happy yogini feet

i normally practice yoga anywhere i can find a quiet space, which means toting all my gear from room to room. this week i packed up my art materials & easel (dramatic in one sense, but from a different perspective, not so dramatic), took my art table out of the room and turned the space into a yoga studio, where i can 'summa iru' (simply be).

yesterday i began a morning asana practice in this lovely sun filled room (quite literally, salutes to the sun) in addition to an afternoon practice. non-yogis out there may think this extreme, but i feel wonderful - calmness. clarity. physical ease. grace under pressure.

the more challenging postures like headstand, full backbend & now full lotus are coming more easily now that my practice has progressed and i have begun pranayama now also.

this book by australian yoga teacher alix johnson: yoga: the essence of life, interviews eight prominent yoga teachers. it is a fasinating look at the many different yoga paths. sadly, the teacher i found the most inspirational, muktanand meannjin, died before the book was completed. (she lived in the 'bihar school of yoga' ashram for twelve years, then later taught in brisbane, queensland).

i love this video of b.k.s. iyengar practicing back in 1938. this 'guruji' is such an example to the world, whatever age you might be - born in 1918 and still going strong! he was apparently voted one of the 'top 100 most influential people' by time magazine. his yoga teachings have been a huge influence on me - if only i had a ticket to india!

a friendlier world

can you remember a time before blogging? our social networks were certainly a lot smaller then.

it was interesting to hear Mena Trott the co-founder of sixapart (the company that created blogging software - typepad/vox etc.) doing a TED talk about blogging in the early days - imagine just 100 blogs!

blogging statistics show conflicting estimates on how many blogs are actually out there now (but then what do statistics really mean anyway !) in any case, for me, the world is definitely a friendlier place.

a new companion

for a long time now i have felt the need to write a journal. i have an art journal which is a purely creative place to play, express artistic ideas & emotions, collect meaningful quotes etc. i still write poetry from time to time, although i haven't been involved with writer's island for the longest time & i have to say i miss it. blogging of course, is a journal of sorts, but it was a personal space that i seemed to need.

while reading the artists way i would get up early every morning to write stream of consciousness 'morning pages'. these pages were great & helped to identify the hot & cold spots going on in my life at the time. but i found it difficult to fit them into my early morning routine.

now, i meditate first thing in the morning. great for re-charging the mind & connecting to that 'creative genius in the sky', but still there are thoughts that need to be written down on the page, whatever time they might appear in my head.

life's companion:journal writing as a spiritual quest was just what i needed to get me in the zone. it is a guide to journal writing for those who want to connect with their spiritual inner self. it contains lots of guidance on ways to get thoughts down & how to seek your own feedback. it always surprises me that i live inside myself 24/7 but don't always know what's really going on in there! today i wrote five foolscap pages & it really does feel good. something is shifting inside me.

in search of wisdom

as someone who is always in search of wisdom (it's never too late!), i loved this short andrew zuckerman video jen lemen posted recently. you might like it too.