COVID and OCD – how to survive a pandemic when you have anxiety
TW: COVID and mental health In March 2020, I lost my sense of smell and taste for five days. Seemingly innocuous when the symptoms for the pandemic that had stopped me from going to my city centre office were sore throats and fever. During those five days I felt...
Love letter to chaturanga
When I think about you, I see a bridge. Wrought iron, strong, mechanical, stretching out and joining two cliffs together. Messages race up and down my spine like commuters on their way to work, and often I worry that they are missing the view. When you do something...
Staying sane in lockdown: nirodha
How is your lockdown going? It feels weird that lockdown is now a commonplace noun. It’s in everyday speech, it’s a hashtag, it’s our new normal. And I kind of love it. Ok, before you get mad my lockdown comes with a whole host of privileges that I am so...
Yoga teacher training: where to begin
When I started my yoga journey six years ago, I didn’t think I would ever be pursuing a career in teaching yoga. To be honest, I had no goals whatsoever, so anything would have surprised me. It’s been an exciting year of planning, researching, reviewing and...
What are the benefits of a one-to-one yoga class?
It was 2:30pm and I was nervous. Butterflies, tight tummy, the whole shebang. "It'll be fine," Alex said, rubbing my hand, "I understand that you're nervous but you have need to be. You'll do great." Yesterday was my first ever one-to-one yoga class and to say I was...
Sleep sweetly, sweetheart: how to get better sleep
I thought I was a good sleeper. If I’m in a car/on a train for longer than 20 minutes, you’d better believe I’m going to be snoring, dribbling, puddle of a human flopped around a seatbelt. I was the bane of friends’ lives when we went out partying together. We...
Space + Time = Connection
Space, life’s most priceless commodity, you now have it in spades. Whether you are on lockdown or are self-isolating, you will find yourself with a bit of space and time on your hands. The question is, what will you do with it? This coronavirus panic really gave me...
How to serve without subservience: the soft girl’s guide to being kind
“Passivity is not kindness.” A notion that I have been meditating on and trying to wrap my head around for a few years now and honestly I don’t feel like I’m much closer to a resolution. I’m sure many of you, particularly the women reading this, might vibe with...
How to see auras
My sister sees auras. It freaked me out a little when she first told me as she’s a total non-believer. Ghosts, not having it. After life, come on Mary, think again. But auras she’s completely behind because of how easily they come to her. Almost like a heat shimmer...
A Love Poem: Cobbler’s Pose
Here, I sit in your lap. Patient, tense, still, alert. The push and pull that hatha bringsTo a bright Tuesday afternoon. Fingertips touch,Mirror images of cold toes,Kissing like the holy palmer’s didAll those years ago. Except that was fantasy, And I am real in you....