Why I love the cold virus

"Having a cold is really funny!" I told Hubby. He begged to differ. "Not if you've had as many as I have" was his grumpy reply. But seriously, it's no biggie really, even if temporarily it saw me in bed for a few days and has kept me away from the yoga studio for more than... Continue Reading →

January 28, 2016 2

Sick of winter?

Last autumn I made a commitment to myself to try to approach my least favourite season of the year with a lighter attitude, hoping to lessen the winter darkness with a bit of positive thinking and some constructive actions. Now we've passed the shortest day I'm breathing something of a sigh of relief. I'm on the home straight,... Continue Reading →

January 7, 2016 3

Gratitude in the dark

Gratitude has become one of those fashionable things. We're all at it. My Facebook feed is full of people listing stuff they're grateful for. I guess it's great that they're practicing this and taking the time to think. Except that cynically I'm not sure it isn't all a bit superficial. Most of the things people express... Continue Reading →

December 18, 2015 6

Métro, boulot, dodo — just add yoga!

I love the French expression "métro, boulot, dodo". There's no good English equivalent. It means "work, work, work", or more literally "commuting, working, sleeping", summing up the treadmill where work seems to dominate your existence. Life feels a little like this at the moment, but (here's the silver lining) with little in the way of commuting... Continue Reading →

October 30, 2015 0

Jelly-asana

I went to class last night feeling like a jelly. Muscles felt non-existent. I was weak, devoid of energy. How would it be to practice like that? I'm slowly, slowly learning to ask the question genuinely without fearing the answer. If I am well enough to get there, I go to class and let the... Continue Reading →

October 23, 2015 1

A pearl fisher in camouflage

Spoonies are masters of disguise. I sure know that with years of diligent practice I've developed the art of camouflaging how I feel: I only go out on good days, and the bad days spent curled up at home are invisible to everyone but my nearest and dearest. I sometimes don't even offer my friends the... Continue Reading →

October 14, 2015 7

Snakes alive!

So on the news there was a story about a lost boa constrictor that escaped from its owner's bath -- perhaps down the toilet. The general public are warned not to approach! I'm listening to the news on the radio as I spend recovery time in bed, feeling ill. But despite (or because of...) how ill... Continue Reading →

September 20, 2015 5

The upside of power cuts

When I woke up this morning and looked at the alarm clock I smiled. As I turned on the lamp in the semi-darkness I grinned. I padded off to the shower where I positively gurgled in pleasure at the feeling of the hot water on my skin. Why so exuberantly happy? Because all these things depend... Continue Reading →

September 10, 2015 2

“You are not a patient”

I saw my GP last week. I wanted some advice about muscles aches -- not the regular over-asana'ed ones. The bone-pulling, dead-weight, so stiff you feel about to snap ME-style ones that make any travel further than the bathroom seem like an impossibility and holding arms up long enough to shampoo hair takes serious effort.... Continue Reading →

September 6, 2015 8

Compassion for the skeletons in the closet

Compassion is a topic I keep coming across in blogs at the moment (picking up the idea of serendipity from my own blog recently!). Yogis often talk about cultivating compassion towards others, but receiving compassion is also an art that's worth practicing. I read a great post recently about handling compassion, how to confront one's vulnerability and... Continue Reading →