I love connecting with like-minded people but I’ve never felt a strong pull towards networking groups, even though it has been recommended to me as a way to grow my business, many times before.
Lately I’ve been reflecting on why I feel this way and I’ve realised that what feels “off” for me is that something about the culture of networking carries a subtle undertone of extraction and transaction.
It can feel like……
Read MoreOur digital world is louder than ever before, but our inner world is where meaning and purpose is found.
This is easy to forget or even know, when we spend so much time on our digital devices - scrolling, posting, consuming - the endless clamour of being “on” and trying to keep up with a pace our nervous systems were never built for…..
Read MoreWe live in a culture obsessed with becoming better and doing more.
Better bodies, systems, routines - a never-ending project of fixing who we already are.
And, oh my goodness, me too! I have also been a part of this self improvement culture. You only need to take a look at the books on my bookshelf. LOL I’m a lifelong learner and student- curiosity is in my bones, but over the years I too have tried many of the strategies, 6 step frameworks and other ways to try to “improve” myself……..
Read More“Friends are the family we choose for ourselves”
Friendship was never easy for me when I was younger. Although I longed for genuine connection, it never came easily for me. I think part of the reason was that I was a people pleaser and shape shifted myself in different situations to “fit in”. As a young woman and “party girl” I wasn’t really clear on what my values were. I wanted to belong, to be liked, to be part of the fun. I would never speak up if I disagreed with something. I stayed silent and agreeable to keep the peace……
Read MoreEverywhere I look I am noticing more and more, the sea of sameness.
Do you notice it too ??
Our originality is being flattened by trends and authenticity has been turned into a marketing strategy. I find myself searching for words and content that feel “lived-in” again - not the scroll of imitation and sameness. Quite frankly, it feels boring, flat and predictable because our words and expression have lost their texture through repetition and overuse.
Our voices and expression are not templates, they are the source of our deepest, lived experience and truths and truth is a living practice…..
Read MoreThere’s something about midlife that invites a kind of unmasking.
The people-pleasing begins to lose its grip as we stop making so much bloody effort to be likeable.
And slowly, the parts of ourselves that we have kept tucked away begin to stretch and breathe…..
Read MoreIn our mindfulness class this week we explored the ways in which we can notice and ease our hard habits of thinking such as perfectionism, judgement, control and comparison that keep us locked in patterns of tension and reactivity.
When we practice softening the mind, we begin to notice when we’ve slipped into autopilot - when our minds and thought begin to loop into over-analysis and we resist and tighten against life.
Here are some of the ways the mind becomes hard - the patterns, defences, and habits that create mental rigidity and inner tension……
Read MoreI’ve taken up a new hobby - carving spoons!
My friend Bron, gifted me two beautiful hand carved spoons and I loved them so much, that I asked her if she could teach us her art.
And now I have the “spoon bug”.
A spoon is such an ordinary and humble thing.
It feeds, stirs and serves.
It carries soup to the mouth and honey to the tea……
Read MoreWhile menopause is a universal experience, our culture rarely honours it as the psycho-spiritual life transition that it is.
Through the lens of yoga, menopause is a period of purification and transformation.
In yoga philosophy, this heat is known as tapas - inner fire of transformation - to burn away what is no longer needed. The emotional intensity that we can experience is the “fire of awakening” doing its work.
Menopause is a call inward……
Read MoreWe use the word triggered to describe a strong emotional reaction - anger, shame, fear, defensiveness. Quite often we avoid or deny or don’t take much notice of these reactions.
What if triggers are information rich signals from our nervous system ?
When we are triggered, it’s like a flashing neon sign saying “Pay attention - something important is happening here”.
The surge of emotion is not random, it’s actually data.
It can mean…….
Read MoreI’ve dabbled in Ayurveda for years, which is the “sister science” of yoga. After my trip to India in January, where I spent time in the “ayurvedic capital” Kerala, and a recent health scare, I’ve returned to studying Ayurveda with a deep devotion and reverence for its wisdom and healing intelligence.
Ayurveda offers a map for living in harmony with our changing bodies. It reminds us that we don’t have to deplete ourselves with strain or heat - but instead cultivate ojas, the subtle energy of vitality or the nectar of wholeness and integrity.
Ojas is what gives us our radiance, resilience, and juiciness. It’s built through nourishment, loving routines, and living in rhythm with nature…..
Read MoreAt first glance and especially as yoga has become more westernised, yoga and stretching can seem like they are the same thing, but the intentions and outcomes are actually very different.
A stretch class is designed to improve flexibility, mobility and posture.
It is an external practice focused on the body as an object and a desired outcome.
A yoga class extends far beyond the physical body, it is designed to nourish our whole being.
It is an internal practice that works on the whole system - body, mind, emotional well-being and nervous system regulation…….
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