For years I’ve been trying to reduce screen time – both my own and the teens’, as readers may recall from the great Xbox out the window drama I wrote about in February. It’s a battle that has been truly lost in lockdown, so much of normal life has now moved online. These days I […]
Yesterday was national menopause day – accompanied by a slew of press articles, many bossily telling us how to ‘sail through’ this phase of life as if nothing were happening. The transitions going on in our bodies are often referred to as ‘symptoms’ that need to be ‘treated’. The assumption behind this medicalised approach, presumably, […]
Put together the postural analysis of Alexander Technique and a gentle approach to Hatha Yoga and you get Hands-on Yoga. Let me explain… How many yoga practitioners regularly experience pain? Go on, admit it; even those of us who teach or practise a “gentle” style of yoga sometimes find that particular postures don’t agree with […]
For the last couple of months I’ve been teaching a weekly yoga class to men coming towards the end of long prison sentences. Some were introduced to yoga in prison – for others this lunchtime session in probation service hostel is their first yoga experience. The class is about an hour long and usually starts […]
At this time of year we can sometimes find ourselves overwhelmed by demands on our time and energy. Even if you’re not trying to live up to self-imposed expectations of making perfect home-made Christmas cards (no way) and home-cooked Christmas pud or cake (guilty!), there are huge lists of things that “have to be done […]
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle We’re nearing that time of year when we think about kicking our bad habits – and adopting some good ones. If yoga is going to be one of your New Year’s resolutions, how can you give yourself a […]
Earlier this month I spent a weekend in complete silence. From Friday evening through to Sunday afternoon I spoke to no one. No catch-ups with friends or family; no shouting at the TV, or the kids; no embarrassed small-talk with strangers; not even any hellos or thank-yous. And it wasn’t just real chat I abstained […]
I once asked my inspirational yoga teacher Judith Lasater what would be her best advice for surviving the challenges of parenthood. Without missing a beat, she answered: “meditate”. Now, after nearly three years of trying – and mainly failing – to put this advice into practice, I’m going to share what (fingers crossed) may now have […]
Don’t you feel amazing after a good night’s sleep? And yet so many of us are chronically sleep deprived. Here are my personal yoga tips on getting more of the good stuff: 1. Going to bed earlier Just try it for a week. Just half an hour earlier. Every night. See what happens.
Over the autumn and winter my sister and I have been moving our elderly mother into sheltered housing and selling the family home that had been a solid and reliable part of our lives almost since we were toddlers. Yesterday my sister called to say she was making one final trip to Meadow Cottage to […]
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