TT heebie jeebies

Someone was talking really loudly before class the other night. They were outside the studio door, but their voice carried clearly. I tried to ignore it. I'm breathing. I'm preparing. This is my time. Accept the sounds and then let them go -- that's what I was taught early on in meditation (in an absurdly... Continue Reading →

March 5, 2016 5

Do I care to share?

I try not to be evangelical about yoga, despite how passionately I feel about it. It's too easy to assume you know best what might help other people -- or indeed that they want any kind of help or relief. Suffering of all sorts is complex. And there's some martyr tendency in all of us... Continue Reading →

February 27, 2016 2

From plank to standing on my own two feet

I passed this sign today outside a café -- as I was following my head and heart to the yoga studio! My teacher was leading a small workshop looking at Chaturaṅga Daṇḍāsana. Such a luxury to spend more than an hour on a single āsana. And in really nice company. I got the feeling that everyone there... Continue Reading →

January 30, 2016 8

Lighter and deeper

A young friend of mine has just bought a house with her boyfriend. To her the financial commitment of joint property ownership comes easier than the emotional commitment of getting married. I thought this was strange. But now I wonder if it's not as topsy-turvy as it seemed. At my local yoga studio after an initial... Continue Reading →

October 19, 2015 5

What am I really hearing?

I recently read the expression 'a teacher's teacher' and I've been wondering what this means. And who it's meant to appeal to. Teachers presumably. So that they feel they're somewhere on the yoga teacher hierarchy (even non-judgemental yogis presumably have a sense of hierarchy) and are getting some superior level of teaching? I can only... Continue Reading →

August 13, 2015 1

Not waving but drowning

My three day yoga immersion is approaching and I have to say I am scared. What felt at the time of booking like a bold step forward now feels like a blind leap into the unknown. I guess the metaphor of an immersion requires you to be out of your depth. And for this babycrow... Continue Reading →

July 2, 2015 3

Learning to love the questions

I just can't not offer feedback, when I love something or when I hate it. 'Continuous improvement' (to use the business jargon) is central to who I am, and I can't help but foist that on others, even if they don't ask it or necessarily want it. So I offered my comments to my teacher... Continue Reading →