The Yoga Suits Her Blog

I’ve been blogging for 12 years now. At first, I was quite nervous about publishing my thoughts. Because I was shy about writing, my old posts were almost exclusively photos of the view from our bedroom in our Tambourine Bay house.

Remarkably, my original Ville Blog still exists. Does anything on the internet ever go away? It ran from November 05, 2006 to January 12, 2010 and it’s still just where I left it. If you’d like to have a look, the address is http://thevilleblog.blogspot.com.au/.

These days, because there are way too many YSH posts to browse through-over 1200-I’ve put some major themes together in The Vault. I hope this makes it easier to find exactly what you want.

Losing Gracefully

Sep 1, 2014 | Age, Inversions, XAging, Yoga practices | 0 Comments

From the above title, you might think I’m going to be writing about a tennis match or a disagreement with my spouse.
But no, this is much more serious. I’m talking about losing memory, losing faculties, and losing muscle strength. I’m talking about The March of Time.
I came across an excellent blog post this week from Eve Johnson, another tribute to yoga guru, B.K.S. Iyengar. She got me thinking about the process of ageing. I know, I know, I’m getting obsessed with this topic.
I think I’m doing ageing reasonably well. […]

A Light's Gone Out, But the Fire Still Burns

Aug 25, 2014 | Community, XCommunity, XTeaching, Yoga Teacher Training, Yoga teaching | 4 Comments

In 1978 I fell under the spell of a yoga teacher named Martyn Jackson. Martyn taught a kind of yoga that he’d learned in Pune, India from his teacher, B.K.S. Iyengar.He alleged that, in the sixties, he was one of few western students to study with Mr. Iyengar.
Martyn went to Pune from New Zealand to undertake one-to-one lessons with Mr. Iyengar. He had a story about arriving on Mr. […]

Yoga is for Everyone: Let's Prove It!

Aug 14, 2014 | Community, XCommunity, Yoga practices, Yoga teaching | 2 Comments

We yogis are a force worldwide. Those who practice yoga represent about 3% of the adult population in Australia. The numbers in the United States are likely to be even higher. We who do yoga can do good and we do.
It makes me happy that we yogis want to give back after having received so much from our practice. We join organisations with a social conscience like Yoga Off the Mat and Into the World and Care2Causes. […]

Meditation: All in good time

Aug 9, 2014 | Health, Mindfulness Meditation, Pratyahara, Restorative, Yoga practices | 0 Comments

via pinterest – calmdownnow.com
There’s a reason meditation is recommended as a tool for training a busy mind to become quiet. Because, if you give meditation a go and stick with it, like yoga, it works.
I’ve had a patchy history of the sticking-with-it part of the equation, although I have tried doing meditation on and off over the years. […]

Self-Care: We Yoga Teachers Are the Worst

Aug 4, 2014 | Restorative | 0 Comments

via PinterestWe underestimate the time needed to restI taught a Restorative Workshop yesterday in the Yoga Shed for 12 participants. The students came from all over, expecting me to deliver the goods. That is, everyone wanted to leave feeling renewed. I truly hope that people went away feeling peaceful and rested.This morning after my yoga practice and then cleaning the house, I felt satisfied that I’d done a good job of teaching the workshop. I also felt very tired. […]

When You Fall Off the Yoga Wagon….

Jul 28, 2014 | Health, Wisdom, Yoga practices | 2 Comments

It’s hard. It’s very hard. It’s just plain hard, and that’s all there is to it.

When you fall off the yoga practice wagon and try to clambour back on, it’s difficult to find the muscles you need.

I’m talking about those events that upset your disciplined routine: going on extended holidays, being laid low with an illness, moving house, or suffering a big emotional upset.

I have an expectation that because I said I’m going to get back into my practice as soon as I’m on home ground that I will. No so. […]

The Old and New of Yoga

Jul 19, 2014 | Community, Philosophy, Wisdom, Yoga practices, Yoga teaching | 0 Comments

image via Pinterest
Yoga is elastic. It stretches to fit you now, and then, miraculously, it will give you a perfect fit in the future. All you have to do is jump on for the ride and stay on.
The best thing about yoga for me is the very way it is defined: union. And also that it so naturally cultivates community and connection.
Yesterday I had breakfast with three old students of mine. I don’t mean they are old. They are younger than I am. Actually, we’ve all grown older since we started on the yoga path. […]

Vive La Yoga Difference

Jul 10, 2014 | Community, Health, Yoga practices | 0 Comments

In a world where yoga is practiced everywhere and at all times, global travelers who want to sample different schools and styles are fortunate to have countless classes at the tips of their fingers.
This last week I experienced an unimaginable contrast in the two yoga classes I attended, one in Boston, the other in New York City.
Jamaica Plain (Boston) is a lively neighborhood where ethnic assimilation is still going on. Eateries include African, Asian and European cuisines. […]

Walking the World is Good Yoga Practice

Jul 2, 2014 | Health, Standing Poses, Travel, XPoses | 0 Comments

The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Since being on an extended overseas holiday, I’ve been contradicting Emerson’s opinion of the civilized person. Rather, I’ve been experiencing what author and philosophy professor Frederic Gros calls ‘a life scrubbed bare’ and an affirmation of the simple life: walking.
Certain cities of the world are made for walking. I’ve just spent three days in one of them, Old Quebec. […]

Travels Without a Yoga Mat

Jun 28, 2014 | Health, Low Back Ache, Restorative | 0 Comments

I admire those disciplined yogis and yoginis who arise at 4 or 5 in the morning to do their practice – rain or shine, day in, day out, and year after year. I used to be more that way inclined myself. […]