Retreating to win

Category : General advice, Philosophy 3rd February 2020

Inside Yoga 292 (3/2/2020) There are times when we just need a break from everything, when all we want is a moment to retreat from the demands the world, and most of the time, the idea of a running off to a far-off place though the most appealing option is the least practical and unlikely to happen… especially if we […]

more >

Life’s journey through uncertainty

Category : General advice, Philosophy 20th January 2020

Inside Yoga 291 (20/1/2020) Many of us spend a lot of our time worrying, whether it is something we regret in the past or something we might face in the future, either way, anxiety is there, because we do not feel certain about things. Pliny wrote a long time ago, “There is nothing certain but uncertainty.” Of course, there are […]

more >

What are you looking at?

Category : Asanas (Postures), General advice 13th January 2020

Inside Yoga 290 (13/1/2020) When practising yoga, whether it is yoga asanas (exercises) or dhayana (meditation) the eyes need something to look at, this is called drishti, a point of gaze or focus. During yoga practice we seek to control the physical body through exercises, and keep the mind focused and quiet, with its attention on the body and breathing. […]

more >

New year’s resolutions

Category : General advice, Philosophy 6th January 2020

Inside Yoga 289 (6/1/2020) We are back to the beginning again, with a near year, and this time it’s a new decade, so we are possibly filled with greater expectations? But does a new year make any difference? The start of another year is usually filled with resolutions to “start as we mean to go on”, to make changes, and […]

more >

Yoga: a cure for Festive Fatigue and Christmas Conflict

Category : Asanas (Postures), General advice 16th December 2019

Inside Yoga 288 (16/12/2019) It is that time of year when we are under pressure to buy things for people we barely like or see, get together with folk we struggle to see eye to eye with, and on top of it the kids are so excited we wonder where they get the energy, because it is cold and wet […]

more >

Silence is golden

Category : General advice 9th December 2019

Inside Yoga 287 (9/12/2019) Our modern world is so filled with sounds that we do not know a world with silence: think about how we live and ask yourself how much silence do you experience in a typical day? An average day might start with the sound of an alarm or radio playing to wake us up, followed by chatter […]

more >

Meditation explained

Category : General advice 2nd December 2019

Inside Yoga 286 (2/12/2019) Many people I teach tell me that they find meditation hard: so in answer to such comments, the following is an explanation which aims to make meditation more accessible and achievable as a practice. When someone tells me that meditation is hard, I agree meditation is hard. This might not be the answer they expect, because […]

more >

Look up and see

Category : General advice 18th November 2019

Inside Yoga 285 (18/11/2019) Would you walk down a busy street with your head down reading a book? For most of us, the first thought would be “of course not, I would trip or bump into something”! So why do so many of us do this with our phones? I spend much of my time outside offices, waiting to go […]

more >

Yoga has my back

Category : Asanas (Postures), General advice 2nd November 2019

Inside Yoga 284 (28/10/2019) “Here I go again,” I thought as I pulled my back recently, while doing some menial task in the house, and as the surprise of pain changed swiftly to survival mode, I sought to find a comfortable position – a fruitless goal as it turned out! Though lying on my back seemed the least compromised position. […]

more >

Sticking to the point

Category : Asanas (Postures), General advice 21st October 2019

Inside Yoga 283 (21/10/2019) One of the hardest aspects of yoga practice whether it is asanas (postures) or dhayana (meditation) is the ability to stick the point, in other words maintaining our full attention to our body, our mind and our breathing while practising. One of the best examples of how this is true is a standing balancing posture like […]

more >