Diary of a Yogic Mummy

Smile You Are in a Yoga Class When I first came to France and went to church I was sooooo disappointed. It was so grey and serious. I was used to the Evagalistic churches of my youth, the gospel churches of Birmingham full of singing, raised hands and joyful expressions ! Maybe a little extreme on the fun side of religion but never the less my experience. My Dad used to refer to them as the « Happy Clappers » and mocked me endlessly for my Church outings but to me this was what religion and spirituality was about ! Sadly I have never found that joy in the catholic churches I have frequented – maybe I need to try again – but I am struck by a new phenomena Yoga Classes can be the same kind of place ! I have been teaching yoga for a number of years now and have been practising for even more and very often – like almost every time – I see a raft of serious faces around me. It reminds me of the Catholic Church. It is as if once you go through that yoga ...

New Years Resolutions… NO strike that Intentions… For many years like many many people I made my New Year's Resolutions. Eat less, sleep more, work harder whatever. But if my 45 years have taught me anything - 45 years, two children and a divorce - its that you cannot plan everything. Resolutions tend to lead to feeling of guilt when things don't happen as you have planned.  So this year after a very busy festive period but a quieter start to the New Year I have decided to lay intentions in place as opposed to resolutions. Intentions that I wish and hope to flood my life with, my daily actions, small maybe but continual intentions. So as 2016 opens its big doors I gaze wide eyed and child like and the surprising unfolding of all its beauty and challenge. Joy - Peace - Love

Woodstock & the time of peace & love….. I grew up with parents who had thrived in the sixties. My Mother desperately wanted to join the ranks of those at Woodstock not in a incense burning flower power way but in a folk singing, fighting for what you believe in, lets make society fare kind of vibe. She played Carol Carpenter, Joan Baez, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan. The first album I knew pretty much all the words to was Hair! Yes ladies and gentlemen at 3 years old I could recite most of the words from Masturbation! My parents firmly believed in equality, working hard for your money, being generous when and where you can, sharing, giving out love and compassion, being part of a community. Amazing values to have as your rock and foundation. They still have these values. I still share them. Is this why I have taken the yoga path? No I don't think so. My parents are also firm believers in what you see if what you get. They are not religious, they are not believers, they...

Body Confident - not an easy task!  I used to associate being happy with having the perfect slim body but like many I did not fit into that mould. I was a large baby, child & teenager with a large mouth to boot! Being happy and confident with my body has not been an easy path. In fact it has been a veritable journey that really only started to find its “confident” conclusion very recently. As I have mentioned before in my blog text from ballet dancer (in my dreams) to Yogini my path to find my femininity has not been an easy one. It has been long, littered with pit falls, unhappy times and no confidence at all in my body. As a rather large child and then teenager I battled with a body I hated. It was fat, did not look at all like I wanted or like my friends, my hair was frizzy, I had spots from the age of 10, sticky out teeth and later a brace, I felt clumsy & all together not me! As I reached my late teens and early twenties I went through phases of starving ...

D-Day Landings & Yoga Vibes I have just returned from an amazing weekend in Normandy where I had the honour to be a part of the Normandy Beach Yoga festival celebrating peace and union in a part of the world the has been witness, sufferer and survivor of the second world war. I was struck by the beauty of the beaches, the space and massive horizon and how each and every day the sandy beaches are wiped clean of all traces of human activity. The conflict and blood-shed of all those years ago disappeared into the sea with the never ending tides…. But the memories still live on. Photo by Isabelle Nègre The town of Courseulles where the beautiful Juno beach sits is in many ways a monument now to this war time period of our history. The Juno Beach Centre – a brilliant Canadian funded and created musuem – a fabulous place to go and experience all that the war did, meant and should lead to now – is nestled along the sea front just next to Courseulles.  Both ...