Maha prana

I’ve started including a bit more pranayama in my classes. It’s not something that featured prominently in the classes I attended myself so I’m a bit slow to incorporate it much in my own teaching and lack some confidence in doing so. But suddenly everything I learn about yoga seems to emphasise the nervous system... Continue Reading →

April 29, 2024 3

Bad weather

There’s no such thing as bad weather, as the saying goes -- provided you have the right clothing. I’m thinking of this now very literally as the weather in my little corner of the world has got quite suddenly much colder. Out comes my winter-weight parka with the ridiculously furry hood, my favourite mittens --... Continue Reading →

December 1, 2023 2

Counting

He taught me not to kill spiders just because I am afraid of them. I’m thinking of that now as I make my morning coffee. There’s a spider that’s set up home in the join of the wall to the ceiling. It’s right above my head, as I spoon coffee into the pot. I’m thinking... Continue Reading →

September 27, 2023 4

30 day yoga challenge

One of the studios where I teach has just run a 30 day challenge. I found it really hard. Not because I participated myself but because I kept getting drawn into conversations I didn't want to have about it with the students. The judgmental part of my brain just wanted to laugh out loud at... Continue Reading →

February 23, 2023 0

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

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

Movie night

How much do teachers share their own practice with their students? I find this a constant balancing act. How to root teaching in my own experiences and practice while generalizing it enough to be accessible to a group? I went to class recently where I was baffled by a lot of what was offered, not... Continue Reading →

February 24, 2019 0

Optative

I'm learning the optative in Sanskrit. My textbook tells me "the optative is a verb form that indicates possibility. It can be translated as 'should', 'would', 'could', 'ought' or 'may'. I found sentence 3 in the first exercise ironically amusing: "The teacher ought to be content". After all, the last time I had met with... Continue Reading →