I led a workshop a while back for the Yoga Australia Association to address the issue of ‘yoga teacher burn-out’. It was an experiential session. We had an energetic discussion about how stressed teachers get in their lives and we tried to get to the bottom of why we behave in such a driven way at times.
While we didn’t get to any handy solutions, it made a difference to hear individuals talk about burn-out. […]
Next week I’ll be teaching in the Byron Yoga Therapy Course which I’ve had the honour of doing for the last four years.
What is yoga therapy? In one sense it’s a contradiction in terms because the basis of Patanjali’s meditation yoga is that an individual is whole and complete and doesn’t needing ‘fixing’. […]
You might be aware that I live in a little community of three couples on five acres in the country. When we located to this rural setting after having lived for decades in the city, we met our new neighbours and joined a choir, a book club and other groups.
I felt that I had to let our new acquaintances know very gently that my living situation was unusual, to say the least, at my age and stage in life: six people living under one roof. […]
I went back to school in the year 2000. I was definitely a mature age student, but about two-thirds of my class were too. We were enrolled in a yoga teacher training.
After having taught yoga for 15 years, I decided to learn some new things. […]
ilovefunnypics.com via pinterest
Years ago I saw a movie called “Something’s Got to Give”, starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton as seniors who were experiencing a bumpy road in dealing with the process of ageing.
One of the sight gags that ran through the movie was the both of them, sequentially, misplacing their reading glasses. The audience, an older crowd, laughed out loud each time the actors lost their glasses.
I’ve just spend 20 minutes today looking for my reading glasses and they haven’t turned up as yet. […]
I’ve been using the expression ‘muscle memory’ in my yoga classes to explain how students remember to do certain movements. People learn to embody certain movements over time. ‘Neuronal pathways’ is another term for what links the brain to the body’s ability to do activities.
I decided to check out my word use with Dr. Google. […]
Kathy Cooper Yoga Mats via Pinterest
I’ve uncovered a new offence that I’m capable of. I’m calling it creation-envy. What occurs for me when I hear of a great idea or turn of phrase is that I find myself wishing I’d thought of it or said it first.
Occasionally, I’ll hear another yoga teacher say something in class that is so perfectly verbalised that I just have to ‘borrow’ it. […]
(via Pinterest)
Having just completed teaching one workshop, I’m now mentally preparing for teaching in the Yoga Therapy Intensive in Byron Bay.
However, I’m following my own advice to the driven, stressed-out people who take up yoga to relax: chill a little. You may have had the experience of being so intensely productive that you use up all your reserves and end up flat on your back, unable to do anything.
So, for the time being I’m dawdling. […]
I hope you will allow me a little whinge. I’ve been keeping it to myself for a while but I think it’s about time now to vent a bit.
This is my complaint: I’m tired of the media image of yoga that shows youngish, pretty women (and sometimes attractive youthful men) doing advanced poses in designer clothing.
There. It’s out. […]
I’ve extolled the virtues of community in these blog posts over the years, and I’m sure to keep doing it, as I think that the way kindred spirits come together is a magical thing.
What is it that we humans find so enticing about the experience of joining for a common purpose? I think it is that we have an opportunity to let down our defences a little, and in the process of doing just that, we are immediately closer to others. […]
I’m looking forward to teaching a workshop in Corlette in beautiful Port Stephens (NSW) on Sunday sponsored by Nikki Schilling of Yoga Sphere.
I tend to be well-prepared for a seminar that I’m leading. […]
I joined a choir when I moved to the country three and a half years ago. I don’t think of myself as a singer. I don’t sing in the shower. I don’t remember lyrics or which band recorded what album. However, I love music.
Now I’ve discovered that when I’m carried along on the wings of my choir, I can sing. I’m probably not going to do any solos soon, and I still don’t sing in the shower, but with our regular weekly choir practice, I’ve become better. […]
Am also encouraged by recent findings that the body may cease aging when one is past 91. The study (reported in a 2016 New Scientist) by Michael Rose (a professor of evolutionary biology), says that if you are lucky enough to live that long, you stop ageing. He notes that one’s health may not improve but it certainly does not get any worse. Whilst that advice is far not mainstream, population statistics do show that ageing seems to stop at 93 – and does not speed up again until we get a telegram from Queen Elizabeth (the Last) at 100.
Thus, if one makes it to 99, you are no more likely to die at any given point than someone of 93. (From 110 plus may be a different matter but I’ll let you know). …
In the absence of internet information, I decided to create my own holistic way of dealing with my upcoming surgery.
I started talking with my friends to share my journey. The simple fact that I was willing to be open and vulnerable helped eliminate any residual shame.
I started keeping a journal in which I could collect information on hysterectomies, and more importantly, write down questions and feelings as they arose. …
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