Where Have I Been? Yoga Teacher Training… that’s where!

Yes, yoga has taken over my life pretty much for the past six months since my last blog (I am ashamed).  I am two thirds of the way through my yoga teacher training with The Yoga Academy and every day it is impacting my life.  I am not complaining, far from it.

It has encouraged me to meditate daily, sometimes with a special breathing practice, other times just simply sitting and concentrating on my natural breath or perhaps a mantra or phrase to think about; gratitude for example.

I have spent many hours planning lessons; those of you who do classes and think the teacher just drives there and teaches… not so much.  I have spent hours practising drawing pin men (little stick people in various postures with legs up, down and rotating, heads facing this way or that, arms in the weirdest positions, and don’t get me started on whether the knees are forward or backward of the feet!).  Grids, curves and mirroring.  These words are now so familiar but before the course I used to get on my precious mat and move, not realising there was a whole other dictionary of words available.

There has been an overwhelming amount of information trying to squeeze itself into my (autistic) brain which is already overcrowded and tired.  I have read so many books (not, itself a problem as I love to read as you know), but some of the information is so new and difficult to retain.

I always say, when I am talking about my autism, that I have the wrong type.  If I had a wish from a Genie (or perhaps Buddha), it would be that I could retain in my head every piece of information I read; certainly it would be useful for my exam coming up in November.

Hmm, second thoughts, those adverts which keep popping up on Facebook would stay in my mind and I would be completely penniless if I couldn’t forget the content!

I digress, but seriously I do have an exam (they call it a big quiz, like that makes a difference) looming and I have to remember so much: not only cues for postures but alignment, anatomy, physiology, philosophy, Sanskrit, mantras, ethics, meridians, breathing practice, memes, gunas, cakras, sutras… wow, I wish I’d never started on this list.  I really must start revising.

Not only that I have two more observed class assessments, and a major project to complete – all by next March.  I am not complaining really, I love every minute of it – perhaps not the feedback, but the rest.  I have met some wonderful new friends, travelled to a couple of beautiful places, and spent a vast amount of money!  I also have an interesting array of leggings, and an ever increasing pile of notebooks building.

Very soon I shall be opening my own classes, not simply cover and assist, and I can get to enjoy putting into practice all that I have learned, and help others to discover the joys of my venture Blooming Yoga which no doubt I shall tell you much more about in the coming months.

For now I wish you ‘Shanti’ (peace) and invite you to join me again soon where I shall be telling you about another project underway as I attempt to sense the simple life more and more.

Until next time…

www.sensingthesimplelife.com

www.theautisticvoice.co.uk

Simple Sunday Morning

A lazy Sunday, with nothing major planned; a cold is brewing and my body simply needs a rest.  A quick trip to the vet with Rosie for her annual vaccination, and then we decided to try out our local Farmer’s Market for the first time.  I expected a few stalls with perhaps some preserves and some baked goods.

How wrong was I, and I have become so obsessed by what I found that I rushed home to book each monthly market into my diary for the foreseeable future.

The recently refurbished square in my home town was buzzing with people, and more dogs than I’ve seen at a dog show, wandering about on leads stopping to ‘chat’ to each other as they walked.  There was a real community buzz which was wonderful.  Everyone seemed to have time to chat, and were so friendly.  Does a farmer’s market automatically attract friendly people?  Some were sitting around on benches, drinking steaming cups of coffee and hot chocolate; others munching on hot sausage rolls or a cheeky slice of delicious homemade sponge.  There were stalls with such a wide array of foods from marshmallows to local sausages, locally brewed beers and wines, apple juice and cider and massive jars of juicy olives, pickled eggs and sundried tomatoes.  There were homemade cards, knitted goods, hand painted canvas bags to replace the horrendous plastic tsunami which is engulfing our world and stunningly beautiful handcrafted pens and wooden gifts.

The photo above shows most of my haul, bar the Italian pastry I bought back for Joe as a lunchtime treat.  Who can resist freshly baked onion bread spread thickly with local butter?  It was so scrumptious I had two wedges – shared of course with Holly and Rosie (our fur babies).  I didn’t even wait to cut the local cheese I also purchased Ashmore Cheddar – I’ll save that for later with some of my cousin Amanda’s multi award winning  Captain’s Crackers .I did however sample the cheese in the market, as did Rosie.  Although I am currently on a low sugar kick (more about this another time), I couldn’t resist a lovely jar of Apricot Chutney from a lovely lady who had a good chat with me.  I should make a promise to Flo here, that I will resist opening it for another three weeks.  A fat wedge of goats cheese and asparagus quiche completed my purchases.

Just a simple lunch of fresh bread, real butter, cheese and chutney, with a freshly brewed pot of coffee is simply wonderful.  Who really needs ready made meals?  I am feeling a little smug today; I also have a large pot bubbling away as I make a batch of bone broth for the week’s meals.  So good for you, so cheap, and so yummy.

Apologies if I have made you hungry.  I suggest you get down to your local Farmer’s Market as soon as possible.  Simple really is best.  Enjoy the incredible aromas, colours, tastes and sounds of chatter.

Until we meet again

Don’t forget to check out my website sensingthesimplelife.com, and my book Sensing the City: An Autistic Perspective, where I discuss the sensory issues surrounding markets.

Family Life

At the age of 51 I don’t necessarily have the conventional family life. There is my lovely husband Joe, a karate instructor and Chair of a national martial arts governing body.  And then there are our two adorable fur babies: Yorkshire terrier Holly and Yorkiepoo Rosie, both 11. 

We have no children of our own. At home we have never had wet nappies, terrible twos or threes, stroppy teens, empty nest syndrome or having to save for weddings, university or help pay deposits on first homes.  We have lots of nieces and nephews (our siblings have been blessed with these ‘joys’), and have taught hundreds of other people’s children; a job we both love.

As a childhood cancer survivor, I wasn’t able to have my own children, and other avenues were explored and discounted for various reasons. We have been sad for much of our lives together about this, but now in our fifties, we appreciate and are so grateful for the life we have.  Mainly Mothers’ and Fathers’ days are sad for us.

We have a beautiful home, with a wonderful garden to explore and relax in. We love our fur babies so much; they give us love and comfort and in turn we give them everything they could need – basically food, water, exercise and love… oh, and regular grooming opportunities.

In the garden we have a clutch of hens with a loud and proud cockerel looking after their needs. They provide lovely rich eggs, and roam around their expansive pen digging in dirt, socialising, clucking and pooping.

The front garden sees a pond large enough to swim in (Joe proved this when he fell in one day) filled with beautiful Koi of all sizes and stunning colours.

We are both members of the RSPB and encourage a host of wildlife into the garden to admire and appreciate. Butterflies, bees, squirrels and hedgehogs are just a few of the creatures who inhabit our garden, and I love them all.

My parents and siblings live nearby and family barbecues are a regular feature in the summer; my dad cooking and ‘encouraging’ (he can be bossy and I have inherited this trait) us to play racket ball and hoola-hooping (he is a champion at this).

So, that’s us… now you have met us all, it’s soon time to appreciate all that is simple

Until we meet again…

Check out my website: https://sensingthesimplelife.com  where you will find links to my professional sites and books for purchase, should you choose to explore further.