MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Well what a wonderful Christmas this has been. First an early morning telephone conversation with my brother Ross in Australia where they have been enduring a heat wave, quite a contrast to our recent cold weather.

Then strangely, for the first time in years and due to the fact it has been a hard few months my parents surprised me with presents from Father Christmas, go figure, lucky me.

My parents went off to Victor Hugo's for breakfast leaving me to do my morning Yoga practice in peace, lovely, although of course there was the usual interruption by Alfie the cat who likes to lie on my mat halfway through my practice so I have to move around him, not ideal!

After my practice Charles skyped me from Thailand, lucky thing, another lovely conversation with someone spending Christmas Day in the sunshine - thanks sweetheart, some of the best presents in life are free.

Then Dad came down to Vazon with me as I went for a swim in the sea, a very quick swim in the sea, like really quick, just enough to dive in, get my hair wet, do a couple of token strokes and then straight out...it was cold...only bonus was I got to go straight in the hot tub back at home with a cup of tea, which was wonderful - there is nothing quite like lying there in hot water staring at the clouds moving overhead and birds flying past, and what incredible clouds today, we have been blessed.

Lunch was fabulous, courtesy of my Mum, and we were lucky to see an incredible rainbow from the table, Christmas wishes, there are so many, but I did make one.



Present time, I was spoilt again, this is what happens when your brother lives over the other side of the world and does not partake in the present giving. I am finally moving into a house rental next week so I got lots of lovely things to make the place cosy and serene. Thankfully Mum and Dad liked their gifts too.

Sami called from Canada (lovely to speak) and then we managed a walk around the block and down to the coast, great to get some fresh air and what wonderful sunset, lovely orange and pink tinged skies, again lucky us, pleased to be living on Guernsey on days like this.

We popped into Clairebear to exchange presents, so funny looking at old photos of us as children together, nothing changes, we now have matching slippers, think that is rather cool in a fairy like way.

So now just to catch up with friends this evening in person and by email and indulge in a spot of Gavin and Stacey, great stuff, what a wonderful day, blessed, happy and easy going, lucky me, thank you, gracious, Namaste!!

Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope you are all having a great day.

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING - LAKSHMI SHINING

At the end of a Yoga class a few days ago I wished everyone a Merry Christmas and one of the students asked if I am a Buddihst and thus would I be celebrating Christmas. It made me stop and think about how easily we are put into boxes, our whole life from the minute we are born, how we like to classfy people, each other, and even now, practisicing and teaching Yoga, trying to move beyond boundaries, here we are, boxed by others - not necessarily in an intentional or judging way, just that we like to classify people, try to make sense of them somehow.

Of course many Yoga practitioners follow a Buddhist philosophy to life while others adopt Hinduism and others adopt nothing at all. I am a little bit of everything, my whole life I have been a little bit of everything, neither this nor that, difficult to box, in fact I have spent my whole life trying to live outside the box and that can be challenging, especially living in Guernsey where conforming is the norm.

That is the reason it was so nice to meet up with my one of my best friend's, Hayley, and her friend Caroline on Christmas Eve for a living outside the box kind of afternoon/evening, great chatter, lovely laughter so that we were all shining brightly together. With that in mind and embracing my Nepali-influenced-Hindu side, may Lakshmi continue to shine brightly on both of you - thank you for being such wonderful friends. xxx

For those who don't already know, Goddess Lakshmi is the household Goddess of most Hindu families and a favourite of women. Goddess Lakshmi means Good Luck to Hindus. The word 'Lakshmi' is derived from the Sanskrit word "Laksya", meaning 'aim' or 'goal', and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual.

Worship of a mother goddess has been a part of Indian tradition since its earliest times. Lakshmi is one of the mother goddesses and is addressed as "mata" (mother) instead of just "devi" (goddess).

As a female counterpart of Lord Vishnu, Mata Lakshmi is also called 'Shri', the female energy of the Supreme Being. She is the goddess of prosperity, wealth, purity, generosity, and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm.

