Teach Yourself Yoga: Now is the Time

Teach Yourself Yoga: Now is the Time

It feels like it’s breathing down my neck, this pandemic. Thankfully, my immediate friends, family and I are all safe. I feel, though, for the world’s hotspots, especially my native U.S. And I’m aware that my protected status could change any time. The real danger of bushfires is that they can be transformed capriciously by a shift in the wind. This virus can attack us as a result of contact with a sick person, at any time or place.

So in this uncertain period, I depend more than ever on my yoga practice. I am blessed to have developed a dependable yoga practice over forty-nine years.

R.I.P. Donald Moyer, Yoga Teacher, 1946-2019

R.I.P. Donald Moyer, Yoga Teacher, 1946-2019

Donald was so beloved by his students, yogis who had followed him for years. I was fortunate to be given a place in what turned our to be essentially an Iyengar-type class. However, Donald’s approach was inquiry based: ‘How does it feel to do the pose this way? Where does your effort come from? Might you do the pose in a way better-suited to your body?’

The Beauty of Women: Twenty Years Sharing and Caring

The Beauty of Women: Twenty Years Sharing and Caring

I wish I could tell you what is so attractive about our women’s reunions. As they say, you’d have to be there. And be there over years and years as layers of trust and love are built. I can describe how our meetings make me feel: like a swim in the gentle and warm waters of a tiny sheltered bay. The reunions feel healthy and refreshing. Together we women create a pool of energy that we continue to dip into long after the reunion has finished or the ‘leave meeting’ button has been pushed.

The Power of Rituals in COVID-19 Time

The Power of Rituals in COVID-19 Time

One of the blessings of this quiet Corona Time is my long-established yoga practice. I’ve always thought of my yoga practice as an investment, as good as superannuation. Nearly 50 years of practice, and I can call on my investment deal with the stress of self-isolation. There are other solid regular rituals, too: walking on the beach, dinner with my housemates, phone calls to the kids and to my family in the States.

A Yoga Studio Has its Own Magic

A Yoga Studio Has its Own Magic

A yoga studio is a sanctuary In these ‘corona times’ we’re living through, I’m newly appreciative that I have a dedicated space for doing yoga practice. It’s made me think about what the special allure of a yoga studio is. Students have...
Self Yoga Retreat: My First Week

Self Yoga Retreat: My First Week

This was the first week of Corona Time when I was not teaching yoga. Not because of holidays or my being ill, but as a community service. I didn’t want to stop, but by talking it over with my dear husband, I arrived at, ‘this is the right thing to do.’

I wasn’t the first yoga studio to close, but I think I was a week ahead of most of the ones I know. I couldn’t quite stop, though. What’s the harm of a pop-up class on the beach? I did end up running a morning session on Sunday at Main Beach, Old Bar.

‘Teach Yourself Yoga’ is Back in Print!

‘Teach Yourself Yoga’ is Back in Print!

I feel quite affectionate about this book. I believe it does deliver on its promise of inspiring the reader to do yoga, to follow the simple programs and to reap the many benefits of this ancient discipline. It is written in an accessible, inclusive style to reach a wide audience of young and old, male and female and people from all walks of life.

The Art of Ageing: Is There Really an Art to It?

The Art of Ageing: Is There Really an Art to It?

Recently I’ve been thinking about healthy ageing yet again because I’ve been included as a photographic subject in the NSW Government’s ‘Art of Ageing’ exhibition. It was launched at Parliament House in Sydney this week and will be featured prominently there for a month. Then, the exhibition will go on the road for two years, showing in 46 locations across the State.

The stated aim of the exhibition is to improve respect for and social inclusion of older people and to recognise older people’s contributions to their communities.

Margaret Atwood: How Hot Do You Want It to Get?

Margaret Atwood: How Hot Do You Want It to Get?

Here in Australia, impossible to ignore, there has been the continuing cruelty of a nationwide drought. And the resultant drying up of rivers and loss of biodiversity.

Then along came the winter bushfires. Winter! Not the ‘normal’ season for fires to occur. Even less ‘normal’ for the rain forests to burn.

And now, there are massive rainfalls, flooding, storms and perilous tidal surges.

The Trees: Climate Crisis Refugees

The Trees: Climate Crisis Refugees

Julie and I have been looking at the trees and vegetation of Saltwater National Park for green signs of rebirth. They’ve been hard to find: tufts of grasses, epiphyte-like growths, occasional new leaves. The enormous heat generated by this fire seems to have nuclear-blasted the paperbarks and grass trees. Some are burnt-out trunks with branches intact, still standing. Others resemble resinated black statues.