Northern hemisphere peoples eat your heart out. Here on the Eastern seaboard of New South Wales, it’s the height of summer; and my present location – Bellingen – is especially in full bloom.
The produce shops are overflowing with stone fruit, grapes, melons, berries and sweet corn.
Streets are arrayed with bowers of crepe myrtles, hydrangeas, frangipanis, bougainvillea, grevilea, hibiscus.
People are drawn to pack up a picnic blanket and a few provisions and head for a park after work; or take a swimming costume and beach towel, and set out for the sea. […]
I feel very happy this evening – Day 5 – of an early morning yoga intensive that I’ve been running this week in the Yoga Shed. Thank goodness it’s been scheduled for 7 am because by 8:30 the tin shed is starting to cook.
Tomorrow is the final session and we will do a restorative practice. […]
Source: saturdayeveningpost.com via Flynn “Knihovna” on Pinterest
If you know me, you know that I don’t have any trouble conversing one-on-one (or two or three) or even talking to large groups of students in a yoga classroom. However, I do have trouble speaking my viewpoints in a group where other individuals are more voluble.
I have no idea why this is, probably one of those things bequeathed to me by my seen-but-not-heard upbringing. I just wish it didn’t still bother me. […]
source: flicker.com via Gwen on Pinterest
December 31st is an occasion to which many people assign great meaning. It’s not really inherently significant – it’s just another day. But we seem to agree that the last day of the year signifies an ending and, because we have the opportunity to complete something, that makes it meaningful.
I live in a small community consisting of three couples and for many years we’ve sat down together on New Year’s Eve and shared the accomplishments and sometimes even failures of the previous year. […]
Who doesn’t want to be free?
I, for one, want to be at liberty to go where I want, live in the manner I desire, do work I enjoy (or not work!), and associate with those of my choosing. But, as you know, this sort of freedom is more often than not predicated on fortunate circumstances.
Perhaps at this time of year more than others, rather than feeling free, we fall into behaving in a duty-bound way. […]
Source: lovelavieboheme.tumblr.com via Melissa on Pinterest
We had a little party today chez Scotts Road, Mitchells Island. It was a celebration of Rick’s and my birthdays and Mike and Judy’s homecoming, all rolled into one.
I looked around at all the attendees and felt an overwhelming sense of love and affection for the people we’ve gathered around us in the 3 years of living in the country. […]
Recently I’ve been through a painful situation involving close friends. It would seem that difficulties arose because of miscommunications, faulty memories, and judgments.
Although the unresolved situation has just resurfaced, it has been going on for decades, so long that it would take a private investigator working for months to unravel what was said and what was done.
I tried to avoid the bad feelings I had been experiencing over the years by stuffing them down, and just getting on with ‘the rest of my life’. […]
I love the students who come to the Yoga Shed for classes. I feel they are open to my teaching them according to their ages and stages of life. It helps that we look out on a beautiful pastoral view and feel spacious in our Being because of it.
There’s no need to compete in the way I teach. […]
One of the reasons why I wanted to create a small community to live in was because of the opportunities living together might generate for sharing and caring.
We three couples who have created our communal home on Mitchells Island affectionately call ourselves The Shedders** because one of the couples lived in the old shed on the property as our house was being built.
Old friends for many years, we decided about 9 years ago that we would share our lives as we went into senior years and old age – for the enjoyment of each other’s company and for […]
Once a month I participate in an unusual event. My husband and the other men who belong to his men’s group invite their partners along to their meeting.
I don’t know who thought up the idea of us womenfolk coming along to join in, but I think it’s brilliant. […]
Today was the day for the Yoga Aid fundraising event celebrated world-wide to raise money for various worthy causes. I just love these community happenings where everyone is drawn together with the best of intentions and that spirit is palpable. For my part, as one of a team of eight teachers presenting at Yoga Aid in Forster this morning, I was somewhat nervous. […]
I’ve been a member of a book club for a couple of years now. It’s the first one I’ve ever been a part of. I had high hopes. At our first meeting, we went around the table and everyone had a chance to say what they wanted to get out of belonging to the club. Over time, I’ve noticed that I haven’t gotten what I wanted – that is, more enjoyment of reading because of the synergy and stimulation of the group. […]
Do you get annoyed with yourself when you screw up? I sure do.
On the one hand, it’s normal; it comes with the territory of being human and therefore must be forgivable. […]
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. […]
Last week I took on a big job. It involved coordinating a team of 15 volunteers for a weekend workshop.
I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I like to duck responsibility. So, being team captain was not my first choice.
Why don’t I like to take on responsibility? Mainly because I’m afraid I won’t do a good job, and also, maybe people won’t like me for whatever reason – bossiness, lack of leadership, stepping on toes, that sort of thing.
I decided to feel my fears and accept the position. […]
I’m taking a little break from the 196 threads of Patanjali’s sutra tapestry, of which to date I’ve teased out forty-one.
The spirit of this particular post is all about caring, sharing, and networking. Have you noticed that’s what makes the world go ’round these days? I jumped on this bandwagon some time ago in becoming a blogger. […]
I’ve been thinking about friends today as I farewelled Heather and Rick this morning, heading off to Canada for 3.5 months.
I have a relatively small family of blood relations, and they are all in the U.S. This makes friends I have in Australia precious to me.
If you are blessed to pursue the vocation of yoga teacher, you make many friends. The line between student and friend gets blurred easily and, to mind, fortunately. I’ve befriended students and they have me for 35 years. There’s something special about relationships that develop out of the yoga connection. […]
Tonight’s a sad/happy night. Sad because our dear housemates, co-proprietors, and companion travellers on life’s journey are leaving for their native Canada.
Heather and Rick have what many aspire to: a toehold in their homeland and a toehold in their adopted country. Every year when the Aussie autumn chill starts to segue into winter, they fly off to Vancouver Island for the North American summer. […]
I’ve been struggling today with getting things done on my computer. The problem is, to paraphrase Winnie the Pooh, I’m a girl of very little computer brain.
I couldn’t figure out why, suddenly, postage wasn’t getting charged in the YogaAnywhere on-line shop. I couldn’t get the high resolution photos I needed to email to a magazine editor to send. And, I don’t like to keep asking the Computer Guru who shares office space with me for help. […]
