The training plan

After signing up for my first ever 10km event (or any event at all, actually!) I drew up a training plan to take me neatly up to the distance over several months. I don’t know anything about running training plans, but this seemed pretty reasonable to me, an incremental increase of distance from a pretty... Continue Reading →

May 3, 2024 4

Maha prana

I’ve started including a bit more pranayama in my classes. It’s not something that featured prominently in the classes I attended myself so I’m a bit slow to incorporate it much in my own teaching and lack some confidence in doing so. But suddenly everything I learn about yoga seems to emphasise the nervous system... Continue Reading →

April 29, 2024 3

Courage!

At university when I was struggling to complete my final exams owing to a double combo of ill health and a painful wrist injury my tutor sent me a note (haha pre-email days!) that said ‘courage -- in a French accent’. I loved it. I think of it still when things get tricky. It made... Continue Reading →

April 13, 2024 7

Fusion confusion

I am still struck by the poignancy of my dad’s late in life wondering about where he belonged, where he fitted in -- maybe if he fitted in, even. I have felt this throughout my life too and, were it not for the nonplussed confusion on my mum’s face, I could easily have assumed it... Continue Reading →

March 22, 2024 1

Belonging in the family

My parents are aging. Although they are doing OK, I watch them negotiate the new challenges of their increasing years. There are social changes as their friendship circle diminishes (I don’t think I need to spell that one out more). Physical changes in aging bodies with joint issues and weaker muscles and lowered energy, hearing... Continue Reading →

March 16, 2024 4

Groovy chanting

In my online Veda class recently we fell into a group discussion about the challenges of sending our chant recordings to the teacher, the vulnerability of being obviously sh*t at something and doing it anyway, the importance of feedback for correction as well as encouragement, the joy of being seen (or heard) especially in these... Continue Reading →

March 12, 2024 3

The wise soul’s capacity

I’m still somewhere in the weird, uncharted territory of the grief cycle as it pertains not to an actual death but from a loss of a relationship, namely breaking up with my long-time yoga teacher. It’s not a socially-acceptable kind of grief and likely sounds all cultish and dependent and creepy to anyone not in... Continue Reading →

February 28, 2024 2

My dream run

I’m having a lot of dreams at the moment, bad dreams (nightmares even) from which I wake up in a sweat with my heart beating hard, sometimes just a sense of unease or sometimes full-on panic. My first moments of consciousness swirl me back into reality, pulling me out of some strange situation or emotional... Continue Reading →

February 4, 2024 6

Social media lineage

I saw a thing on social media today. Looking at it one way, it was just a dumb marketing message. Looking at it another way, it was a teaching from my teacher’s teacher on the three things that make a good teacher: A lineage connection – A good teacher is part of a lineage and... Continue Reading →

January 22, 2024 3

Upside down joy

I’ve written before how I could swear my handstand trainer has a degree is psychology. He seems to know the right thing to say, how to motivate and encourage even while remaining super-strict about form and attention to detail. Now that I’m a bit wiser or more experienced with physical trainers (not just lofty yoga... Continue Reading →