Angel face

"Practise with the face of an angel". Advice recently given to me, and slightly reluctantly received. What is an angel to me? I'm a good student, I try to see how I can follow the words of my teachers. But this? What business do I have seeking to present an angelic face to the world?... Continue Reading →

September 6, 2019 4

Running wild

When I first started Rolfing, my homework was about skipping and leaping, encouraging me to find a bit of joy in simple movements. I did my best, feeling a little foolish, needing to force the movements rather than finding them arising naturally. More recently my Rolfing homework has been about my effervescent ears. Same underlying... Continue Reading →

February 16, 2019 2

Jumping for joy

Rolfing is an odd process. It takes me by surprise over and over: how I feel in my body, what I learn, what I talk about with my Rolfer, and how endlessly wise she seems so me -- yet how subtly she conveys her teaching, through her fingertips and quiet patience with me as much... Continue Reading →

February 9, 2019 2

Playing favourites

I ran a workshop for my students recently to help them begin to establish their own home yoga practice. When helping them think about categorising the poses they knew so that they could define a simple sequence, I asked them to consider what their favourite pose was. Perhaps they could use that as the lynch-pin... Continue Reading →

January 24, 2019 0

Metaphorical work

I haven't written in an age. Did you notice, really? I haven't felt drawn to share much. A web of physical pain and some emotional (let's call them spiritual) entanglements and confusions, some quiet disillusionment about modern yoga -- all threatening stagnation in my practice but ultimately providing shitty fertilizer which has allowed for some... Continue Reading →

January 14, 2019 5

Looking at feet

I'm always a bit obsessed with feet -- show me a yogi who isn't! And on holiday it's magnified since I wear shoes (even) less than in normal life. I love the sensations of walking barefoot and how much more alive this makes me feel — from head to toe! Back in London my Rolfer... Continue Reading →

September 25, 2018 2

Back to earth

"I'd like to hold your heart; is that OK with you?" My new life-in-yoga constantly suprises me and this was certainly a question I'd not been asked before. It kind of freaked me out and I said so. "It's OK, take your time; you can tell me when you're ready". So no escaping the heart-holding... Continue Reading →

September 11, 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

Resources at my feet

Hubby practised the other day with the door open. His choice, but he clearly felt self-conscious knowing I was around. I could hear him humming his 'baby elephant' song to himself with each transition in his standing sequence. I asked him about it afterwards. "I just felt so clunky and unco-ordinated", he told me. I... Continue Reading →

June 8, 2018 2

First session

My yoga teacher is master of the annoying question. They make me want to groan out loud -- but he slightly tells me off for doing that, so now I try not to react so obviously! 🙂 And secretly I love these questions! They open my eyes a little wider to the world, hinting at... Continue Reading →