New trust

In these strange socially-distant times, where I haven’t physically interacted with anyone other than my husband for nearly eight weeks, I could easily regress into full on privacy mode, hiding myself at home away from the world. I’m deliberately not doing that. I was working quite hard on my ‘trust issues’ (horrible phrase, I know)... Continue Reading →

April 27, 2020 1

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

Handle with care

One of my teachers thanked me recently for wearing my hair in a beautiful braid -- doing this just for her, she said. She then used my braid to coax me into better alignment, tugging at it gently to guide me. I actually didn't mind this. She has such a light and loving touch, I... Continue Reading →

June 21, 2018 0

Remember, remember

I started my class this week by asking if anyone could remember what we'd been chanting the week before, a simple sutra, familiar enough to me now that it readily springs to mind or lips in particular situations. It can be something of an anchor when I feel drowning in a sea of new (half)... Continue Reading →

July 5, 2017 6

Expanding universe

I'm feeling wildly intrepid at the moment. Not that anyone would notice any difference from the outside if they watched my practice. But I'm being adventurous even within my modest shapes. I'm exploring, creeping my way into new territory one breath at a time. No sudden movements, no great disturbances, just patient, persistent exploration. My... Continue Reading →

June 7, 2017 4

Resistance is futile

I sometimes wonder whether I will ever have enough humility to practise yoga with any true commitment. Two snapshots from class today: We were in Child's Pose and I could tell what was coming: it wasn't intended as a resting pose as often in class, rather it was meant as a posture to bring us to our... Continue Reading →

January 28, 2017 0

Exploring the three corners of the world

First question of teacher training (the yoga equivalent of those terrible corporate ice-breakers you have to deal with in management seminars and what-not) - what's your favourite and least favourite yoga pose? Tricky question. So many to choose from -- in the 'least favourite' category that is! 🙂 One of them was definitely Trikoṇāsana. I... Continue Reading →

November 18, 2016 2

Continuing with Iyengar?

So I've completed my baby Iyengar course now (6 introductory sessions at the Iyengar Institute in London). I was sad to miss the final class with the usual teacher since I was (ahem) teaching a class myself. So I hauled myself down one evening after work to catch a session with another teacher. It was interesting to... Continue Reading →

October 29, 2016 10

Days of love

I had a lovely phone chat with my mum today. All seems well with her and my dad, so I'm happy. And they are coming to stay soon too. This feels like a gift to me to have them in my home and be able to look after them and keep them fed and comfortable. Not that they... Continue Reading →

October 21, 2016 0

Getting (un)comfortable

My teacher often talks about playing the edge. I'm still not sure I get where this is exactly. Maybe that's part of the game, part of the playing -- first finding it, then flirting with it, finally staring it down rather than running away. I always thought I was good at the staring game, unblinking,... Continue Reading →