Belonging in the family

My parents are aging. Although they are doing OK, I watch them negotiate the new challenges of their increasing years. There are social changes as their friendship circle diminishes (I don’t think I need to spell that one out more). Physical changes in aging bodies with joint issues and weaker muscles and lowered energy, hearing... Continue Reading →

March 16, 2024 4

Groovy chanting

In my online Veda class recently we fell into a group discussion about the challenges of sending our chant recordings to the teacher, the vulnerability of being obviously sh*t at something and doing it anyway, the importance of feedback for correction as well as encouragement, the joy of being seen (or heard) especially in these... Continue Reading →

March 12, 2024 3

The wise soul’s capacity

I’m still somewhere in the weird, uncharted territory of the grief cycle as it pertains not to an actual death but from a loss of a relationship, namely breaking up with my long-time yoga teacher. It’s not a socially-acceptable kind of grief and likely sounds all cultish and dependent and creepy to anyone not in... Continue Reading →

February 28, 2024 2

Park Run

I did my first Park Run just recently. This has been an item on my wishlist for a couple of years. Ahem, maybe it's a bit longer even than that. I know I've been holding back. Can I run 5km? Can I run 5km on a random Saturday morning, 'on demand', rather than picking optimal... Continue Reading →

June 16, 2023 5

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

Comparisons can be helpful

I finally got back to handstand class this week. I was paired with a really great partner who was fantastic at spotting me, giving loads of verbal and physical feedback which helped me feel safe and steady. I had a great practice. Yay! Much better than a previous experience of partner work. This time we... Continue Reading →

February 10, 2023 2

Chasing the challenge

I’m starting to write this in the evening time, but I’m almost too tired to sit up (or slump on the sofa) to write, maybe too tired to think coherently. I’ll likely to have to finish writing tomorrow. My whole body is aching and I think it’ll be early to bed for me. Why? I... Continue Reading →

August 15, 2020 2

Mini me

I spent time this weekend playing in my parents' garden with my little niece. She's four and a half, full of energy and apparently fearless. She loved rolling down the slope where my brother and I used to do the same thing several decades ago. She revelled in doing a run-up to perform multiple forward... Continue Reading →

June 16, 2019 2

80 years

Numbers again. This time celebrating a birthday -- my mum's 80th. Not that she's counting. She says this feels ridiculous, that she simply can't believe she's 80. And she doesn't look it, I tell her, and I mean it. We zipped down recently to spend a weekend with her and my dad. Time always flies... Continue Reading →

September 14, 2018 3

Deep compassion

I've been avoiding someone from my past life for a while now. They hurt me a lot, in ways I'm only just coming to recognise, let along come to terms with. For the past few months these memories, long suppressed, have come out in my yoga practice. That's my laboratory and place of experimentation. How... Continue Reading →