Bollywood Bollywood bverry bverry Jollywood . . .

Started the day with the Primary Ashtanga Series . . . took my Advil at 5:30 just hoping that it would kick in by 5 m.  The hamstrings have been starting out very tight each morning, but after the 5th vinyasa they start to ease up.  And I was quite tired this morning.

Today I was very cognizant to ensure I went into upward dog with proper alignment; collar bone up, chest up, slight microbend in the elbows but ended up spending a lot of time doing it . . . one of the girls said she tried just keeping her pelvis on the floor and not lifting her legs off the floor and was able to find the posture and get more familiar with it that way, so I think I will try that tomorrow and then by Monday I will have it correct and down pat.  

After our 2 hour Ashtanga class my group had free time as the 2nd group yesterday had free time while we did the neti pot pranayama class.  Had an amazing breakfast with crepes made of lentils and chocolate sauce . . . perhaps they know how many women are on the "moon time" based on the number of women doing modified shoulder stands and thought . . . "they really need some chocolate".  It was heavenly.

Yum

Myself and a couple other girls went and took a look at the shops on our beach way and then we had another anatomy and physiology class and did more group work, which has been fun.  

Today was our first Yoga Nidra class.  Yoga, according to Patanjali means "removal of the fluctuations of the mind" and nidra means "sleep" . . . so essentially it was a led meditation class.  So we were at Mantra Shala which is our ocean side practice shala, and we all got our mats and a bolster and a sheet, laid down heads pointing toward a circle, covered with a sheet to keep any insects off so as not to be distracted, closed our eyes and Upendra led us into our meditation.  It was an INCREDIBLE experience.  I could hear his voice and was aware of my presence, but it was as though I was in a deep sleep state.  After we were done he asked us if anyone fell asleep, and some did and some felt like they weren't sure because it felt like we were, but we were aware.  After he instructed us to spend the next half hour in silence alone and keep our moments sacred.  So I sat on the beach on my sheet and watched one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen.  I wanted to go back to my room and get my camera but I didn't want to break my moment or miss the sunset.  So I will have to describe it to you.  The sky was slightly grey in tone, and the sun was this beautiful, perfectly round ball of orange, and it cast an orange hue into the ocean and on the sand ahead of it right towards where I was sitting.  It was incredible.  When I first sat down, watching and listening to the waves crashing and gazing at this glorious miracle of nature I felt overwhelmed with emotion but I didn't want to cry, so I allowed what I was feeling, accepted it, and let is pass over me.  It was an amazing moment.

This was a different day - we're not covered in a sheet, but you get the idea

Lindsay, Laura and Satara

Beatrix, Danielle and Naomi

Afterwards a bunch of us sat around by the beach and chatted about our experiences sharing hot ginger tea and a snack.  And then we headed back to the Tantra Shala for dinner.  During dinner Kranti was playing a Bollywood movie and the music was just moving us as we were finishing eating and watching.  We were dancing in our seats and trying to copy some of the moves -  we were laughing so hard imitating the man's moves.  When the movie was over Kranti started it again because he got a kick out of our enjoyment.  So a bunch of us just couldn't contain ourselves anymore and we got up on the stage and started dancing and coping the moves and laughing and laughing.  The cooks, and some of the instructors were laughing and getting a lot of enjoyment out of watching us.  One of the instructors, Helen, finally came over and joined us.  At the end we were all drenched and in need of a shower.  Our favorite song contained the lyrics, "Bollywood Bollywood bverry bverry Jollywood" . . . LOVE IT!!!!

SIDE NOTE: Bex and I would later get tank tops embroidered with those words.  They are awesome!

One of the questions Upendra asked us all before leading us into our meditation was what we could think of that made us feel positivity, release of fear . . . a few people said dance . . . nothing could be further from the truth.  Dance just lets you feel free . . . free from yourself, free from your mind, free from society and problems and fears and judgements . . . and I cannot think of a better way to bond with amazing women than to share a moment like that.  What a great way to end the day.  

I will close with a passage from Meditations from the Mat:

"The Posture Never Ends . . . The lesson remains, however, that it is our tendency to pay attention to the postures themselves, but not to the spaces in between.  So it is in life.  We leave one relationship or job and set our sights on the next.  We cross one item off the to-do list and dive into the next chore.  The illusion is that the posture ends.  The reality is that the posture never ends, it just shifts from one form to the next, one lesson to the next, on opportunity to the next.  We remain life's student whether we are inhaling or exhaling, in a relationship or out of one, saving the world or looking for a temp job.  The posture never ends.  I am in the posture when I look into my wife's eyes, and I am in the posture when I look into my waiter's eyes.  Both are holy interactions.  The illusion is that there is separation, levels of importance, beginnings and endings.  Yoga brings us to the understanding that the posture never ends".  

Do something today that brings you fearless joy . . . something that keeps you in the posture of your life.  

Namaste

J