The importance attached to the presence of Lakshmi in every household makes her an essentially domestic deity. Householders worship Lakshmi for the well being and prosperity of the family. Businessmen and women also regard her equally and offer her daily prayers.

To demonstrate the 'little bit of everything' approach, here is some wisdom from HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA, the spiritual leader of Tibet:-

The Purpose of Life

"Whether we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, whatever our nationality, colour, social status or ideology may be, the purpose of our lives is to he happy".

Teach by example

"Before teaching others, before changing others, we ourselves must change. We must be honest, sincere, kind hearted"

The commonality of religion

"Every religion of the world has similar ideals of love, the same goal of benefiting humanity through spiritual practice, and the same effect of making its followers into better human beings...Each, in its own way, teaches a path leading to a spiritual state that is peaceful, disciplined, ethical and wise".

May Goddess Lakshmi shine on everyone with beauty, abundance, grace and wealth.

Namaste

xx

WINTER SOLSTICE 2009

I am very excited as it is the winter solstice today marking the shortest day and longest night of the year, hoorah, which means we will now start to gain light (albeit perhaps only a minute or 2 each day) up until the summer solstice on 21 June, even more hoorah.

The winter solstice – also called the Celtic Festival of Yule – is one of the most evocative and significant festivals for us Pagans and Wiccans. On this day Wiccans and Pagans traditionally choose what to take with them into the New Year and what to leave behind.

An ancient belief is that the wheel of the year stops briefly at this time – it was a taboo to turn a wheel or even a butter churn on the shortest day. This time of stillness was a precious opportunity to consider the year gone by from a point of stillness and, equally calmly, a chance to look forward to the increasingly active months to come.

Traditionally Pagans and Wiccans spend the days leading up to, and following on from, the winter solstice in grateful reflection on life, enjoying plenty and laughter with friends and family, as far removed as possible from the strains and stresses of everyday life – sounds good huh!

The ancient Celtic term for this day is Alban Arthuan and it was recognised as the festival of peace to celebrate the coming of light. As Christmas honours the birth of Christ, the winter solstice celebrates the rebirth of the Sun God, son of the Goddess. In ancient times, people were more intimately connected with the cycles of nature – the worship of the sun is understandable in view of our reliance on its warmth for food and life itself.

Mistletoe used to be a part of the winter solstice celebrations – sacred to the Druids it would be cut using a golden sickle in a ceremony shortly after the winter solstice and divided up and dispersed to the people who would hang it over their doors for protection – mistletoe is associated with peace and goodwill.

The tradition of the Yule log also began with the Druids – the log was lit to banish evil spirits, defeat darkness and bring good luck for the coming year. Yule logs would smoulder for 12 days before another ceremony to put them out – a part of the log would be kept to be strapped to the plough the next spring to bless the land, and another piece would be taken to light the next year’s Yule log.

Sprigs of holly and ivy were traditionally brought into the home to celebrate the winter solstice – they are both evergreen plants, symbolising the eternal nature of the sun, which never dies, but merely sleeps during the winter months.

Needless to say I made a visit to the fairy ring at Pleinmont today to give thanks to the sun, enjoy quiet reflection and make a wish (of course) for the coming months ahead. All rather exciting when you think about it, that the light has returned, an opportunity for rebirth, and now a few days of further reflection before Hayley, Caroline and I partake in our annual burning bowl ceremony to let go of those aspects of life we no longer want to carry around with us into the New Year, and to encourage the new instead.

So happy winter solstice to everyone, enjoy. And if you look closely at the photo below you can see something etheral going on - although my cousin would argue it is just a lense thing on the camera!

xx

JUST STOP

It has been an interesting weekend, the Christmas spirit is certainly upon us and thoughts turn towards the new year, big changes in the horoscopes too, lots of endings and new beginnings creating uncertainty and restlessness. Still a perfect time to let go of the old and embrace the new, however much we struggle with the concept of change, I guess it is part of being human after all.

I found this lovely poem by Baba Afdal Kashani, which sums it up nicely.

"Don't regret the past;
release your worries
about the future.

Don't think about yourself -
and stop trying not to!

