Telling stories

Telling stories. Telling stories. RE-telling stories I was formally trained to study the past. I used to be an archaeologist. My academic training taught me that there's usually more than one interpretation of the evidence and if you follow the more radical post-modern theories the past is unknowable and all interpretations become equally valid... Death... Continue Reading →

February 22, 2019 0

Jumping for joy

Rolfing is an odd process. It takes me by surprise over and over: how I feel in my body, what I learn, what I talk about with my Rolfer, and how endlessly wise she seems so me -- yet how subtly she conveys her teaching, through her fingertips and quiet patience with me as much... Continue Reading →

February 9, 2019 2

Careful

One of my teachers seems to me to be indomitable. I don't know her well personally, but from what she shares publicly I know she's been through a bunch of sh*t. Most recently she underwent pretty serious surgery and from a distance I followed her steps towards healing and mobility with a sense of awe.... Continue Reading →

September 30, 2018 0

Expect the unexpected

It's definitely the end of summer in Greece. The temperature dropped nearly 10 degrees overnight. Yoga practice is always an interesting lens through which to see what's going on more generally as I observe how my practice differs with the weather. As the temperatures varied my practice went from a joyful and adventurous exploration of... Continue Reading →

September 28, 2018 3

Deep compassion

I've been avoiding someone from my past life for a while now. They hurt me a lot, in ways I'm only just coming to recognise, let along come to terms with. For the past few months these memories, long suppressed, have come out in my yoga practice. That's my laboratory and place of experimentation. How... Continue Reading →

August 20, 2018 4

Uncomfortable truth

Life has been full of physical discomforts recently. Terrible toothache at times so bad I was maxing out on various types of painkiller, and for the final 45 minutes or so before the next dose reduced to whimpering, foetal position pain. It’s nerve-related and there’s no relief to be had from that. Just an extended... Continue Reading →

October 14, 2017 0

Sticky negativity

I always learn so much from a visit to the physio. It's fascinating observing similarities and differences between therapeutic exercises and manipulation and the practice of āsana and physical assists in class. I was back yesterday with ongoing shoulder issues which is turning into a longer story than I wanted. No boring details here, but... Continue Reading →

February 10, 2017 4

On the homefront

One of the things sensibly impressed upon us in teacher training was about recognising the limits of one's knowledge, not to get caught up in wanting to help, or wanting yoga to help, and therefore over-promising or trying to over-deliver. We are not training to be physical or mental therapists (or magicians!), just yoga teachers.... Continue Reading →

January 10, 2017 4

Lone goose

I'm doing one of Norman Blair's Yin Yoga workshops soon so I was browsing his website and reading some of his writings. The one that struck me was his reflections on his experience of acute appendicitis and the recovery after surgery. He had difficulty allowing himself to be ill -- continuing to teach a workshop even though... Continue Reading →

November 26, 2016 1

Healing — with champagne

I usually run fast away from anything that has the word 'healing' associated with it. The mere word triggers an angry reaction in me that there's something broken that needs fixing, that I'm vulnerable or impaired, to be felt sorry for. I feel patronised. But... I ended up at a Yin workshop yesterday that was all... Continue Reading →