Who’s next to me?

Again a quick word from my TT whirlwind, to capture a moment, although I am too tired for careful words. Stay with me, my beloved readers. We've been given class by a few different teachers these past days. We're encouraged to talk about our experiences of them afterwards, as both students and student teachers. I confessed... Continue Reading →

August 7, 2016 4

On the threshold

It's the day before my two week Teacher Training intensive. Just to remind myself what yoga is all about (and to get out of the crowded house!) I went to the 2 hour vinyasa class this morning. It was wonderful! Yes, it began as one of those days when I show up full of doubts... Continue Reading →

July 31, 2016 4

Finding the silence

When I first learned meditation it was in a community centre. We sat in the gym and tried to filter out the loud noises from the kitchen on the other side of the wall. People often laughed at the perceived impossibility, but it was actually a great way to learn focus and means now that... Continue Reading →

July 27, 2016 1

Can I be of assistance?

I chuckled inwardly when one of the student teachers referred to our teacher giving 'adjustments' in class. He corrected this to 'assists' as a better word to describe what he offers! I guess the word says much about how you view the role of the teacher and how you approach āsana. We talked a little about when as... Continue Reading →

July 26, 2016 6

For crying out loud

We touched on crying in class recently in Teacher Training. My teacher asked me to talk about my experiences -- not about my own breakdowns (of course!) but a time when I was next to someone who was crying hard during class. No quiet weeping either, but some full-on gasping, heart-wrenching sobbing. The other student teachers asked me what I... Continue Reading →

July 24, 2016 4

Getting comfortable

I really enjoyed the restorative yoga class last night. I'm getting more used to letting go, 'inviting the pose' as the teacher puts it, rather than trying to get somewhere -- or indeed fervently wishing I was somewhere else entirely! Maintaining concentration is still really hard, but I'm more conscious of physical sensations and unnecessary tensing... Continue Reading →

July 23, 2016 1

Seismic yoga

Practise, practise, practise is the message I'm getting from my teacher right now. Not my own practice, my teaching practice. He encourages me to get used to verbalising instructions so the words aren't a foreign language in my mouth. This is surely right and I'm happily muttering instructions to myself as I wander to and from... Continue Reading →

July 21, 2016 3

Feeling the fear

Everyone is afraid. I can see it in their taut bodies and hear it in their brittle voices. Since the beginning of TT I've had conversation after conversation about facing concerns, doubts and fears. I want to help those around me with what support and help I might give. Their fears are not the same as my fears, so I... Continue Reading →

July 15, 2016 3

Corpsing in class

At the beginning of teacher training we were asked what our favourite and least favourite yoga pose was. As my least favourite I settled on Tāḍāsana. Though it was a close call between that and Śavāsana. No-one else seemed to get the difficulty I had here; these are simple poses right? Huh, well not so... Continue Reading →

July 15, 2016 2

Under observation

First days of TT offered all sorts of new experiences -- obviously. One major feature was observation in various ways. We practised watching each other in a pose; we were asked to begin to reflect on anatomical alignment and energetic qualities. This needs much more experience and understanding than I currently have, but these first... Continue Reading →