Now's the time
to leave the shore -
the Ocean of Unity
is calling...

don't listen...
don't see...

don't say...
don't think...

don't be...

JUST STOP."

So here goes to stopping...

xx

RAINBOW-TASTIC

Well it has not been the most pleasant of days weather wise, cold, rain, heavy clouds, the usual British winter thing, but I am so pleased I made the effort to get out of the house and go down to the beach as I was fortunate to see an incredible rainbow brightening the otherwise dark skies.

Rainbows are simply incredible, I will never forget driving back to Byron Bay in Australia with my friend Hayley and my brother's step-daughter Adena after we had visited the monthly Channon market back in May and being treated to the most incredible rainbow we have all ever seen, it literally lit up the sky so that we were "oohing and aahing" in awe at this spectacular light show of nature, which just appeared to the side of us - it was an effort to keep my eyes on the road!

And then again when Charles was driving the two of us to London from my caravan in Devon back in July and we saw a total of 3 rainbows on that one journey, adding to the general spontaneity and magic of that day, and then again when I was staying with him while doing the David Swenson course so that we now believe there must be some connection between us and rainbows...or it could just be complete coincidence, if there is indeed such a thing.

Regardless of life circumstances, I can't help but smile when I see a rainbow, they are just so bright and colourful, the full range of the light spectrum and indeed the chakras up there on display, like we need more of a message to demonstrate the power of balanced chakras so that we too can shine the colours of a rainbow. My Dad thinks I am mad of course, spending too much time living in a fairy world, but I say bring it on, for something to be so bright, colourful, natural, free and beautiful has to be nothing short of one of the greatest gifts of the universe...that and creation of course.

And actually this reminds me of something, strangely the night my Gran passed away. Although she taught me many lessons in her life, my Gran, Doreen, taught me her greatest lesson in her passing. A couple of hours before she took her final breath I checked her chakras with my crystal pendulum and I was amazed to find that they were all completely balanced. This is not something I come across very often when I work with people on an energetic level and I was strangely surprised.

Of course now it makes perfect sense to me and I took great comfort in the fact that in her moment of passing my Gran had managed to establish complete balance throughout her energetic body, which surely meant that she was balanced in all other bodies too. Peace perhaps. And I suspect that if I had been able to see her aura at that time, it would have been glowing the bright colours of the chakras, like a rainbow too - the sign of an angel perhaps.

So enjoy the rainbows, may they bring as much peace, comfort and joy into your life as they do to mine.

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF BETSY

The saga of the little blue car continues, the gentleman who drove out straight in front of me one wet afternoon hours before the Bright Ideas final s that I slowly slid into the side of him and caused my car to be declared a write off (can you believe, it has not had a crash for 15 years and then within 4 months of me owning it, it is a write off, honestly, what next) has still not admitted liability, so I am having to liaise with the insurance company to set the record straight. Why people think they can get away with being dishonest about an event is quite beyond me, especially with karma and all that!

So of course my car is not looking her best at the moment, bought from a debatable character in Devon who had about 100 cars in all manner of states littering his garden, I must admit we have not had the smoothest of relationships, not always keen to start on first ignition, and not always the smoothest of rides, backfiring (or something like that) from time to time and the petrol light flashing within days of me filling up with petrol so that I am never quite sure exactly when I am at the bottom of the tank has done nothing to help matters. And then of course the crash, at a very low speed may I add, which has cracked the front bumper and done something strange to the back seat, well none of this has helped my stress levels of late.

In fact the ongoing drama of Betsy (as I fondly named her when we first met and I was non the wiser) has been a source of much amusement to my friends and family who are too embarrassed to sit in the car with me, indeed my brother actually burst into laughter when he first saw her sitting on our driveway, and when I was away in London recently my parents actually moved her and parked her in the back driveway so that she was out of sight of the neighbours - honestly, what has happened to the world today so that we feel such a sense of vanity about the car we drive, a car is a car surely?!!!

