Sunday is not the day of rest

Before Yoga found me and took a hold of me Sundays meant this: a lazy lie-in, followed by a cooked breakfast (with lots of bacon!), an afternoon nap, and then a slightly miserable evening involving alcohol in an abortive attempt to avoid thoughts of work the following morning. OK, so this is a slight exaggeration or simplification,... Continue Reading →

April 24, 2016 7

Rollercoaster yoga

Practicing feels like a rollercoaster ride at the moment. One minute it's all hand waving and goofy grins, shrieking with excitement. The next my stomach drops out and I'm white-knuckling in fear, barely able to breathe. And then up and down again. Each practice unpredictably a peak or a trough. Because despite this disorientating unpredictability I keep... Continue Reading →

April 22, 2016 3

Catharsis

A wound that was left untended for years festers out of sight, pus-filled and infected. One day you unwittingly prod at it and find you take some strange pleasure in the discomfort, in really feeling the hurt as you probe how deep it runs. It opens up, spills out a little -- and it's messy. But there's... Continue Reading →

April 21, 2016 2

Alive today

I don't think I've ever opened my eyes in śavāsana before. I did today. I suddenly realised I was looking at the ceiling and the dimmed lights above me. A weird out of body experience where I was acutely aware of my body lying there, vulnerable and open, melting into the mat, taking up the space... Continue Reading →

April 17, 2016 0

Sleeping my way to enlightenment

Physical practice this week has been a bit of a bust. I accompanied Hubby to a Hot Power class at the weekend, because he wanted company. But the teacher came and asked me if I was OK during the class and again after the class because I spent so much time lying down! It made... Continue Reading →

April 14, 2016 5

Trying on a teacher’s shoes

Now that I'm definitely signed up for teacher training, I'm trying hard to get on quietly with the pre-course reading, but otherwise just keep on with doing my practice as well as I can and not start second-guessing what preparations I might otherwise do before the course. I'm trying to trust my teacher: if he... Continue Reading →

April 10, 2016 8

Sore in patches

When I got home after my extended arm-balancing playtime in class the other night I was scrutinised by Hubby. "Did you do a lot of crow today?" he asked me. How can he tell? Do I have a particular post-Bakasana look? No, it turned out he'd caught sight of bruises on my arms! And a friction burn... Continue Reading →

April 8, 2016 0

Joy and Sorrow

The yogini to one side of me was having a tough time last night. Sobbing through class, tearing my heartstrings until I could almost not bear the proximity of her pain. It was in such stark contrast to my own feelings of exuberance and light curiosity that carried me through such physical exploration I would have thought impossible. How to... Continue Reading →

April 8, 2016 0

Is yoga ‘creative’ — and should it be?

We had a chat the other night at the beginning of class about whether yoga is creative or not. It sprang from someone asking my teacher if his classes were creative. He then got thinking about what that actually meant and brought the question to class for a little discussion. Immediate reaction from the class... Continue Reading →

April 6, 2016 10

Breaking the virtuous circle

I realise there's something of a virtuous circle going in my yoga: I am used to my regular teacher's take on things so this always seems self evidently 'the truth' because it's what I'm familiar with... because it's what he taught me... It's very comforting because it's self-reinforcing. Does that make it a vicious circle in... Continue Reading →