Ostrich yoga

First yoga class after the Christmas hiatus was not on the face of it very much fun. My tricky hamstring is not at all happy right now and after a fraught Christmas I was in a very emotional place too. The opening chant lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu reduced me to tears before we'd even done a single... Continue Reading →

December 30, 2015 3

Gladly home

I'm home now, back in my space. I'm happy to be here, but my heart aches for my family left behind after Christmas. My body aches too after some days of a different routine -- strange bed, different food, activity (or the lack thereof) and so on... Now I have the luxury of some days... Continue Reading →

December 28, 2015 1

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

I'm quite a fan of Christmas. I love my family, faults and all. They love me back, they always have and I know they always will. The liberation and contentment that comes from unconditional love is the most special thing on earth I think. In my last yoga class before Christmas my teacher urged us... Continue Reading →

December 27, 2015 5

Presents and Presence

So Christmas time. We're home at the ancestral babycrow nest with my parents for a few days. Veggies have been peeled and chopped and glasses polished to make things easier tomorrow, and we're now just settling in for a quiet evening of chatting and catching up, with Champagne accompaniment. The presents are wrapped and underneath the... Continue Reading →

December 24, 2015 5

Singing from the heart

I passed the Salvation Army band on my way back from yoga class. I love hearing them play. It's about the one obviously religious charity I happily give to. I find their music very heartwarming -- redolent of reassuringly old-fashioned values somehow. Maybe it's the uniforms! Today they were fronted by two young girls singing.... Continue Reading →

December 20, 2015 2

Facing the cobra — together

So finally (I wrote about this nearly a month ago!) Hubby and I looked together at his Bhujangāsana at his request. A big vote of confidence from him, given that all backbends scare him a lot, even tiny baby cobra ones. It turns out he was confused by his teacher's cue to imagine that there's... Continue Reading →

December 19, 2015 3

Gratitude in the dark

Gratitude has become one of those fashionable things. We're all at it. My Facebook feed is full of people listing stuff they're grateful for. I guess it's great that they're practicing this and taking the time to think. Except that cynically I'm not sure it isn't all a bit superficial. Most of the things people express... Continue Reading →

December 18, 2015 6

Sitting with authenticity

I'm just back from a professional development course on authenticity. I loved that the course ended with the choice of staying on for networking and conversation -- or for the self-confessed introverts to leave and 'find a dark corner' in which to reflect. So clearly I've done the latter. I'm tucked up at home at... Continue Reading →

December 16, 2015 2

Magic faceplants

Yesterday I had the loveliest practice at home, the type that touches a lot of my yoga buttons, why I love my practice: I can practice wherever and whenever I want to, no matter how I feel, what I look like (no dressing up needed). I can make it up as I go along, no planning... Continue Reading →

December 15, 2015 3

Discomfort in my yoga practice — and not how you might think

I've been reading recently about Conan Doyle (he of Sherlock Holmes fame) and his interest in Spiritualism (ectoplasm, fairies, and psychic phenomena). In the later part of his life Conan Doyle explored Spiritualism as a way of trying to resolve his religious upbringing and Jesuit education with his scientific training as a doctor: "Victorian science would... Continue Reading →