Hello Yogis! Valentine’s day had heart emojis flying around all week. No surprise that I want to write about the heart, but the angle came as a surprise. I hear of one doctor telling a patient that a resting heart rate of 100 beats per minute is ‘normal’ and I hear of another doctor telling another patient that her heart rate of 89 bpm is normal. I have always understood that a range between 60-80 bpm is the ‘normal’ range. I was a bit horrified so I asked Dr Google! The only article that agreed with me was from 2015. Otherwise, 60-100 came back as the ‘normal’ range… from American sources, I ..read more

Hello Yogis! Happy Monday! Another weekend slips by! This weekend took my 11th anniversary of teaching with it. It was Saturday 11th February in the year of the London Olympics. It was a mid-morning class at Virgin Acton, but news was already in that Whitney Houston had died. I spent the early morning working hard on remembering my left and my right and, in the end, decided to write ‘R’ and ‘L’ on my big toes. I drew pictures of postures on my mat in case I had a brain freeze. I had a picture of a boat and a picture of a tree! I had timed my class and timed every segment, but hadn’t given any ..read more

Hello Yogis! Did you see the planets and the stars last night? I missed the ‘planet parade’ which was after sunset, apparently, but Orion the Hunter was just above our front door! The stars assembled around Orion like a meeting. I wonder if they are gathering like Greeks Gods to plot their games with us! Anyway, still beautiful. Maybe they gathered to welcome Pelé. What are you up to on New Year’s Day? Triyoga have always offered free classes. Ealing has two classes that are already full up but other Triyogas, Chelsea, Shoreditch and Camden, have some places left. If you fancy a run, the Serpe ..read more

Hello Yogis! Meditation isn’t all that easy when the brain is in full Catherine Wheel Mode. That’s exactly when you need meditation – when the brain won’t comply. I have all kinds of techniques to lure my brain away from the fire, to come and sit down with me and just be. My brain has all kinds of surprising ways of resisting! Having written recently that ‘it takes five-eight minutes for the mind to calm down’, I used that thought to get me through a meditation attempt with a tornado-brain. Within a minute my saliva swallowing seemed to be attached to a loudspeaker. Another minute and I’m heat ..read more

Hello Yogis! I think about footballers often, not just because of the world cup! Footballers come to class, along with other types of athletes and bodies, and I’m struck at how the body responds to all kinds of decisions we make: the sports we take up, the accidents we have, the career we take up. Imbalance comes with those choices ‘as standard’! Of all the one-sided sports, football really takes the biscuit! Look at all that stopping and starting, jumping and changing direction. The kicking leg needs a huge amount of power and engagement from quad, groin and glute while simultaneously needing ..read more

Hello Yogis! Some people are convinced that yoga is religious. Some try to prove legally that it isn’t. I think it's better than that. It trains your mind to be present and grateful, and it trains your body to be up for the challenge. Physical life gets harder and harder but we have a duty to be grateful for what we have, keep the body MOT’d and keep the positivity and energy going, A friend's mother died recently and my heart is still stuck. In church, the final verse of the first hymn said: 'When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home – what joy shall fill my ..read more

Hello Yogis! “This is such a spiritual time of year” said a yogi. The muscular statement took me by surprise. And yet, goodness me, it’s such a spiritual time of year! Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice frame a time of spiritual traditions, festivity and special foods all over the world. Harvest is celebrated, the dead are honoured, the moon is glorified, the darkness is lit and, in monsoon countries, rains come to an end. Celebration is everywhere accompanied by customs of presents and generosity. Y’ know, the more celebratory you feel, the more energy you have! Yoga, in any case, is cele ..read more

Hello Yogis! Happy Friday! How are you? Coming to class? We start the Friday class with a short meditation – just 10 minutes. It is, after all, one of the Eight Limbs of yoga which includes Yamas and Niyamas/Dos and don'ts, Asana/posture practice, Pranayama/breathing exercises, and Dhyana/meditation. Full Eight Limbs here. How much is enough? I like 10 minutes. It’s doable and it doesn’t cut too much into the class. A teacher called Stewart Gilchrist had us practice for 8 minutes in his classes – he said that’s what you need every day. Even after eight or ten minutes there is a feeling of bein ..read more

Hello Yogis! Happy Diwali! May light triumph over darkness and good over evil! On Monday, underneath fireworks and bangs and cracks outside, Savasana was quite… interesting. I love that Idea of light overcoming darkness and illuminating light within ourselves. Wasting no time, by Wednesday that light was already illuminating something I have misunderstood all my life! I was brought up with the idea of merit: making merit, accumulating merit and performing meritorious deeds – even transferring merit to departed loved ones who need our help to be reborn into a better life. Well! I always picture ..read more

Hello Yogis! Well, Kythera is a memory for another year. Kapsali’s gorgeousness retreats into the past for another year: its double bay and Aphrodite’s rock, its deep blue sea churning and kicking up September foam, its tavernas and cafes, cotton wool clouds and warm air, my morning run up to ‘the capital’ picking figs to eat along the way. We’re doing our retreat next year! Definitely! See pictures of previous years here. My home studio is bare and a bit lonely for lack of classes last week. Dark mornings and dusky evenings make for a welcoming mat in a plain white studio, waiting for our cha ..read more