Yoga, Creativity, Anthropology.
Every now and then articles are published by mainstream media outlets which warn against the dangers of yoga. This article cites a study by the University of Sydney, which used a questionnaire to find out how many people suffer from musculoskeletal pain as a result of their yoga practice. And this article uses the same […]
Read MorePeople who practise yoga spend a lot of time rolling around on the floor. A friend pointed this out to me a few years ago; he’d reluctantly come along to a yoga class, and afterwards he said something like “Yeah…it wasn’t bad, but I think I have better things to do with my time than […]
Read MoreAt the beginning of this year I gave birth to a human. Me! I pushed out a baby, and she changed lots of things. My time belongs to her now; even when I’m not with her I’m thinking about her, and aching to be back with her (really actually aching, what is that feeling?!). Pregnancy […]
Read MoreWith the next workshop coming up this weekend at The Life Centre, I thought it was about time I posted something about the last one! It was…in September. At the AMAZING conservatory at the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill. And it was really very lovely. It was an extra special one because it was accompanied […]
Read MoreCircular symbols exist around the world as part of different cosmologies and religions. They’re often used to represent the universe, the infinite, wholeness. They’re used in serious ways and lighthearted ways, and not exclusively in religious ways. A couple of months ago I was going through some boxes of my old things at my parents’ […]
Read MoreYoga texts old and new talk about sangha, and sat-sangha. Sangha is community, or an assembly of people, and sat-sangha (which is a term often to describe a gathering of people coming together to discuss life and philosophy and yoga) means ‘good company’. Yoga and yogis emphasise the importance of building and looking after your […]
Read MoreSunshine in a field; yogaskrit in a tent. The first weekend of this month was Colourfest – a festival of yoga and good feels, in Dorset. I had the pleasure of leading a workshop based on the stuff I’ve been writing about here – a bit of phenomenological anthropology, some asana and meditation, yoga mythology […]
Read MoreI’ve been thinking and writing lately about Yama and Niyama: two of the eight limbs of yoga described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. They’re sort of like a yogic blueprint for connecting with the self, the universe and everything – guidelines for how to live well. Loosely, the Yama are about how we interact with things external […]
Read MoreEveryone I know loses touch with their practice sometimes. Their yoga practice or their art practice, or their practice in any other form. The thing that makes them feel complete. Life gets busy or hard, or both; distractions become more appealing than discipline; and sometimes they genuinely need a break, to unhook the weight of […]
Read MoreThe breath is the deep inquirer, a practitioner in its own right. Sensitive or powerful, quiet or voluminous, the breath awakens the depth body and leads us towards an unknown experience. (Stirk 2015: 69) Of all of the elements that make up a yoga practice, the breath is perhaps the most important. It’s the thread […]
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