Hello equanimity!

As I walked to class this morning I looked up at the wintry trees swaying in the strong wind, those with leaves fluttering madly, those without swaying their bare branches. Grey clouds scudded wildly behind. It was early and there were few people about. It felt like my kingdom, my territory: I had my place in... Continue Reading →

November 29, 2015 4

Answering from the heart

"just wonderful!" "fruit and pizza" "gravity in the belly" What are these? Answers I've given this week to questions. Questions that people have asked me with the explicit instruction to answer first, think later. They're after gut-reactions, not reasoned cognitive responses, nor the sound of my ego projecting itself into the situation. I hate this!... Continue Reading →

November 26, 2015 0

Transports of delight

Hubby's thinking about buying a car. We've never owned one, and on a practical level we mostly get by without. Plus it allows me to feel slightly smug about my (otherwise lamentable) eco-credentials! But ever since we guzzumped Eric Catona in a hire car office in the south of France and were freely upgraded to the... Continue Reading →

November 25, 2015 1

Sprezzatura yoga

Sprezzatura is a beautiful-sounding word coined in the sixteenth century to define the ideals of courtly behaviour in Renaissance Italy. It originally meant "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it". I think my yoga teacher displays... Continue Reading →

November 24, 2015 3

Aquaphobic yogini

I'm a bit scared of water, I'll admit it. And I'm very scared of deep water. I guess it's a rational enough fear, though I also intellectually know that if I give myself up to the water it will hold me up. The likelihood of drowning only becomes a real problem if I tense up and... Continue Reading →

November 23, 2015 1

Trust me! Trust me?

Hubby asked me the other day if I'd help him work on his Cobra (Bhujaṅgāsana). We've yet to do this, but even the request has blown me away. He has a couple nerve issues at the moment and triggers pain really easily. For this reason I'm always wary of helping him with his practice and... Continue Reading →

November 22, 2015 2

Toe-curling and squirming in yoga

When I was taught Mindfulness techniques, one of the practices we did was with a partner. We would take take turns to talk and to listen, within strict time limits, on a particular theme or experience. During this alternation of speaking and listening, I always experienced the same thing — at some point during the... Continue Reading →

November 18, 2015 5

Joyous vertigo

Moving towards the end of year means planning next year in various ways. At work it's all about next financial year's budget, at home it's about holidays with Hubby and with a wide-flung family we're already asking what continent best suits us all for Xmas 2016! Cyclical questions that inevitably come round with the year change. Part... Continue Reading →

November 16, 2015 1

Stepping on the teacher’s toes?

I'm a bit of a fixer by nature I think. I like to restore order, inspire peace, and smooth out the difficulties others are experiencing. I like to help make things better. I guess on good days that makes me a devoted wife and daughter, useful employee, and supportive friend. On bad days it probably just... Continue Reading →

November 15, 2015 3

Bio-geometry? Is that a word?

My teacher often asks us to feel this kind of thing in āsana: "feel the connection between your heel and the crown of your head" and so on. Energetic connection that is, not pretzel shapes with your foot behind your head! I think the idea is to find some structural integrity, so that your whole being is united... Continue Reading →