Sunday is not the day of rest

Before Yoga found me and took a hold of me Sundays meant this: a lazy lie-in, followed by a cooked breakfast (with lots of bacon!), an afternoon nap, and then a slightly miserable evening involving alcohol in an abortive attempt to avoid thoughts of work the following morning. OK, so this is a slight exaggeration or simplification,... Continue Reading →

April 24, 2016 7

Rollercoaster yoga

Practicing feels like a rollercoaster ride at the moment. One minute it's all hand waving and goofy grins, shrieking with excitement. The next my stomach drops out and I'm white-knuckling in fear, barely able to breathe. And then up and down again. Each practice unpredictably a peak or a trough. Because despite this disorientating unpredictability I keep... Continue Reading →

April 22, 2016 3

Catharsis

A wound that was left untended for years festers out of sight, pus-filled and infected. One day you unwittingly prod at it and find you take some strange pleasure in the discomfort, in really feeling the hurt as you probe how deep it runs. It opens up, spills out a little -- and it's messy. But there's... Continue Reading →

April 21, 2016 2

Another year rolls round

What's another birthday between blogging friends? As always it's a time to reflect a little on another year past. But I'm choosing this year mostly to be in the now, rather than in the might-have-been past. Life feels good overall and I'm immensely grateful for that. So by way of a celebration of life, I... Continue Reading →

April 20, 2016 6

Alive today

I don't think I've ever opened my eyes in śavāsana before. I did today. I suddenly realised I was looking at the ceiling and the dimmed lights above me. A weird out of body experience where I was acutely aware of my body lying there, vulnerable and open, melting into the mat, taking up the space... Continue Reading →

April 17, 2016 0

Me as myself

I've been writing here for more than a year now and it still feels like a wonderful thing to share thoughts in progress, record aspects of my practice, and connect with others on similar-but-different explorations of their own. (Thank you all who follow and comment). But at the beginning of the year I also started writing... Continue Reading →

April 16, 2016 7

Sleeping my way to enlightenment

Physical practice this week has been a bit of a bust. I accompanied Hubby to a Hot Power class at the weekend, because he wanted company. But the teacher came and asked me if I was OK during the class and again after the class because I spent so much time lying down! It made... Continue Reading →

April 14, 2016 5

Trying on a teacher’s shoes

Now that I'm definitely signed up for teacher training, I'm trying hard to get on quietly with the pre-course reading, but otherwise just keep on with doing my practice as well as I can and not start second-guessing what preparations I might otherwise do before the course. I'm trying to trust my teacher: if he... Continue Reading →

April 10, 2016 8

Yoga at the British Museum

Last night I went to a panel discussion at the British Museum called "Yoga: austerity, passion and peace". I was encouraged to go by Jason Birch now at SOAS and working with James Mallinson and Mark Singleton on a fascinating research project documenting the history of Haṭha Yoga. I encountered Jason as the patient tutor of an... Continue Reading →

April 9, 2016 5

Sore in patches

When I got home after my extended arm-balancing playtime in class the other night I was scrutinised by Hubby. "Did you do a lot of crow today?" he asked me. How can he tell? Do I have a particular post-Bakasana look? No, it turned out he'd caught sight of bruises on my arms! And a friction burn... Continue Reading →