M.I.Y.A. (Missing In Yoga Action)

I cannot believe I have been so neglectful of my beloved blog.  I blame it entirely on yoga.

I have been pretty much obsessed, to be truthful.  I have been devouring yoga magazines religiously, and have acquired a considerable amount of hardcore yoga reading material, including Kino MacGregor's lastest, various Iyengar classics, yoga philosophy favourites, as well as yoga anatomy references.

I have also gathered up courage to rejoin society.  Yoga society, that is.  You see, up till last month, I have been practising all on my lonesome, with my best friends: YouTube and Yoga Journal.  I have to say, they have served me very well.  In fact, so well, that one of the teachers I have been going to lately commented that I have "a very lovely traditional practice".  Cue Dance of Joy...

Balki Bartokomous and Cousin Larry - weren't they just the funniest!  I digress.

So, I've signed up at a new yoga studio that's opened round the corner from where I live, called Samsara Mind and Body, a fabulous little place that's given me the opportunity to lesson with some really amazing teachers...

Naz Khakoo is an amazing teacher with a truly heartfelt practice.  Her style of yoga is known as Hridaya Yoga, where the focus is on engaging and exploring the Heart chakra.  She is encouraging, nurturing, and ever so in tune with her students.  It is an absolute pleasure just to be in her presence.

Michaela Olexova is another amazing teacher I have had the honour and pleasure to practise with. Her style of yoga is called Baoli Yoga, and it involves a slow, contemplative flow (which by all means breaks you into a sweat even if it doesn't look like your'e doing much), rounded off with a meditation topped with Reiki.  How fabulous is that!!

I also had a taste of a rigorous Vinyasa flow class courtesy of Austin Ince, whose animated, chatty style proved effective, 'coz you don't realise how much work you are actually doing, until sweat starts dripping off you and onto your mat.

And yesterday, I had my first ever session with the great Mark Kan, whose sessions are known as Dharma Mittra yoga, a style that is pensive and very challenging, based on the wisdom of the yogi Sri Dharma Mittra.  What can I say - you know how you take a piece of meat and tenderise it with a studded hammer...? Yep, that's how my body is feeling.  But I've got to hand it to the guy.  'Coz he got me into Full Pigeon, and Pincha Mayurasana!  And this is without any pulling or pushing.  He is ever so gentle with his cues and instructions, it is just mind-blowing.  I was absolutely gobsmacked - with myself, his unassuming, quiet, yet super-effective ways...  Happy is I!!

Full Pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

Feathered Peacock (Pincha Mayurasana)

 
So, for good measure, here is Mark Kan in action.  So inspiring! *happy sigh*

*Update/13 Sep* I have not been able to Pincha Mayurasana on my own since... :S.  But I shall persevere... :)

New Acquisition

My new tattoos. Finally got them, a couple of months back.  I had been wanting them for the longest time, and I finally got round to it.  I am SO happy!

I knew I wanted old skool swallows with Them Two's names on, but I was waiting for the right time, the right artist, and the right "Go on! You know you want to!". So I scouted around a bit online for London artists' portfolios, saw Jaclyn Rehe's work and was immediately smitten. And then I decided this was the perfect way and time to collect some super lovely art as a souvenir (of sort) of my stay in London.

The great Jaclyn Rehe working on me.  2 hours of whirring, buzzing, bleeding and idle chit-chat...

This is Jaclyn Rehe.  She hails from Australia and currently works out of Good Times Tattoo up in Shoreditch, fronted by Nikole Lowe of Discovery Channel's London Ink fame.

Jaclyn is the cutest little button in the entire button shop, but is one mean old skool tattoo artist.  Her work is curiously timeless, because the theme, subjects and form are so traditional, yet her slight cubist lean gives her art that little handsome quirk and a modern edge.  I mean, how cool is it that my traditional swallows match-but-don't-match?!  Check.  It.  Out!

Fresh from the shop...

... and, some days later, in full scabby glory.

It was a tad tricky, and  bit of a pain (to say the least), that these had to heal under full sleeves (this was February/March), and through days of school runs, cooking and cleaning.  But look at them now, and you know it was all worth it. *happy sigh* :)

Scenes from Amsterdam

Ah, Amsterdam... :)

With a kickin' arts and culture scene, gorgeous architecture that's archaic yet chic, people so chilled out they are economical with words and emotion (in a nice way), casual cannabis coffeeshops and soulful, hearty traditional grub houses everywhere, I love how Amsterdam has a curiously comfortable way to serve up Heaven and Hell, on the very same plate.  

From the stark practicality of the Red Light district that grates on the Conservative, to the unabashed graffiti that inspires the Artist;  the grandeur of the museums filled with Vermeers and van Goghs, to the quiet grace of a mother-and-daughter run coffeeshop complete with a Zen crystal garden, Amsterdam has no secrets.  She tells you everything, and then leaves you to decide who you want to be.  

And that is why Amsterdam is so the place to just Be. :)

 

 

That Inking Itch

Truth be told, I am SO dying to get more tattoos.  I have been longing for a pair of swallows with MAYA and RUHI on the inside of each forearm.  Seriously, my heart literally aches...

And it doesn't help, seeing all the massive talent and mastery out here in London.

There's Saira Hunjan.  Gob-smacking work with echoes of traditional Indian henna designs.

   
       


Nikole Lowe.  Slap-in-your-face work - outstandingly daring and so goddamned cool.

        


And Jaclyn Rehe.  Whose nouveau old skool style is supa-cute and so gotta-have!!

       

Life Happens

As blog post records show, it takes me about or month or so to recover from Christmas and the New Year. So here I am.

Since my last post, I have travelled to Dubai to spend Christmas with family, maintained my yoga habit of practising every other day, discovered that Brixton has gone boho, resolved to smile more, sprained my ankle (twice), acquired me a Cambridge Satchel, played in the snow over The Big Freeze, and did some Scottish dancing (in between spraining my ankle twice).  It's a lot of stuff to go into, so I'll just let the pics speak for themselves. :)