My teacher's theme in class at the moment is driving me a bit mad. It's a good theme -- of course! -- but I'm finding it too hard to process; I don't want to hear it. He circles round the idea of ego and effort and honesty. Today was about 'unveiling', letting go all the accumulated cr*p from... Continue Reading →
P*ssing about in yoga
I went to my penultimate Iyengar class (5/6 introductory classes done) this weekend. Arriving early at the Institute I decided to roll out my mat in the neighbouring park. The October sunshine was warm enough to roll lightly through some parts of my teaching sequence, establishing it in my body-brain ready for a few classes I'm leading this... Continue Reading →
Morning meditation
I have a slightly fragile morning meditation habit -- reignited thanks to daily TT routine which I've tried to continue with. This morning was threatened with derailment of a mundane kind -- Hubby being noisily up and about and an impending grocery delivery to the house to fit around... Not to mention me feeling tired and... Continue Reading →
Krishna love
"Where-ere-ere-ere is love? Does it fall from skies above? Is it underneath the willow tree That I've been dreaming of?" Today I feel as though I'm going to break out (most uncharacteristically, I must say! 🙂 ) into a Walt Disney tune! We've been exploring love and compassion in class a bit recently, using Krishna... Continue Reading →
Whispers of love
I'm back. I'm back in my body. And I'm back in class. Happily so. OK, so I've been here all along in this same body, but now it feels more at ease, less as though I've gone a few rounds in the ring and come off distinctly the worse. So practice in class today was less... Continue Reading →
Finding a re-union
What's that saying about if you think you're enlightened, try spending time with your family? Well, I can't ever imagine claiming enlightenment, but I don't see my family as much as I'd like so I can't often put it to the test anyway... 🙂 But this weekend was a family weekend. I find these times now... Continue Reading →
For crying out loud
We touched on crying in class recently in Teacher Training. My teacher asked me to talk about my experiences -- not about my own breakdowns (of course!) but a time when I was next to someone who was crying hard during class. No quiet weeping either, but some full-on gasping, heart-wrenching sobbing. The other student teachers asked me what I... Continue Reading →
Together alone
I've just left Hubby in Greece. He's staying out longer than I can, given my other commitments. We have a long history of airport/train station goodbyes as our relationship gradually shifted from two separate continents, to the same continent, then to the same country, and finally to the same town. What we don't know about... Continue Reading →
My annoying habit with yoga blocks
After class the other day my friend told me about the difficulty she had during the practice, when we were doing supine twists. You know the problem? Mats close together means everyone has to roll in neat synchronisation, otherwise there's just not enough room. My friend's neighbour seemed to have arms and legs everywhere meaning... Continue Reading →
Body of peace
My teacher came to check on me (or rather my hamstring) before class and offered some words of wisdom for my practice -- to observe, not to go deep, just to feel and explore. To this I mentally added my own intention to cultivate joy and compassion. I really appreciated his care. I felt well-looked... Continue Reading →