to travel towards open awareness”
A review of the Sam Harris meditation app Waking Up, a nonsense-free route to non-dual awareness
REVIEW: Waking Up – A Meditation Course Sam Harris suggests at one point in his Waking Up app that what he is trying to teach is “non-dual awareness without the bullshit”. Which is precisely what he does. Non-dual awareness? Essentially, you sit down to meditate; you observe your breath, sensations in your body, the fluctuationsContinue reading “A review of the Sam Harris meditation app Waking Up, a nonsense-free route to non-dual awareness”
12,000 march in London to highlight cruelty – and environmental destruction – of industrial farming
I’m not a great one for being in a crowd; not much of a “joiner”, full stop. And yet yesterday I happily found myself joining the 12,000-odd vegans walking through London for this year’s Animal Rights March. I went along out of interest, as a way of getting out of my comfort zone, and endedContinue reading “12,000 march in London to highlight cruelty – and environmental destruction – of industrial farming”
An independent review of Alexandria Crow’s DeConstruct to ReConstruct, a scientific path to the roots of yoga
REVIEW: Alexandria Crow’s DeConstruct to ReConstruct One of the premises behind this course is that many of the postures used in popular yoga classes – including many considered basic – require our joints to work beyond their functional range, or that for which the body has evolved to be healthy. Doing this repeatedly has theContinue reading “An independent review of Alexandria Crow’s DeConstruct to ReConstruct, a scientific path to the roots of yoga”
‘I fear we’ll destroy our planet but we could probably buy ourselves a bit more time as a species if we go vegan now’
A series in which ordinary people talk about living a plant-based life Our latest contributor is Martin Yelverton, co-editor of Bardo Burner, who believes humanity is slowly evolving towards veganism but that it’s a long, long game Tell us a little about yourself… I was born in Zambia but did most of my growingContinue reading “‘I fear we’ll destroy our planet but we could probably buy ourselves a bit more time as a species if we go vegan now’”
On six years of sobriety: living moment by moment with the dark, bottomless thirst for oblivion
I sit opposite my dining companion, me with my glass of water, she with her single glass of wine. I enjoy the company, I enjoy the meal, I enjoy my water; however, the whole time – sometimes more strongly, sometimes less, but always – there is this thought in the back of my mind. WhyContinue reading “On six years of sobriety: living moment by moment with the dark, bottomless thirst for oblivion”
A ‘basic’ yoga posture that’s anything but (and why you should listen to your body rather than your teacher)
For all we know, the guy in this photograph is pictured at the very moment of enlightenment, uniting with the wider cosmos via his body. So it goes without saying that there is nothing wrong with what he is doing. It should be noted, though, that his spine is curved back and to the sideContinue reading “A ‘basic’ yoga posture that’s anything but (and why you should listen to your body rather than your teacher)”
Reverse-engineering the urge to get drunk: an interview with This Naked Mind’s Annie Grace
I’m supremely grateful to be nearly six years sober now; truly feels like I’ve been given the opportunity to have a second crack at my life, having come this close to screwing it all up. I started the process of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous and will always have a place for it in my heart,Continue reading “Reverse-engineering the urge to get drunk: an interview with This Naked Mind’s Annie Grace”
Functional foot yoga that anyone can do (and so much better for you than Instagram-friendly contortionism)
Here’s a tasty little movement practice that you can incorporate into a yoga or Pilates session, or simply use as a standalone practice even you’ve never done, or plan to do, a single moment of yoga or Pilates. It’ll bring you a lot more functional benefit – ie, helps you in your everyday life –Continue reading “Functional foot yoga that anyone can do (and so much better for you than Instagram-friendly contortionism)”
Bardo Burner 