Thanks to the gods in my world

I sent out a few written notes of appreciation after my teacher training course. I felt super self-conscious doing this. Not helped by Hubby making some flippant remark about sucking up to the teachers! Uh, I really hoped it wasn't perceived like that. For myself I just feared it might be seen as overly dutiful... Continue Reading →

September 28, 2016 1

Ground control

Sometimes I get totally overwhelmed with backbends. I'm slowly learning not to, but rather to play the edge without tipping over the precipice completely -- but still... Recently in a crisis moment I've noticed what my body wants to do -- to sit up crossed legged with hands palm down on the mat in front... Continue Reading →

September 13, 2016 2

Waking up at sunset

Hubby's got himself a new osteopath and a new diagnosis for his back pain. It all sounds like progress to me. I like the sound of his osteo -- and not just because his description of our yoga together recently got her thumbs up!! So now he's accommodating to a new way of perceiving his body and... Continue Reading →

August 25, 2016 2

Doing it. Weird or not.

My teacher often catches me unawares with a seemingly plain comment that then echoes round in my head for days or weeks, or sneaks up on me way after the event with a new truth suddenly revealed. So it was today. I recalled his words to me during TT recently, a day when I'd left... Continue Reading →

August 21, 2016 2

Graduation day!

I didn't know whether I should go for a traditional foot-kissing routine with my teacher... It would have best shown how I felt. But he's so not the guru type (fortunately 🙂 ). So instead I followed the protocol of a quick cheek press as I received my TT certificate yesterday. I always thought TT would... Continue Reading →

August 14, 2016 4

Under observation

First days of TT offered all sorts of new experiences -- obviously. One major feature was observation in various ways. We practised watching each other in a pose; we were asked to begin to reflect on anatomical alignment and energetic qualities. This needs much more experience and understanding than I currently have, but these first... Continue Reading →

July 11, 2016 0

2 days in

Ok super-quick post -- just because friends have been asking... I'm two days into teacher training. I am already Tired (note the capital T). But also Exhilarated (also a capital!). It's been amazing to start in baby steps (increasingly quick ones today) to teaching one other person some simple stuff. So many small difficulties, so many... Continue Reading →

July 2, 2016 5

Lineage of a sort

Recently I've been talking a lot on the phone with my original guru -- my high school classics teacher who was a fundamental influence on my intellectual development. He stopped me being a lazy and arrogant teenage sh*t, he set me on the straight and narrow and kept me there through some pretty tough discipline, and... Continue Reading →

June 26, 2016 2

Body of peace

My teacher came to check on me (or rather my hamstring) before class and offered some words of wisdom for my practice -- to observe, not to go deep, just to feel and explore. To this I mentally added my own intention to cultivate joy and compassion. I really appreciated his care. I felt well-looked... Continue Reading →

June 7, 2016 0

Lost for words

My teacher's just come back after some time off sick. He'd lost his voice. I asked him if he'd meditated on the ill-health and learned anything from that! I was being ironic or teasing a little: he asked me to do just this after an injury many months ago, and it was simultaneously the most... Continue Reading →