having a little break whilst i go and get married (!!)
normal posting service will resume in a couple of weeks.
in the mean time check out this piece of beauty from Benjamin Clementine. 
right near the top of this performance he sings, "Where I'm from, you see the rain / Before the rain even starts to rain." At that point, when I'm already hanging on every word, I feel like I'm witnessing an almost otherworldly presence — a visitor with wisdom to impart.

found here

sunday tune

friday cartoon

critical mass

Critical mass cycle in Budapest, Hungry.
Critical mass events are an informal (and anarchic) celebration and promotion of cycling

1. School children participate in a mass yoga session during the third day of 21st International Kite Festival at Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, 11 January 2011.
2. Thousands of people take part in a mass yoga class conducted at an Art of Living Centre in India. 12 December 2006.
3. A demonstration in Beijing's Tai Temple Square marked the resumption of mandatory exercises for Chinese workers. 11 August 2010
4. &5 Thousands of people took a group Yoga class in New York City's Central Park. 22 June 2010

Practice is thought, in action.

– Barbara Radice

the swim

hula

sunday tune

saturday poem

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold 

--William Carlos Williams

friday cartoon

"I'll have what she's having..."

week 15

PUT A LOAD ON

This weeks movement musing is a HUGE shout out to Katy Bowman.  My fan status for this woman knows no bounds, as I'm sure you are all aware. We are going to lay off the hanging for a week (although that is not a cue to get of your branch, keep up the good work) and talk about something else we should all spend time doing. Carrying things.

The Europe wide introduction of a small fee for a plastic bag at the supermarket is our friend in this instance. Now if, like me and my better half (who thinks my very existence is hilarious and so frequently snaps brilliantly attractive pictures like the one below), you always forget to bring a bag, then you are probably already doing what I am about to suggest. It’s simple. Vary the way you carry things.

Katy says it best herself…

“ Every way of holding something requires that you balance the holding with a particular set of muscles. Change the location of what you’re holding and, boom, you’ve changed the set of muscles used. By varying up your holds, you’ll be using more of your parts for a bout of walking. This is different than always putting your stuff in a backpack, where the same muscles are used over and over again. Savvy? Tip: Ok, you love your backpack and I love mine too. But what I do is carry that backpack in different ways.”

Simple!

There are a million and one ways to vary the way you carry things each day and it’s a beautifully simple way to add more movement to your day.

Enjoy!

myth is terrible for dietary rules

Head over to The Atlantic archive to read James Hamblin's talk with Alan Levinovitz about the intersection of religious thought and nutrition, storytelling and motivational psychology, and how it all informs faith in science.

Myth is great for talking about where everything came from. Or what happens after you die. Or whether there was something before nothing. What is free will? We don't have great scientific accounts for these things. I think there are religious narratives that help people deal with really important but as-yet unanswerable questions. But myth is terrible for dietary rules.

Ideas about religion can be so powerful that people can't endorse them without giving up a part of their identity. It's the same thing with diets. If you've adopted a diet and it's become part of your identity, asking someone to reconsider something as simple as eating sugar or gluten is kind of like asking someone to give up their faith. To admit that the core of their identity is fundamentally mistaken. The pointy-head scientists and the people affiliated with Big Agriculture couldn't possibly be right because they are demons. -- Alan Levinovitz

Eating is so intimate. It's very sensual. When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you're inviting a person into your life. 

Maya Angelou

what about second breakfast?

In no particular order some of THE BEST film food scenes that are food positive, greedy and good. Inspired by Ruby Tandoh.

My particular favorite is Matilda. Feisty little mite with marvelous cooking skills.  

food glorious food

’Fitness’ and food have a complex relationship. As a well trained yoga teacher with absolutely NO nutritional expertise what-so-ever I am all to often asked for my opinion on diet and food. Whilst I’m a good yoga teacher (I can sing my praises here cos it’s my own page ; ) and can help guide you with your movement needs, I’d make a terrible nutritionist. My opinions on food and diet are only really applicable to myself and not for public consumption. 

I have learned the hard way over the years that it is important to be incredibly mindful of the pseudoscience that forms the foundations of some 'wellness and health' agendas. Beware my friends, be very aware. My biggest frustration at the moment is all the extreme elimination diets out there, something the yoga community likes to dabble in. Ruby Tandoh put words to my annoyance today when she eloquently tweeted the following…

“there are so many people who medically benefit from elimination diets - everything from coeliac to diabetes, even specific types of epilepsy. The problem with vague 'wellness' is that it chucks a one size fits all diet at us all - which harms as many as it heals & contributes to food fear, fatphobia, classism and, crucially, mis/underdiagnosis of people who actually need these diets for their health”

YES Ruby! 

She also tweeted a link to the Angry Chef Blog and I promptly got lost for an hour, I came up for air to write this post and eat a sandwich and I would like to highly encourage those of you who are interested in the murky muddy waters of 'wellness' to have a peak too. Start with THIS article below and proceed with a curious mind. 

Food is a vital, enjoy it, share it and take care of yourself.

normal eating

Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied. It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it—not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad or bored, or just because it feels good. Normal eating is mostly three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way. It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life.
In short, normal eating is flexible. It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food and your feelings.

-- Ellyn Satter

week 14

BAR HANG (since it's Friday...)

Piling up the hang nutrients this week with three simple (but harder then they look) bar hangs. If they are a bit much go back to week 12 and spend as much time there as your body needs before giving this ago.

Hang out for as long as you can in...

1. an L sit
2. a knee tuck
3. and a one arm hang.

I'll just add don't do it in skinny jeans, nothing should be done in skinny jeans, especially if you like moving. Alas my vanity still dictates my wardrobe choices and that's unlikely to change anytime soon...

That's it! Enjoy fighting for space at your local playground. x