Burnett Beacons

Since the first day of May, I have walked through Burnett Lane every day on my way to Shri Yoga. I’m on Day 6 of a 30 day yoga challenge. Strolling, or in some cases, power walking, through Burnett Lane to the yoga studio is a delight. Burnett Lane is one of the revitalised laneways in the Brisbane city heart. Reminiscent of Melbourne streets, Burnett Lane is a respite from the bustle of Queen St Mall and it’s brand name shops.

You’ll find a German sausage cafe, a bar called Super Whatnot, a French florist and of course, Shri in Burnett Lane. You’ll also find a pop-up architecture show put on by first year students. Burnett Beacons are battery powered lanterns designed by first-year architecture students from the University of Queensland. They partnered with Reverse Garbage (one of my favourite social enterprises) to turn industrial waste into urban treasures. I walked past the students setting up their beacons on a Friday afternoon.

Which is your favourite?

Opening the hips

When I was born, my hips weren’t fully developed. My parents had to put me to sleep with a diaper or some such rolled between my legs to open my hips. To this day, I sleep on my front with my legs bent, hips splayed.

Today marked my first yoga session since leaving Vancouver on October 10 2011. Before leaving Vancouver, I was practicing yoga nearly every day at Semperviva with my dear friend Carman. I honestly think it’s how I survived the move without a serious mental breakdown. Since then, I’ve practiced on and off using Yoga Journal podcasts, but never for more than 20 minutes.

Katie, Carman and Yanna at Yogathon 2010

I looked up yoga in Mackay practically upon arrival, but something held me back; lack of motivation? Nervousness? Disconnection from my body? Shirley, my new colleague at Reef Catchments, was the catalyst I needed. We went to Judith Grieve’s yoga studio post-work. When Judith asked if there was anything we’d like to focus on during our practice, I replied, “Hips please.”

The practice was slow, especially in comparison to the power vinyasa I was accustomed to. It seems that from all directions, life has been telling me to slow down. In the first moments of mountain pose, I knew I was getting the message again. “Ever so patient,” Judith intonated to us as we inhaled and exhaled, seeking to full our lungs more completely.

Mid-way through the practice, we went to playful partner work, as Judith called it. To my luck, I was pared with Janet, a nurse who moved to Australia from Vancouver 24 years ago. Since we moved to Mackay, I’ve been waiting to meet a fellow Canadian from Vancouver. So far I’ve met Torontonians, Nova Scotians and Calgarians but no sea-to-sky comrades. Janet noticed my ‘UBC REC’ shirt, asking what UBC stood for. When I replied ‘University of British Columbia’ with my unwavering Canadian accent, she smiled.

Without sun salutations of some variation, the practice was a bit out of the ordinary for me, but nonetheless, I opened my hips and calmed my mental state. Lately I’ve been feeling that my vision is confined to a sliver of the pie. I tried to work through goal setting yesterday afternoon, but couldn’t see my 10 year vision clearly. Slowly but surely, especially with more regular practice, I’m hoping that the pie slice will grow, that my vision will increase to 360 degrees and I can begin to consider what the future holds for me.