Tourist manners

It's funny being such a tourist for a while. I'm not very used to it. Childhood holidays were pretty low-key affairs and usually in quiet, more rural locations with only occasional forays into the larger towns to see the museums and cultural sites. Now I'm in central Rome in the height of summer. Everywhere I... Continue Reading →

July 20, 2019 0

Yoga everywhere

I recently got caught up in a discussion about 'Egyptian Yoga' and whether ancient representations of the human body in various shapes depict yoga asana. I know this is a fashionable idea in some circles as yogis seem to desperately seek some ancient validation of modern postural yoga. It's a nice idea, but intellectually dishonest,... Continue Reading →

July 17, 2019 3

Passing greatness

So a modern yoga great has just passed, a renowned teacher, said to be one of the first women to have studied with Pattabhi Jois. The corners of social media I inhabit are full of comment, some of it as banal as could be, some of it genuine and poignant, so much so that it... Continue Reading →

July 10, 2019 0

Mini me

I spent time this weekend playing in my parents' garden with my little niece. She's four and a half, full of energy and apparently fearless. She loved rolling down the slope where my brother and I used to do the same thing several decades ago. She revelled in doing a run-up to perform multiple forward... Continue Reading →

June 16, 2019 2

My best yoga friend is leaving town

Maybe I didn't present quite as much equanimity as I was aiming for. My teacher called out to me after class as I was unlocking my bike to go home, asking me if I was OK. Of course I'm not OK! My best yoga friend had just announced that she was moving back to her... Continue Reading →

June 8, 2019 2

Old ways, new ways

I got out of town this bank holiday weekend for a workshop plus kirtan. I've kept my yoga experiences pretty close to home for some time now, since my last visit to a new teacher was a bit more than I bargained for. Long story short: it's made me reluctant to leave the safety bubble... Continue Reading →

May 27, 2019 0

Support network

A support network can be really.... well, supportive! I'm not a big one for sharing all the details of my life (anonymous blog, geddit?) and I can in fact go a bit the other way and tend towards isolation in my liking for privacy. Privacy is kind of comfortable; there's no accountability in secrecy, no... Continue Reading →

May 21, 2019 5

Rupture and continuity

One of my best friends nearly died recently. A ruptured appendix, a bungled diagnosis and delayed surgery. I've been visiting her in hospital, feeling helpless in the face of drips, oxygen, and the indignity of surgical gowns. She was weak and confused. I'm not sure she remembered if I'd been with her or not; she... Continue Reading →

May 16, 2019 0

Running shoes

I bought a new pair of running shoes recently, the full works of gait analysis, little videos of my running action and a pressure analysis of how my feet bear weight standing. It was really interesting. The after effects of a broken foot are still evident, but I was stupidly smug after years of yoga... Continue Reading →

April 27, 2019 1

Change is hard

My boss in the office often tells me that change is hard. My yoga teacher tells me the same. Change is the name of the game right now, in both worlds corporate and yoga. And they're right: it is hard! In yoga I am trying my practice a new way. Sure, it might not end... Continue Reading →