Life resting in life.
Life resting in life. A little over twenty years ago I was in Kathmandu, exploring the outskirts of the city one day I visited an extraordinary place, Budhanilkantha Temple, in the centre of which is a large pool of water, in the middle of that rests a huge statue of a deity reclining on a […]
Guru Purnima 2022
Guru Purnima 2022 Today, the 13th of July, is Guru Purnima, the full moon of the Guru, when this quality is at it’s fullest, just like the moon itself. The term Guru is a bit loaded for us in the west, it’s often appropriated to someone who is an expert in their field, alternatively we […]
Simple solutions
One of the revelations that someone may have about the practice of Yoga is it’s simplicity, both in practice and philosophy. We have grown up in a paradigm where things have to be complex, the reasons behind phenomena have to be complex, when they may actually be obvious and uncomplicated. Often this complexity is extolled […]
Summer solstice.
Today is the summer solstice, when the sun sits apparently still, at its zenith for a few days, and we have the maximum exposure to its presence. Venerated along with the moon in older cultures, who correctly perceived just how integral to our lives and all life on earth in fact, the existence of these […]
Final day of the Yoga immersion
Today was the final day of the 100 hour Yoga immersion and like all points of completion it was tinged with both joy and a little sadness. Over the years I have felt exceptionally grateful for those I have studied with and the periods of consistent interaction with them. From the outset of immersion […]
First journal entry and website update for a long time!
Writing this I’m aware that the last journal entry on the website was early 2020, pre Covid, and a lot has happened since then! Although I have been writing frequent blogs on the Facebook page, I have neglected the website, so its great to return to it. After a rapid adaption to online teaching […]
January and the new year.
As we all sit at the start of January, in the lull after the festive season, its easy to reflect upon the new year and the essence of this time of the year. January is named after the Roman God, Janus, depicted with two faces one looking to the past one to the future. Janus […]
Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra.
The yoga practitioner is usually associated with having a serenity and equanimity, these qualities are often described in various texts as the hallmarks of the yogi/yogini. Much of this arises from not just their practice, but also from their vision and understanding of the nature of life. The philosophical and theoretical content of Yoga recognises the […]
Yoga Immersion 2019/2020
I’m very much looking forward to delivering the first session of the 100 hour Yoga immersion that begins this weekend in the Old Cookhouse community space Donaghcloney. An immersion is a fantastic way to allow Yoga, it’s practice and theory, to sink into oneself. Its a step beyond classes and workshops, yet it also allows […]
Bliss
In the Tantric texts on Spanda, the divine creative pulsation, it states that if we lose the essential delight which is our true nature, then we will experience a state of depression or melancholy. This is oft mentioned in Yogic texts that this feeling of separation is what leads us to Yoga. These writings therefore suggest that mental and emotional […]