Ashtanga Traveler

I am not kidding I was nearly in tears laughing at this movie...I know it is so silly but sometimes...when you are in the right mood it just tickles......my favorite was the weed smoking scene, when the killers mask kept changing.....to total stoner form. Anyway, they aired it last night on TV as a Halloween special. We had one batch of tricksters turn up...having totally forgotten that it was Halloween, and since it is not really celebrated here...I was not prepared...what could I come up with...raisins and banana chips....thankfully, they do not go as ape here as they do in the states about MAKING SURE each item is indiviually wrapped at least one time in order to eat it.

Anyway, otherwise the weekend was just one of the gems...where despite things coming up and shit happening it all feels okay, right...if you know what I mean.

I was sick Firday night and missed out on the dance party at Rising Sun...just as well...mtg on sat am and practice is always hard when out late. In the end I just went in for my mtg and then home to bed for a few hours. In the afternoon, another of the chicks at the yoga school came by with her Mysore photos and we had quite a decadent lunch....she is going to be in Mysore about 2 weeks after we get there so it was nice to have her around to meet the boyz. With the exception of the tummy bug trouble...I think my husband is feelig better about this whole thing.

The down side of the day started just when she was leaving...."Dad" against his better judgement lifted Huxley off the ground by one hand...which ended up leading to 3 hours in A&E (like the ER)...result was a pulled elbow....no fracture, thankfully. Poor Hux was in agony....but when the Sr doc finally got to see him she whipped it back into place (ouch) and he was good as gold. It was just amazing seeing the transition in him once it felt better...little darling.

Sunday was another great day...lots of sun...pancake breakfast out on the patio, basking in the sun underneath the ponga tree ferns....and with VT maple syrup!!!

Practice this morning was really nice. I went in around 10:30am....finished at 12:30...primary only and dropped headstand cuz I got to rapping with my teacher and lost track of time....oops. I felt strong, peaceful and not as heavy as thought considering all the pancakes and sucra. It is a perfect day today....little breeze, sunshine, aroma of spring on every whisk of air.
Sent of the Visa application forms to the High Commission in Wellington....also made H's appointment for the rest of his shots (4yr)...next week...I think I will ask Craig to take him.

I had this really startling dream the other day....so much so that it woke me up....

...In Mysore, but it actually looked like a New England Prep School Campus....had my first class at the "shala"...and following that, as I am walking out this door of this very odd building, with no windows but lots of blue mats, Sharath says to me..."you can take any pose you want"....

I could not help but laugh.

I sent off my ballot yesterday....luckily I actually got one...the word on the street and in this way I mean the BBC is that it is VERY difficult for O/S American civilians to vote. I was a lucky one, but the bottom line is that they make it hard for us...not O/S military though. And to be frank just cuz I mailed the ballot in does not mean it will count.

Op Ed NY Times quotation that I thought was appropriate:

"It was Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, who said that "America's leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment." "

"Interests of world peace"...hey there is a thought....and "human betterment".....I thought we were just supposed to care about cheap fuel...ya know, cuz it is so important to drive our oversized SUVs.

I rarely jump on the politics railroad, because quite frankly I left the US because I think the country is fucked...and I am not proud. It was the statement I could make to my friends and family...that we do not have to live this way.....it can be different. Countries around the globe do things differently, so why is it so impossible to create change in the minds of the American public...oh hey but are we really talking about the American public? Cuz there is so much fucking corruption in our government, who really is making the decisions, where is the Power?

I think this election is a call for change....not Bush, not Kerry....a real change.....so that we as Americans can be proud again.

thank you eminmem

Is Anyone out there as anxious as me......

Is the world going to a better place?

I am tuned into Boston's WBUR....my home town...listening, wondering, hoping that things go in favor of Kerry....because otherwise I will be afraid, embarrassed,....

A long day......

I did this today given my current state of mind....but after a really amazing primary series (with the exception of some sort of pull in the midback left side away from the spine in supta K because my hair braids were driving me crazy getting the way of my ankles)....I did 10 drop backs.....so basically I was asking for it...sure enough the entire drive home after practice I was SOBBING.

So we leave in 16 days...OMG.

Visas arrived..cool.

H had last batch of immunizations....yuck.

Practice is okay, strong....new focus added....subtle bandhas...like in the hips, shoulders, elbows, knees. This is making a big differenc on my practice, but is a major adjustment. It feels good..not easy.

I watched a video of the seocnd series on Sat in between our monthly mtg and my technique contact Mysore class....WOW. There are just so many amazing aspects of the practice, and different little bits for different people. There were 6 practioner's (all very big names in the ashtanga world, 4 men, 2 women) and Pattabhi Jois leading.

On Friday I was followed around a bit by an art student that was using me as part of a book he is making for school....doing case studies about people....Identity and Judgement. Anyway, it was really fun...he came to my work, then the yoga school, then home.....

I decided to post one of the yoga pictures....the reason being that I have had alot of trouoble with this pose...mentally, emotionally...less so physically, although I remember it feeling strange at the beginning...but I really like the picture of it...so here it is....I think I will "like" it more form now on.

