I'm feeling a bit physically wrecked this week (just a a cold, but oh! that little virus certainly packs a punch!) so I haven't been up to much asana practice. I've been weak and a bit feverish. It makes for 'hot yoga' but not in a nice way... So asana practice is clearly not what my body... Continue Reading →
Fitting in
A weekend with family. And with a cold. Difficult while I was away to find time, space, or inclination for asana practice. But I did because it's now weird not to (when did that happen, I wonder?). Physically I really needed a stretch for aching limbs, but more than that I wanted a bit of stillness and... Continue Reading →
Asking for help
I think a lot of us struggle to ask for help. It's difficult to admit you can't handle something. This is definitely true for me. I like to think I have an inner superhero who can rise to anything. But if asking for help is a common difficulty (among certain personality types at least), I wonder... Continue Reading →
Hooded crow
Today I've mostly encountered the world from under a deep black hood. It's been raining on and off all day and it seemed to be bucketing down each time I needed to be on the move, by foot. And the grey skies and bleak weather suited my mood, creating this sense of justified misery. See... Continue Reading →
Snakes alive!
So on the news there was a story about a lost boa constrictor that escaped from its owner's bath -- perhaps down the toilet. The general public are warned not to approach! I'm listening to the news on the radio as I spend recovery time in bed, feeling ill. But despite (or because of...) how ill... Continue Reading →
108 blog posts
108 is a symbolic number to some. So this could be a beautiful point in my blogging journey. I wish! Instead it's a moment that finds me bogged down in probably all the kleshas (the obstacles to the state of yoga) at once. I had a little abhinivesa moment (fear of death, or clinging to life) in class at the... Continue Reading →
Corporate yoga — it’s not what you think!
"What did you do to him while I was away?" My boss has just come back from holiday and was asking me about the change he could see in a team member I've just taken line-management responsibility for. He's like a different person: more engaged, volunteering information in meetings, and quick to propose solutions to the day-to-day challenges... Continue Reading →
Dying for the yoga class to finish
Hot tears leak unwanted from my eyes. They trickle down the side of my face and into my ears making the teacher's voice a little distorted. I'm lying in savasana, corpse pose. Some say it's their favourite yoga pose. How can that be? What do they find there that eludes me? Some say it's the... Continue Reading →
Practising yoga as “swimming in a culture of advancement”
I enjoy reading Christina Sell's blog, though I've never met her. She has an openness, almost rawness in her writing that I personally find very appealing and engaging. She wrote recently a couple of blog posts (first this and then a follow up here) about -- amongst many things -- the performance of yoga compared... Continue Reading →
The upside of power cuts
When I woke up this morning and looked at the alarm clock I smiled. As I turned on the lamp in the semi-darkness I grinned. I padded off to the shower where I positively gurgled in pleasure at the feeling of the hot water on my skin. Why so exuberantly happy? Because all these things depend... Continue Reading →