Onwards

We're back again after a few days with my parents by the sea. It was good to walk on the cliffs and feel space around me.  Although I dislike being in water I need to be around it; I was born on the coast and until adulthood always lived near the sea so it must be in my blood. One of the most difficult things about the visit was seeing all the runners. The coastal walk I go into the habit of doing makes the most wonderful short run and of course I can't run any more. Walking is great but I can easily disengage from it- running is utterly absorbing and the movement becomes a kind of meditation. As runners passed me I felt caged and irrationally angry.

I have discovered how dependent I've become on regular yoga practice. Being unable to practice whilst away even for a few days I've lost so much mobility in my back and hips. Of course I'm trying not to attribute this to a sudden increase in osteoporitic problems- it's almost certainly the result of almost 13 hours of driving in just 5 days and my current episode of insomnia. But I'm doing a little yoga each day again repeating the mantra of start from where you are not where you think you ought to be. Yoga is never about ought or should. Some days will be flowing, others a struggle- just like days are in other respects.

As if seeking comfort I have returned to an old favourite of a knitting pattern. I have been using it for several years now and the current one is turning into the best I've made yet. As they used to say on TV- here's one I made earlier:

This was knitted a couple of years ago for a wedding present. Received with bemusement I think! Thanks to Sue of http://shop.theknittinghut.co.uk/index.asp for the pattern.