my yoga journey
"The greatest obstacle to the practice is one’s own prejudices based on one’s own preferences" हानमेषां क्लेशवदुक्तम् ॥२८॥ hānam-eṣāṁ kleśavad-uktam ॥ PYS 4.28 I'm contemplating this sutra a lot recently; it’s the backdrop to my practice. It’s intrigued me since my teacher first introduced me to it. What are these preferences? In the physical body?... Continue Reading →
My yoga teacher is master of the annoying question. They make me want to groan out loud -- but he slightly tells me off for doing that, so now I try not to react so obviously! 🙂 And secretly I love these questions! They open my eyes a little wider to the world, hinting at... Continue Reading →
Yesterday my kind and understanding boss let me leave the office a little early to get down to London to SOAS (the School of African and Oriental Studies) for the launch of their Yoga Studies Centre and their new online journal. I went mainly because there were talks being given by James Mallinson and Mark... Continue Reading →
Limiting beliefs are wonderful things to have! Aren't they? They keep one's expectations nicely contained, prevent you aiming so high you set up for an embarrassing fail, and just keep everything safely within reach. I'm not known as a shirker among my friends, family and work colleagues: I have the reputation for being hard working,... Continue Reading →
Many years ago my mum gave me a postcard with a picture of a dormouse on it with the message "do not disturb". It was kind of a family joke, the amount of time I spent curled up in bed. Then I was sick and just trying to rest. I couldn't face being part of... Continue Reading →
The days are busy. Sometimes it feels like crazy busy. But actually they're joyfully busy. It was my birthday last week and that's always a time for me to pause and take notice of how things are and the people I have in my life. It all feels very precious right now with much to... Continue Reading →
I was listening to a couple of really established international-circuit teachers talking recently on a podcast about how when they started out they offered their teaching for free, then asked for a minimal contribution from students, until they were ultimately kind of pressured into asking a proper fee. It sounds very noble. But I get... Continue Reading →
I called someone this week to talk about a particular physical therapy I'm thinking about trying. It's offered by a yoga teacher I know and trust in that context at least, so if I were going to try this, it'd be with her. But I'm pretty nervous. I phoned her partly to discuss some practicalities... Continue Reading →
"Did you do any yoga while you were away?" my teacher asked me. I gave a ambiguous response -- confused, not quite believing this was a real question. "So what exactly did you do while you were away?" this time from my boss, and I gave a slightly more considered answer, because after all he... Continue Reading →
