This book was a long time in the birthing canal so to speak. Fiona had the idea for the book way back in 2010 but life you might say 'got in the way' so she was unable to really get down to committing it to paper until 2019/20. She initially asked me to help her with the sanskrit terminology as I was studying sanskrit at the time with Lucy Christfield and I happily agreed (although not being a sanskrit scholar by any stretch of the imagination this later proved to be a little more challenging that expected!). She then asked if I could go about requesting permissions from various publishers to use quotes/excerpts from other authors for the book and help with reading the text through before submitting it to the publisher. This was the first time I had been so involved in the writing and publishing process and it really bought home what a huge deal it is bringing an idea (or collection of ideas) from the mental realm into a real life readable book!
One of our biggest challenges was figuring out how we could send amended versions to each other without getting lost in a quagmire of different versions. Being rather not-techy folks, when a friend of Fiona's suggested we use google docs we both sounded (and I mean that) a pretty huge sigh of relief! Our next challenge was cutting some of the content down and having to agree with the publisher to actually cut some completely out. This was actually a very painful experience for Fiona as she had laboured for hours, days, months and years over the content and felt that everything in the original draft was very relevant and important. Eventually an agreement was possible and although the parts left out were and remain very valuable they were not able to make it to the light of published day on this occasion.
In the time that we went backwards and forwards with what must have been over 100 versions of the text Fiona asked if I would write a section on self/inner compassion. I felt very honoured to be given this opportunity and I gladly agreed. My contribution appears at page 87 of the book if you already have it and would like read it and practice the meditation at page 264. Here is an excerpt from the piece I wrote:
'Self compassion is a crucial and sometimes overlooked practice that is essential if we are to dive into our darker stuff and not get overwhelmed. If we don't create a safe space for ourselves (and our students) it can be counterproductive, or even dangerous to delve too deeply into the murky depths of our unconscious patterns and core beliefs. For many of us part of the picture of avidya includes a negative self-image, sometimes to the point of loathing. But when we attack ourselves with a hostile inner voice we become both the attacker and the attacked, a place from which there is seemingly no escape. Beginning the journey of bringing a tender attention to this aspect of ourselves is very challenging'. It is a step on from kindness (maitre) because it requires us to turn towards our suffering which can be very difficult, especially if we are exhausted, stressed or overloaded. but in this act of moving towards duhkha (suffering) and pain, we open our hearts fully to the feelings that are there. The greatest gift we can give ourselves (or anyone else) at a time of suffering is our kind and loving presence.'
I also helped devise the practices that are contained in the book and some of the pictures which appear on my website come from the 2 day photo shoot we did with the help of a friend and student of ours Lynne and with the kind donation of the Dorchester Yoga Centre which allowed us to use their space for free.
To my heart the practice of self/inner compassion is a bedrock for all practices yoga or otherwise. Without being able to access this approach to self we tend to get caught up in the firing line of life's challenges which are then layered over by our own internal voices and/or limiting self beliefs. As it is the inner work that directly and immediately impacts the way we react/respond and relate to others and world around us, the more we notice our own, often self inflicted suffering and are able to turn towards it with compassion, the more we will be able to extend the same understanding and open hearted sentiment to those around us. I believe that the practice of cultivating self/inner compassion alone would transform our world and bring about the the change in our evolution as a species we so desperately need.
Here's a link to an independent book seller which stocks this book if you would like to purchase it (my small attempt to encourage us away from the likes of Amazon).
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