A quiet revolution

I saw my physio again today for my rotator cuff injury. We've been working on this together for 5 months or so. I find these appointments really interesting. They become a ground for self-observation as much as āsana practice or meeting with my yoga teacher are. When I first needed physio appointments I was not... Continue Reading →

March 11, 2019 2

Telling stories

Telling stories. Telling stories. RE-telling stories I was formally trained to study the past. I used to be an archaeologist. My academic training taught me that there's usually more than one interpretation of the evidence and if you follow the more radical post-modern theories the past is unknowable and all interpretations become equally valid... Death... Continue Reading →

February 22, 2019 0

Can I be of assistance?

I sit with the teacher a little before class. She talks about the weather and birdwatching, we talk about mundane weekend plans and what we're having for lunch. We also talk about the non-sense of 200 hour YTT programmes, how little they equip anyone for the reality of teaching. We consider the difficulty of assessing... Continue Reading →

January 26, 2019 4

Playing favourites

I ran a workshop for my students recently to help them begin to establish their own home yoga practice. When helping them think about categorising the poses they knew so that they could define a simple sequence, I asked them to consider what their favourite pose was. Perhaps they could use that as the lynch-pin... Continue Reading →

January 24, 2019 0

Beach time

We've been on the beach most days while we're in Greece. The weather is still fabulous, so how could we not! Although the scenery is beautiful with clear calm waters filled with little fish and acres of gold sand, in truth I find long hours at the beach pretty dull. But Aussie Hubby totally loves... Continue Reading →

September 21, 2018 2

Back to earth

"I'd like to hold your heart; is that OK with you?" My new life-in-yoga constantly suprises me and this was certainly a question I'd not been asked before. It kind of freaked me out and I said so. "It's OK, take your time; you can tell me when you're ready". So no escaping the heart-holding... Continue Reading →

September 11, 2018 2

Quality not quantity

Numbers are one of my least favourite things. If you can have a phobia of numbers, then I do. I prefer things I can count simply on the fingers of one hand. Thankfully, leaving the magic 108 aside, yoga seems mercifully free of numbers. Or is it... After all, I have an Astanga-trained friend who... Continue Reading →

August 29, 2018 6

Running away and coming back

First words from the teacher, first breaths on my mat and nothing felt right. I never know how to handle this start to practice, when I just don't jive with what's going on around me and everything feels wrong. In my own practice time I never have a plan to adhere to so I don't... Continue Reading →

August 3, 2018 2

It’s my turn

So guru purnima is coming up and this is always a time of year when I take a little more time around and through my practice to reflect on my teachers, what they offer me, how I respond to that and how I might carry forward their teachings within my practice -- or not (yet).... Continue Reading →

July 19, 2018 0

Illuminating contrast

I was talking recently with a student who volunteered that she finds meditation in noisy places easier than in silence. She has stopped getting up so early for practice because she found the deep silence too difficult, whereas the noise of rush-hour traffic was much easier! I've found this to be true for myself too.... Continue Reading →