Its jacaranda time in Brisbane at the moment and I was thrilled this week on a visit to my parents to see the Oasis Jacaranda in all its glory. This big old tree ( Dad thinks its about 100 years old) sits on the corner on the site of the old Oasis swimming pools and is only a few blocks from our family home. We used to walk this way to and from school and the appearance of the jacaranda blossoms always heralded exam time and the coming school holiday s.

After years away from home, I was surprised how touched I was to see this old tree and in fact it to realise I'd been past this tree all year and only now that it was showing me its full colour did I truly see and appreciate it.  How often do we do this with our elders? So many of them have become faceless to us and yet they have such an abundance of wisdom and knowledge to share if only we can take the time to pause, look and really see. Just as this tree's blossoms reminded me of all the years I'd seen it growing up it also reminded me of the years I've been away living in other places and watching other trees blossom. 

This beautiful tree did not just suddenly appear in its glory but rather has toiled unseen for years growing, weathering, fighting and then briefly once a year it flowers so we can be reminded of the seasons of things, the impermanence of the petals as they fall and blow away and the hope that we will see it flower again next year. Lets all take some time to really look at the old trees and the elders in our lives, not just at the blossoms but at the true beauty that is their strength and resilience.

Finding a suitable space to teach yoga in a new city is quite a challenge and I feel really blessed to have found a hall to rent in our suburb Buddina, in fact its just down the street in the Kawana Guide hall. For over 10 years I had the privilege of being a student and teacher at Darwin Yoga Space, an amazing place and wonderfully rich yoga community so starting something here in a new place where i have just one good friend and a few family members was pretty daunting.
The whole process of starting anew gave me pause for reflection on lots of things but in particular I started thinking about space and what was the bare minimum I needed to start classes and begin to teach.  So I have a hall now how to make it a yoga space.... I started with sweeping the floor a simple task but one that puts me in the space and has always been part of preparing the room and so preparing myself to teach. I hadn't really thought about that until I picked up the broom in Kawana and it transformed me back to Darwin Yoga Space. How many times I swept the floor there and marvelled at the space - the sense of it, the residual energy of everything and everyone that has gone before. There was a comfort in the routine almost a sense of coming home I'm still connected to that - that space its my heart .

I realised all i needed here to begin again and create a new space is to open my heart and welcome the students. They say that the teacher holds the space for the students and in a sense that's true but its the students that bring their energy to the space, who create the community, who practice the yoga and really its the yoga itself - that union of body/ mind/ spirit that creates the space. Whether alone or together any practice of yoga creates a yoga space.

I love being in nature whether its ocean, forest or desert the external space deeply affects my internal space it resonates, supports and soothes me. There is a deeply sacred space within us all we just need to find a way to tap into that space to open and expand it and to be in touch with it. I feel blessed to know that being in nature and practicing yoga does that for me and when things aren't going too well I can find the support and nourishment I need there. I encourage you to spend time reflecting on your space - what works for you, what soothes and nourishes you and try to bring that more and more into your daily life.