The malls are already saturating us with Christmas jingles and we're trying to juggle present shopping with planning meals and holidays and what to do with the kids and pets. How would you like to approach the silly season? Stressed or calm? I know what I would prefer! Leaving a visit to this relaxed inner space until after Christmas may mean that you fall into a heap during your holidays. Who wants that? I am reminded of how our senses are constantly bombarded with stimulati

To teach and sense as a yoga teacher requires a relaxed concentration. A kind of go with the flow intuition, while maintaining a sharp awareness of constant somatic feedback from the group. Feelings in the room rise and fall. The emotional climate is always changing yet supported by the security of mindfulness. Beneath the obvious asanas and pranayamas shines individual experiences. I remind the class to ‘make the practice your own’, reassuring them that their efforts, as far

I was once told that certain spiritual masters in Tibet used to set their teacups upside down before they went to bed each night as a reminder that all life was impermanent. And then, when they awoke each morning, they turned their teacups right side up again with the happy thought, ‘I'm still here!’ This simple gesture is a wonderful reminder to let go a little more now autumn has arrived, to celebrate every moment, and to have a sense of gratitude for the simple things in l

So you’ve become a regular yoga class goer, but the momentum is occasionally broken by family sickness or work commitments. You have the space at home for your yoga mat, but can’t seem to get down to it. I can hear myself saying to my two boys, ‘if you want to be good at something it requires practice and practice and practice!’ Easier said than done, right? But it’s true, a yoga practice is just that … a practice. So here are some tips to get you regularly downward dogging o

I am often asked whether or not yoga can help with weight loss. Moving into my late forties I can understand how quick we can be to judge ourselves when the bulge appears to grow. But judgement gets us nowhere. Yoga encourages us to move beyond the popular expectations around body image. It gets to the source of our movement and eating rhythms. It helps us unravel and observe those behaviours that may be stopping us from feeling at home with ourselves. And it helps to reduce

Abiding in generosity and honesty, material and spiritual prosperity is bestowed. Sutra 11.37 On occasion, you may admire something someone else has that you do not; a better car, a longer holiday, a different relationship. It’s interesting to be aware of how much power that original thought can have, by growing into the sense of ‘not having enough’. The Yama of Asteya ‘Asteya reminds us that greediness that goes beyond the resources that we actually need, robs us of our abil