My blog has been a bit neglected of late as life is pretty hectic at the moment. I continue my daily Ashtanga yoga practice (mostly) and come to child's pose when things get busy in my world. Balasana or child's pose is both relaxing and calming, allowing the back brain to rest towards the front brain, encouraging a restful mind.  While I don't recommend you drop to your knees every time you feel a bit of stress (could make for interesting business meetings), I do recommend finding time for child's pose for quietening the mind, and connecting with the child within.

Wonderful rare clip of Sharath both teaching and talking at  Astanga Yoga Copenhagen . Beautifully filmed -what a treat. Big thank you to Jen's and Susanna for sharing. I believe Sharath will be joining them again this summer-see website for details.

Not understanding yourself is not understanding the truth. Soan S.A.

Bountiful, beautiful, blissful... A wonderful pregnancy yoga book full of wisdom. I love all the positive affirmations in this book. Gurmukh is very honest and open about her own pregnancy and life experiences, which is always very refreshing. While my prenatal yoga teaching is a bit different from this style (physically), my philosophy and ethos are definitely along these lines. I would highly recommend this book to pregnant women and will use it as a reading book on my own prenatal yoga teacher training.

Always good to hear Sharath count the led class. Thank you to Govinda Kai  for sharing.

However often the restless mind may break loose and wander, he should rein it in and constantly bring it back to the self. Bhagavad Gita

My daughter has been practising yoga on and off for a number of years. She and my son grew up in a household where yoga is a way of life for me. I have never imposed yoga on my family, but I have to say I love having my daughter in my classes. She has started to have a much deeper understanding of yoga and this understanding is helping her through a very difficult and stressful period of time as she prepares for her degree show at Central Saint Martins in London. I am currently her only yoga teacher but I am hoping she will be able to practice with my own teachers, Nancy Gilgoff and with Sharath Jois when they are in London over the summer. I remember discussing with Nancy many years ago how it felt to see her daughter practising with her. She had said she always loved looking through her legs and seeing Vanessa on a mat beside her. Vanessa now assists her quite often when she is teaching around the world. My daughter and I discuss yoga. All limbs. Not too much because, in a way

Okay not a long item on the pros and cons of a home ashtanga yoga practice (or any yoga for that matter). That I feel is for another day. The pros, as shown in this photograph, are that I get to practice with unbrushed hair in my pyjamas at home. The cons are fairly obvious here. My beautiful old Labrador likes to come and practice his down dogs on my mat and occasionally licks my face when I fully absorbed in my drishti. I wouldn't have it any other way :-)

Lovely video clip by these yogis in production. Saw a number of familiar faces from this years trip to Mysore in here :-)