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 →

August 5, 2024 2

Darshana in the Arctic Circle

I think my handstand coach must have some advanced degree in psychology, he reads me so well. His latest drill for me is what we came to call ‘enjoying the view’. A kick up to the wall, time here simply feeling the wonder of my body upside-down, knowing my alignment is good and my body... Continue Reading →

July 18, 2023 1

Moving and shaking

I trust my teacher. So when he gave me a ball at the start of our yoga session together I tried to go with it — even though ‘it’ was an excruciatingly awkward exploration of shoulder and hip mobility and how to connect the two. The ball balancing aspect added challenge, or focus, or maybe... Continue Reading →

May 29, 2021 1

Whispers in the wind

I go out for a little run once a week. It’s a big deal for me. For several years now yoga has been my refuge, a way of slowly reconnecting with my body one breath at a time. I used to take it really easy, following the advice to listen to my body. Until I... Continue Reading →

January 17, 2021 5

Circle of support

I heard someone say the other day that you’re never alone when you’re practising yoga: whenever you step onto your mat anywhere in the world, day or night, you can be sure that someone somewhere is doing the same thing. The idea was that although yoga is inherently a solitary practice, you’re not really going... Continue Reading →

November 15, 2020 7

Soft heart practice

Saturday morning class. An effort to get out of bed and roll across the hallway to where my mat and camera is set up. The strange world of online yoga. Some days it’s difficult to be a student like this; it would be easy not to bother. But I don’t escape my teacher’s eagle eye,... Continue Reading →

August 9, 2020 1

Scars

I’m spending more time outside these days. In the past office life would have meant the whole day indoors, with just a short walking commute in my work-clothes. Lockdown means I’m working from home but relieving the intensity and stress with lunchtime walks in the nearby fields or some yoga in the park when work... Continue Reading →

June 15, 2020 1

Food for thought

I went to the supermarket today, something I don't do very often. Groceries usually come to me by doorstep delivery, supplemented by a weekly fruit and veg box and some small scale supplementary shopping by Hubby. I hate supermarkets. In truth I find them slightly overwhelming. Everything seems excessive -- quantities, choice, variety of brands.... Continue Reading →

October 6, 2019 4

No feeling is final

“Go to the limits of your longing... Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final” (Rilke) Practice at the moment is an experience of longing. I feel a deep yearning to be more fully with myself, to let go of the past, to feel the reality of the... Continue Reading →

March 18, 2019 0

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 →