Been a while

Yeah, it's been a while since I posted ... Guess I feel like my life is in a really smooth space at the moment ... nothing much new to report on! (Although I really hesitate to even write that - don't want to tempt fate!)

But this is (for me) a kind of on-line diary and I do enjoy looking back at what I was doing years ago, so ...

Anyway! Yoga is good and bad! Good in that my attempts at bhujipadasana are moving forward. Now I can just about get my hands flat on the floor, so I can start to transfer more weight into my arms. Slowly, slowly progress is happening. Kurmasana and supta kurmasana are going well too. But ... I seem to be going backwards in the marichyasanas! Can no longer bind in MariB, and C seems to be further away ... sigh! Am wondering if it's to do with me having put on a bit of weight, or what!! Well of course I know what to do about that, but it's much harder/slower to take off than to put on!!

Choir and singing - well that's going wonderfully! Choir rehearsals have started again. We're working on a Bach chorale, a beautiful Liszt piece (Salve Regina) and some other things too, for a concert in May. And in the classes I have with Ian I am working on songs by Henry Purcell (I Attempt from Love's Sickness to Fly) and John Dowland (Flow My Tears) ... Both from around the 15th or 16th century! And of course, as Ian told me, this is just to put into practice the work he's getting me to do on vocal development/technique etc.

In addition to all that, I'm also going to classes on 'musicianship'. Lots of work on solfa (moveable do) and things like key signatures and working out what key a piece of music is in from the key signature. Including whether it's the major or minor key for that key signature ... When I was learning piano as a child it was all learning scales by rote. No explanations of the pattern of tones and semi-tones that is the basis of written Western music. But now, picking it all back up again after so many years, I can see those patterns and it makes it all so much easier. Not that it isn't hard working out the solfa of a written piece of music (ie. no keyboard) in a minor key. But I'm really enjoying the challenge!

Someone told me about some wonderful series on music by a guy called Howard Goodall. One is Howard Goodall's Big Bangs and there's another one The Story of Music. Both available on YouTube. I think they were BBC series ... Well worth watching if you're into music, of a more classical variety - or in fact interested in music generally. Like how it first went from being passed down by memory to actually having a system of writing it down (notation), and how that meant much 'bigger' music could be written. Really interesting!!

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Yoga and choir in 2016

When I started doing yoga at Christian's new place on my return from overseas (see a previous post about this!) I wanted to start it properly. All my previous yoga teachers (in Brisbane) had left poses out, so I felt like I was 'picking and choosing' even though it wasn't me doing this at all. So I said to Christian I wanted to do the first series properly, even though it would mean me stopping at navasana, as I had never been given the next pose (bhujapidasana) despite having been given poses further into the series.

I might say, this decision was kind of cemented for me after being stopped at navasana by Hamish in London twice during two UK visits 5 years apart! It's not that I can even do Marichyasana D. But I do want to at least attempt each pose, and nowadays most teachers don't stop you at those so-called 'gateway' poses like MariD, as long as you are making a real attempt. And I'd really like to at least get to the end of the first series in this lifetime!

So, a few days ago Christian got me started on beginning to attempt bhujapidasana ... I know it's going to take a long long time, but I'm on the journey - in it for the long haul! And today he got me to start doing kurmasana / supta kurmasana again! Which was very pleasing ... :)

And on other matters - I was deliriously happy to get an email from our choir director yesterday laying out what we would be doing in 2016. The one thing I have missed choir-wise since moving down here, has been being able to sing Handel's Messiah. There was just nowhere around here that was doing this. I was actually in the process of chasing up a Messiah 'singalong' held in in Brisbane church every year before Easter. (But this year there's a question mark over that, as part of the roof is being taken off for repairs and they're not sure whether it will be fixed in time!!!)

But It appears there is going to be a big performance of The Messiah in Lismore in December. Directed by a wonderful choir director/conductor called Richard Gill (who directed a performance of Carmina Burana I was in back in 2007 with QUMS -aka Queensland University Music Society - my first choir!)

So that's something (one of many things!) to look forward to this year ... It's going to be a great year I think!




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Looking back looking forward

"Welcome to the last practice of the year"!

That's how I was greeted when I went to the Ashtanga studio this morning. Nice! And it was a pretty good one, which was also nice ... I'm really enjoying practicing at the new studio with Christian, another thing that has clicked into place in my life this year.

2015 has been a great year for me. Really feeling settled in my new life down in the Byron shire, and grateful that someone - 'life', is looking after me so well. I'm kind of reluctant to go on about how happy I am as part of me (the negative part of course!) thinks that will bring bad things down on me! Who knows ... But life is indeed good! Regular yoga practice, the wonderful choir, music / singing lessons, big overseas trip, and of course an amazing 5-day 'event' with Maharaji. Each of those things I could write an entire post about ... But I won't!!

I spent Christmas in Sydney with John and Gina, nephew Peter and his wife Tammy, and lots of other extended family members. It was a really nice few days, including swimming in the seawater pool at Curl Curl, and going to a lovely exhibition at the Gallery of NSW - from the National Gallery of Scotland.

And now I'm home again ... And looking forward to a wonderful new year ... No big overseas trips planned for 2016. I'm going to settle in and enjoy life here!


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Changes, new things

Now that the choir concerts are over for the year, my life is quieting down a bit, and there's time to give more attention to other things ...

One of these has been my yoga practice, and where I actually go to class. It's been quite hard ... 2-3 years ago when I was deciding where I should move to when I sold my place, one of the things that drew me down here was the opportunity to practice at Dena Kingsberg's shala. I know it wouldn't be with her as a teacher - she only teaches here in monthly intensives for part of the year, which are usually booked up almost a year in advance. But there are daily public classes at the shala and I was going to those.

