As you identify less and less with the "me", you will be more at ease with everybody and with everything. Do you know why? Because you are no longer afraid of being hurt or not liked. You no longer desire to impress anyone. Can you imagine the relief when you don't have to impress anybody anymore? Oh, what a relief. Happiness at last! Anthony de Mello

Compassion automatically brings happiness and calmness. Then, even if you receive disturbing news, it will be easier to take, as your mind is still.. Dalai Lama

The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. Mother Teresa

One in soul, you and I A moment of happiness, you and I sitting on the veranda, apparently two, but one in soul, you and I. We feel the flowing water of life here, you and I, with the garden's beauty and the birds singing. The stars will be watching us, and we will show them what it is to be a thin crescent moon. You and I unselfed, will be together, indifferent to idle speculation, you and I. The parrots of heaven will be cracking sugar as we laugh together, you and I. In one form upon this earth, and in another form in a timeless sweet land. Mevlana Rumi

Understand the obstructions you are putting in the way of love, freedom, and happiness and they will drop. Turn on the light of awareness and the darkness will disappear. Happiness is not something you acquire; love is not something you produce; love is not something you have; love is something that has you. Anthony de Mello

If people become better Hindus, better Muslims, better Buddhists by our acts of love, then there is something else growing there. Mother Teresa

Basically, a human being is a social animal. So, if you create some short moment of happiness for people, you get deep satisfaction. Dalai Lama

I love all religions, but I am in love with my own. Mother Teresa

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. Carl Jung

I don't claim anything of the work. It is his work. I am like a little pencil in his hand. That is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. Mother Teresa

Chaturanga Dandasana can be a very strong pose for some people and is often practised in a way that is quite tough on the shoulders. I have noticed in some of my classes that there is a tendency for some students to come from plank pose into chaturanga and lift the backside, causing the shoulders to drop forwards towards the floor. I am not sure if this is a particular style that is being introduced by some teachers or if the momentum caused by this “sweeping action” makes the pose feel easier for some people. What I do know is I am seeing more shoulder injuries as a result of the repetition of this particular style. When the backside is lifted in this way, it is quite difficult to engage bandhas and use your core belly strength, thus increasing the risk to the lower back. With the shoulders in this position, there is a greater risk of impingement of the rotator cuff tendons, leading to tendonopathy and pain. In my opinion, it is better to drop the knees to the floor if you do not hav

This much is certain: when a man is happy, happy to the core and root of beatitude, he is no longer conscious of himself or anything else. Meister Eckhart

Padmasana - Lotus position , originally uploaded by yogamama.co.uk . I am feeling tired and although burn out is probably a bit of an exaggeration, my body and mind needs a bit of a rest from teaching yoga. I am very fortunate to do a job I absolutely love… Having a yoga practice of my own enables me to stay in touch with what is going on in my body and to be aware when I need to take a break. I think people sometimes have a preconceived idea that yoga teachers all wander around in a haze of peace and love and that life’s ups and downs do not affect them. As with all the teachers that I know, this is not quite how it is. We are human beings with human failings; we get injured, we get parking tickets, held up in traffic, etc... . The key is to know when you need to draw back a bit, when you need to concentrate on your own practice and really connect with your inner-self. Compassion for oneself enables compassion for others. For me to be able to teach yoga, I have to practice all facets

A friend sent me this today:- “Our daughter-in-law, Emily (MacInnes) Somers, created, directed and choreographed this in Portland last week for her Medline glove division as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This was all her idea to help promote their new pink gloves. I don’t know how she got so many employees, doctors and patients to participate, but it started to really catch on and they all had a lot of fun doing it. When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for the community. Please check it out. It’s an easy and great way to donate to a wonderful cause, and who hasn’t been touched by breast cancer?”.

See God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord Himself. Is it not a beautiful experience. Mother Teresa

My daughter recently meet Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame and said what a charming unaffected young man he is. I thought I would share a (what I think is funny) conversation that she overhead from a couple that joined them in the room. Woman: “Look there, that man from the telly” Man: “What? Is he in Eastenders? Coronation St?” . (He then proceeded to name various TV shows) Woman: “No, you idiot! He is a hobbit in The Lord of the Rings !” Think not! Fortunately Harry Potter did not hear this conversation, but from what I have been told, he too might have found it funny.

