Masterclass in shouting?

I went to a zoom ‘masterclass’ with one of my teachers recently. Hubby wondered what a yoga masterclass is. I don’t really know. These funny words that get used in yoga land! He hears snippets of the classes I attend at home and I think he receives an odd perspective about how yoga classes work.... Continue Reading →

December 21, 2020 0

Lockdown blues

Someone asked me recently if I had been writing during lockdown, for myself at least even if not for sharing. The answer’s pretty much a no, though I’ve thought about it often, and rather wish I had captured the fluctuating tide of thoughts day by day, week by week. Despite rarely venturing more than a... Continue Reading →

December 19, 2020 2

Circle of support

I heard someone say the other day that you’re never alone when you’re practising yoga: whenever you step onto your mat anywhere in the world, day or night, you can be sure that someone somewhere is doing the same thing. The idea was that although yoga is inherently a solitary practice, you’re not really going... Continue Reading →

November 15, 2020 7

Lockdown 2.0

“We’re better prepared this time”. I keep hearing people say this as England has returned to some sort of lockdown status. There’s a weariness and a resignation this time round. Less fear perhaps, despite the rising numbers of cases and deaths and the doomy predications about the resilience of the NHS. Even so, the situation... Continue Reading →

November 7, 2020 5

Anticipation and relief

It feels like a day of collective pausing in anticipation: internationally awaiting results of the US presidential elections and in England it’s the first day of a new month-long lockdown. The outcomes of these circumstances is uncertain, but so much hangs on them. It feels almost as though the future of humanity is at stake.... Continue Reading →

November 5, 2020 2

Learning to learn

After my learning overload of the past month, I was looking forward to making time to assimilate all my new learning. Oh, I’d forgotten I’d signed up for a short series of Sanskrit reading classes! According to my usual habit of imagining all learning situations will be challenging and difficult, with an over-demanding teacher who... Continue Reading →

October 29, 2020 6

Recycling

I’m realising how much I am a creature of habit. Not just in the way that I like a coffee in bed in the morning, a walk at lunchtime, eating late and listening to classical music before bedtime. Beyond these obvious habits, I’m learning the habits of my mind a bit more intimately. It’s horribly... Continue Reading →

October 27, 2020 0

Baggage train

I’m not a big fan of yoga teacher trainings. I pretty much hated my 200 hour end to end — which (I hasten to emphasise) says much more about me than about my patient teachers. I think they did a good job in 200 hours to set us up to be safe, competent enough, rooky... Continue Reading →

October 24, 2020 2

The privileged view

I remember the first time I encountered the idea of one’s physical posture reflecting one’s mental state, current or past (i.e. whether a reflection of stuff of the moment or a deeper expression of past experiences of whatever sort). It really made me angry. And afraid. I felt as though I was laid bare under... Continue Reading →

October 16, 2020 0

About town

I ventured out one day this week, walking right across town, west to east. All of three miles! It was the deepest into urban space that I have been in the past six months or so of lockdown. I have avoided concentrations of people and enclosed spaces; I simply had no need of them. I... Continue Reading →