The World at Large

Stages of Ascending the Mountain

Stages of Ascending the Mountain

Then an idea came to us. We could with great authority talk about the stages of yoga we’d traversed. These stages also represented our ageing process, starting as youth and now in our late 70’s. Once we landed on our workshop theme, the content evolved organically.

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.

I Say, There’s a New World Comin’

I Say, There’s a New World Comin’

If you haven’t been paying attention recently to news and social media, you’ve missed the millions of women getting out there, telling tragic stories of being sexually assaulted.
The’ve used the hashtag #MeToo on Facebook and Twitter to declare instances of sexual harassment and abuse. These allegations point to men in all areas of life: the entertainment industry, sciences, academia, and politics. Women are being taken seriously and supported in their allegations by men.

Tennis Yogini: Sunday Morning Practice

Tennis Yogini: Sunday Morning Practice

One of the things I love about playing tennis is the way I so frequently catch myself in the act of negative talking or thinking. Each ‘I’m so stupid’, or ‘How could I have missed that shot?’, or ‘Another double fault, #$@&%*!’ is an opportunity for rebooting the network. An opportunity to wake-up to the present moment. Without static, without the interference of derogatory dialogue.

First Yoga Rule: Be Kind to Yourself

First Yoga Rule: Be Kind to Yourself

Recently I learned (or learned for the 1,000th time) a Be Kind to Yourself lesson.If you’re like me, you don’t learn these vital life lessons easily. This is why long life can be a good thing. Because you can buy a little more time, and hopefully more wisdom.Recently I was on a two-day boat trip with nine other people. After the first day, one of the passengers got on my nerves. Seriously. A sailing boat doesn’t have much room for seclusion. […]

The Digital Yoga Curator

The Digital Yoga Curator

Like most people, I wear many hats. Hats relating to being a home manager, wife, yoga teacher, community volunteer, and so forth. Just today I became aware of a hat that I put on almost every day but have been overlooking. It’s time to lay claim to the title of yoga curator. You might well ask what I do as a yoga curator. Well, I spend part of my morning reading the news, perusing blog posts, googling yoga information, listening to podcasts, and communicating through Facebook. […]

Luck – Bad or Good – is a Very Thin Wire

Luck – Bad or Good – is a Very Thin Wire

When Luck Wears ThinI’ve heard the expression a few times this week, ‘Aren’t we lucky?’. That is, we’re lucky to live on the mid-north coast of New South Wales because we dodged the torrential rains and gale force winds that our southern friends and relatives did.It’s been a shocker of a week down south. The Newcastle, Central Coast, and Sydney areas all experienced almost-cyclonic conditions, river flooding and power outages over several days.  Inland, the little town of Dungog endured 145 mm of rain in a three hour period. […]

South Island, N.Z., Here We Come

South Island, N.Z., Here We Come

It might seem like piking out.
I’ve been diligently presenting Patanjali’s Sutra in these posts for many months. And, I still have more to go – three Sutra from Chapter III and all of Chapter IV to offer you.
But neighbouring New Zealand beckons to us for a well-deserved holiday, and so I’ll put a bookmark in my six or seven Patanjali commentaries. […]

Emergency!

Emergency!

Do you perform well in emergencies? I’ve flattered myself that I do handle myself well when things go wrong.
After all, I just completed my senior 1st aid recertification last weekend. It’s a course that heightens your state of readiness for all kinds of disasters that can happen – especially living in the country.
I certainly didn’t expect what happened this evening, and worse, I didn’t expect to be as shaken by it as I was. […]

Smarty-pants

Recently I’ve been in the throes of a new writing project. I was swept along in the early days by enthusiasm and euphoria. But today I noticed that I have a mountain of work ahead of me, and I started to procrastinate and figuratively shuffle papers.
A decade and a half ago, I wrote on the topic of developing the discipline to do regular yoga practice. I glibly said things like it’s not really that hard  to do; it’s just that your mind trips you up. […]

A Split Second

A Split Second

On the way home today from visiting Litchfield National Park, we hit a patch of the Stuart Highway where visibility had been wiped out because of smoke.
The firies were doing controlled burning of trees and shrubs next to the highway and then the wind came up. It got out of control quickly and when it did some cars and a bus going south collided in a six car pile-up.
We stopped, first of all because we couldn’t see well enough to drive, but also to help if needed. […]

Ganesha: God of Endings and Beginnings

Ganesha: God of Endings and Beginnings

New Year's Eve 2009 Ganesha, being the cool dude type of god he is, is sporting a Christmas beanie, at the same time as welcoming us into the Yoga Shed from his guardian position at the entrance. Revered for being the god of all beginnings and endings, Ganesha is the...

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