The first Western Ashtangis – the likes of David Swenson, David Williams, Nancy Gilgoff and Kathy Cooper – were in their early twenties when they found themselves in Mysore, India. Kathy Cooper will regale you with tales of how she flew through the Primary and Intermediate series in a matter of months, practising six days a […]
Whether you embrace Christmas and all the razzmatazz that comes with it, or you’d rather bury your head under the duvet until it’s all over, the chances are the stress will get to you, one way or another, before the 25th. You might be tasked with putting on the perfect performance from Santa for your […]
These yummy, no-bake seedy chocolate squares are a big favourite with the Sunday self-practice class and the Teacher Training groups. I’m regularly asked to share the recipe, so posting it here for easy reference. They couldn’t be easier to throw together and last a good week in the fridge. Ingredients Pitted Dates (mug […]
Like the fabled princess who had to kiss a lot of frogs before she found her prince, getting started with the right kind of yoga can take some time. You may have to try quite a few classes before you find your perfect match. This is certainly how it was for me when I first […]
When I first started practising yoga, I was told not to do any inversions (headstands, handstands, shoulder stands) when I had my period. Going upside down, it was said, would inhibit the flow of menstrual blood. So I dutifully went on to avoid inversions once a month. Periods are bad enough without wilfully complicating matters, […]
It’s quite a high when you float out of a particularly inspiring class or workshop, feeling full of joy as every cell in your body seems to vibrate. Fully convinced of the benefits of yoga for body and mind, you tell yourself that this time, you’re going to keep it up, no matter what. And […]
Even someone who’s never stepped on a yoga mat will know that Meditation is having its moment. Not so long ago, people who meditated were regarded as a little flaky, ridiculed in movies as relics from the 60s and 70s, and generally depicted as long-haired hippies in beads and flowing cheesecloth. Now, we know that […]
Septuagenarian Kathy Cooper, practising since the 1970s, pictured on a recent visit to Ireland. One of the joys of ageing (yes, younger readers, there are a few – and turning sixty in lockdown gave me plenty of time to reflect on them!) is that the discipline to practise comes more easily. When you’re young, you […]
Spending time in France last month, I got to thinking about the Niyama of Tapas. There’s nowhere quite like France to force you to draw on your deepest reserves of Tapas to get you through the day. Everywhere you look, an opportunity arises to indulge in some of the country’s fabulousness: the restaurants, the wine, […]
Anyone who was mesmerised by the recent, stunning Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher” might remember Craig Foster, the free diver who wrote and directed the film, explaining how he got to know the behavioural patterns of the octopus who so entranced him. People seemed puzzled, he said, by his habit of diving to exactly the […]