Airport weirdo

I'm on the road right now. So I'm practising the yoga of travelling. The yoga of patience and allowing events to unfold without the ability to change much of what happens. I am a passive player in this and the experience of recognising that and just flowing along is quite interesting. Could I maintain this attitude... Continue Reading →

December 22, 2016 3

Easy does it

Hubby's started practising a little at home again now. I'm so pleased for him to have got to the point where this feels like a good thing for him. He's rehabbing himself gently and I am so immensely proud of his patience and his quiet efforts. I'm learning so much from him, from hearing him... Continue Reading →

December 4, 2016 1

Offerings

Practice is feeling hard for me right now. So hard that I reached out to two of the most solid practitioners in one of the classes I go to regularly just to tell them this and to draw support from something shared. Not my usual way at all. I usually fight alone. They both offered me something, my... Continue Reading →

December 2, 2016 1

Tuning in and reprogramming

I adjusted the hands of a student in down dog the other day; she had one much further forward than the other. She twisted to look up at me anxiously: "Are you sure? That feels really weird!" I reassured her that weird was OK. She does this every single down dog and she's been practising... Continue Reading →

November 23, 2016 0

Exploring the three corners of the world

First question of teacher training (the yoga equivalent of those terrible corporate ice-breakers you have to deal with in management seminars and what-not) - what's your favourite and least favourite yoga pose? Tricky question. So many to choose from -- in the 'least favourite' category that is! 🙂 One of them was definitely Trikoṇāsana. I... Continue Reading →

November 18, 2016 2

When a rest is as good as a change

I was telling Hubby about recent experiences of sitting practice and the feelings of frustration that arise, turning recent attempts into something of a patient sitting out, a waiting for this to pass, to resolve itself in time. I feel OK with that, for me it's no big deal in the grander scheme; I've been... Continue Reading →

November 17, 2016 2

Not (yet)

I got an unsought for lesson in acceptance today. Part of it involved letting go my dislike of city rain. Countryside rain is good: think dramatic cloud-driven skies, damp earthy scents, animal footprints filling up with water on a muddy path... I could go on; I love that. So evocative. City rain on the other hand is all impatient pedestrians seemingly intent... Continue Reading →

November 16, 2016 0

Taking refuge in yoga

Despite the title, this isn't a blog about yoga and politics -- though there's a lot of that about these days. Maybe too much. And incidentally as I write I have half an ear on J. Brown's latest podcast which begins with a reflection that yoga teachers shouldn't feel the need to comment on politics... Continue Reading →

November 15, 2016 2

Longing and belonging

We started in Paścimottānāsana. A strange sensation, never an opening pose surely? Brain started to question this, frustrations threatened. How could I be expected to take this shape without any warmup or hip work... But I'm here because I trust the teacher, that he has an idea he's exploring and offering, and who I am... Continue Reading →

November 11, 2016 5

The new morning habit

I met with a fellow new graduate this week. We caught up on life and work, and of course yoga. We both admitted feeling a bit disconnected with our practice recently. "At least you've been doing it, though" was her comment to me. For reasons of life changes and injury she's not been practising at home... Continue Reading →