Iyengar Yoga Day - and my daughter was talking about it on Radio Oxford.

Things to do whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of listening to my daughter Sophia talking about Iyengar Yoga on Radio Oxford. It was her first time on the air and she was understandably nervous. I was nervous too - for her, knowing how nervous she must be. (It's called being a mother.) She is an experienced yoga teacher but explaining it, and explaining how Iyengar Yoga differs from other forms of yoga - that's a whole different challenge. 

The slot was an early morning ‘what’s on at the weekend’ magazine program. The sort of program that gives only a few minutes to each item and the presenter speaks at warp speed. I wasn’t sure how Sophia and her colleague, another Iyengar yoga teacher, Vanessa, could possibly manage to say anything coherent or useful. But they did. They also took the presenter, Ali Jones, through a couple of asanas. Bit wasted on the radio but the puffing sounded real enough.

45 years ago I started Yoga at a class in Greenwich. Quite coincidentally it was run by a woman who had learned the Iyengar method. The two years I attended her classes taught me a sequence that I've practiced ever since, and also gave me a great respect for the discipline. Even when I don’t practice every day (which I don’t) Instinctively I stretch at odd moment (see above.) It has helped me through the various ills that beset me.