Your grief for what you’ve lost lifts a mirror up to where you’re bravely working. Expecting the worst, you look, and instead here’s the joyful face you’ve been wanting to see. Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you’d be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings. Rumi

Within the framework of the Buddhist Path, reflecting on suffering has tremendous importance because by realizing the nature of suffering, you will develop greater resolve to put an end to the causes of suffering and the unwholesome deeds which lead to suffering. And it will increase your enthusiasm for engaging in the wholesome actions and deeds which lead to happiness and joy. Dalai Lama

The resistance to the unpleasant situation is the root of suffering. Ram Dass

To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face, one must be able to love the meanest of all creation as oneself. Gandhi

The love that you withhold is the pain that you carry. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have just returned from a wet and windy weekend in Lyme Regis . The reason for the trip was to celebrate Christmas with family, albeit somewhat prematurely, as we will not be able to get together over the festive period. This year, we will be spending Christmas in India (the tropical paradise of Goa to be precise), where I hope to practise lots of yoga and spend some quality time with my family. For one reason or another, this has almost been mission impossible this year. But getting back to the subject at hand... For those of you who have never been to or never heard of Lyme Regis, it is located in western Dorset, (approximately 55 miles west of Bournemouth; 25 miles east of Exeter, in neighbouring Devon, and 25 miles south of Yeovil in Somerset), on the stretch of the English coastline known popularly as the Jurassic Coast. It has been given this name due to the amazing amount of prehistoric fossils that have been discovered in the area and which has led to it being declared a U

And once we have the condition of peace and joy in us, we can afford to be in any situation. Even in the situation of hell, we will be able to contribute our peace and serenity. The most important thing is for each of us to have some freedom in our heart, some stability in our heart, some peace in our heart. Only then will we be able to relieve the suffering around us. Thich Nhat Hanh

Here is a video of Joni Mitchell performing Big Yellow Taxi live in concert way back in 1970. Virtually 40 years later... (oeer, not showing my age :$ ) her words ring truer than ever... "Paved paradise and put up a parking lot". I, for one, definitely prefer having spots on my apples and keeping the birds and the bees. Enjoy!

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Mother Teresa

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Dalai Lama

Past and future are in the mind only - I am now. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

A person does not have to be behind bars to be a prisoner. People can be prisoners of their own concepts and ideas. They can be slaves to their own selves. Maharaji

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable. Khalil Gibran

The basic fact is that all sentient beings, particularly human beings, want happiness and do not want pain and suffering. Dalai Lama

But it is his work. I think God wants to show his greatness by using nothingness. Mother Teresa

Here is a blog on yoga from one of my friends. She is attending a yoga course that i am teaching and this is her experience to date. The class is a beginners Ashtanga class, so we are gradually increasing Surya Namaskara A B , standing poses and working with a few seated poses. My teachers, generally speaking, do not offer the vinyasa "opt out" and I now know why; offer the "opt out" for newbies and they will take it... Enjoy this account. I am holding my lovely yoga teacher of a friend personally responsible for keeping me sane at this moment in time. I am thoroughly enjoying doing her classes and spending an hour a week deflecting negative thoughts and working on my shoulder stands. It is really helping me clear my mind of all the crap, even if for a brief moment…. I am really not very good at it though and I’m not sure I really get it. I have never been good at learning languages and all the unfamiliar words – bungas and triganasna’s and om’s and whatever els

When the doors of perception are cleansed man will see things as they truly are, infinite. William Blake

Pincha Mayurasana , originally uploaded by yogamama.co.uk . Pincha Mayurasana (feather of the peacock posture, sometimes called the scorpion)

We are living in a world in which things change fast. New technology, new cars, new clothes, new this and new that; the constant need to change is everywhere. We, as human beings, are being forced to change. The global economy crisis that is affecting millions of people around the world has forced a change on many of us; perhaps one that we might not have chosen. Money is not so free and easy as it once was. Consumerism is not as de rigueur as it has been in the previous decade: more people are recycling items of clothing; new cars are not top of the agenda; we are being forced to reassess some of our values and change them... Conscious evolution is happening. Patterns and ways of thinking are changing, and this has to be a good thing. As a yoga teacher I have noticed that the number of people coming to yoga classes for the first time has hugely increased. Communities of likeminded people are springing up and conscious awareness is developing. As a result, energies are changing. I have

