I’ve been on the road (and away from my Patanjali studies) for a a week now. It’ll be another week before I settle back into my routine – i.e. early morning practice. I’ve done a little asana practice along the way, in the bedrooms and living rooms where we’ve stayed. Not quite the same, though, as my friendly green tin shed at home.
However, I’ve had the delightful experience of re-uniting with old yoga students from 25 years ago who now live in the Kalang Valley (Helen’s painting is below). […]
Australia as a country presents as laid-back, the home of a ‘no worries’ culture, and at no time more so than December-January.
It used to be the case that the whole place closed down from the time the kids got out of school (mid-Dec.) until they went back (early Feb.). […]
One of the strange but ever present states of affairs in all beings is the desire to live forever. Even those in the presence of death every day have this illogical impulsion. This is what inspires the instinct for self-preservation in all of us.*
I just finished a must-read novel by Barbara Kingsolver called Flight Behaviour. […]
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We have guests staying with us at the moment. It’s the time of year that, if you live in the country, especially near a river and a beach, you will have visitors. I love it.
Unfortunately, one of our guests who is staying with us has not been well. Nothing too serious, but off-colour enough to be a-abed. She doesn’t want to be made a fuss of but, as the hostess, I feel responsible. I end up being solicitous. […]
I wonder how many of you are considering a diet change post-holidays in favour of healthier eating.
We mostly let ourselves off the diet leash at the beginning of the Silly Season, and then ended up having to let out our belts after the holidays. […]
Do you know people who radiate inner beauty? I do.
These are the individuals who may not have all their features arranged perfectly or be a perfect size 10. But you just want to be close to them and hang out with them; you hope a little of their light rubs off on you.
The good news is that, if you can see positive qualities in another person, you have the template within you for creating what you admire in them. […]
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Opinions on what constitutes a good/perfect diet abound, not the least in the yoga world.
One diet that’s had a lot of press is the severely restricted calorie diet; it’s meant to promote long life, although it may limit your opportunities to socialise.
The low carb diet is popular around here because those pesky carbohydrates are reputed to stack weight on your body. […]
I have a sore throat. And a scratchy cough. And a voice that’s not very dependable, like a junior kookaburra practising his chortle.
I pulled down the big B.K.S. […]
Tonight I was teaching the students some abdominal work . One area that gets stressed when people do abdominal exercises is the neck and throat. Have you experienced that yourself? I certainly have, and one antidote to release the neck and soften the throat is to keep the backs of the armpits engaged – as in squeezing in. The trapezium releases the shoulders and pressure is alleviated.
The throat is such an important part of one’s body. […]
Reading this weekend’s SMH newspaper, I came across some pieces in the magazine section that related to longevity. Let me tell you, this subject becomes more and more interesting as I age.
Toward the end of this year, I will celebrate my 68th birthday. Like most sexagenarians, I have no idea how I accumulated that number of years. […]
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The ancient sage Patanjali comments on the topic of sexual energy in Sutra II:38, and his writing has been variously interpreted to recommend abstinence (Brahmacharya) – but also, moderation or continence.
I think it’s hardly imaginable that modern day humans could be expected to, or want to, practice complete abstinence from sexual activity.
My experience of sexual energy is that it is just another kind of energy. It’s possible to get carried away with it or be aware of and contain it. […]
It’s hard for me, living in the country with so much wildlife around, to still be a meat eater. For instance, I had a meal of roast duck at the Chinese restaurant tonight, but then I had second thoughts, remembering the family of ducks that has lately been hanging out at our place. These ducks just go about their business, not bothering anybody or anything.
Our next door neighbour, Farmer Scott, raises beef cattle, and every year we see the wet-behind-the-ears calves toddling behind their mothers, too clumsily cute. […]
I want give you a little backstory on the section of Patanjali’s Sutra, II:30 – 45, that relates to Yama and Niyama.These are the precepts you’ve probably heard about that relate to how we get along in our relationships and how we take care of ourselves. […]
It’s diet time again in our household. If you knew me well, you’d know I don’t need to diet to lose weight, as my husband Daniel and my housemate Rick are attempting to do. However, we have just come through a week-long period of my step-son’s nuptial activities, followed by a week of showing my visiting sister-in-law Sydney-town and Mitchell Island. Food is intrinsic to festivities and socialising. And, often not wholesome food, unfortunately. So, today I got to have my food: fruit for breakfast, steamed vegetables for lunch, and fish, rice and salad for dinner. […]
Sometimes I think that minds were originally designed so we could be entertained by watching the play of our thoughts. But, then, a bug, a virus, a mutation somehow got in and corrupted the system. […]
In relatively recent times, I’ve experienced friends and family go through upheavals, such that their lives have been turned upside down. When someone close gets rocked, you feel the aftershocks, too. Suddenly your nose is pushed up against your own vulnerability.
The most recent person to have suffered upset is my sister-in-law who had to undergo major surgery. She and we are grateful that the surgery was successful, that is, life-saving. However, she admits her life has changed irrevocably.
All our lives are changing gradually day by day. That describes the drip, drip, drip of ageing. […]
Last night I slept on a thin futon on our friend’s floor. Their apartment is small; Daniel got the couch.
During the night, I started to experience my first hip pain since having the replacement more than two years ago. Not arthritic pain, just bony bits meeting too firm a surface. Ouch.
The ache in the hip went on for most of this morning till I could finally adopt a few yoga moves. […]
I recommend a day of the week that is yoga-free. It helps one’s mental flexibility and makes you look forward to picking up your mat again later. For the last month, I’ve been working hard on promoting YogaAnywhere practice cards as Mother’s Day gifts. Then today, with the brunt of the toil behind me, Daniel and I headed off for a coastal drive. I felt totally like I’d been let out of school. Away from my computer and with no time constraints, we just drove south. […]
In anticipation of teaching a workshop on “Yoga Teacher Burnout”, I’ve been examining the ways I tend to go over my limits. Without being too self-congratulatory, I’m not as “bad” as I used to be. […]
