So now the quiet before the End-of-the-World-Has-Not-Happening-Party, for the acronym savvy it’s EOTWHNHP which is Elvish for there will be tears before bedtime… not really I just made that up.

Suffice to say 2013 rings itself in with a plethora of new films, the Hobbit (more Orc, Troll and Goblin action that you can wave a wand at), Quartet with Maggie Smith and Billy Connolly looks promising and Skyfall with Daniel Craig (sigh) and Ralph Fiennes (sigh) looks like a must see. Not only have I seen from the beginning every Doctor Who episode from 1963, I have seen every James Bond Movie from Dr No in 1962 to Quantum of Solace in 2008. Now here’s a New Years resolution I can keep, I promise by all that is holy and all that is good and for that matter all that is tinted and tainted (we don’t like the B word) to watch all the new Doctor Who episodes and go to all the new James Bond movies. It surprises many people who have the impression that I am somewhat highbrow and reassures them that I am as plebeian as the next woman with my proclivity for Okay Magazine and am a paid up member of the Joan Rivers fan club.

The Sugar Sagas continue under the great scudding clouds of this Friday. The custard was my undoing at the Christmas table, up to that point in time I was happy to munch my way through the seafood on offer but we all have our weaknesses. I was thinking to make a list of my strengths and weaknesses and in that accounting found that they balanced each other. Some examples:
My weakness for custard balanced against my ability to totally ignore chocolate except the occasional 85% Lyndt
My weak knees balanced by my strong back.
My strong personality balanced by sensitivity that drives me to yoga and meditation.
My bluntness balanced by my polite and only if you ask nicely common sense.

All in all having had hardly any sugar over the Christmas period no mean feat, if I do say so myself. This of course was all made easier by my strange stomach which was reacting to maybe sugar, maybe custard, maybe champagne. I trust your day went well and your time with loved ones was peacefully spent.

2013 and Flying Warrior Yoga starts Tuesday January 15th.
Please familiarise yourself with the Foundation work of Eric Goodman:

We will be exploring the Yoga Tandavar, the dance of the warrior expressed in movements of both your hands (Mudras) and body positions (Asanas) especially the archer poses: sitting (Akarna Dhanurasana) and standing (Virabhadrasana)

This is a graceful integration of the torso with slow controlled leg and arm movements, very meditative and as one student said of the beginning practices introduced in November 2012, ”My heart feels really open and free.”

To walk this earth well your torso and spine require sturdiness and strong legs. To express your soul your heart needs to be open and your arms and hands graceful and expressive. This is given with the grace of the Tandavar, the cosmic dance, the dance that brings alive your true expression.

As expressed by Leonard Cohen in his latest CD Old Ideas.
“He will speak these words of wisdom
Like a sage, a man of vision
Though he knows he’s really nothing
But the brief elaboration of a tube

Going home
Without my sorrow
Going home
Sometime tomorrow
To where it’s better
Than before

Going home
Without my burden
Going home
Behind the curtain
Going home
Without this costume
That I wore

I trust that your New year celebration is fun and safe and that 2013 sees you on the mat, evoking the holy seer within.

Regards and love Maggi.