New nest

I've just moved into a new office at work. Still sharing -- and in a slightly cosier-sized room than previously, but the environment overall is much more babycrow-friendly, so this is very OK. For a start I've swapped a slightly uninspiring rooftop view for a beautiful tree view. And if you look closely you'll see there's even... Continue Reading →

April 4, 2016 3

Hope for change

I'm going to share with you the ultimate wisdom (for today anyway!) that I've gleaned from my massive (that's nearly three years 😉 ) of practicing yoga: There'll always be room for improvement and there's always hope for change. What has struck me from a regular practice where I try to do something every day... Continue Reading →

April 1, 2016 8

Myself as a question mark

Hubby came and sat with me the other day at the end of my āsana practice. I was playing some music he liked, so we just listened, breathed, did whatever we each did for those short moments together. He's a bit cautious with physical practice at the moment which is entirely good and fine but I'm trying to... Continue Reading →

March 30, 2016 0

Laughing ribs

My teacher taught me a magic trick recently -- what I think of as 'the laughing ribs'. It involves a contraction (like when you laugh) that pulls in the lower ribs. Since then I've developed a minor obsession with this, which is I hope is just starting to mature into a bit more of a stable relationship.... Continue Reading →

March 29, 2016 4

Walking by myself and talking to myself

My teacher often urges us in class not to close down at the end of our practice but to arrive at a place of mental and physical resolution where we can walk out into the world carrying our yoga with us in some way. Yoga doesn't stop with the closing OM, right? Class ran over... Continue Reading →

March 24, 2016 2

Kindling hope

I am starting to feel a slight warmth in my heart again. It is a comfort, a small illumination from my inner self. After time in the wilderness where I have felt nothing but fatigue, compassion worn too thin, energies depleted and my patience and temper frayed, this small glow within brings me feelings of gratitude. And... Continue Reading →

March 24, 2016 2

Books vs body

Prof Mark Williams -- the proponent of mindfulness meditation for depression and other chronic illnesses (a kind of British Jon Kabat-Zinn if I may) -- really spoke to me when he said that he once thought he could learn everything about Mindfulness by reading about it. And then he realised that it's a practice. And... Continue Reading →

March 23, 2016 2

Child’s pose for Hubby

Hubby has a phobia of restorative yoga. And I'm sure he's not the only one. If you're used to a more dynamic practice, the long passive holds and quiet spaces for the mind to go crazy in can be a bit daunting. For Hubby there's a lot of bodily tension in general and a complaining sciatic... Continue Reading →

March 19, 2016 5

Anatomy at the hairdressers

There's nothing weird about studying anatomy at the hairdresser is there? Heaven knows I find the whole process so tedious I need some way of passing the time. Flicking through one magazine is usually my limit on that form of entertainment, so my Plan B in hairdresser survival is to bring my own reading matter. (Plan A,... Continue Reading →

March 17, 2016 0

The view from the front

The best thing about the front row in class -- there is no view! The studio I practice in has a very fashionable unadorned plain brick wall. Because I love walls (well, I did train in archaeology) this can be distracting enough as I become absorbed in the colours and textures and resist the temptation... Continue Reading →