Humour

Humour

Yoga Lesson Plans: Surrender to Adapting

Yoga Lesson Plans: Surrender to Adapting

by | Nov 12, 2017 | Healing, Humour, Wisdom, XTeaching, Yoga teaching 

I’m part of a yoga teachers practice group which meets monthly. We get together for a led-practice and then breakfast afterwards.
It’s a mutual gathering. No one person is the boss of it. The person leading and venue of the group rotates each month. This is semi-rural Australia, so we teachers come from all over. Some have to travel 1.5 hours to attend.
Besides enjoying the benefits of learning from each other, we get to float questions. For instance, last Saturday we were talking about how some teachers present their yoga classes off-the-cuff. […]

Dealing with Senior Moments and Brain Farts – Be Kind to Yourself

Dealing with Senior Moments and Brain Farts – Be Kind to Yourself

by | Nov 25, 2013 | Age, Humour, Mindfulness Meditation, XAging

 via pinterest
Do you consider yourself forgetful? Have you misplaced valuable items and been too embarrassed to mention your lapses to others? Are you fearful that you are becoming increasingly forgetful with age? What about those words that are just on the tip of your tongue that turn out to be as effervescent as champagne bubbles? And, the people who you meet on the street whose names you should know as well as your own… but for whom you only draw an embarrassing blank?
Welcome to my world. […]

Do "Be Better Lists" Annoy You?

Do "Be Better Lists" Annoy You?

by | Nov 4, 2013 | Being a writer, Humour, Wisdom

I really, really, really dislike the kinds of lists that tell us: 50 ways to be a better lover; 3 airtight arguments against eating meat; 5 most liberating yoga poses….
It’s too easy to write an article or post in this reductionist fashion, and maybe it contributes to black-or-white, right-or-wrong thinking. Such lists often represent just one person’s opinions anyway.
Nevertheless (you knew that was coming), I like the list below so much that I’ve decided to throw my prejudices to the wind. […]

To Do or To Be?

To Do or To Be?

by | Jul 21, 2013 | Humour, Wisdom

indulgy.com via pinterest
Do you make to-do lists? If you do, one item currently near the top of your list might be getting your tax information together so you can lodge this year’s return.
That’s what’s going on in our household at the moment. It’s been a perfectly beautiful winter Sunday and instead of going out for a picnic or a bicycle ride in the country, two of the couples in our house are slaving away filing receipts and working in their computer financial programs.
Nobody here is thrilled about doing their taxes. […]

Big Sky With Clouds: It's All Meditation

Big Sky With Clouds: It's All Meditation

by | Jul 3, 2013 | Dharana, Dhyana, Humour, Wisdom, Yoga practices

I did a meditation this morning to the voice recording of Jon Kabat-Zin in which I was able to practice accepting my busy mind.
I know that meditation is supposed to be about stilling a chattering mind, but I think I’ve discovered a precondition to having a quiet mind, which is having a good look at what the mind is really up to.
In the case of moi, at the times when I’m sitting for meditation, my mind is most often planning, and especially busy creating new projects. […]

Something Lost, Something Found

Something Lost, Something Found

by | May 27, 2013 | Humour, XAging, Yoga practices

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. […]

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

by | May 22, 2013 | Humour, Wisdom, Yoga practices

(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. […]

When in Doubt, Reboot

When in Doubt, Reboot

by | May 6, 2013 | Humour, Yoga practices

My husband and I share the same office, a rather small one at that. Our desks face in different directions, but it’s easy for me to toss questions over my shoulder at him. […]

Should We Be Left to Our Devices?

Should We Be Left to Our Devices?

by | Apr 28, 2013 | Humour, Nature, Wisdom

How  much is life passing us by because of our love affair with screens and devices? Probably more than we want to know, and it’s a question that Google can’t actually answer.
The classic cartoon above, created by Micheal Leunig with great prescience, sums up the situation. And it was published even before iPads and such were a glimmer in Apple’s eye.
Here’s an interesting statistic from this week’s SMH Good Weekend Magazine: On average a US household includes five internet-connected devices (smartphones, tablets, TVs, etc.). […]

What You See is What You Get

What You See is What You Get

by | Apr 22, 2013 | Humour, Yoga practices

At the optometrist today, I caught myself wanting to cheat. If I squinted I could just about see one line more on the eye chart, and that would have kept me at the same vision reading as 18 months ago.
What is that kind of behaviour? In the end, I didn’t fudge my exam, thank goodness. But, after I left the optometrist, I had to reflect on the feelings that came up for me.

I noticed that I was competing with myself so I would get at least as good a score as last time. […]

Do You Do Yoga as Exercise?

Do You Do Yoga as Exercise?

by | Apr 21, 2013 | Gardening, Humour, Upper back & shoulders, Yoga Therapy

I hear countless conversations, read articles and hear lectures about how yoga is not just a physical exercise system. We’ve all heard them. We’ve even said such things ourselves.
Still, it’s a hard habit to break, that is, considering yoga as a way to improve fitness, flexibility, and strength. Of course, those are great benefits that asana practice (postures) can provide.
However, it’s far easier for me to go into the Yoga Shed to do an asana practice  than sit down and do pranayama (yoga breathing) and meditation. Sometimes I even have to make myself do savasana. […]