I came across a quote in the news this week that couldn’t be more yogic. It’s from an unlikely source. Here it is:

"You need to have broad shoulders and nerves of steel. You need to stay calm and not get caught up in emotion or tension. You need to rationalise every emotion because the goal is important and fundamental." Nicola Gratteri

I thought, for a new year treat, we could take a class outing! The British Museum has an online exhibition of Tantra. Enlightenment to Revolution.

Are teachers on Zoom skipping Savasana? Christmas this year has the crazy addition of home-alone-for-all and so Savasana has added importance. It’s especially important to take this time for yourself at the end of class and even, during the day, to take your own break-up-the-day Savasana. Experience nothingness: no shopping, cooking, working, travelling or any obligations… perhaps no celebrating even!

I’ve been asked to teach Desk Yoga for a corporate class. It’s a smart request. Not everybody has a yoga mat but everyone has a chair and some kind of desk that can be pressed into service! There’s a saying: as many living beings are there, that many asanas are there. When I finally put together a teacher training course, Chair Yoga (which is what Desk Yoga boils down to) will definitely be part of it.

It’s the time of year for sinuses! Y'know... the point of sinuses is to produce mucus which forms a barrier against pollutants, dust, and micro-organisms. My nose is on another journey entirely, reaching its peak in spring by inviting in various pollens! And, y’know, yoga, the clever-clogs, has an answer!

It’s been a year since the very first cases of coronavirus. Our lives were about to change and we were blissfully unaware – like the poem says: ‘Time held me green and dying, Though I sang in my chains like the sea’. Last year was ‘green’! Evening classes were snippets of a party and everything was fun positive.

Dear Yogis,

As usual I’ve been thinking about back ache. The Standard said recently: ‘If you didn’t emerge from lockdown with a sore back, a cricked neck, a gammy leg, an aching hip, a stiff shoulder… then truly, you are one of God’s chosen children.’

Happy Diwali. If ever we wanted light to triumph over darkness and the chance of a new beginning, it’s now! How nice to have a celebration of removing inner darkness and negativity, starting afresh, having patience, sharing sweetness… The perfect posture for removing inner darkness and for Lock Down is…

Well! We’re in Lock Down again. How do we keep an even keel? Many people used the last house arrest to achieve something, start something, change something, take stock, review direction… any or all of the above. No? Me neither! Well, we have a second chance.

The more familiar you get with yoga, the more sensitive you become to your inner landscape and the more tuned in you’ll be to the outer surroundings and your reaction to them. If your room is cluttered, if the lighting is unhelpful, if the very fact of Zoom’s electronic waves zaps your energy, that’s because the Feng Shui is wrong and it can be fixed.