I’ve been coughing for about three days now and have had to cancel my New Year’s Eve plans for a hot date with the sofa and TV instead. Sigh. Still I’ve been being productive from my sick bed.

As you can see, the Suburban Yogini has undergone an overhaul in preparation for the new year. I have felt this blog has been heading in a new direction for a while so I figured it was time to make it look that way. I’ve added a whole new “About Me” section which should appear in the previous post and also if you click on the pretty pink “About” button! (Thanks to shabbyblogs for that and the awesome header!)

I feel as though I have undergone an overhaul over the last few months as well. I’m not going to pretend 2009 has been an easy year, it hasn’t. It’s been one of the toughest years of my life. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and without this transitionary year I wouldn’t be in the position I am in now – to really live my life to its fullest in 2010.

Happy new year, dear dear readers and thank you for reading. I leave you, not with poetic genius as such, but with the very simple words of Dave Grohl.

It’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time again

I started this blog in early 2008 as somewhere to catalogue my thoughts and ideas as I made the transition from working in corporate law to yoga teaching. I set up my own business and ran all kinds of yoga classes all over south west London. I even taught pregnancy yoga from my living room, which I converted into a small studio (and I will be forever grateful to Himself for putting up with this lack of living space for the best part of two years!)

In the autumn of 2009, after a decade of living in and around London, we decided to move back to Cambridge, the town I grew up in. I sold my business, we packed our bags and here we are, beginning a whole new life, feeling happier, calmer, more directed.

I now work for a local arts charity and teach the occasional yoga class. Over the last few months, as I have changed, so has this blog and it has become so much more than just yoga, it has become a scrapbook of my life.

So what does that life entail?

1. Yoga of course! The yoga is still important, in so many ways I have spent many years battling CFS and Fibromyalgia as well as an upper back scoliosis and have used yoga as a therapeutic tool for managing and recuperating from chronic illness and injury. If I can do this anyone can I want to continue to use this blog as a place where I can share my experiences and hopefully inspire other yoga practitioners and teachers. You can find out more at my website.

2. Reading and Writing. I read. A lot. I will read anything and everything. If you want to know more about what I read you can click on my Goodreads profile in the sidebar. I also write. A lot. Some days I just write any old rot as long as I’m writing. Some days I surprise myself. I used to write non-fiction articles for papers and magazines on a freelance basis (sometimes I didn’t get paid at all!) but I wanted to use my creativity more and generally write fiction, prose and poetry now. I try to commit to morning pages (except I do mine in the evening) and am starting to gain the confidence to put some of my writing out into the world. Drafts often appear on this blog.

3. Cooking and food. I am a lapsed vegan (I eat eggs, I don’t eat dairy). I am passionate about organic food. The arguments about whether or not it is nutritionally beneficial are not important to me. I buy organic because it is kinder to the earth we live on. I am fussy about where I buy from and try to avoid supermarkets as much as I can. I am also passionate about home-cooked food and a little bit of what you fancy doing you good. Sometimes I post recipes. Usually I promise to post them and then never do. Sometimes you’ll have to nudge me! I have always been lucky in that I am not prone to put on weight but am trying to be more mindful about what I eat and when I eat it.

4. Walking. I walk everywhere. Occasionally I go by bicycle if time is not on my side. I power walk. I’d love to still be able to run but it’s a bit jarring on my fibromyalgic joints! I have built up my fitness and have goals I’d love to meet over the next couple of years (I’d love to walk a half marathon). I have to be careful not to do too much though or I descend into relapse, so we’ll see!

5. Shiny things. Hand in hand with all of this I love shiny things! Clothes, shoes, accessories, glitter. I believe that how we look on the outside reflects how we feel on the inside and vice versa. I love coloured tights, glittery eyeliner and second hand stores. I get huge inspiration from Lady Smaggle, Already Pretty and Daddy Likey.

Any other questions? Just ask!

Well the cold slowly descended lung-wards over Christmas and now I am stuck with bronchitus. Hurrah, hurrah and thrice hurrah! Still I scrubbed up yesterday to go to Ma and Pa Yogini’s for food and presents and to treat them to a cacaphony of coughing. This is what parents are for.

I’m loving these coloured opaque tights from M&S – apart from this green colour they have red, purple, pink, stripes, leopard skin…. and probably more. The green shoes are handmade by Ren over at Fairysteps. She’s updating her shop right now, you should go and check it out. New shoes and bags for a new decade!

So how has your yoga practice been going over the long weekend? Sadly yoga and meditation are not conducive with paroxysms of coughing so my yoga over the last few days has mostly been about looking after myself and my poorly lungs. Those of you who are feeling better than me but struggling to keep up a routine over the holidays might like EcoYogini’s hints and tips on DIY Holiday Yoga!

Have you chosen a word for the new year? Mine is mindfulness, I keep promising to elaborate on this and I will. Soon. In the meantime find out why Kathleen’s word is courage.

It’s resolution time over at Read Write Poem. I particularly like the resolution about aiming to get 12 rejection letters this year. That seems do-able!

I suspect many of you, like me, feel that there’s a small chance you’ve eaten too much good stuff over the last couple of weeks. If you combine this with the treacherous ice we’ve had here and the treacherous state of my lungs, I haven’t had a power walk in nearly a fortnight, and I’m feeling it. Sally over at Already Pretty gives a nice little pep-talk for all of us feeling a little out of shape.

Finally, Anna at Much Love asks three important questions about love. So here are my answers:-

1. One thing that you loved in 2009. Oh there were many things! But top of my list has to be Lyrica. Strange I know to choose prescription medication as the thing you love but my life turned around this year thanks to these little pills. I’m not saying there wasn’t a lot of hard work on my part but the Lyrica certainly kick started me into being able to live the life I want in spite of my Fibromyalgia rather than merely exist in its shadow.

2. One thing you’re loving at this very moment. Ooooh the smell of spicy parsnip soup which is cooking in the kitchen. Also Himself for still thinking I’m beautiful despite the cold sweat glistening on my brow from the effort of coughing!

3. One thing that you’d love to do next year. I’d love to have continued good health really. I’d also love to go to Dublin.

I’d love to know your answers to these questions dear reader. Let me know if you post them in your own blog.

I hope you all continue to have a wonderful holiday season and that none of you have to go back to work just yet!