Not waving but drowning

My three day yoga immersion is approaching and I have to say I am scared. What felt at the time of booking like a bold step forward now feels like a blind leap into the unknown. I guess the metaphor of an immersion requires you to be out of your depth. And for this babycrow... Continue Reading →

July 2, 2015 3

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

Philosophy and Prosecco — the bookends of my week

It’s been a bit of a week of gritty conversations. Not bad conversations necessarily. Just some big ideas, some open questions, and maybe there’s a radical solution kicking about somewhere. In all cases only time will be the judge. These conversations have had a philosophical, even existential, quality: - what is the relationship between meditation... Continue Reading →

June 7, 2015 0

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

Practising sauca (cleanliness) with the hairdresser

I tend to get a bit esoteric when I address the yamas and niyamas. It's part of my tendency to over-think and intellectualise that often means I skip over the obvious and jump to the obscure if I possibly can. The (ni)yamas I think about the most are the ones my brain doesn't understand. I've temporarily... Continue Reading →

May 30, 2015 1

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 →

May 20, 2015 4

Me, Jung, and Patanjali on personalities

In my working life I was once unfortunate enough to have been given a personality test, the Myers Briggs test. It used to be quite fashionable I think. I came out as INTJ which is apparently a pretty rare personality type (nothing in it about smugness -- but I feel weirdly proud to be such... Continue Reading →

April 1, 2015 1

Is yoga blogging a selfie in words instead of pictures?

My last days in Greece are at Delphi, known to the Ancient Greeks as the centre of the world: the myth is that Zeus sent two eagles off in opposite directions and they crossed paths at Delphi, so Delphi was called the 'navel' (omphalos) of the world. Cue many comments from my husband about 'navel-gazing'... Continue Reading →