Have you ever weaved a basket? I hadn't... "Life's too busy for arts and crafts..." or so I used to think. I was wrong. Weaving was more than relaxing and therapeutic, it embodied a metaphorical connection I was in dire need of.
I learned so so much during my weekend at Camp Coorong. I travelled there to discuss a book chapter that I co-authored with some of the Ngarrandjeri youth, transcribing their documentary Nukkan Kungun Yunnan - Narrindjeri's Being Heard.
When my alarm went at 4:40am
Read more [...]
May 31, 2011 | Categories: Random Life Stuff | Tags: Life in Oz, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by life? Does your mind and body ever get to that stage where it feels so limp it hurts? Are you juggling so many balls that they all come tumbling down?
Yesterday was one of those days. Actually until I left for a run about an hour ago, that was me. I’ve been stressed. My habit of saying “yes” to almost everything, without thinking through the logistics, came back to bite me.
I leave for Europe in less than four weeks. The last month has been a manic effort
Read more [...]
May 22, 2011 | Categories: Random Life Stuff | Tags: Life in Oz, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
Tonight I had a decision to make: dinner with mum, PeaceBeliever Tribute to John Lennon at Oxford Arts Factory, bed (I was up late blogging last night), try to keep awake and study, or go to a yoga class. My body craved the hot room, long stretches, mental relaxation of yoga - but it would be at the cost of all the other options, and the bother of driving and parking. All of this I could be avoided if I just sit on my ass and don't go. But I did. And I was reminded (once again) that yoga is always
Read more [...]
Dec 08, 2010 | Categories: Peace | Tags: Life philosophy, Yoga | 1 Comment »
After facing rejection and depression that followed some emails and the lecture on Palestine and Israel, I went to the library and found myself inside my own little metaphoric story:
I was looking for a book but I couldn’t find it. The number system can be confusing in Fisher library (which is MASSIVE) but I thought I had it mastered. I checked the shelves where books that had just been returned go, then I checked the front desk, then I rechecked the computer, then I decided to go up the six
Read more [...]
Oct 21, 2010 | Categories: Random Life Stuff | Tags: Life in Oz, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
Time is an aspect of life I have always been a little obsessed over. It ticks by, "tick tock", and never returns. When you are bored or doing something you hate it, goes by far too slow; and when you are busy or doing something you love, it goes by far too fast. While time is a somewhat relative dimension on our lives, it also seems to be the only absolute and unchanging aspect of our earthly existence. Time goes on, and on, and on; and I suppose it will keep doing so until our solar system stops
Read more [...]
Sep 20, 2010 | Categories: Truth | Tags: philosophy, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
We arrived to eat dinner and sip cocktails with a perfect view of this beautiful lake. I had no idea what I was expecting when I left for Pokhara, but I wasn't expecting the quiet little Queenstown-like town it is.
Before long, with more new friends, we ventured to the other side of the lake where the Brits had randomlly found a cute little guesthouse with a family, home grown foods and an even greater view of the lake. (Header picture). Had it been any other time of year, this view would
Read more [...]
Jun 16, 2010 | Categories: Adventure | Tags: India/Nepal, Travel, Yoga | 1 Comment »
6am "knock knock" my revolting tasting medicine (of who knows what) arrives at my door... 630 yoga; 730 walk and feed monkeys; 830 breakfast (fruit and random-looking-but-delicious Indian vegetarian goop); 10am reflexology; 1030 continue reading "Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure" (awesome book btw); 1230pm massage (naked - completely naked); 130 vegetarian lunch and more gross medicine; 230 massage (thumped with hot pounds of herbs); 3pm intermediate yoga (soooo hard); 4pm ginger tea; 5pm medicine
Read more [...]
Jun 04, 2010 | Categories: Adventure, Random Life Stuff | Tags: Health, India/Nepal, Travel, Yoga | 1 Comment »
Next Thursday I am going to India and I have a feeling I will be making up for the failure of my February detox.
My sister tells me coffee in India sucks, so that's a start. I wonder if they have chocolate? ... Suppose I'll need a little mayhem after presenting my paper at a Peace and Education conference in Mumbai, but I'll for sure make up for that at a 7-days Ayurvedayoga retreat. Following yoga, hot baths, massages and healthy foods, I'll be doing it rough and tough with 10-days on trains
Read more [...]
May 07, 2010 | Categories: Beauty, Random Life Stuff | Tags: Health, India, Travel, Yoga | 2 Comments »
So, all was going well, the swelling on my ankle was very slowly starting to disappear when… OUCH!!! I DID AGAIN… On my first morning walk in two weeks, as I enter Trumper Park, it goes on me. I fall to the ground and hit hard. F**K.
I stand up and hobble toward my apartment. I feel faint. The world is spinning. My vision is closing in. I have to stop. I sit on the curb. Then try again. A few steps later I sit. Finally, somehow, I make it home.
My friend takes me to a physio. It’s not
Read more [...]
Feb 10, 2010 | Categories: Random Life Stuff | Tags: Health, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
So I borrowed my mum’s scales to check the Christmas damage. 64 kilos. What the f??? I don’t step on scales so often, judging by measurement more than kilos. But, well, “in the day” I weighed 55kgs. And on average I think I’m around 58-60kgs. I’ve seen myself at 62kgs, and I know I’ve complained about feeling fat on this website before. But 64???
Ok, time to get back into routine: a walk in the morning before breakfast to reconnect my mind and body; a yoga or pilates session a few
Read more [...]
Jan 04, 2010 | Categories: Adventure, Random Life Stuff | Tags: Chocolate, Health, Life in Oz, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
My blog has gotten a quite intensely serious. Religion, philosophy and peace talk. Interesting but reflective of the subjects going on in my mind, it has become a little draining. Or maybe today I'm just a little tired. Either way I do believe I should listen to the March Hare's excellent idea - and change the subject.
So... a question... at the end of a long relaxing shower do you ever turn the hot to off and blast yourself with cold water?
This is seriously one of the most invigorating things
Read more [...]
Oct 04, 2009 | Categories: Random Life Stuff | Tags: Life in Oz, Yoga | 2 Comments »
Back at bikram yoga yesterday I looked back into the big horrible mirrors and smiled - my tummy looked thin and flat. This was only my third class and I was already getting great results. Then I stepped to the left and the image changed before my eyes. My tummy was round and tubby again. What the...??? I tested a few more locations on the mirror and confirmed it - THE MIRROR WAS WARPED.
Neither the fat version nor the thin version was me. Yet at the same time both were me. Even if neither reflections
Read more [...]
Oct 02, 2009 | Categories: Random Life Stuff, Truth | Tags: Health, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
Ok I know that's a shocking photo (it's from a family celebration for my sister's engagement last night which makes it even worse)... but I think it's worth a laugh. And I tell you what, the chocolate semi fredo I'm licking is the very best dessert in the world... and today I could tell...
I went to my first bikram yoga class tonight and in the 40+ degree heat I had a revelation.
Mirrors are commonplace in yoga studios but the nature of bikram leads one to strip off to bare essentials and in
Read more [...]
Sep 28, 2009 | Categories: Random Life Stuff | Tags: balance, Chocolate, Health, Yoga | Leave A Comment »
