I visited my parents at the weekend. My mum, slightly freaked out by my new eating habits and unable to conceive of cooking a meal without meat or fish, booked us all in at a favourite local restaurant. There was much angsting over the menu, even on the internet before we left home. What would…
As well as adapting my yoga practice to travelling, I’m also adapting other behaviours. Diet is of course an area for compromise. In the city the veggie options were great, and I totally fell in love with one local restaurant in Vancouver. It had two versions of everything: one vegetarian, one full-on vegan. I’m hoping…
They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. It’s really unfortunate that Philip Larkin’s words are echoing round in my head after a weekend with my parents! It seems super-ungrateful,…
Often when I go to yoga class on a Sunday morning I run into a particular guy in the street. He’s one of those local characters, a bit larger than life. He hangs around by the bus stop or the coffee shop and shouts out to people as they pass. He’s really friendly, with his calls…
I had lunch today with a fellow new graduate. She wanted to talk through the questions she’s asking herself right now about teaching. It felt funny with her seeking my perspective on this. She has much, much more yoga experience than me (not just more years, but wider experience of different traditions) and her teaching…
I saw an old friend in London this weekend (in between a yoga class and the final day of the Paul Nash exhibition at the Tate — what a great day!). We had lots of wonderful conversation. One thing that struck me was her comments about her ageing body. She’s just about to turn 40 and is…
I’ve seen a couple of news items recently about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Two different research teams coming up with different hypotheses about what triggers abnormal fatigue. Both firm in their message that this is a physiological, not psychological, condition. There’s even some hint of a drug treatment… perhaps. The New Scientist piece was even accompanied…
I’ve just stepped on the train heading home after a weekend with my parents. A 4 hour train journey ahead, laden with food from my mum (including a piece of her chocolate cake!). Suddenly she asked anxiously, “How will you spend your time on the train? Do you need a book to read?” She always…
Readers who know me in real life often ask me about what I’m eating now. I’ve written now and then about the shifts in eating habits that are occurring, and I know this intrigues them (as well as making socialising a little more difficult!). In the last 18 months I’ve gone from being staunchly omnivore,…
One of the things I love about being away from home is that you have only limited possessions — for a while at least. I’m not brave enough to do this at home in the context of my normal life even though I’d love to really pare stuff down, but when I’m travelling for a…
