Poetry for Practice: Francis William Bourdillon - The Night Has a Thousand Eyes

Did you get to see any of the eclipse this week? I managed to get a good view through a homemade contraption, which gave me a new perspective on just how powerful the sun is. To see the tiny reflection of the sun, mostly in shadow, and yet, see no discernible difference in the sky was a paradoxic... Read More

Poetry for Practice: Lao Tzu - We Are A River

If you are eagle-eyed, you may have noticed that I use a Lao Tzu quote elsewhere on my website: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." There are lots of crossovers between yoga philosophy and Taoism, and I’m inspired by both. Taoism, though, seems to have a particularly poetic... Read More

Poetry for Practice: Yehuda Amichai - The Place Where We Are Right

This week’s poem feels especially relevant in our current political landscape. It also reminds us, like many poems do, to reflect on ourselves. In what areas of our lives have we become so certain that we've stopped being curious? Yehuda Amichai  The Place Where We Are Right From the place where ... Read More

What an Instant Hot Water Tap Taught Me About Doing Nothing

And what we lose when there's nothing left to wait for… I recently spent time with family, specifically staying at the newly completed Grand Designs-style house of my husband's brother and partner. Like many people who have designed their kitchen in the last five years, they have installed an ins... Read More

Poetry for Practice: Shannen Wrass - The Perfect Friend

The themes of this poem feel like a natural continuation of last week's Love After Love. Having reflected on our connection with our authentic selves, this week's poem turns the attention to our inner friend and the way we treat ourselves. Shannen Wrass The Perfect FriendToday I found a friendwho... Read More

Poetry for Practice: Derek Walcott - Love After Love

Poetry, like art, is open to interpretation. We all bring our own experiences to the words on the page, so it's only natural that different people take different things from the same poem. That was certainly my experience with this week's poem, Love After Love by Derek Walcott. Derek Walcott Love... Read More

Poetry for Practice: Edna St. Vincent Millay - Afternoon on a Hill

Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of my favourite poets, although her work is often quite sharp - she has a gift for expressing uncomfortable truths with remarkable honesty! Afternoon on a Hill reveals a softer, gentler side which shows her depth not only as a poet, but as a person. Edna St. Vincent... Read More

Why I Use The Term "Older Adults" to Describe My Yoga Classes

I use the term "older adults" when I describe who my yoga classes are for, but I think it's important to share why I use this term and what I mean by it. For some, "older adult" feels like a comfortable description, for others, it feels like a label that doesn't quite fit. Age is a funny thing. W... Read More

Poetry for Practice: William Blake - A Poison Tree

I'm quite an efficient person 😅 and I sometimes wonder if that's one of the reasons I love poetry. I admire its ability to say so much with so little. The best poems invite us to sit with an idea and return to it again and again to discover new layers of meaning. A Poison Tree by William Blake is... Read More

Poetry for Practice: Edgar Albert Guest - Can’t

One of the most common remarks I hear when I tell people that I’m a yoga teacher is that they “can’t do yoga because they’re not flexible enough.” I’ve come to see this response as a glimpse into a person’s life script, because what they’re really saying is not that they lack flexibility, but tha... Read More