Anyhow the saga continues so that my friend Vicki has said that she will shortly call bulk refuge to come and collect it for me! You see I am not only having problems with the insurance but I have also had problems registering it over here, not that I will bore you with the details but not helped by the fact the guy from whom I bought the car never completed the registration process properly and the car being declared a write off means that the registration certificate I need cannot be given to me without an MOT, which means that when it all got too much recently and I offered it to a lady in the UK for free (a long story, she saw it parked in the village of Chagford in the summer and asked me to let her know if I ever sold it as she has one of her own and you can no longer get parts), she turned down the offer not relishing a role in the drama that is the blue car called Betsy.

So I am still stuck with the car, waiting patiently to get the insurance and registration issues resolved before the end of the year otherwise I will have to drag my mountain bike from the garage and work out a way to cycle with 7 Yoga mats on my back and a plethora of props to add to the load until I am able to buy a second hand car from a friend who is going travelling at the end of January - and fingers crossed no new car dramas in 2010.

On a positive note however I have learned an awful lot through this entire experience, not least to trust my intuition and embrace the concept of least effort (i.e. when things become hard work, do you really need them in your life?) but also that other drivers in Guernsey seem far more courteous to those driving UK reg cars than local drivers, never have I been flashed and waved through so many filters than I have driving Betsy, I wonder if people are scared I will just drive straight through if they don't give me the option to filter first. I have found it rather amusing, certainly encourages me to smile and enjoy the driving experience over here!

ASHTANGA-D UP!

Well I survived the 40 hour Ashtanga teacher training course in London, not an ideal location for such an intense course in terms of energy, so manic, I am rather weary tonight!

While the course may have been rather hardcore, I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to learn how to teach the primary series with adjustments from David Swenson, he is indeed a wise man. I was especially inspired by hearing him talk about his life journey yesterday, about how he discovered Yoga and the way it has shaped his life, there are parallels as I am sure there are for others, and always fascinating to hear an other's story.

Plus of course he said something about fish and water and the bigger picture in words that actually resonated for me, so if nothing else I am wholeheartedly thankful for this wisdom, image and renewed awareness.

I look forward to teaching an Ashtanga course with Vicki (who is passionate about Ashtanga) in the New Year...not long to go now...and continuing to put into practice what I have learned.

So anyhow, David, thank you, truly, I am taller and brighter than I was at the beginning of the training. Tasmai Shree Gurave Namah .

MID-WEEK TIBETAN BUDDHISM

Wow, 5 days into the intensive and I know I am not alone in feeling it - body a touch on the achy side, shoulders in particular (although that could be lugging heavy bags through London), and an overwhelming sense of tiredness at the amount of information we are absorbing each day.

The course has been great in terms of learning additional adjustment skills to the poses in the Ashtanga primary series, but I have to admit, while I will forever be indebted to the teachings and teachers of Ashtanga for initially enticing me into Yoga, I am struggling with its current intensity. Still I am sure I will soon come through the other side and will incorporate various aspects of the sequence into my daily practice again.

As abreak from the asana aspect of this week, Charles invited me to his weekly meditation class in Richmond which is led by this wonderful lady from Hong Kong who is a Tibetan Buddhist. It was all about anger and attachment, very fascinating. She made the point that we always ask other people if a partner makes us happy, but we rarely ask if we make the other person happy...and that really, happiness must come from within anyway (obviously) and so we shouldn't necessarily be looking to another to make us happy, only to increase (perhaps) our degree of happiness...

It was fascinating stuff and so in contrast to my Ashtanga experience that day, reminding me of Nepal and the emphasis of living with clear intention from the heart and compassion and patience. Furthermore I was reminded of the joy of meditating to make the mind stronger and help to transform our experience of the world as a consequence, of loving and trying to make others happy, from a place of unconditional love without expectation of return. Oh and being mindful in action and thought.

Hmm. So all in all a lovely reminder of knowing when to let go, non-action, of living in the here and now and just being present (as we are, human beings that is, opposed to doings).

Namaste

x

DAVID SWENSON ASHTANGA TEACHER TRAINING INTENSIVE

We are day 2 into the 7 day David Swenson Ashtanga teacher training intensive, and so far so good. Ashtanga was the first style of Yoga I practised and while I have since ventured off down the Dynamic-Vinyasa style and more recently traditional Hatha, I am still fascinated by the Ashtanga series, in particular the choice of poses and sequencing and the effect this has on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels over the course of time.

