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

Forceful yoga

I was listening to a senior teacher talking recently about her background in dance and music and performance and wondering how to relate to that. I am not an exhibitionist or a performer. I write an anonymous blog. I prefer to be a silent witness in the back corner. Barely seen, not heard. My social interactions... Continue Reading →

July 8, 2017 2

The luck of yoga class

A busy class means you have much less say in picking your mat neighbours. I was 50% lucky. The guy on one side was someone whose practice I marvel at and I love his internal-ness during practice. He's just solid and it helps me feel grounded and more sure of myself. Great! But 50% lucky... Continue Reading →

April 18, 2017 1

Incoming text message

When I finished my practice this afternoon, I spent a while crouching with one knee pulled up trying to massage my hamstring while the muscle was warm. I pulled it a bit recently (my tip: go super gently if you're cold, dehydrated and jet lagged and feeling impatient to get over the tightness of long-haul-hips!),... Continue Reading →

January 11, 2017 2

Tuning in and reprogramming

I adjusted the hands of a student in down dog the other day; she had one much further forward than the other. She twisted to look up at me anxiously: "Are you sure? That feels really weird!" I reassured her that weird was OK. She does this every single down dog and she's been practising... Continue Reading →

November 23, 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 →

October 3, 2016 1

Are you sitting comfortably?

During Yoga Teacher Training I have spent a lot of time sitting on the floor for morning meditation (or 'sitting practice' as my first meditation teacher called it with characteristic non-attachment to results!), listening to lectures, having discussions etc. I'm relatively comfortable here (delicate hamstring aside), but it was interesting watching bodies around me trying... Continue Reading →

July 25, 2016 5

Books vs body

Prof Mark Williams -- the proponent of mindfulness meditation for depression and other chronic illnesses (a kind of British Jon Kabat-Zinn if I may) -- really spoke to me when he said that he once thought he could learn everything about Mindfulness by reading about it. And then he realised that it's a practice. And... Continue Reading →

March 23, 2016 2

In and out of the comfort zone

It's often said that Patanjali has little to offer on asana practice. Even so, I reckon that sthira sukham asanam (YS 2.46 "asana should be stable and comfortable") is one of the better known sutras. But I confess Patanjali's advice here has always just seemed something that might possibly apply to other people, but definitely not to me.... Continue Reading →