Timelessness — as always

I told my teacher recently about a photo I saw of a girl in urdhva hastasana. Not a pose I've really thought about much, until recently. Now it's come up as part of a self-project of settling more deeply into my surya namaskar. I have the idea of elevating it beyond the physical exertion of... Continue Reading →

March 18, 2022 5

Texture

My mum and I are in the habit now of exchanging photos from our respective self-isolations. We share some details of what we’ve seen on our daily walks, our one form of outdoor entertainment. Today she sent me pictures of some sawn tree trunks. She had found them beautiful. She commented on the shapes and... Continue Reading →

June 14, 2020 8

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

Quality not quantity

Numbers are one of my least favourite things. If you can have a phobia of numbers, then I do. I prefer things I can count simply on the fingers of one hand. Thankfully, leaving the magic 108 aside, yoga seems mercifully free of numbers. Or is it... After all, I have an Astanga-trained friend who... Continue Reading →

August 29, 2018 6

Sorrier namaskar

"Inhale hands to prayer. Make it real" My teacher knows I'm nervous, gives me a breath to settle myself here before I 'show him' my Surya Namaskar A. I know it's not, but it feels like a test. He's standing just on the edge of my field of vision, a safe distance away, an unnerving... Continue Reading →