So on the one hand it can be physically demanding, pose after pose, breath after breath, never enough time (or so it sometimes feels) to really "get" into poses, feel them perhaps in the same way that I may do in a more floaty-hanging out style of class, but today, it felt different. Perhaps becasue my mental attitude has changed - less is more, lightness, finding the most energy-efficient way to hold a pose, or at least, to play around with entering and exiting a pose to find that lightness within a pose (a map of the body to find that lightness and energy).

We have run through Surya Namaskar's and also the standing poses, taking it in turns to talk and adjust a partner through the sequence, all good fun, I am enjoying the adjustments even if many of them are too strong for a general non-Ashtanga class, but great to have the awareness in any case - especially in my own practice (I always feel it helps our empathy as teachers, and indeed guides our teaching if we have personal experience).

I stayed after the intensive today to attend a general open class at the TriYoga Centre in Soho. The class was beautiful, so soft and nurturing, incredibly feminine, all about lightness again, but working from inside out, less effort, more lightness, I could certainly feel the energy today, and left the class feeling incredibly chilled out - no mean feat in central London on the build up to Christmas, it is crazy!!!

More later.

until then, Namaste!

606 Club

My friend Charles took me on a surprise outing on my first night in London to the 606 Club, which, according to the Sunday Times is,

“A (late night) basement club hidden behind an elusive doorway...Here young up- and coming musicians are encouraged to play alongside more established names. The good food is a must at this relaxed and informal club where musicians come to eat, drink and join in the impromptu sessions”.

I have to say it is a great place, such a cosy venue with fabulous energy and friendly staff who really went out of their way to make this such a special night out. We were blessed with Manteca Feat and Martha Acosta on vocals, a 7 piece Salsa band which is rumoured to be one of the best Salsa bands on the scene with some of the most famed Latin musicians.

Needless to say there was lots of toe tapping, clapping and smiling faces, we even managed a little Salsa dancing even if I did struggle to remember the steps. Martha was wearing this wonderfully glittering sequined top which danced rays of mutil-coloured light around the stage and was enchanting in its simplicity and served to encapsulate the energy and feeling of the whole evening. Well done guys and girls, you have something special going on with the collection of your creative energies.

It was a fantastic night, truly inspiring, so lovely to do something so completely different, so thank you to Charles for going with your intuition on this one. x

THAI SOCIAL NIGHT - THURSDAY 26TH NOVEMBER

Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos of our first Yoga social night, which is a shame as it was a great night with lots of laughter and chatter.

It was lovely to see so many from class in a non-class environment and only a shame that the cushion room is no longer, as it makes it easier to talk to everyone when you are down on the floor somehow. Nonetheless, proper seating and table aside, it was great to bring like minded people together in this manner and I look forward to the next one in the new year.

xx

Namaste!

I usually try and visit Nepal twice a year to help my friend Devika teach Yoga to visiting Westerners during the high seasons at the Nepali Yoga Centre in Pokhara as well as check in with the Nepali Women's Yoga Project we support together. Unfortunately I have not been able to visit this season and I have missed it hugely, there is nothing quite like arriving into the chaos of Kathmandu with its sensory overload to bring you back to earth a little, nor the awe inspiring feeling I get when I arrive in Pokhara and see the peak of Fish tail mountain standing tall in the distance.

I miss my local friends too who are so comparatively poor in material terms and yet so incredibly rich in love, kindness and compassion. They teach me so much about the humility of life, about the things that really matter, about family and helping one another, about having enough food to eat, clothes to wear, a roof over their heads, and taking each day as it comes with smiles, laughter and gratitude. My concerns and worries back here in Guernsey seem so utterly inconsequential in the greater scheme of things - they have so little and yet give so much more. It reminds me of something my cousin Yo has wisely taught me this year, "less is more".

