What if no-one sees?

I caught up with a work colleague the other day who was dabbling in Mindfulness practice last time we spoke some months ago. I asked her how it was going. She looked vaguely guilty and said she hadn’t kept it up because there was no motivation, no way of tracking her progress or knowing if... Continue Reading →

May 18, 2016 4

Yoga in the closet

I'm just back from a weekend visiting my family. A time for deep connection with those who know me most intimately, back in the house I grew up in. A time for reminiscing and replaying familiar jokes. A time for easy company, and well-established roles. In some senses a total reconnection with where I came from.... Continue Reading →

May 15, 2016 8

Sleeping my way to enlightenment

Physical practice this week has been a bit of a bust. I accompanied Hubby to a Hot Power class at the weekend, because he wanted company. But the teacher came and asked me if I was OK during the class and again after the class because I spent so much time lying down! It made... Continue Reading →

April 14, 2016 5

Is yoga ‘creative’ — and should it be?

We had a chat the other night at the beginning of class about whether yoga is creative or not. It sprang from someone asking my teacher if his classes were creative. He then got thinking about what that actually meant and brought the question to class for a little discussion. Immediate reaction from the class... Continue Reading →

April 6, 2016 10

Myself as a question mark

Hubby came and sat with me the other day at the end of my āsana practice. I was playing some music he liked, so we just listened, breathed, did whatever we each did for those short moments together. He's a bit cautious with physical practice at the moment which is entirely good and fine but I'm trying to... Continue Reading →

March 30, 2016 0

Laughing ribs

My teacher taught me a magic trick recently -- what I think of as 'the laughing ribs'. It involves a contraction (like when you laugh) that pulls in the lower ribs. Since then I've developed a minor obsession with this, which is I hope is just starting to mature into a bit more of a stable relationship.... Continue Reading →

March 29, 2016 4

Child’s pose for Hubby

Hubby has a phobia of restorative yoga. And I'm sure he's not the only one. If you're used to a more dynamic practice, the long passive holds and quiet spaces for the mind to go crazy in can be a bit daunting. For Hubby there's a lot of bodily tension in general and a complaining sciatic... Continue Reading →

March 19, 2016 5

Laughing and listening

The cue I was given about tucking the lower ribs in Kapotāsana made no sense at all -- my brain didn't understand and said so. "Why would I want to do that?" I asked my teacher. "Why indeed?" was his rather Delphic response which made me giggle. And hey presto -- it turns out that the... Continue Reading →

March 14, 2016 2

Practicing with a blank page

I wrote a bit earlier this week about how I'm finding practice really difficult at the moment. I currently have little patience or mental focus and attempts at home practice have been tough -- or totally abortive. Today I was booked onto an evening class and looking forward to it. Ah, a chance just to be told... Continue Reading →

March 3, 2016 2

Greeting the sun

Morning practice: a single slow sun salute. A breath in each āsana. That is all. So this will never turn me into an āsana champion, but it generated a spontaneous giggle from me and that's all I need. A giggle at how stiff and sore and tired my body is after just a couple of days... Continue Reading →