New nest

I've just moved into a new office at work. Still sharing -- and in a slightly cosier-sized room than previously, but the environment overall is much more babycrow-friendly, so this is very OK. For a start I've swapped a slightly uninspiring rooftop view for a beautiful tree view. And if you look closely you'll see there's even... Continue Reading →

April 4, 2016 3

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

Sprezzatura yoga

Sprezzatura is a beautiful-sounding word coined in the sixteenth century to define the ideals of courtly behaviour in Renaissance Italy. It originally meant "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it". I think my yoga teacher displays... Continue Reading →

November 24, 2015 3

What yoga teaches me about learning Sanskrit

I still have nightmares of learning Latin as a child. One year my teacher had me reading Caesar with him ‘for fun’ once a week. We read at speed as a bit of a warm up for the real work. One class was particularly punishing: he was impatient and pushing faster, I lost my place... Continue Reading →

October 17, 2015 1

A lesson in simplicity — meditating with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Life can get very complicated. And I'm great at making even the simple stuff difficult. I have a PhD in it -- pretty much! So it was really refreshing last night to be reminded of how amazing the simple stuff really is. That we can hear sounds and voices and make sense of them, that we... Continue Reading →