savasana rising

the past two days, my private practice sessions have ended in savasanas of pure bliss, and those savasanas themselves, have ended in blissful visions of nature. My savasana normally consists of gentle music, feeling my body sinking lovingly into the mat (the floor is your reliable partner :), random thoughts and visions fleeting through my mind, slipping into a gentle trance of emptiness... seconds, minutes, or hours later, something happens, and my body's response is to draw in a deeeeeeeeeeep breath, followed by a loooooooooooong exhale, open my eyes, and see what the world has brought me for a present.

Yesterdays present was the sound of a thousand bird laughing. I rose slowly, and was amaze to see that my entire front yard was completely covered with sparrows. Excitedly and without thought, I ran out the door and into the yard, where suddenly all at once every bird there lifted off and squaked loudly. For a moment the entire sky was black with the silouhettes of birds in flight and the sounds of natural alarm. It was exquisite! I thanked the Goddess and smiled as I entered the rest of the day.

Today was a slightly shorter practice (45 minutes or so), yet my savasana was so perfect, right in a large pool of sun coming in the tall dining room window. Again slipped into a deep trance of void / emptiness / black... this time is was not sound, but rather touch, that awakened me. Still in deep relaxation, eyes closed, I gradually came aware of a moist, cool, rough surface on the tips of my fingers. Seconds later, I realised I was being licked. As I opened my eyes, the puppy licks moved up my forearm, to my inner elbow, then bicep. A little basset hound puppy was there! I had to laugh, and at that, she went for my ears.

These are the presents of savasana. Practice makes perfect!

The Joys of Planning

The plane would leave in 2 hours. I had a 45 minute drive to the airport, barring traffic. I leapt out of the shower. I hadn't even packed yet. I hastily threw a toothbrush and deoderant into my knapsack, grabbed a random book off the shelf, checked that I had my ID, and bolted out the door.

That pretty much described my routine for trip planning up until now. It had its joys, and its consequences.  I've always heard that half the fun of a trip is the planning that goes into it. Until last night, I had never felt that way. But suddenly I see. I see a path unfolding in front of me. And with that path and some lofty goals in mind, the planning has begun.

The first step was to choose a yoga school for teacher training. Thanks to a beautiful Belgian girl I met in an airport, I gained insight into this one. Asking her whether she thought I should train in New York or India, she looked at me quizzically and said: "Yoga came from India. If you have that opportunity, why would you go anywhere else?" That crystallized it.

Following that conversation, I realised that my original school of yoga was actually based in India: Sevananda. I found that they had teacher trainings all throughout the year. I examined all the schools. One is in the Himalayas, a mere 30 miles (a days walk!) from the Tibetan border! That settled it.

Let the planning begin.