Beware yoga sheep — baaa!

I intended to go to yoga class this morning. Hubby was off to the hairdresser so I had the morning to myself. Perfect for sneaking in an extra class, I thought. I don't usually practice on a Saturday. Not for me an aṣtanga thing, that's not my style -- just an acknowledgement that Saturday needs... Continue Reading →

October 31, 2015 4

Reversing triangle

Reversing triangle? Don't I mean 'reverse triangle'? Or 'revolved triangle'? Alas not! I'm just talking about plain old Trikoṇāsana. A staple in most of the classes I attend. It’s a pose I've been doing for as long as I've been practicing yoga. But now it suddenly feels all wrong. It started some months ago with feeling... Continue Reading →

October 27, 2015 3

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

Lighter and deeper

A young friend of mine has just bought a house with her boyfriend. To her the financial commitment of joint property ownership comes easier than the emotional commitment of getting married. I thought this was strange. But now I wonder if it's not as topsy-turvy as it seemed. At my local yoga studio after an initial... Continue Reading →

October 19, 2015 5

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

Hooded crow

Today I've mostly encountered the world from under a deep black hood. It's been raining on and off all day and it seemed to be bucketing down each time I needed to be on the move, by foot. And the grey skies and bleak weather suited my mood, creating this sense of justified misery. See... Continue Reading →

September 22, 2015 4

108 blog posts

108 is a symbolic number to some. So this could be a beautiful point in my blogging journey. I wish! Instead it's a moment that finds me bogged down in probably all the kleshas (the obstacles to the state of yoga) at once. I had a little abhinivesa moment (fear of death, or clinging to life) in class at the... Continue Reading →

September 17, 2015 2

Dying for the yoga class to finish

Hot tears leak unwanted from my eyes. They trickle down the side of my face and into my ears making the teacher's voice a little distorted. I'm lying in savasana, corpse pose. Some say it's their favourite yoga pose. How can that be? What do they find there that eludes me? Some say it's the... Continue Reading →

September 12, 2015 6

Practising yoga as “swimming in a culture of advancement”

I enjoy reading Christina Sell's blog, though I've never met her. She has an openness, almost rawness in her writing that I personally find very appealing and engaging. She wrote recently a couple of blog posts (first this and then a follow up here) about -- amongst many things -- the performance of yoga compared... Continue Reading →

September 11, 2015 4

The upside of power cuts

When I woke up this morning and looked at the alarm clock I smiled. As I turned on the lamp in the semi-darkness I grinned. I padded off to the shower where I positively gurgled in pleasure at the feeling of the hot water on my skin. Why so exuberantly happy? Because all these things depend... Continue Reading →