Moments of disbelief

My class laughed when I said I was going to miss them while I'm away for a few weeks. They often laugh incredulously at the things I say. They don't believe that I will actually miss them, just as they don't believe that teaching times are my favourite times of the working week, that I... Continue Reading →

September 16, 2018 2

Had we but world enough and time

Had we but world enough and time ..... But at my back I always hear Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near; (Andrew Marvell) One of my teachers asked me last week how my own teaching was going. "Really well" burst from my lips before my usual reticence caught up to the conversation. "As far as I... Continue Reading →

September 6, 2018 6

Listening to Chopin

I'm feeling a certain softness and tenderness towards myself these days. It's growing a little within me. My teachers are inspiring some honest self-care. Not the self-soothing warm baths and small indulgences type of nurturing that seems commonly advocated in popular media but which I suspect has little to do with yoga. Theirs is a... Continue Reading →

July 28, 2018 5

It’s my turn

So guru purnima is coming up and this is always a time of year when I take a little more time around and through my practice to reflect on my teachers, what they offer me, how I respond to that and how I might carry forward their teachings within my practice -- or not (yet).... Continue Reading →

July 19, 2018 0

Illuminating contrast

I was talking recently with a student who volunteered that she finds meditation in noisy places easier than in silence. She has stopped getting up so early for practice because she found the deep silence too difficult, whereas the noise of rush-hour traffic was much easier! I've found this to be true for myself too.... Continue Reading →

July 12, 2018 2

Once good, twice even better

So I just gave my Second Ever Yoga Workshop today. I'm feeling super-proud and a teeny bit accomplished! But I'm keeping things really modest, baby steps and all. The groups were really small, a handful of students each time, and the second workshop was essentially a repeat of the first for those missed it. Repetition... Continue Reading →

June 16, 2018 2

Holding space

Holding space. It's an expression that pops up a lot in yoga, as perhaps in more directly therapeutic work. I guess the idea is about creating a safe container for someone, to allow them to have their time and space. The teacher's role is to provide the context for the examination but not the answers.... Continue Reading →

June 14, 2018 4

QED

I walked in on coffee-time conversation at work this week, with colleagues discussing how they hated the fact that the gym instructors don’t actually do the class themselves. The point was that they just didn’t believe some things were possible. The teacher screams at them to do another set of reps, to go deeper, push... Continue Reading →

June 3, 2018 2

What’s it worth?

I was listening to a couple of really established international-circuit teachers talking recently on a podcast about how when they started out they offered their teaching for free, then asked for a minimal contribution from students, until they were ultimately kind of pressured into asking a proper fee. It sounds very noble. But I get... Continue Reading →

April 17, 2018 3

Guru in cyberspace

Before I left home for a few weeks, a couple of my students came to talk to me about how they could continue practising while I'm away. I had this great conversation with one student in particular, a newbie who's attended two classes only. I asked her what she wanted in her practice, so I... Continue Reading →