For those who don't know, Nepal is landlocked in the Himalayas bordering China, India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. With an estimated 35 - 45 percent of its population living below the poverty line, Nepal is classified as one of the least developed and poorest countries in the world. Despite the obvious poverty (how can we have such a massive divide between rich and poor on this planet), Nepal is also one of the world’s greatest tourist sites for mountain climbing and hiking. Eight of the world’s ten highest peaks, including Mt. Everest, sit in Nepal and thankfully (or not, when you consider the ecological damage from tourism) this has been an attraction for westerners on a regular basis and helped to provide many Nepalis with an income (the positive bit).

"Namaste" is a form of greeting in Nepal, like saying hello, goodbye and thank you in one go, all the time people say "Namaste, Namaste" so that when I leave I still find myself saying it without even realising, it becomes second nature. We tend to say "Namaste" at the end of Yoga classes here in the West and I always wonder how many Yoga practitioners actually know what it means, not that it matters, the fact it is being said is good enough for me, a respectful way to end a class, but for those who don't know then here is a lovely translation:

"I honour the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honour the place in you which is of Love, of Light and of Peace, when you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, then we are one"......or quite simply...

"The love and light in me meets the same love and light in you".

A bit like the U2 song - "One".

On a final note the word Nepal is often defined as Never Ending Love And Peace (N.E.P.A.L.), how true, I believe there is something in the energy of the country that gets into your heart so that when you leave, a little of your heart stays there, waiting until you return again, and you take with you a little of the heart of the people instead. I hope it is not too long before I return, one day Devika and I intend to teach Yoga retreats out there together, perhaps with a spot of trekking to energise in the mountains, so maybe you can join us, Nepal should certainly be on everyone's travelling wish lists Yoga aside!

Namaste. xxx

REIKI 1 ATTUNEMENT DAY

Well I hope that those of you who joined me for your Reiki 1 attunement today are feeling as inspired and energised as me right now. What a great day, such a lovely group energy with lots of laughter, chatter and rainbows - 2 in one afternoon, lucky us, especially as were working with the colours of the rainbow in our guided chakra balancing meditation, and rainbows are a sign of good luck.

Talking of signs, did you know that seeing a white feather means an angel is nearby, and that a Butterfly brings a spiritual affirmation of growth, transformation and deeper understanding. The key is to pay attention to the things you notice as they may well be signs to guide you and the more you recognise them the more they will help you understand things more quickly in the future.




As for Reiki, what a wonderful energy, it refers to an ancient hands on healing art developed by Dr Usui in Japan in the early 1900s for personal development and the passing of healing energy onto others. Reiki can help a person to discover their true purpose in life, dynamically aids in the production and achievement of all goals, heals past traumas which may be hindering growth and leads, ultimately, to contentment and the understanding that we are all one (a little like the U2 song).


Thank you lovely ladies (and rainbows) for a fabulous day. x

The Soul's Dilemma

Lovely to see so many of you at Yoga tonight, while I am not a fan of winter over here, it is rather cosy in the St Peter's hall with its red light heaters and I tend to feel refreshingly shut off and protected from the rest of the world - plus the Tibetan singing bowl is creating some wonderful vibrations these days (must be combined good energy in the room perhaps).

It has been a reflective, philosophical and at times confronting week, filtering the many lessons learned during Bright Ideas, particularly the reminder to stay true to the self, even if that means going against the grain (think Jonathan Livingstone's book, "The Seagull"). And to stop, truly, go with the flow, adopt a non-doing approach to life, present moment, try not to regret the past or worry about the future, appreciate what you have rather than what you don't have and don't berate yourself for forgetting sometimes, love, just love instead, heart and soul, body and mind.

I rediscovered this fabulous poem by Attar (a Sufi mystical poet) today, "The Soul's Dilemma", may it provide you with comfort and inspiration too. xx


"Once again, each day,
I travel the path of your love.

Every night, without fail,
I mourn your absence anew.

My soul lacks the courage
to love one
such as you -
and my heart lacks the strength to abandon you too".

