Yoga for the light

After getting annoyed about plastic, reading numerous articles about the impact of plastic on the environment and also a rather good book (in Dutch) about zero-waste, I decided sometime in November that enough was enough and I was determined to cut plastic out of my life (and hopefully out of the lives of countless fish/bugs/furry…

So.. this feels like a bit of a horror story .. like Halloween has come early. Our unwholesome use and dependence on plastic has been bothering me for a while now and having just read a really nice book on Zero Waste (more to come… ), I feel even more motivated to reduce my own…

Another article about the benefits of yoga in prison and how it helps inmates build up resilience and also find calm. It is always interesting how the benefits experienced are specific to yoga. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/11/yoga-prisons-crime-cut-reoffending  

As I write this, I realize that most posts on my blog are about topics close to the heart and not per se about yoga poses. However, living in a way that does not damage yourself or others is part of ahimsa, or non-violence, which is just one of the 5 yama’s (or ‘do’s’ )…

Several years ago I read an article about a woman who had started to train some bald ibises how to migrate by encouraging them to follow her in her light aircraft.  It seems they had forgotten how to do this themselves as a result of being almost made extinct and living only in captivity. I…

Not a story directly related to yoga but for sure one of courage.. and possibly a little craziness.. despite all that is happening in the world, one small raccoon in Minnesota become  – maybe just temporarily – a media star…   https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/06/13/climbing-raccoon-tops-minnesota-skyscraper-goes-viral/697159002/

It’s always fascinating and inspiring to hear how other people are bringing meditation into their daily lives. Here’s an interesting article from The Guardian about some guys (and a lady) in Alaska incorporating meditation and some exercise into their workday… https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/mar/06/alaska-shipyard-meditation-men-masculinity

It’s been a while since I last posted but I have not come to standstill.  Lately I’ve been continuing to make a concerted effort to get my meditation practice back on track. Funny how it always seems more important in a busy, chaotic period but then it always get lost most quickly in that same…

I’ve never followed a Vipassana meditation although it fascinates me. I tend to use the excuse that I am “too busy” but probably it has more to do with not yet having plucked up courage to sit for 10 days and be confronted with whatever I may be confronted with. I have a mountain of…

A short while ago.. while actually some years ago now .. I had a regular meditation practice. I found some element of calm, albeit sometimes briefly. Sometimes it was just a means of sitting still for half an hour or so and finding some sense of calm, consciously turning my attention inwards and away from…