Purring cats and the power of Om

My teacher's on a thing with Om at the moment. So that kind of means I am too. We've been beginning class chanting PYS 1.28: taj-japas tad-artha-bhāvanam By chanting Om one realizes the meaning of Om He's talked to us about the three sounds that make up Om (AUM) and how they relate to the body --... Continue Reading →

February 18, 2016 3

Why I love the cold virus

"Having a cold is really funny!" I told Hubby. He begged to differ. "Not if you've had as many as I have" was his grumpy reply. But seriously, it's no biggie really, even if temporarily it saw me in bed for a few days and has kept me away from the yoga studio for more than... Continue Reading →

January 28, 2016 2

Contented locusts at home

Class vs home? Today my continued cold made the decision for me. Trekking across town was several steps too far for me today -- especially in the rain! So home won out -- and happily. I had a fascinating practice. Lots of deep listening to my body in a way I don't/can't usually in class.... Continue Reading →

January 10, 2016 3

Ostrich yoga

First yoga class after the Christmas hiatus was not on the face of it very much fun. My tricky hamstring is not at all happy right now and after a fraught Christmas I was in a very emotional place too. The opening chant lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu reduced me to tears before we'd even done a single... Continue Reading →

December 30, 2015 3

Facing the cobra — together

So finally (I wrote about this nearly a month ago!) Hubby and I looked together at his Bhujangāsana at his request. A big vote of confidence from him, given that all backbends scare him a lot, even tiny baby cobra ones. It turns out he was confused by his teacher's cue to imagine that there's... Continue Reading →

December 19, 2015 3

Green-eyed yogini

I envied the practice of the girl next to me in class. I wasn't watching her, but I had a sense of her gracefulness -- lightness and control, movements that looked deliberate and yet natural. I could sense this more than I actually saw it. I was trying to do my own practice, after all!... Continue Reading →

December 4, 2015 0

Hello equanimity!

As I walked to class this morning I looked up at the wintry trees swaying in the strong wind, those with leaves fluttering madly, those without swaying their bare branches. Grey clouds scudded wildly behind. It was early and there were few people about. It felt like my kingdom, my territory: I had my place in... Continue Reading →

November 29, 2015 4

Métro, boulot, dodo — just add yoga!

I love the French expression "métro, boulot, dodo". There's no good English equivalent. It means "work, work, work", or more literally "commuting, working, sleeping", summing up the treadmill where work seems to dominate your existence. Life feels a little like this at the moment, but (here's the silver lining) with little in the way of commuting... Continue Reading →

October 30, 2015 0

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

Walk slowly

You know those times of coincidence, when the universe seems to offer you every chance at receiving a message -- it's offered to you in several forms and you somehow keep turning a blind eye to it? I've had so many messages to practice patience lovingly thrown across my path this week. The messengers have come... Continue Reading →