Tender words we spoke to one another are sealed in the secret vaults of heaven. One day like rain, they will fall to earth and grow green all over the world. Rumi

I'm very happy to say that my home life is my haven. Derek Acorah

I recently attended a yoga workshop at the Jivamuckti Yoga Centre in London. The event was hosted by Sharon Gannon and David Life, both devoted vegetarians. The studio was filled to capacity, so I snuck in at the back and was prepared for a full on yoga practice. I was, however, not prepared for a recording of harm being done to animals playing in the background. The physical yoga was, as I had expected, dynamic and flowing (even slightly easier than anticipated). At intervals throughout the class, the tape would play describing unpleasant scenes of farming animals. At the end of the physical practice Sharon gave a very graphic talk on the abuse of animals for about and hour or so. She even used the word “rape” to describe some scenarios. Whilst this was not what I had planned on listening to on a Sunday morning, I did find her ability to link vegetarianism with Patanjali’s Yamas and Ahimsa (not harming) both fascinating and disturbing. So much so that I am still getting images in my m

You've got to drop something. You've got to drop illusions. You don't have to add anything in order to be happy; you've got to drop something. Life is easy, life is delightful. It's only hard on your illusions, your ambitions, your greed, your cravings. Anthony de Mello

By bringing about a change in our outlook toward things and events, all phenomena can become sources of happiness. Dalai Lama

Ashtanga yoga jump backs in slow motion. Enjoy!

A video of Ashtanga yoga jump throughs in slow motion.

You must make them feel loved and wanted. They are Jesus for me. I believe in that much more than doing big things for them. Mother Teresa

Friday music video... Father and Son by Cat Stevens. Enjoy!!

Is not prayer a study of truth, a sally of the soul into the unfound infinite? No man ever prayed heartily without learning something. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Great video clip from house of Zen in Maui, featuring my favourite teacher Nancy Gilgoff and David Williams, amongst others. I love watching the adjustments made and the steady pace at which the Ashtanga yoga is taught. Has a real traditional feel to it. Enjoy!

When we think of inverted poses, we tend to think of poses such as the Sirsasana (headstand) and Sarvangasana (shoulderstand). These are often described as the “King and Queen of poses”; thus defining their importance in practising yoga. What is an inverted pose? An inverted pose – or inversion - is a pose in which the head is lower than the heart. Given this definition, there are in fact a number of yoga poses that can be classed as inversions; some of which are more easily achieved than the poses mentioned above. Here is a list of some inverted poses: Viparita karani - Legs up the wall Ardho mukha svanasana - Downward facing dog Sasankasana - Hare pose Prasaritta padottanasana A,B, C, D Other inversions (not usually for beginners) include: Halasana - Plough pose. Karnapidasana - Ear pressure pose Urdhva padmasana - Inverted lotus pose Urdhva dandasana - Upward staff pose Adho mukha vrkasana - Full arm balance Pincha mayurasana - Elbow balance Inverted poses are said to have man

As we cultivate peace and happiness in ourselves, we also nourish peace and happiness in those we love. Thich Nhat Hanh

Thought I would blog a sample of my daughter Cally’s print design. She is a first year student at Central St Martins in London, where she is studying textile design. This is her first print design since she started in October. She has created the image from scrap. The original theme was recycling, so the tree design was created by using old cassette tape and laminating it. If you look closely you can see small flowers that were created by melting old wax and moulding into flowery shapes; blocking my sink in the process! She spent an afternoon at a scrap yard in Hackney collecting other people's bits of old junk (a lot of which sat in my kitchen for a few weeks) and creating beautiful things from rubbish. Her final piece on her foundation course was inspired by timorous beasties and depicted a London binge-drinking scene, using colours which - at first glance - would make you think of a more picturesque outlook, but were, in fact, much more ominous on closer inspection. Art student

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Mother Teresa