Getting away from it all

I have just returned from a 3 night break with friends in the UK, I realised it has been almost 8 weeks since I last left Guernsey, a long time for me and no wonder I felt drawn to get away. I stayed with Charles for a couple of nights, enjoying many philosophical conversations about love and life, we discovered a Nepali restaurant, not quite the same as being in Nepal but still, made me feel a little at home. We also drove up to Buckingham shire and into the country to take a walk through these enormous fields, was wonderful to experience that sense of space, beautiful clouds, sunshine, trees, just us, surrounded by nature, shame I wore completely the wrong shoes, my feet were rather soggy by the end of it.

I spent a night with Hayley too, Lebanese food in Camden this time, humus, yum, and yet more philosophical conversations about life, got to love it, I have been reading a few fantastic books by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, the latest one "The Call" all about discovering why we are here. Great stuff, reminding me that all we have is the "here and now" so best just "to be". Easier said than done of course, especially living in a society where we are conditioned to always be doing more, and forgetting that we already have everything we need, within us if nothing else.

Anyhow. I managed a Yoga class up at TriYoga in Primrose Hill too, with Olof a German guy who flies in each week especially. It was fairly hardcore, all about strength as much as anything else, made me realise how much my own practice has changed, preferring that more introverted and gentle practice these days. All good fun though, great studio space up at TriYoga, would highly recommend it if you are in the area, Yoga is not cheap in London though, maybe £14 a class, rather a commercial affair, we are much luckier over here, there must be a degree of soul in the air!!

Life Coaching with Michelle is inspiring stuff

I had a life coaching session with my good friend Michelle Johansen yesterday afternoon and while I am slightly biased (Michelle is also a Yoga practitioner and Reiki Master) I can highly recommend. Unfortunately, much like counselling, there is still a degree of stigma attached to Life Coaching, it is something you don't necessarily feel you can admit to others for fear that they will see you as weak or incapable of sorting out your life for yourself. RUBBISH.

Life Coaching is fantastic, everyone should try a session, even if you don't think that you need any life coaching you will be amazed how much you can learn about yourself in one session and - much like Yoga and Reiki - I truly believe that it can help you live a more fulfilled and wholehearted life, more in line with your own soul and heart's yearnings than society's expectations, even if that can be confronting at times.

And if you do go for Life Coaching, make sure to tell everyone about it, be proud that you have made the decision to bring out the best in yourself and in your own experience of life.

Thank you Michelle, inspiring as ever! For more information go to Michelle's website at http://www.johansenexecutivecoaching.com/

Ross is leaving the rain behind him today.

Ross is leaving Guernsey today to return to sunny Byron Bay (I am not jealous, honestly). I hope that those of you who attended his classes and workshops enjoyed the experience of Iyengar Yoga, it certainly helps to improve posture, strength and indeed flexibility, plus is incredibly calming to the mind as it helps to keep you very present in the posture. So thank you to Ross, it was lovely to have you home and you will certainly be missed - looking forward to your next visit, no doubt inspired by India, and introducing your girlfriend and fellow Yoga teacher, Star, to the Guernsey Yoga scene. Safe travels. xx

Photos at the Fairy Ring, Pleinmont

Nick and I visited the fairy ring after sunset last night, Nick's idea, something to do with the combination of light and clouds and wind, not sure, but the results look pretty amazing, even if I am a touch biased - well done Nick. Of course the highlight was sitting on the fairy ring at that time of night, when it is dark and there is no one else around and all you can hear is the gentle rasp of the sea, the birds calling to one another and the wind rustling through the trees and grasses. Plus of course there was this incredible sky, ominous grey clouds set against bright oranges and pinks rising from the horizon. I have to admit I was rather hoping for some extraordinary sightings, you know of an esoteric and ethereal nature, but alas not so tonight, shame really, last time I took photos here there were orbs all over the place (Nick has some scientific explanation for this of course!). Still what an incredible way to end the weekend, there is a special energy to the fairy ring, well that whole area actually - if ever you need to get away from it all or boost your energy then I can highly recommend sitting or laying there and enjoying the experience, . Oh and don't forget to walk on the stones in a clockwise direction, and if you manage to make the whole circle without falling off then make a wish, believe in it and see what happens...dreams do come true after all. Thanks Nick. x