Category Archives: Inspiration

…without it, the world’s a dull place.

Apr25

Will our future be that…shocking?!

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Let’s hope this is NOT fast forward into the future, but in light of Earth Day and to brighten your mood (think of what we still have!), here’s an awesome video by a band mostly known in France, Mickey 3D, ‘Respire’ (English lyrics below).

If you watch four minutes until the, well, shocking end  -  you won’t regret it.

Oh, and don’t forget to take a deep breath, now. Because we do live in a wonderful world. So let’s step outside and marvel at the trees, go to your next green space and watch nature awakening to spring and greet the returning birds chatting to you on your windowsill.

~ Andrea

Come here child and listen to my tale…   Read the rest of this entry →

Mar26

Incredibly uncomfortable India?

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I have been to India numerous times, travelling mostly by myself. Recently a friend was planning to go but got worried by what she was reading in the news. ‘Do you think it’s still safe?’ she wanted to know.

Replying YES would have felt like belittling recent atrocities, brushing them aside like an annoying fly we won’t worry about once it’s out of sight.

Replying NO would have been a slap in the face for millions of well-meaning, friendly and helpful people who genuinely welcome tourists.

Until recently, women travellers could at least take comfort from the fact that it was more or less safe in the foreigner-bubble. Not anymore. A Swiss woman has been raped, a British woman jumped from her hotel balcony on the second floor, injuring both legs, frightened of the hotel owner who (she says / he denies) wanted to enter her room at 4 am. A yoga student on the way to her 4.30 am class in Mysore has been groped and almost raped. Read the rest of this entry →

Feb28

A few days ago, in a refugee camp…

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Really, forget all the Lululemon gear, the Manduka mats, just come and practise yoga with these powerful and inspiring women. You don’t need a thing – a concrete floor in a spartan classroom is sufficient.

The women on the photo live with almost 2000 other Ethiopians in a refugee camp in Gorom, near the capital of South Sudan, Juba.  Read the rest of this entry →

Feb22

My old friend, in a different body

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I recently got inspired writing about Karma - and the reason is a cat. Yes, a cat. We met in Burma, out of all places.

Let me explain. You see, we were visiting this temple in Rangoon, gorgeous, by the way, and I am sitting there, all absorbed looking at the enormous Buddha statue with its several layers of gold leaf. I must have spent quite a while there, lost in thoughts. People around me were arriving, saying their prayers, some of them leaving, others staying, contemplating the mysteries of the universe.

And then she came. Of course I couldn’t be totally sure it was a she, but to my mind, cats are always female because they are in my native language. (My husband would always instinctively refer to a cat as ‘he’ because he’s French, and in French it’s le chat – don’t get me started. We had countless discussions about how a simple, tiny article can shape your perception of things). Read the rest of this entry →

Jan25

You believe in Karma? Really?!?

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I know, I know. But there are some things that really puzzle me, and karma is just such a neat, tidy and convenient explanation (did you notice how nowadays everything’s about convenience? We even have convenience food!). Anyway, let me give you an example:

When I did my teacher training we were asked to step in front of the microphone and say why we were there. It’s an easy enough question one would think. Why are you here? After all you’ve just paid a few thousand dollars for the course, another few thousand for the plane ticket to India, and convinced your boss that it’s absolutely crucial you take this time off, right now. Read the rest of this entry →

Dec6

Amazing success stories. They exist.

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We’ve all been there. Repeating things in the hope that we’ll get better at them. That we SUCCEED.

Sometimes we do. Most of the times we don’t. Or at least not as quickly as we wish. 

Now let me introduce you to this guy: We can say he’s had some minor setbacks. Some major ones, too. In fact so many, put together they even make a nice list: