Life saver

Years ago (when we were all younger!) my teacher would often do a breakout time in his vinyasa class to allow people to practise handstand against the wall. He would come around the room ensuring everyone was working to their level and had an appropriate challenge. When he got to me he kindly asked “can... Continue Reading →

December 30, 2023 5

6 weeks later

I just completed my six weeks of beginner weights training! Oof, quite an experience. I was chatting over with a girlfriend recently. She's the best! Eagerly asking about it, keen to hear how I had found it, more interested in the mental/emotional difficulties she anticipated I would have with this degree of physical effort. She... Continue Reading →

March 10, 2023 0

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

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

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

Mountains of my mind

Early morning (well, early for me on a Sunday) and despite single-figure temperatures I'm out and running across the local fields in shorts and vest, hopping around the puddles, taking care in the muddy patches, enjoying the movement and being outside in nature. My cheeks burn (from blood pumping or the cold air?), my feet... Continue Reading →

November 10, 2021 2

Idling by the river

I sat a long while by the river today. The sun came and went, the sky was stacked with puffy white clouds. Birds appeared according to their individual habits. A kingfisher flew low and long over the water. A prehistoric-looking heron stalked its lunch. Half a dozen ducks came whirling in from somewhere and landed... Continue Reading →

September 27, 2021 1

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

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 →