Time was when I'd wear a watch to every class so that I could keep an eye on the time. I wanted to pace myself so that I'd have enough energy to take me through the full sequence. I needed to reassure myself that I could get to the end OK. And aside from lacking... Continue Reading →
Far perception
Homework from my teacher this month has been to think about proprioception: how my body feels in space and how it makes me feel. I've just written him some rather convoluted reflections based on observations in recent practices. Such a range of feelings in my mind and my body, impossible to summarise. I'm sure he... Continue Reading →
Irritations in outer-space
On my way to class this morning (some yoga multi-tasking!) I listened to the recent YogaLand podcast with Kino MacGregor. She's not someone I come across very often, which I'm sure makes me quite exceptional, given how visible she is in some channels. But I'm not a big fan of either IG or YouTube. She... Continue Reading →
Open invitation
Jon Kabat-Zinn (the father of secular mindfulness) could have been talking about yoga when he said "As long as you are breathing there is more right with you than wrong with you". But he wasn't. He was (as I recall) talking about living with a chronic illness and finding a place of positivity from which... Continue Reading →
My annoying habit with yoga blocks
After class the other day my friend told me about the difficulty she had during the practice, when we were doing supine twists. You know the problem? Mats close together means everyone has to roll in neat synchronisation, otherwise there's just not enough room. My friend's neighbour seemed to have arms and legs everywhere meaning... Continue Reading →
Making space and giving way
I've been having a tough time of it at work recently. Too much to do, not enough time, not enough resources of any description. Necessity might be the mother of invention but all I'm able to create from this is a whole lot of stress. I can feel it in my body. The tight muscles,... Continue Reading →
Space and boundaries: where I practice my yoga
I've been thinking a little about space recently, or maybe that should be spaces in the plural, since I don't mean the intergalactic variety but more on the smaller personal environment scale. I'm still thinking through the class vs. home practice thing I've been wondering about recently. An aspect of this is the different physical... Continue Reading →