Three, two, one… Go!

"OK, 10 burpees in 3, 2, 1... GO!" The trainer clicked his stopwatch and looked at me expectantly. He had the power-stance that trainers adopt, almost military-style with feet apart, one hand 'at ease' behind the back, stopwatch held in the other. I didn't move. "I don't know how to do that," I told him... Continue Reading →

November 16, 2021 0

Mountains of my mind

Early morning (well, early for me on a Sunday) and despite single-figure temperatures I'm out and running across the local fields in shorts and vest, hopping around the puddles, taking care in the muddy patches, enjoying the movement and being outside in nature. My cheeks burn (from blood pumping or the cold air?), my feet... Continue Reading →

November 10, 2021 2

Kind space

I made a small trade with a friend today: she offered me some glass storage jars which she'd just bought only to realise they were the wrong size for her needs. I gave her in return a rug we had stored away which matches her new curtains perfectly. Now I have freed up some space... Continue Reading →

October 24, 2021 3

Measuring yoga

Covid-19 cases and deaths in UK remains high (higher than anyone cares to notice or talk about) but strangely life is returning to something vaguely akin to the 'old normal' for many as formal restrictions have been largely lifted. I've been going to in person yoga class again regularly for a while now. The studio... Continue Reading →

October 9, 2021 3

Idling by the river

I sat a long while by the river today. The sun came and went, the sky was stacked with puffy white clouds. Birds appeared according to their individual habits. A kingfisher flew low and long over the water. A prehistoric-looking heron stalked its lunch. Half a dozen ducks came whirling in from somewhere and landed... Continue Reading →

September 27, 2021 1

You are your own best teacher

"You are your own best teacher." How many times have my teachers told me this? I get what they mean -- but I've been taking a bit more literally lately. I just did my first ever video recordings for my students, to help those who can't make my regular class times. And of course the... Continue Reading →

September 22, 2021 1

Picking up

I taught my first in person, indoor class this week after.... what is it now? 18 months or so? I've lost track. In England we've had multiple lockdowns, so many government u-turns and obfuscating changes of regulations... Throughout that time I maintained a zoom community of students. Bar a couple of necessary pauses I've brought... Continue Reading →

September 17, 2021 7

You are already home

Have the courageTo soften.Receiving this breath. Rest hereIn the safety of this sanctuary.You are already home. (Lizzie Lasater) I am writing this at home. Not my adult-version, married-woman home. Not quite my family home, where I spent my whole childhood. But I am at least nearby to my parents' house, visiting them in a covid-secure... Continue Reading →

September 5, 2021 4

Full moon, full heart

It's guru purnima this weekend and I always use the date as a prompt to spend some time reflecting on the learning of the past year and the teachings and teachers that have guided me. My immediate thoughts always turn to my yoga teachers, but I also try to expand out to other influences of... Continue Reading →

July 24, 2021 2

Pride comes before

I've been writing out to my students quite regularly since the first lockdown. Even the ones who won't come to online classes drop me a line from time to time in reply, to tell me how much they value the continued contact. It's always sweet to hear from them. And it eases the awkwardness and... Continue Reading →