The other night we were sitting around having a discussion about what it takes to be vulnerable. The guys had been at their men’s group meeting and vulnerability had been the theme of the night. We continued exploring the topic when they came home. I loved it. I felt close to these men who I know so well, as they explored the defences that keep them stitched up behind their public images.
In case you haven’t noticed, being honest and open, being intimate, being yourself, showing up warts and all, have become thrusts of the New Yoga. […]
The definition of yoga is union. Everyone knows that. Yoga is about cultivating a feeling, a being with, all that is – sentient beings, the planet and the universe. But, let’s face it, in our busy lives, we don’t always practice this aim of yoga.
Happily, at the same time yoga popularity has swept the globe, outreach programs are proliferating, too, as a way of practising connection with others. Witness Sean Corn’s extraordinary activism work with ‘Yoga Off the Mat Into the World’ and B.K.S. […]
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A writer sitting before a blank page is like a swimmer poised on the edge of a diving board.
With any luck, there ensues the clicking of keys, and words start to tumble onto the screen. […]
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Have you ever notice how we humans get hypnotised by time. As we mature into being adults, it’s as though we develop an internal clock, something like an invisible heart pacemaker.
For instance, when I go for a 30 minute beach walk, I know pretty much to the second when the halfway point, 15 minutes, has gone by. […]
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I’ve recently heard of a few people who have suffered falls related to various medical conditions: vision impairment, alzheimer’s, faints, and cancer.
While younger people might pick themselves up, dust themselves off and move on, falling can lead to more serious problems in the aged population. Some will suffer bone fractures and breaks but also the gradual diminution of confidence. This may lead to loss of independence and perhaps the eventual need to move into an aged care facility.
Yoga is often touted as beneficial for improving the sense of balance. […]
The small ruby everyone wants has fallen out on the road.
Some think it is east of us, others west of us.
Some say, among primitive earth rocks, others, in the deep waters.
Kabir’s instinct told him it was inside and what it was worth,
And he wrapped it up carefully in his heart cloth. – Kabir The Kabir Book
This is a poem about what? About knowing what is important and taking good care of it. Keeping the focus on it. […]
Photo by Julie Slavin
On January 1st of 2010, I launched the “Yoga Suits Her” blog. That was 999 posts ago and lots of writing practice under the bridge.
Writing has parallels with yoga practice. Do enough of it and something changes. It may that your technique improves, or you will get more life experience which gets poured back onto the page or into what you do on your mat. Writing or practising yoga over a long time will change you, you can be sure. […]
You must know that expression. It has a few spins on it: you’re only as good as your last sale; you’re only as good as your last performance; you’re only as good as your last game….
I watch my stats on “Yoga Suits Her” carefully to measure how popular my posts are, that is, how many views I get on a post. My mood lifts when I see numbers in the hundreds. […]
Sometimes you just don’t have much energy by the time the weekend comes, no matter how much you’ve enjoyed your working week, because you’re just too pooped.
Here’s a restorative yoga practice to recharge your batteries on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon so you can be at your best all weekend.
Supta Badda Konasana Bound-angle pose Equipment: blanket, belt and a bolster.
Lie back on a bolster or several blankets folded lengthwise to support your back and head. […]
I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who was having a bad day. Not only was she in some physical pain, but there was some psychological upset going on, too. My heart went out to her, and before I knew it I was pouring out words that sounded a lot like advice. […]
Generally speaking, I think people (including myself) don’t know how to be tired.
Think about it. Do you recognise when you are weary and stop and rest?
First of all, you have to be in touch with your body and mind to notice when fatigue symptoms are arising. But often, we are out of our bodies when we are driving ourselves to get a job done. […]
Hey it’s a brand new week. Maybe this is going to be the week when you are finally going to start doing home yoga practice. I know you’ve thought about it. All it’s going to take is getting yourself organised. Here’s a suggestion that’s worked for me and others. Spend a little time at the beginning of the week, say, Sunday evening or Monday morning, and think out what you want to do in your practice over the week. […]
We live on 4.5 acres of semi-rural land on Mitchells Island. Some of our property is tamed and most is not. Not that we haven’t been working on it on and off for the last nine years. It’s a big job trying to do bush regeneration.
Today, as I was cutting and poisoning lantana and blackberry bush, I was thinking how much more work there was to do compared with my current feeble efforts. […]
Every now and then, I like to remind my readers about this healing pose: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana or the supported bridge pose.
Using props make this a restorative version of the more active bridge.
I’ve been in the pose every day this week as a way to counter the low back compression I’ve experienced from gardening. Part of why the pose is so good for the lower back and sacrum is because it stretches the abdominal area, a part of your body that tenses when your back is tight. […]
Our closest beach on Mitchells Island has lost about a half kilometre of its length in the last couple of years. That’s a big chunk.
The area concerned is at the mouth of the Manning River, but the dunes all along in a southerly direction, including Old Bar Beach, are seriously eroded, too.
The encroachment of the sea has devastated the little tern breeding ground. These tiny birds are very vulnerable and have been declared endangered. […]
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There’s a phenomenon that we humans participate in whereby we dissociate from parts of our bodies. This can be because we don’t like those parts, we find them unattractive, or they are uncomfortable or even painful.
Here’s an example: I have had problems with my teeth ever since I can remember. I was a dental patient from the time I got my adult teeth. The drinking water where I grew up in Chicago wasn’t fluoridated, and I was a big sweet eater, besides. […]
“From just one spark we can create one fire. And from one fire we can create one light. From that one light, we create vision and that vision is how we share just one spark. […]
People think I know a lot about yoga because I’ve been doing it and teaching it for so long. I do know some things, but yoga is a big subject, so there is still plenty of learning for me. […]
I woke up this morning feeling weary. That’s a bad sign because it could have meant that’s as good as I was going to feel all day. I’ve said before in these posts that yoga teachers are not at all immune to exhaustion. So, my current condition has given me cause for reflection.
There are so many words for being bone-tired that you might wear yourself out just reading this partial list:
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After class today, a yoga student and I were discussing the different ways that yoga is currently presented. He’s experienced classes where the teaching came across as shallow… insubstantial. I think I understood what he meant, but it made me think about my own teaching approach.
So much of what yoga teachers present involves the doing of asanas. I’m one of those teachers. Ninety percent of what I ask the students to do involves physical exercise. […]
