Nature

A Sutra a Day: II:35 – Vegging Out

A Sutra a Day: II:35 – Vegging Out

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. […]

Today (a pause from Patanjali)

Today (a pause from Patanjali)

  I just have to tell you about what’s going on around our pretty little rural acreage. The place is jumping! It’s spring for real. There are races going on for best soil real estate as weeds and immature vegetables vie for space. Trees we planted last autumn are raising their small arms and flexing tiny leaves as sap is rising. I’m sure if I listen very carefully, I can hear growth spurts. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-25 – Golden Wisdom

A Sutra a Day: II-25 – Golden Wisdom

 

I don’t know how people exist without yoga. Really. I’m assuming you are sympathetic to my view if you have been diligent enough to hang in thus far for a daily dose of Patanjali’s Sutra.
Having just had a week away from bucolic peace on our country property and only one yoga practice session in that time, I admit I really, really missed my routine.
I know that subscribing to too strict a regime can make a person rigid, even overly attached, but I love my daily diet of practice, wholesome meals and fresh air. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-17 – Smoothing the Edges

A Sutra a Day: II-17 – Smoothing the Edges

If you really knew me, you would know that I’m part of a little community of three couples. The six of us invented this way of living on our four acre property partly as a way to stay out of retirement villages, partly to live in Nature, partly to afford a lifestyle that would be impossible to enjoy in the Big Smoke.
I had a further reason for wanting to live with others. I think people can evolve spiritually by sharing their victories and failures, supporting each other, refining communications, getting constructive feedback, sharing recreation, and working together. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-13 – Life’s Lessons

A Sutra a Day: II-13 – Life’s Lessons

Source: piccsy.com via Marianne on Pinterest

 
I should have had a little birthday party for “Yoga Suits Her” last week, as I completed my 700th blog post. Woo-hoo! I can hardly believe it myself that I have been this regular for so long. There was even an earlier incarnation in my blogging career called “The Ville” where I cut my teeth.
I want to share what I’ve learned through my writing and especially in this latest endeavour of Yoga Sutra study.

It’s okay to write vulnerably. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-11 – Retreating to Go Forward

A Sutra a Day: II-11 – Retreating to Go Forward

 

I wonder at what point in history the word ‘retreat’ started to be associated with yoga holidays?
My little computer dictionary widget thing-o says that a retreat is a quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax; or, a period of seclusion for the purposes of prayer and meditation.
Maybe the kind of retreats that have us basking in warm climes, availing ourselves of spa treatments, and shopping for exotic items at half-price should simply be called pleasurable yoga vacations.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m definitely not a wowser. […]

A Sutra a Day: II-4 – Plant Now, Harvest Later

Source: flickr.com via Katherine on Pinterest

 
Did you enjoy a gloriously sunny winter day today? I did. It called to me to get into the garden and weed and plant.
I’m a metropolitan girl from places like Chicago, New York and Sydney. Gardening is not my first language. What does that matter, though,  when Nature calls?
There’s rocket, lettuce and dill in the dirt now. I’ve checked the weather report and it will be cold over the next few days but not frosty. […]

A Sutra a Day: I-36 – Cyclical Thoughts

A Sutra a Day: I-36 – Cyclical Thoughts

A yoga student in last week’s class said that she almost didn’t make it. She might have been vacillating for all the myriad reasons a mind can generate: too busy, too hard, too long since the last attendance, not feeling like it, winter blues, upset in the family, or just plain slack.
She didn’t tell me why it was a close call and I didn’t ask, but I was thinking about her today when I was cycling down to Manning Point. […]

Nature Show

Nature Show

When I lived in the city, I would mostly be unaware of where the moon was in its monthly cycle. Occasionally I would make a special effort to find out by looking in the newspaper or on-line. But it was hard to get a visual read because of buildings in the way or the smoggy atmosphere.
Here on Mitchells Island, the night sky can be a heart stopper. […]

Yoga: On the Road

Yoga: On the Road

Have you ever packed your yoga mat for your travels and never unpacked it? I’ve schlepped mine around the U.S. for weeks at a time and barely used it.
These are terrible admissions for a yoga teacher, and I know I’m in bad company when I admit it.
On my last trip o/s, my body took a particularly large pounding during a long drive  from the Canadian border to San Francisco. […]

Yoga-Free Day

Yoga-Free Day

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. […]

This Moment

This Moment

My housemates have gone off to our community choir practice. I opted to stay home. I’m tired and didn’t think I could generate upbeat energy this evening, despite the general cheeriness of the group.
I thought I’d listen to a new download of an MSIA meditation practice and that might help me rebound. Instead I was seduced by the sunset occurring as I write, so I’m sitting on our deck with my iPad and a drink. I’m telling myself this is just a different sort of spiritual activity. […]

Breathe It In

Breathe It In

      Everywhere you look in the Manning Valley these days, you’ll see the signs of the most luscious growth of many seasons – the culmination of several years of good rains without overheating. The low rolling hills west of the Pacific Highway are full of luxuriant pastures with fat cows and horses. The rivers and streams are fully flowing and oyster farming has started up again. We bought our property on Mitchells Island during the drought. And then we watched our wetland dry out, our lawns growing brown, and most of the planting we did dying off. […]

Yoga & Yakka*

Yoga & Yakka*

Over the last two days, we’ve been working our bums off on our little rural spread on lush Mitchells Island. We’ve had fantastic professional help from Peter Nixon, Paradisus Garden Design and our local builder, Matt Peters. But we decided that, to save money, we would do some of the labouring work ourselves. I don’t know that this is necessarily a good idea. […]

Yoga and the Silly Season

Yoga and the Silly Season

It’s the height of Australian summer and I’m convinced that this is such a crazy time because the end of year vibe is so expansive. The morning daylight wakes us up earlier and earlier each day. The evenings, even with rainy, cloudy, cool conditions we’ve experienced recently, still feel compellingly summery. We want to get out and socialise and clink glasses with friends.
It’s part of Nature’s estival conspiracy of abundance which we see illustrated everywhere we look by lush vegetation. […]

The Great Aussie Philosopher

The Great Aussie Philosopher

For inspiration, I have a copy of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra by Chip Hartranft in the stack of books by the side of my bed. We all need a slug of encouragement from the written word from time to time. That’s why svadhyaya -self-study – is one of the indispensable niyama.
There have been philosophers from every part of the globe and from all ages. The Greeks had Socrates and Aristotle…Germans had Nietzsche…Americans Emerson and Thoreau. […]

Unity in Everything

Unity in Everything

I’m going to be in Sydney for the next 4 days, mainly to present at and participate in the Divine Feminine Conference.
More and more I now find it difficult to leave the beauty and peace of our country place for the city. […]

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato….

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato….

I was so excited today by the output of our potato patch that I wanted to write something about it on this blog. However I couldn’t think of any relationship between growing potatoes and yoga.
So now, we’re going to make a leap and talk about couch potatoes.
Some people are attracted to yoga because they are not particularly athletic. They believe that yoga is an activity that will give them a soft landing when they finally get off the couch and onto the mat.
Don’t be fooled, though. […]

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