Smiles and kindnesses

Today has been a series of small kindnesses by those in my life and those passing fleetingly across it. Outside the yoga studio I heard a really exuberant "Good morning!" and belatedly realised it was directed at me. So this friendly stranger and I stood for a peaceful moment our faces turned up towards the spring... Continue Reading →

February 19, 2016 2

Seek and ye shall find?

A girl turned up to yoga last night and found she had left her yoga clothes at home. She laughed as she told me about looking in her bag for a third time not quite believing that they weren't there. She couldn't shake the feeling that if she just looked again a bit harder they'd... Continue Reading →

February 10, 2016 5

Contented locusts at home

Class vs home? Today my continued cold made the decision for me. Trekking across town was several steps too far for me today -- especially in the rain! So home won out -- and happily. I had a fascinating practice. Lots of deep listening to my body in a way I don't/can't usually in class.... Continue Reading →

January 10, 2016 3

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

I'm quite a fan of Christmas. I love my family, faults and all. They love me back, they always have and I know they always will. The liberation and contentment that comes from unconditional love is the most special thing on earth I think. In my last yoga class before Christmas my teacher urged us... Continue Reading →

December 27, 2015 5

Presents and Presence

So Christmas time. We're home at the ancestral babycrow nest with my parents for a few days. Veggies have been peeled and chopped and glasses polished to make things easier tomorrow, and we're now just settling in for a quiet evening of chatting and catching up, with Champagne accompaniment. The presents are wrapped and underneath the... Continue Reading →

December 24, 2015 5

Discomfort in my yoga practice — and not how you might think

I've been reading recently about Conan Doyle (he of Sherlock Holmes fame) and his interest in Spiritualism (ectoplasm, fairies, and psychic phenomena). In the later part of his life Conan Doyle explored Spiritualism as a way of trying to resolve his religious upbringing and Jesuit education with his scientific training as a doctor: "Victorian science would... Continue Reading →

December 14, 2015 1

Teenage crush or the real thing?

I often hear people proclaiming how in love they are with yoga, obsessed even. They must tell me, they have to share. They have a light in their eye and they are full of enthusiasm and energy. Being in love is wonderful, right? So why does this make me feel uncomfortable? Surely it's not just because I'm... Continue Reading →

October 2, 2015 8

Fitting in

A weekend with family. And with a cold. Difficult while I was away to find time, space, or inclination for asana practice. But I did because it's now weird not to (when did that happen, I wonder?). Physically I really needed a stretch for aching limbs, but more than that I wanted a bit of stillness and... Continue Reading →

September 28, 2015 4

Corporate yoga — it’s not what you think!

"What did you do to him while I was away?" My boss has just come back from holiday and was asking me about the change he could see in a team member I've just taken line-management responsibility for. He's like a different person: more engaged, volunteering information in meetings, and quick to propose solutions to the day-to-day challenges... Continue Reading →

September 14, 2015 2

Hot holiday yoga

Yoga on holiday -- sometimes a challenge, but always a pleasure. A bit like yoga at home, now that I've put it that way! Yet holiday yoga always feels different. Why is that? Is it the warmth? Hmm, maybe, but my usual studio is far from cool, nor is my home on home practice days. It's certainly not... Continue Reading →