So I have to say this the final countdown.

We have so much to do it is not funny. But then again it sort of is funny...this whole trip is sort of funny...maybe that is why it feels so right.

I have two weeks to get the final approval from my funding agency...should not be a big deal. I have to get the flat ready for the friends that are going to use it while we are away...this is a major job...basically because neither C or I are particularly tidy people...we are the sort of go over the top and get by type of people...but to have people move in..means business...so i have to do a heap of work to get the place in a fashion that I am comfortable with....

Work work is moving along, I should have evything done without too much sweating...but I am so excited it is hard to concentrate.

Yoga is going great. I paid the Purple Valley balance yesterday...mega bucks...but hopefully worth it. I also paid the accomodation in Goa...also mega bucks for the entire family to be put up in a "nice, easy" spot, so we can chill for our first few weeks in India.

Had my last sitting with my tattoo artist last night for proably 4-6 months...it went really well....he did quite of bit of hand drawing to get everything sorted. There is still more outline to go on the back but we were both ready to call it by about 8pm....so that'll have to wait....the clavicle area HURTS. The rest is cool around the shoulder. Had more Kowhai and Flax put in....still trying to work in Kowhai flowers but not sure how or where....they are so beautiful though.....little headless angels....also just to note the wh in Kowhai is an F sound....

Anyway we will see. Practice yesterday was short and sweet. Assisting was also good. I think I am getting the hang of it. Although I made one major blunder, helping someone into supta kurmasana...I stepped on her arm yikes! I felt terrible. It is such a funny pose to adjust, cuz there seems to be arms and legs coming from everywhere. I am helping tonight in the beginner's class...and then will have my own go tomorrow....decided on a rest day today, which is generally what I do after ink.

I feel like I am carting around a huge bag of bricks or something today. Practice was so tiring...or perhaps I was just tired to start...so drained.

I had a big emotional weekend.....why do I have to be so volatile...urgh.

I finished the A and P course...which is a relief. I hope it created some sort of foundation for me....obviously I will need to build on that with my own practice and assisting.

10 days to go now...scary. I am probably more overwhelmed than I realise and I have so much to do...at home, at work....and fit in all the usual stuff. We are planning Connie's party....3 years old! He wants a black cake...."BLACK, mum, okay?"....right....

He was so delightful when I got home from practice this morning (about 8:20am)...the house was still quiet...he peeked his little head up from under the covers when I walked in the door and gave me the biggest smile...then popped up out of bed and through his little arms around me...."good morning".....you cannot beat it...

I am very lucky.

Huxley woke up a bit later...when I asked him about his dreams he said he did not have any...then he said..."you do not have dreams when you sleep a long time."

I have decided that I really do not at all like the way that I write. It is dull and boring.

I am hoping that it is the scientist in me....and perhaps when I can let go of that little beast things will happen.

When will that be?....hmmmm. It is just about the only thing I know how to do, so clearly "it" can not just disappear.

I was thinking about all the little dreams that I have had at different times in my life...some big, some small...some obsessive some cruzy. Where have they gone? Are they still here and perhaps transformed into something slightly different, but recognizable.

But I wonder about dreams, meaning goals...not the things that happen while sleeping....because what about what is happening at the moment? How do dreams curtail the full experience, or do they? Otherwise where would the motivation be....why would there even be a "path" to follow...or whatever.

I think I have created more of a "what not to do" list than a "to do" list....written things off.

Maybe it is not so bad.

I think this whole little diatribe was spurred by the thought of my birthday in January...YIKES.

Will be in Mysore, though...cool.

Man......excellent practice this morning. I mean there is nothing truly astounding to tell, but I have had so many yuck ones lately that this was a gem. I got through my entire practice and in 2 hours..never done that before. I was flying...lovely vinyasas...not pushing too too hard...just letting it come and move, as if something other than my will was behind it.

Flying Bakasana was on hit 4, but pretty much stunk. Kapotasana was grand. Supta K a bit of a let down, stuck with it for 10 breaths. All the backbends were fantastic...my teacher is adjusting me more like they way in Mysore..more organic, less on alignment and anatomy...so for instance in Chakra Bandhasana, he put me into position, hands on the calves and then just about let me go to balance on my own. Usually he helps me, by supporting the sacrum more, drawing it forward to relase the lower back and not "crunch" so much. Then in the squish, he just pancaked me...

I am getting very excited...one week to go. I am going to try and get to On the Mat while in Singapore..heard excellent things via EZ board...but we will see.

This weekend coming is packed...have a goodbye lunch with the yoga crew, then Connie's 3rd B-day party and BBQ. Hangin out with best friend on Sat night....still have to deal with the house...work stuff is just about completely wrapped up...Yeah.

It is all happening...funding people were cool with the time away, so no worries on that front.

All good.

....crazy....not much else to say....are we ready to go...no!

But the time will come.....we will be on the plane, heading off...wondering what the hell we are in for.

Will be posting when I can.