The mad dream that is a yoga intensive

Real email exchange at work today: Me: Would you please let me know soonest if it's ok to book off the above dates as annual leave? Manager: Sure. Me: Thank you! I’ve logged it in the holiday tracker now. So I’m now committed to 28 hours of yoga in 3 days… Manager: Wow. Have you told... Continue Reading →

June 15, 2015 3

Sick and scared, but going to yoga class anyway

I don't remember what Sunday mornings used to be like before the introduction into my routine of a 2hour vinyasa class. Now I look forward to springing out of bed at 8am for a quick shower then getting a couple of miles across town without stopping for breakfast. Well, I always look forward to the idea of... Continue Reading →

June 14, 2015 3

Support at home — exploring asana with props

A friend remarked to me recently how she hates it when her teacher quietly gives her a second block to sit on at the start of class. She knows its an ego thing, but she feels frustrated every time. My own teacher strongly encourages props in class, but I've rarely seen him impose one on... Continue Reading →

June 8, 2015 3

Letting go of expectations in yoga asana

It started when the yoga teacher said she was 'managing expectations' when she told students who hadn't pre-booked the class that they were unlikely to get a place in class. For my part, I came to class full of expectations. And I didn’t manage them all that well. I expected my hamstring to be tricky to... Continue Reading →

June 1, 2015 0

Being upfront or staying at the back — where is my place in class?

A friend was recently telling me about a novel she read where the protagonist's inner self appeared as a character, a literary device to explore how hard we are on ourselves and dramatise the effect our self-criticism has by making it visible to the character in the book. We agreed that we often say things to... Continue Reading →

May 31, 2015 3

babycrowyoga hits the newsstands!

I am super-excited to have a small piece in omyoga magazine this month! Brace yourself, regular readers -- it's about my hamstring! It's a bit of a whimsical piece written in the style of a love letter, but there's an underlying serious message about how we treat our bodies (or how our ego perceives our... Continue Reading →

May 28, 2015 10

Finding energy in class

I've been thinking a bit recently about teachers and classes, wondering what makes a good class experience and what the role of a teacher is in that. I'm coming at this from a couple of angles, so brace yourself for more posts as I work through some thoughts over the coming months -- and do... Continue Reading →

May 27, 2015 3

My Hot Yoga nightmare

It wasn't until I was in the changing room that I realised that I hadn't brought my shorts with me for Hot Yoga. On top I was wearing a vest, so that was ok, except that I wasn't sure I had a bra on underneath. I had vision of embarrassing exposure every time we did cobra. No,... Continue Reading →

May 24, 2015 6

When even restorative yoga class is too much

I felt totally bleurgh today. Nothing dramatic, nothing life-threatening. Just an M.E. day. How does that feel? It's boring to describe, but basically like I've run a marathon, have jet-lag, with a dose of proper flu on top. The longer, and slightly more boring, version is something like: severe headache making me feel sick, muscles feeling... Continue Reading →

May 22, 2015 5

Time out with Patanjali

Happy monthi-versary to me -- it's now just over a month since I started back attending yoga classes after a few months off with injury. I just realised this and can hardly believe it's been so little time. A real case of time flying. It made me think that I should pause, take stock of the... Continue Reading →