In the middle of great upheaval we can see the qualities of avidya playing out accentuated. When we become groundless in what was once familiar, when our footing is lost in what we believed held us steady, then we have better eyes to see what is really within us. At this particular moment in time, the attributes of avidya are playing out on grand scale - if we are willing to have our eyes open, we may have the opportunity to witness this within ourselves.

If all aspects of yoga are present in every other aspect of yoga, at all times in order for that moment to in fact be yoga, where does the dharana (meditation) come into play during this time of asana (physical movement) and pranayama (conscious breath)?

When we begin to experience this natural relationship between the breath and the spinal movement our practice can deepen far beyond our imaginings. Think of it a bit like pushing a heavy box from a stand still compared with the effortlessness of pushing a heavy box that is already in motion.

When we eat in the way that is right for us as an individual, we should not feel heavy, nor manic, the mind will feel settled and clear. There should be a feeling of ease within the body and contentment in the mind.

Often ‘yoga’ which is generally only referencing the tool of asana, is described as being too difficult for the inflexible, too strong for the weak, too dangerous for the fragile, too soft for the muscle-bound or too slow for the busy-minded. Yet by the very definition of yoga, the physical practice of asana should meet every individual where they are at.

There is so much to write about sleep that it is difficult to know where to begin. Science is fascinated by it, yoga reveres it and as individuals, we are enlivened by its presence and tormented by its absence.

Life is always in action. There is no moment in life that is not. With this understanding we can see that our life is merely the sum total of all our doings! So where does our control, our grounding, reside in our life?

The most definitive text of yoga, the Yoga Sutra, begins with a word that is pregnant with all of the possibility of the great adventure ahead - ATHA (pron: ar-ta). The meaning of this word embodies a complete readiness to begin, it is saying ‘I have suffered enough, now I am ready to be soothed and have all of my true needs met’. In short ‘I’m sick of this shit, it is time to do something about it.’

When suffering is high, there is a type of combustion process happening within each individual as we are squeezed to see ‘what is it that I truly believe in’. Particularly when it relates to things being taken away from us that we have gotten used to having, be it a job, possessions, a loved one or even a certain routine.

For the most part, life is a series of odd and unexpected events, happening one after another until we die. Then, according to yoga, we do it all over again until we eventually stop doing that and we pop out of this extraordinary cycle forevermore.

We are no strangers to an 'om' at The Yoga Shack. Or a Gayatri, an om srim sreyai namah, a visokavajyotismati, a lam, vam, ram, yam or ham either for that matter. So why do we put so much emphasis on chanting? In the modern world, particularly in the corporate space where people are so focused to a goal (generally money), chanting looks more like affirmation: the constant repetition of an intention OR to put it more specifically: a constant reminder to the mind of what we are and the direction in which we wish to go.

Recently having a conversation with my Dad, he was lamenting the loss of his own life and time being bound by duty to the care of his old, frail but still grotesquely mean and ferocious Father. I questioned why he was doing what he was doing if this is how it made him feel and cautioned him against having a hidden agenda of hope, that in his Dad's dying days, he might suddenly proclaim love and apology to the son he had so mistreated.

When it comes to thinking about your menstrual cycle, I wonder what kind of story you have around yours? It’s been source, it’s been shame, it’s been a blessing, it’s been a curse – all dependent on the see-sawing gender power plays, generally governed by the patriarchy, that determine our societal views around women, equality and freedom.

Recently I’ve seen the increased discussion again around how to adjust students in a trauma-informed way; being conscious of trauma by making sure that we clearly communicate around adjustments to honour student’s boundaries. In the lineage of my study, physical adjustments are not part of our teaching and with more discussion around terms such as ‘mental health aware yoga’, ‘trauma informed yoga’ and adjustments, plus the odd query from our own students, I felt it time to tackle the reasons why adjustments are not on the already rich buffet of the yoga experience at our yoga school.

Throughout all of the texts of yoga, weaving back and forth, in and out, from this angle and that, sits the concept of impermanence. At the most subtle level the intricate heart of the teachings tell us of two most important components: of purusa - that which is static and unchanging, the inner dwelling seer and of prakrtti - which is everything else; all matter, all that births and dies, all that is always, forever in a constant cycle of flux.

At different times of our lives, under different phases of the moon and at different times in our cycles, little can be done to keep hidden the deep calderas as well as the majestic mountains of the heart. The shine of a full moon or the passing of an egg, turning the inner gaze glaringly headlong toward the emotional centre with its truth and its scars, as well as the ecstacies and the desires that guide and shape us along particular parts of our story.

Yesterday I found myself embroiled in a very interesting situation, one in which all hard evidence pointed to the fact that I was a deranged psychotic maniac. Whilst I do not deny, your honour, that every now and again I have flashes of this persona if someone fills the sink up too much during dry times for example or if my tools get left out in the rain (by me) or if I see a child suffering at the hands of an adult - but yesterday, I swear, was not one of these times!