Month: July 2025

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Evening Balance in Kerala

Smitha holding Warrior III pose at sunset in Trivandrum, Kerala, barefoot on red sand tiles, with palm trees and still water in the background.

This photo was taken in Trivandrum, Kerala, just before sunset during the Christmas period last year.

It was one of those quiet, golden evenings — the kind you only get near the water in South India. The warm breeze, the smell of salt in the air, the silhouettes of the palm trees… I remember feeling still and open, like the horizon itself.

I stepped onto the tiles by the beach and moved into Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III) — a balancing posture that always reminds me to stay both strong and soft. My foot grounding down into the earth, my heart reaching forward, and the sky holding it all.

This moment wasn’t planned. I didn’t set up a mat or think about alignment too much. I just moved — naturally, without instruction, without goal. It reminded me why I started practising yoga in the first place: not for performance, but for connection.

And this is something I try to bring into all my classes — the idea that yoga is not about achieving shapes. It’s about finding ourselves within them.

I’m so grateful for these small, unfiltered moments. They stay with me long after the sun sets.

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Van, Canal, Paratha: Practising Presence Outdoors

My VW camper van parked beside the Berkhamsted canal, with a little table set for lunch and narrowboats moored quietly on the opposite bank.

Last Sunday, we parked up by the canal in Berkhamsted with our VW camper, looking for a gentle day to unwind and reconnect. I had made aloo paratha that morning using potatoes I’d harvested from my allotment — there’s something so special about cooking with food you’ve grown yourself.

We gently reheated them in the van and enjoyed them with yoghurt and pickle, sitting quietly by the water’s edge. A simple, nourishing meal, made even more meaningful by the calm surroundings and the effort that went into growing and preparing it.

After lunch, we took a slow walk along the canal towpath. The water was still, the narrowboats moved silently, and the trees hung over the path like they were reminding us to pause.

It’s in moments like this that I’m reminded yoga isn’t just movement on the mat — it’s how we choose to live. To grow our own food, to cook mindfully, to eat slowly, to walk without rushing. It’s all part of the same practice.

I’ll be sharing the recipe for the allotment aloo paratha in a future post, so keep an eye out if you’d like to bring a little bit of that Sunday peace into your own kitchen.