As I'm sure I have said here before, I was going to the 10am class ... The shala has only one yoga room, and so obviously when there is a 7am intensive class then the only morning 'slot' is after that has finished. And anyway - I live 30 minutes drive away and thought I'd never be able to get up, showered and to the shala by that early in the morning. But then, when Dena went to Europe in the middle of the year to do workshops, Christian, one of her students who had been teaching the 10am class, started doing a 7am class as well. And because I had been finding a mid-morning class seemed to end up taking up half the day, I decided to give it a go. Which was, of course, a complete revelation to me!

So then after a few months of this I went overseas, where I went to Dena's Bali workshop, and then practiced at AYL in London, all at 7am or earlier! And then I came home about a month ago. But Dena is now doing the intensives again and so I have to go to a 10am class ... But ... Christian has left and started up another Ashtanga practice place in Byron Bay - The Ashtanga room. Which of course has an early morning Mysore programme!

I agonised over what to do about this for days - it felt faintly disloyal to Dena to go away and practice at Christian's place. But in the end I felt I had to do what was right for me ... I emailed her to explain what I was doing, and why, and she was fine about it - said she completely understood my reasons etc! And anyway, I'm still signed up to go to one of her month intensives in May - which will be another high jump for me but hopefully a wonderful time!

And in the meantime I have now been practicing at Christian's shala - the Ashtanga Room for a couple of weeks, and it's been lovely. He is a wonderful teacher.

Well, after that long long explanation (which must imply that my feelings of awkwardness/slight disloyalty are not completely gone!!) I'll just mention that the other change in my life is a new VW Golf car! Which I'm pretty thrilled with! A very large step forward from my old car ... Has AppleConnect, Bluetooth, all sorts of things that were unheard of when the little Yaris was built!!


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The Faure concerts

This week has been all about the Faure's Requiem concerts ... Two concerts down now, one more to go, tomorrow afternoon in Bangalow.

The concerts in Lismore (Wednesday) and Mullumbimby (today) were lovely. We were better at today's concert - and hoping to be even better tomorrow! The first two concerts also included a very sweet children's choir that Ian teaches. They marched in singing the Mozart Alleluia, and then did it all in solfa (do, re, me etc,) including the hand signs. They were better than me at that!! Below is a photo of them rehearsing minutes before the concert started.

Apart from the Requiem and children's choir, the concert included a Bach Concerto for Flute and Oboe, a Tallis piece and a Michael Leunig poem (A Gruntled Fellow) set to a Bach piece. That was really lovely, and made everyone smile/laugh.

Choir concerts are quite different here than in Brisbane ... I'm not talking about the standard of music. That's definitely really high! But - probably it's a 'Byron' thing - everyone is so much more relaxed and laid back, including the audience! A great rapport between the director (Ian) and audience ... Children wandering around, people with babies standing in the doorway ... And today the hall was completely full. Kept having to put more chairs out. On Wednesday evening in Lismore the fire alarm went off in the church, and the solution was to turn the lights off and carry on! (This was the caretaker's decision!!)

However, I do have to admit that my yoga practice has suffered in the few days since I got back to Australia. Partly because I've been feeling a bit off, and partly coz I'm finding it very hard to go back to a 10am class as opposed to a 7am one. I really don't like that any more, but there's not much I can do about it if I want to keep practicing at Dena's shala ... Sigh!



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Beautiful Portugal

Have been in Portugal for a few days. First of all we stayed in Lisbon for a couple of days. It is such a beautiful city - I was amazed! Couldn't put my camera (iPhone!) away ... We spent a day wandering up and down all the beautiful little streets. Getting trams sometimes, and even got on a funicular train one evening - going up an extremely steep street! The next day we went to the Gulbenkian museum and beautiful gardens ...

Then we caught the train down to the Algarve where Wendi lives -

One day - think it was yesterday (!) I went to an Iyengar class at a centre where Wendi and daughter do vegetarian catering for yoga and similar residential groups. The teacher had decided to do a 'restorative yoga' class then. It was interesting to see how differently poses we do in Ashtanga, are approached .. But I'll definitely be sticking with Ashtanga!

Back in London now, and the last couple of days before I head back home ...


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Dublin and back to London

We got back from Dublin on Friday evening ... Had a really nice couple of days there. We seemed to go to a lot of places - Judy and Carla had us on the move constantly. I know I've been walking a lot in London (apart from anything else, you walk for miles in the tube stations between platforms!) but it certainly seemed like we were walking huge distances in Dublin! Mind you, this is coming from someone who lives in a much more car-based area!

Anyway, the day we arrived we went to Dublin Castle, and then an exhibition of (I think) 18th century comic prints. We also went to a beautiful 'Palladian-style' country house set it beautiful grounds ... Again the beautiful Autumn colours were a feast for eyes. The Library (long room!) of Trinity College is also a lovely place to visit.

Back in London and we went out for dinner last night in Notting Hill. Last night also happened to be both Halloween and a Saturday night! The tube was brimming with witches, zombies and any other fancy dress you could imagine! Plenty of fake blood dripping everywhere - it was hilarious!

Today I made it back to yoga after a gap of 6 days! And boy did it show!! I've made sure to pack my yoga mat to go to Portugal - can't leave it that long again! But it was lovely to be there - met up with Kevin and we had breakfast together after and talked for ages. We only meet up every few years but there's always plenty of yoga to talk about!

Tomorrow - Portugal!


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