Facing the cobra — together

So finally (I wrote about this nearly a month ago!) Hubby and I looked together at his Bhujangāsana at his request. A big vote of confidence from him, given that all backbends scare him a lot, even tiny baby cobra ones. It turns out he was confused by his teacher's cue to imagine that there's... Continue Reading →

December 19, 2015 3

Gratitude in the dark

Gratitude has become one of those fashionable things. We're all at it. My Facebook feed is full of people listing stuff they're grateful for. I guess it's great that they're practicing this and taking the time to think. Except that cynically I'm not sure it isn't all a bit superficial. Most of the things people express... Continue Reading →

December 18, 2015 6

Sitting with authenticity

I'm just back from a professional development course on authenticity. I loved that the course ended with the choice of staying on for networking and conversation -- or for the self-confessed introverts to leave and 'find a dark corner' in which to reflect. So clearly I've done the latter. I'm tucked up at home at... Continue Reading →

December 16, 2015 2

Magic faceplants

Yesterday I had the loveliest practice at home, the type that touches a lot of my yoga buttons, why I love my practice: I can practice wherever and whenever I want to, no matter how I feel, what I look like (no dressing up needed). I can make it up as I go along, no planning... Continue Reading →

December 15, 2015 3

Discomfort in my yoga practice — and not how you might think

I've been reading recently about Conan Doyle (he of Sherlock Holmes fame) and his interest in Spiritualism (ectoplasm, fairies, and psychic phenomena). In the later part of his life Conan Doyle explored Spiritualism as a way of trying to resolve his religious upbringing and Jesuit education with his scientific training as a doctor: "Victorian science would... Continue Reading →

December 14, 2015 1

What’s your story?

"What's your story?" is a question I seem to get asked a lot these days. I guess that's exciting -- it means I'm talking to new people who want or need to know more about me quickly. Asking an open question can be very revealing -- it's a tactic that I love to use in my professional... Continue Reading →

December 13, 2015 2

Eyes on me

I realised this week that I really, really don't like being in the spotlight. I'm not talking hostile interrogation, actually kindly attention -- and even attention that I've invited. But I find it almost unbearable. A private session recently with my yoga teacher, whom I should know well enough to feel comfortable with, induced a state... Continue Reading →

December 11, 2015 10

Final Sanskrit class of the term

I just had my final Sanskrit class of term. In truth I'm ready for a break. I've been packing all sorts of extras into my time during the last few months and it'll be nice to have less on my plate (festive obligations permitting, ha!). But what a joy Sanskrit has been so far! We raced... Continue Reading →

December 9, 2015 2

The advent of selfish behaviour

This is not a rant about Black Friday, though it could be. Nor about Cyber Monday, though it should be. It's not even about Giving Tuesday though this final one incensed me so much I unleashed a full-on rant to colleagues when one of them told me about it. Are we so collectively rubbish on 364 days of... Continue Reading →

December 6, 2015 4

Green-eyed yogini

I envied the practice of the girl next to me in class. I wasn't watching her, but I had a sense of her gracefulness -- lightness and control, movements that looked deliberate and yet natural. I could sense this more than I actually saw it. I was trying to do my own practice, after all!... Continue Reading →