Savouring the moments

I'm currently having an emotional wobble, trying to ride the sweet spot between the warm glow of nostalgia and the darkness of melancholy. I've been with old friends these past few days -- such sweet reunion and now such sad farewells. During this time we've had coffee, drunk wine, and shared lunch, dinner, and breakfast -- and done yoga! We've relived our youth... Continue Reading →

May 21, 2016 4

I can’t hear you

When we OM in class, my teacher often encourages shy types or newbies by saying when you OM no-one can hear you. Well, maybe not technically true... but I try to suspend my disbelief with things my teacher says that I don’t immediately get. What d’ya know – there’s always some wisdom in there, even if I... Continue Reading →

May 20, 2016 5

Cruelty in Sanskrit class!

“Can I be cruel?” my Sanskrit teacher asked in class this week. Actually all he was proposing was that we read out loud the new vocabulary lists rather than listening to him introduce us to unfamiliar words. Not so terribly cruel after all, but the rules of engagement for adult learning are very different to... Continue Reading →

May 19, 2016 2

What if no-one sees?

I caught up with a work colleague the other day who was dabbling in Mindfulness practice last time we spoke some months ago. I asked her how it was going. She looked vaguely guilty and said she hadn’t kept it up because there was no motivation, no way of tracking her progress or knowing if... Continue Reading →

May 18, 2016 4

Yoga in the closet

I'm just back from a weekend visiting my family. A time for deep connection with those who know me most intimately, back in the house I grew up in. A time for reminiscing and replaying familiar jokes. A time for easy company, and well-established roles. In some senses a total reconnection with where I came from.... Continue Reading →

May 15, 2016 8

How does Yoga work?

I've just finished reading How Yoga Works. I'll say it's not a book I would have chosen to read and I did have to dig in a bit to see it through to the end, but it was loaned to me by my teacher and so I took the recommendation seriously and gratefully. I can't remember... Continue Reading →

May 11, 2016 2

More joy, less effort

A coincidence of reading a (highly controversial!) research paper about the personality type most often associated with ME/CFS and the associated habitual swinging pattern of activity levels (overdo it then need to rest, then get bored/frustrated so overdo it again...) plus advice from my teacher on handling my current emotional reactions to backbends (even out the... Continue Reading →

May 8, 2016 2

In the driving seat

I learned to drive in a manual car, and I remember when the synchronisation of changing gear, steering, and keeping track of what's going on around the car seemed like an impossible challenge. Did I have to become an octopus -- and one with eyes in the back of its head -- in order to do this?... Continue Reading →

May 7, 2016 7

Feedback along the way

In Sanskrit class I'm noticing less feedback from my teacher. He used to be quick to correct mistakes or offer help. Now he gives me longer to figure it out myself, and he no longer offers any encouraging noises while I'm puzzling through the words in a sentence out loud. I'm to assume that silence is good.... Continue Reading →

May 6, 2016 3

Chacun à son goût

"Best class ever!" A yogi friend enjoyed a recent class so much she has been in touch with the teacher meantime to urge him to run every class like that. I agreed. "It was magic. Everything about my practice felt magic. That is surely Yoga" Only of course it turned out we were talking about different classes! For her... Continue Reading →