Lunch time escape

Locked in a classroom for the third day in a row. Voluntarily. The lunch break was very welcome after eight rounds of yoga instructors practicing their handstands instructions. I was the practice student... Shaking arms.

Unexpected source for a quote

"They say people fight about the same thing until it breaks them a part."

Even Gossip Girl has some spot on lines. This one seems to fit perfectly right now.

A life choice

To live next to the crematory at the riverbed of Ganges, eating offerings to the dead (and sometimes meat from the dead body), using clothing from the dead body. Excluded from the Indian society, but respected out of fear. After twelve years, coming back as a holy man with special gifts, now celebrated by the same people who previously excluded him.

That's also a choice you can make. If you belong to the Aghori sect.

This is my weekend. Sitting inside learning about the history of yoga, dispelling myths about where yoga comes from, learning the facts including the not so nice parts. Most modern yogis seem to have selected the convenient sections of the history and heritage, ignoring the rest which doesn't fit with the desired view of what the old traditions should bring to today's practice.

A reminder of healthy scepticism and that nothing is as good as it looks. And perhaps not as bad as it looks either. 

A consequence of social media

Today I spotted a blog writer whose blog I have followed for a long time. It stroke me how much I know about her without actually knowing her. I have my own interpretation of who she is based on what she has chosen to put out to the blogging community. First I was going to go up to her and tell her that I follow her blog and like her writing. But something stopped me. Wrong place, wrong time. Or may be the imbalance made me uncomfortable. A feeling of having read somebody's diary without them knowing.

Contrasts on a Tuesday night

From a yoga room full of pregnant women (twenty one of them to be exact) in search for relaxation, ease, breath and harmony, to a fancy restaurant and a group of friends ready to celebrate the big birthday with champagne and delicious food. A splendid example of contrasts that gives me energy.

No, not my birthday. And no, not my pregnancy. But yes, my spiritual top up followed by a touch of glamour and indulgence.

Spring flowers and candlesticks

Sometimes happiness comes in new shapes and colours.

The art of shopping at IKEA

I went to get this and only this:

 

Somehow this also made it to my shopping bag:

 

 

 They know what they are doing. Who can enter IKEA and leave with ONLY the things they came for?

Where are you living?

If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.

From my coach, who got it from Lao Tzu...

Something to look forward to?

If it wasn't for a trusted recommendation, I would never buy this book. Sequels usually disappoint. The cover says ick. Let's see what it's like. Or if you have to be newlywed to appreciate it.

Waiting...

...for people to get back to me, for proposal to go through, for spring to arrive. May be more.

Is waiting an activity? It takes energy, so I guess it is although it sounds like a waste of time.

So what can you do while waiting? Ironing is always a possibility.

Beloved bathrobe

One (of many) advantages of working from home is to not have to get ready in the morning. I love to spend time in my bathrobe! Have early breakfast, read the newspaper for as long as I like, check in on my MacBook (usually to get a quick blogosphere update and an overview of overnight emails) and then start working. Without spending time showering, putting on make up and proper clothes. Just me in my bathrobe. A very creative moment when I get so much done.

This morning I managed to put together a proposal and finish a presentation that was long due. All before ten o'clock.

Honestly, what happened?

Mulberry is losing it. What happened to the traditional British stylish brand?

A morning filled with handstands

Safety rules, instructions and practice. Arms are shaking... Now waiting for the physiotherapist to join us for an afternoon filled with anatomy. We were all asked to prepare questions based on our physical issues and injuries. Who said yoga is risk free?

When it gets too much

Day four of teacher training. This is when the urge for something different starts to grow in me. I need a contrast, something else, something that isn't yoga (or at least not biomechanics and asana flows). I want to put on make-up, high heels, drink wine and have a dinner party for all my girlfriends. I want to go shopping, buy new storage solutions and re-organise my closet. I want to see my nieces and nephews, go to the cinema and eat popcorn. I want to stay in, read books, continue my writing project and organise my photos.

So many things that could have filled my Sunday. But it's time to work up the energy and inspiration to continue a day filled with "how to instruct handstands" and "biomechanics of the shoulders and neck". I know I will enjoy it once I get started.

I'm stronger than this

I'm not affected by the weather, the sun is still shining inside of me...

The classroom

Develop, deepen and enjoy

Four days of biomechanics, new asanas and inspiration. Back in the yoga classroom to contiue the teacher training in a more advanced set up. Flashbacks from the month in India, now more than a year ago, when the foundation was laid out. Time to build the next floor. After day one my muscles are already aching, but in a nice way.

Bad timing

Imagine if there is no bad timing. Imagine that everthing is exactly the way it should be and that timing is only in our imagination. We think that we can control events that we can't and therefore put the blame on timing when we fail. A releasing thought and part of the theme in yesterday's yoga class.

The purpose of procrastination

As long as there is something you keep on postponing, there is something else you are prioritising. Whatever this something else is, if there wasn't the something you are postponing, may be the something else would never have been done. Makes sense?

It did to me this morning when I realised what my procrastination consists of and what I choose to do instead. If I didn't have that "thing" that I keep pushing forward then I would probably postpone what I'm doing right now as well as what I'm going to do right after this... So there is something useful with procrastination.

The cave...

Alias the yoga shala. Welcoming the warmth, hiding from nasty rain, emails and meetings.

Doing the unexpected

I thought I was going to wake up early, ready for a day filled of activities. Step class in the morning, followed by organising the unorganised closet and then a long walk in the sun. And then coffee with a friend and work in the afternoon.

But I woke up and decided to go back to bed. With a coffee, two days' worth of newspaper and the computer. Time to read articles I otherwise wouldn't, time to google a few things that have popped up in the last couple of days.

It's so easy to get caught by the doing-trap. The more things you manage to do, the better you are. Or are you? Back to the concept of human being or human doing... Today I'm going to let the being take over the doing.

Like!

Why red?
There is something irresistible about red shoes.

(Whyred spring 2012)

A view to wake up to

May be we didn't order the snow, but this view is like cotton for the soul. A morning filled with birdsong and a day filled with with family and food. But first a long walk in the stillness of nature.

Easter weekend food bonanza

On the shopping list: almond potatoes, corn chicken, Gruyère cheese, chocolate and much more.

Shopping flashbacks

How to extend the joy of a successful shopping day: spread the treasures around the flat and relish their presence. A taster from King's Road and Covent Garden.

So far this week

All the good things that have happened this week. Or some of them.

I started a new yoga instructor programme which includes observing (and assisting) an experienced instructor. So on Tuesday evening I observed twelve pregnant women, all glowing with their round tummies, in a class specifically designed for their well-being. To observe a yoga instructor, feel her presence, hear how she articulates her instructions at the same time as she feels them in her own body... Awesome.

A dear reunion. It has happened before, it's happening again. Clearing the air, understanding a bit more, knowing it's probably not the last time. You don't know what you don't know.

A new family member. Adorable Baby M will be my sweet little goddaughter. The youngest out of three. Wow, it's such an honour to be invited into a child's life. My godparents always provided me with a sense of security and welcome. Without thinking about the horrible consequences should something have happened to my parents when I was little, I just knew I had a second home and I could feel I was special to them. So my aim is to extend this special feeling to my godchildren, each one of them.

Still filled with London. The things I brought back with me are spread all over the flat, easy to see and enjoy. A new writing project is slowly forming in my head. All inspired by my last trip. Now I just need to block some time in the diary and get down to it.

Snapshots from My London

I'm seriously thinking of updating My London guide. There are at least two new highlights to write more about: Slingsby Place St Martin's Courtyard and Triyoga on Kings Road. TBC.