Day 9 and smiling

Hello June.  That means it’s mid-year.  How did that happen?!  Last time I checked it was the beginning of 2011, and now we’re halfway through?  Incredible.  And it’s been jam-packed!

The days here are slow and fast all at the same time.  I feel like my brain is going to pop with all the new info I’m learning, and yet we’ve just completed 1 week of the 4, so there is still way more to come.  Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m in India – our days are so crammed and everything is all about yoga; I have no idea what’s going on in the rest of the world, and life outside of my room, the shala and the restaurants closest to the shala, and my bed, just do not exist.

It’s hard to integrate it all.  New friends, new connections, new asana techniques, new ways of thinking and talking, and hopefully new ways of being in the world.  I guess a lot of assimilation will happen when I get home and start teaching and recalling the other-worldly days spent here, surrounded by the spiritually dense Himalayas.

My body feels great at the moment.  The weather is a little cooler than it was, so meditation is a little tougher on the knees and hips than it was at the beginning of the week (amazing how fast my body has adapted to sitting cross-legged for an hour!).  I’m also feeling strong and flexible … I guess that’s what 4 hours of practice will do!  (Ahem … I flexed my biceps in the mirror this morning … and liked what I saw )  I arrived with my practice at one level, and will be leaving at a whole different place and with so much more depth, and integrity in each asana; less injuries through new techniques and exacting alignment, I hope!

My first teaching experience yesterday:  I have a lot to say and not much time to say it in – just one inhale or one exhale!  It’s an exercise in extracting the most important information and saying it as clearly and concisely as possible … and remembering what it was like in my first few months of Ashtanga: overwhelming and lots to do all at the same time.  I learnt incrementally and each time I attended a class I’d have an ‘Aha!’ moment and something new would click into place; and that is still happening every time I practice, and develop more awareness of how my body feels, where it is in space and how I am feeling emotionally.  Yoga really is a never-ending exploration of the self – sometimes the depth and intricacy can be quite overwhelming! 

So, all in all on this day ninth day of training I am feeling grounded, blessed, strong, loved and terribly happy.  It’s a place I’d like to set up permanent residence

Jen xx