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

Kindling hope

I am starting to feel a slight warmth in my heart again. It is a comfort, a small illumination from my inner self. After time in the wilderness where I have felt nothing but fatigue, compassion worn too thin, energies depleted and my patience and temper frayed, this small glow within brings me feelings of gratitude. And... Continue Reading →

March 24, 2016 2

TT heebie jeebies

Someone was talking really loudly before class the other night. They were outside the studio door, but their voice carried clearly. I tried to ignore it. I'm breathing. I'm preparing. This is my time. Accept the sounds and then let them go -- that's what I was taught early on in meditation (in an absurdly... Continue Reading →

March 5, 2016 5

Seek and ye shall find?

A girl turned up to yoga last night and found she had left her yoga clothes at home. She laughed as she told me about looking in her bag for a third time not quite believing that they weren't there. She couldn't shake the feeling that if she just looked again a bit harder they'd... Continue Reading →

February 10, 2016 5

When stepping onto the mat is hard

You know those days when practicing is the last thing you feel like doing? And in your heart you know that you'll feel better if you do, but your inner gremlin is trying to sabotage you? I'm sure it's not just me, right!? Yesterday was one of those days. Hubby and I have both got a... Continue Reading →

January 3, 2016 6

A daily necessity?

My teacher dropped the s-word into class this week. Sādhana. He glossed it as 'daily devotional practice' or something like that. Then he tried to qualify this, to restate it, perhaps wanting to soften the definition somehow. I don't know, I'm just guessing from how I remember it. I sometimes wonder how many people in... Continue Reading →

November 8, 2015 4

Stop! Go! Yes? No?

My mum's had a few one-to-one classes with her yoga teacher recently. She doesn't like the group class so she's trying to get up some confidence and explore yoga a little bit more to see if it really is for her or not. She just called me to talk after the last session in the... Continue Reading →

November 2, 2015 1

Jelly-asana

I went to class last night feeling like a jelly. Muscles felt non-existent. I was weak, devoid of energy. How would it be to practice like that? I'm slowly, slowly learning to ask the question genuinely without fearing the answer. If I am well enough to get there, I go to class and let the... Continue Reading →

October 23, 2015 1

A pearl fisher in camouflage

Spoonies are masters of disguise. I sure know that with years of diligent practice I've developed the art of camouflaging how I feel: I only go out on good days, and the bad days spent curled up at home are invisible to everyone but my nearest and dearest. I sometimes don't even offer my friends the... Continue Reading →

October 14, 2015 7

Teenage crush or the real thing?

I often hear people proclaiming how in love they are with yoga, obsessed even. They must tell me, they have to share. They have a light in their eye and they are full of enthusiasm and energy. Being in love is wonderful, right? So why does this make me feel uncomfortable? Surely it's not just because I'm... Continue Reading →