“So, does anyone have any questions?” the teacher turned her face to look around the room, deliberately taking everyone in, no-one excluded. That’s her way. There was a silence. Perhaps the other students were as blown away as I was. We were on the last day of a week’s retreat, with 4 hours of yoga... Continue Reading →
Wild and precious life
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" I remember a teacher reading this Mary Oliver poem in class. It was years ago when all the physical movements and big ideas in yoga class were fresh and new to me -- it was exhilarating and it was terrifying.... Continue Reading →
Feel the joy!
I remember a picture I loved, that really inspired me. I told my teacher about it when I was studying backbends with him. It was a beautiful image of a girl doing urdhva hastasana. An outdoor setting, she had loose hair pulling free in the breeze, there was glowing sunshine and her posture was one... Continue Reading →
new student, old student
I went to class in a yoga studio. Hubby thinks this cannot possibly be eventful or newsworthy. “You’re a yoga teacher!” he laughs, “why wouldn’t you go to yoga class?” Ha ha, of course any teacher would find lots of reasons why not, and not so long ago one of my teachers gently chided me... Continue Reading →
Begin again
Back when I met with my teacher regularly, I used to enjoy telling him what I was working on in my practice, what was interesting me, what I perceived as the challenge to address, how it evolved over the months until it turned into something different. The sharing of it was a key part of... Continue Reading →
Wild Weekend
Life in my forties seems crammed with new experiences -- which is somehow, and wonderfully, not how I expected my ‘middle years’ (groan!) to play out. I’m just back from my first ever wild camping trip. So many new experiences here: hiking further in 2 days than I ever have before (and being told off... Continue Reading →
Month by month
In my current teaching I’m offering a monthly workshop at the gym where I teach. The manager is stretching the budget to pay for an ‘extra’ and something which is unlike anything else they offer. I love doing this. It is a privilege. Each month I relish the challenge : how will I choose a... Continue Reading →
Flower power
I’m in a supported pigeon pose, nicely set up and feeling comfortable in my body. There’s the right amount of firmness in the bolster I’m lying across to allow my body to yield, subtly but distinctly over time. I feel sensations change in my body, a little more stretch here, a slight reactive tightening there...... Continue Reading →
The tree listens
I sat with someone recently and told them my pain, my grief and my confusion. We were outside, always the best place for emotions to be expressed, digested, perhaps laid to rest even. I had chosen the spot, under a tree-friend of mine, where I’d been doing my yoga practice for some days. There were... Continue Reading →
Eumorphia
Eumorphia Is that a word? I just made it up. The benefits of a classical education 🙂 The opposite of dysmorphia, as in ‘body dysmorphia’, a condition where you become obsessive about how your body looks, the bits you hate, how flawed and imperfect it is compared to how you see others. So what would... Continue Reading →