Moving and shaking

I trust my teacher. So when he gave me a ball at the start of our yoga session together I tried to go with it — even though ‘it’ was an excruciatingly awkward exploration of shoulder and hip mobility and how to connect the two. The ball balancing aspect added challenge, or focus, or maybe... Continue Reading →

May 29, 2021 1

Feeding the wolf

They say the wolf that grows bigger and thrives is the one you choose to feed. Lately I’ve been taking care what I ‘feed’. Or to put it another way I’ve been taking care how much I listen to the inner critical voices (the wolf inside of me), lessening the amount of fuel I give... Continue Reading →

March 11, 2021 3

Anticipation and relief

It feels like a day of collective pausing in anticipation: internationally awaiting results of the US presidential elections and in England it’s the first day of a new month-long lockdown. The outcomes of these circumstances is uncertain, but so much hangs on them. It feels almost as though the future of humanity is at stake.... Continue Reading →

November 5, 2020 2

About town

I ventured out one day this week, walking right across town, west to east. All of three miles! It was the deepest into urban space that I have been in the past six months or so of lockdown. I have avoided concentrations of people and enclosed spaces; I simply had no need of them. I... Continue Reading →

October 8, 2020 2

Hearing voices

Hubby jokes that I'm a wannabe Ashtangi because I usually take Saturdays off physical practice. It's not actually planned, it just fits with the flow of my week and I think a day off is good for mind and body. But now I'm on holiday with family my whole routine is out the window and... Continue Reading →

December 26, 2019

A good telling off

I don’t like being told off. “Don’t shout at me” I often say to my husband. “I’m not shouting” he usually retorts and at some volume. He’s from a more adversarial family than I am, whereas when I was a child, we never raised our voices. Ever. Well, I did as a teenager.... But I... Continue Reading →

September 14, 2019 3

Change is hard

My boss in the office often tells me that change is hard. My yoga teacher tells me the same. Change is the name of the game right now, in both worlds corporate and yoga. And they're right: it is hard! In yoga I am trying my practice a new way. Sure, it might not end... Continue Reading →

April 16, 2019 1

Sorrier namaskar

"Inhale hands to prayer. Make it real" My teacher knows I'm nervous, gives me a breath to settle myself here before I 'show him' my Surya Namaskar A. I know it's not, but it feels like a test. He's standing just on the edge of my field of vision, a safe distance away, an unnerving... Continue Reading →

July 5, 2018 2

Beautiful practice

My Rolfing session today ended as it began with me walking around the room. At the beginning of a session it's all about body observation, her watching my way of locomotion, how my body negotiates gravity and travels through space. Specifically in my case, how I don't use my toes when I walk, they are... Continue Reading →

June 18, 2018 0

Observation

It seems to be all about observation at the moment. Trying to see (or feel) with more clarity and dispassion. Less drama, less judgment. I've been trying to prep for a private with my teacher, which is always a time for reflection and evaluation, but I'm trying hard within this work not to find myself... Continue Reading →