Picking up

I taught my first in person, indoor class this week after.... what is it now? 18 months or so? I've lost track. In England we've had multiple lockdowns, so many government u-turns and obfuscating changes of regulations... Throughout that time I maintained a zoom community of students. Bar a couple of necessary pauses I've brought... Continue Reading →

September 17, 2021 7

You are already home

Have the courageTo soften.Receiving this breath. Rest hereIn the safety of this sanctuary.You are already home. (Lizzie Lasater) I am writing this at home. Not my adult-version, married-woman home. Not quite my family home, where I spent my whole childhood. But I am at least nearby to my parents' house, visiting them in a covid-secure... Continue Reading →

September 5, 2021 4

Full moon, full heart

It's guru purnima this weekend and I always use the date as a prompt to spend some time reflecting on the learning of the past year and the teachings and teachers that have guided me. My immediate thoughts always turn to my yoga teachers, but I also try to expand out to other influences of... Continue Reading →

July 24, 2021 2

Pride comes before

I've been writing out to my students quite regularly since the first lockdown. Even the ones who won't come to online classes drop me a line from time to time in reply, to tell me how much they value the continued contact. It's always sweet to hear from them. And it eases the awkwardness and... Continue Reading →

July 12, 2021 2

Moving and shaking

I trust my teacher. So when he gave me a ball at the start of our yoga session together I tried to go with it — even though ‘it’ was an excruciatingly awkward exploration of shoulder and hip mobility and how to connect the two. The ball balancing aspect added challenge, or focus, or maybe... Continue Reading →

May 29, 2021 1

Being vocal

One of my close friends called. Her mum’s dying in hospital in US. She hasn’t been able to travel to visit her because of Covid restrictions. When I answered her call, she told me “I just wanted to hear your voice”. So we chatted a bit about nothing much, there being nothing really we could... Continue Reading →

May 9, 2021 2

Vaccination joy

Hubby and I got our first vaccine two days ago. Astra Zeneca, our least preferred option, but it’s not a time to act all choosy and I am truly grateful for this. But the 48 hours following were not physically pleasant. Alternating sweats and chills, dizziness and nausea, depleted energy levels, brain fog, muscle and... Continue Reading →

April 22, 2021 2

An anniversary, happy or not

In UK we’ve been in one sort of lockdown or another for a year now. We have our famous ‘roadmap’ out, but it’s early days. This anniversary, such as it is, prompts retrospection and I’ve had conversations with many others as we look behind us and see how far we’ve come even while we are... Continue Reading →

April 17, 2021 1

Pinca Mayurasana

I tried Pinca Mayurasana today for the first time in years. It’s one of my ‘avoidance poses’, ones I am so freaked out by that I never try them. But the past year or two has been a slow process of beginning to understand where the fears come from and how to tiptoe forwards, keeping... Continue Reading →

April 15, 2021 1

Love from the inside out

Until relatively recently I used to watch myself practise and not recognise myself. Who was that strong girl who moved through vinyasas with grace and ease? Where was the girl with dark rings of exhaustion under her eyes, the unwashed hair (simply too much effort), and the cautious movements that anticipated pain and weakness in... Continue Reading →