Year of Tāḍāsana

On one side of me, my neighbour blundered across my mat to get to her place. She's regular at the studio, regular enough to know better. I suppressed my sigh and my frown and tried to let go of the judgments and the irritation. On the other side of me was a girl who was... Continue Reading →

January 26, 2020 1

Beach style

Since being in Australia I've watched the beach culture in action, observed little kids being schooled by their parents or grand parents, taken in the water etiquette of surfers vs swimmers, admired those on boards or body surfing. I spent the first few days wondering how I could fit in here. In my imagination I... Continue Reading →

December 28, 2019 1

Hearing voices

Hubby jokes that I'm a wannabe Ashtangi because I usually take Saturdays off physical practice. It's not actually planned, it just fits with the flow of my week and I think a day off is good for mind and body. But now I'm on holiday with family my whole routine is out the window and... Continue Reading →

December 26, 2019

Counting the days

I like to think I'm a pretty organised kind of person. So why does Christmas seem to take me by surprise every year? It starts so early in the shops, after all, and I seem to dwell in the self-righteous opinion that they're spoiling the season by over-exposure -- until all of a sudden it's... Continue Reading →

December 5, 2019 0

Cosmic chasm

I got my hair cut recently. I feel really different, not quite myself. Well, this wasn't just a regular little haircut, this was a once-every-few-years epic haircut. I had a whole foot length of hair chopped off. I'm feeling kind of lighter and more buoyant but I'm also a little sad. My hair might be... Continue Reading →

November 27, 2019 2

Siva and the mind-readers

My husband does this hand gesture: palms pressing together then opened out, like the pages of a book. He uses it to signal to me I don't need to tell him anything more: he knows exactly what I'm thinking. Darn, he's usually right. He knows me so well. Although I love him and happily share... Continue Reading →

November 21, 2019 1

School of unlearning

I spent a lot of time recently with a colleague at work and I noticed she always sat with one foot tucked under her. We're pretty close so I couldn't resist suggesting to her that she might want to alternate her sitting position every now and then. We talked a bit about body imbalances caused... Continue Reading →

November 13, 2019 4

One two, buckle my shoe

One, two buckle my shoe I wake up from my after-work nap and it's completely dark. The absolute last thing I want to do is go out. I could so easily transfer my tired body from the bed straight to the sofa for the evening. But instead I put on my yoga clothes including ridiculous... Continue Reading →

November 1, 2019 0

Teaching honestly

I have a new regular student in class. She used to study with the Iyengar family in London -- and now she comes to me. Yikes! I was a bit freaked out at first, wondering what she would make of my lunchtime vinyasa flow class. But she keeps coming back, she seems content with what... Continue Reading →

October 27, 2019 2

Silence in class

I'm sitting on my own in a library café idly listening to the conversations around me, since I have no-one to talk to. Most people are studying something together. There are some young adults doing university work, something sciency, and a couple nearest me are learning a language and I notice the intricate script (Chinese?)... Continue Reading →