Comparisons can be helpful

I finally got back to handstand class this week. I was paired with a really great partner who was fantastic at spotting me, giving loads of verbal and physical feedback which helped me feel safe and steady. I had a great practice. Yay! Much better than a previous experience of partner work. This time we... Continue Reading →

February 10, 2023 2

Where’s the new year headed?

"New year, new you"? No, that's never been my way! I'm a chronic hater of New Year's resolutions and that whole vibe of self-improvement. My changes tend to be slower and quieter, more integrated into my general practice rather than listed out in a goal-setting page in a bullet journal. But this year things are... Continue Reading →

January 29, 2023 0

Hero pose

In my early yoga years I looked up to everyone. The guys with a strength and stamina that intimidating me massively, the flexible girls who effortlessly folded in half or wiggled an ankle behind the neck, the energetic asana teachers who led a packed room through a sweaty sequence, the imperturbable meditation teachers who quietly... Continue Reading →

November 11, 2022 1

Goggles

I was at a wedding recently. It was loads of fun, with mealtime conversation ranging widely and lots of laughs, although we didn't know each other. A beautiful moment of coming together with strangers as we shared a common love for the bride. One small part of the conversation came back to me recently. A... Continue Reading →

July 15, 2022 5

Days of rest

Two days before I went on vacation I taught a yoga class. It was restorative style. I joked with the students about how difficult I find holiday-time, how it takes me a few days to slide from habitual busyness towards rest and days that are not filled with obligations and self-imposed duties -- yes, they... Continue Reading →

July 9, 2022 3

Timelessness — as always

I told my teacher recently about a photo I saw of a girl in urdhva hastasana. Not a pose I've really thought about much, until recently. Now it's come up as part of a self-project of settling more deeply into my surya namaskar. I have the idea of elevating it beyond the physical exertion of... Continue Reading →

March 18, 2022 5

Decluttering

My husband wants to move. Our place is quite small, a two bedroom apartment -- or you could say it's a one bed apartment with a yoga room 🙂 After two years of working from home in a space small enough that we can hear every detail of each other's meetings and phone calls, he... Continue Reading →

March 7, 2022 2

Three, two, one… Go!

"OK, 10 burpees in 3, 2, 1... GO!" The trainer clicked his stopwatch and looked at me expectantly. He had the power-stance that trainers adopt, almost military-style with feet apart, one hand 'at ease' behind the back, stopwatch held in the other. I didn't move. "I don't know how to do that," I told him... Continue Reading →

November 16, 2021 0

Measuring yoga

Covid-19 cases and deaths in UK remains high (higher than anyone cares to notice or talk about) but strangely life is returning to something vaguely akin to the 'old normal' for many as formal restrictions have been largely lifted. I've been going to in person yoga class again regularly for a while now. The studio... Continue Reading →

October 9, 2021 3

You are your own best teacher

"You are your own best teacher." How many times have my teachers told me this? I get what they mean -- but I've been taking a bit more literally lately. I just did my first ever video recordings for my students, to help those who can't make my regular class times. And of course the... Continue Reading →