Best offering

Class started in full praṇām. Prostrate, arms outstretched, palms turned upward. The ultimate giving pose. Deeply humbling, stretched out on the floor, no defense. It's impossible to transition easily out of this posture. But then this pose is not about moving on: it's about being committed here. It's not about the look of it, and... Continue Reading →

December 18, 2017 2

Teaching prep

Prep for teaching today: a couple of hours on the sofa, clutching a hot water bottle against my stomach cramps, a box of tissues within hand's reach. I have a cold and it's rocked my system a bit overall; it doesn't take much to throw me off balance. It's OK, it'll pass, I know that.... Continue Reading →

January 25, 2017 4

Sweet yoga at home

Hubby offered to guide me through practice the other day. He could see that I was struggling with fatigue, physical and mental, and that I was finding it difficult to find the energy or inspiration to practise on my own. I received his generous and loving offering rather ungraciously I'll admit! I'd like to say... Continue Reading →

September 2, 2016 2

Trying on a teacher’s shoes

Now that I'm definitely signed up for teacher training, I'm trying hard to get on quietly with the pre-course reading, but otherwise just keep on with doing my practice as well as I can and not start second-guessing what preparations I might otherwise do before the course. I'm trying to trust my teacher: if he... Continue Reading →

April 10, 2016 8

Darkness in surya namaskar

I know the yogic drill. I'm supposed to be present. I'm supposed to let my body move through the sequences, breathing through any intensity, avoiding nothing. Today the choreography of movement was some exquisite torture. Each surya namaskar was a physical confrontation to my desire to retreat, to curl up and make myself small. Instead... Continue Reading →

February 12, 2016 2

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

Practising yoga as “swimming in a culture of advancement”

I enjoy reading Christina Sell's blog, though I've never met her. She has an openness, almost rawness in her writing that I personally find very appealing and engaging. She wrote recently a couple of blog posts (first this and then a follow up here) about -- amongst many things -- the performance of yoga compared... Continue Reading →