Dance Base

Many of you have seen the Dance Base's brochure for next term.....Thought you may enjoy seeing some other things they are doing with the pictures from the Photo Shoot - Quite happy I'm not gonna be in Edinburgh next term as this would be a bit embarassing ;)

Taj Mahal

Here are some great pictures from Agra! The Taj Mahal was amazing!!!!! I arrived in Agra last night via the train - took nearly an hour to find a hotel - took a shower and then did my very first 11pm yoga practice ever!!!! I have to say it rocked ;) I cannot explain how enjoyable and how interesting it was to do my practice in agra that late at night - perfect! Didn't get much sleep as I woke up at 5:30am so I could be at the Taj Mahal for sunrise - unfortunately it was wicked foggy today so the sun never did really come up - but it was a magical experience nonetheless....I am very grateful I made my way to see the Taj Mahal and grateful I am here in India. Since it was so foggy my pictures CANNOT do justice to the magnificance of the Taj - but I am sure you can appreciate the splendor of the monumental structure anyway! Enjoy!!!!

Delhi

Hello From Delhi ;) I've had a wonderful couple days with some amazing new friends, beautiful scenery, delicious food, restful nights of sleep, plenty of sunshine, and yummy warm weather. I feel like I'm in heaven!

I arrived in Delhi Tuesday afternoon and its been pretty non-stop here since then with meeting people, seeing some sights, eating, and just enjoying being back in India - ah sweet India!

I've also had the MOST amazing couple of yoga practices since I've arrived. Stayed with my friend barbara the first night and practiced in her den the first practice back in India - it's not uber hot here but CERTAINLY much warmer than Scotland.

Above are some pictures from the Famous Gate of India and the memorial to Gandhi, as well as a few pictures from a local temple to Durga.

Goodbye Edinburgh!

All I can say is WOW! It has been an incredible whirlwind the last few weeks - time has flown by faster than I thought humanly possible! Kwang came to visit from November 26th through December 4th and that was such an amazing week together. It'd been over six months since we saw one another and I must say absence really and truly does make the heart grow fonder - I had missed him terribly but it was so much sweeter to see him and hug him and snuggle with him after such a long time apart. We had a great time in Edinbugh together while he was here - he got to be a tourist and also see a day in my life here. I was really sad when he left on the 4th but on the other hand didn't have time to really be sad because I had one more full week of teaching and living here in Edinburgh before my departure....And that week has come and gone and here I am about three hours from my flight to Delhi and I CANNOT believe this 3 1/2 months has gone by so fast.

I'll be sure to post bits and pieces during my three week trek through North India. I want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and happy New Year! See most of you in 2009!

Here are a few pictures from Kwangs trip to Scotland:

Taj Mahal

As many of you know I'm going to travel through the North of India the last three weeks in December before heading back down to Mysore..I'll be arriving in Delhi and traveling around a few days on my own before meeting up with the Gap Adventures tour that will take us to Delhi, Amritsar, Dharamshala, Shimla, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Allahabad, Mirzapur, and Varanasi. During my travels alone I am going to make my way to the Taj Mahal and spend a night in Agra. In doing some looking online I found a really great site with a virtual tour of the Taj Mahal - worth a look for sure http://taj-mahal.net/augEng/main_screen.htm

This is another worthwhile site to learn more about the Taj Mahal for those who may be interested! http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_agratajmahal.asp

Wishing everyone a wonderful Sunday! It snowed here in Edinburgh really early this morning - it was simply gorgeous!

Funny Stuff

Dance Base - National Centre for Dance

Dance Base is Scotland's National Centre for Dance - they also offer other body movement courses like yoga and pilates. I am teaching a Yoga Course for Dance Base this term during my stay in Edinburgh.

About a month ago Dance Base asked me to be on the cover of their spring brochure. I felt quite honored by the offer because they know I won't be here in Edinburgh next term but wish to take the opportunity to work with me now while I'm here.

The photo shoot was a lot of fun and I just got word yesterday that the brochure is presently at the printer...

Please take a moment to check out Dance Base's website -
http://www.dancebase.co.uk/ - when you click on the SPRING BROCHURE link scroll through and have a look (especially the first couple pages ;)

Great quote from my mama

"I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom."-George Patton

Here's the Scoop

Hello and Happy Friday, November 14th!

I'm sitting at a cafe in Edinburgh sipping some coffee before teaching my beginner ashtanga yoga class at Bristo Place. I had a delicious mysore practice this am at Union Yoga with David Swenson. He is in town this and next week doing workshops and teacher training, but he's also offering morning mysore practice at 6am each morning this and next week, which I am very happy about - it is so nice to practice in heated room with about 20 other yogis early in the morning. I've been thoroughly enjoying my daily practice alone or with my friend Chris at Bristo, but it is mighty cold down there in the basement of this building I use, and after 2 1/2 months of it, I welcomed the chance to do morning mysore at Union Yoga. Practice was really special this am b/c yesterdays moon really knocked me around - I felt physically and mentally drained all day - but awoke this am with a new found energy and pep in my step - and my practice was just amazing! Hot, sweaty, bandhas, breath, drishti - the whole shebang!

Here's the Scoop: this week I officially changed the Bristo program ;) Since the 15th of September, since I first started the program of Ashtanga Yoga classes there - I was doing a beginner class at 11:15am Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then a Led Ashtanga Yoga class at 12:30pm Monday through Friday. My students are ready - and so am I..... Starting this week the beginner classes stay the same but the Monday, Wednesday and Friday Led class is now Mysore style but am keeping the Tues and Thur Led Ashtanga for the next two weeks to help ease some hesitant students into the program. Before I leave though it will be a full on Mysore program and that makes me happy! I have learned and grown so much through building this program and I feel truly blessed. I will miss all my students here when I leave, but I am grateful to know I've been able to share my knowledge and passion with others. I hope this program stands the test of time!

In other news, Kwang arrives in TWO WEEKS! I can't wait - I'm counting down the days...He will fly in Thursday the 27th and will be here til the following Thursday. So sweet he's made sure to plan his trip to be here on my Birthday ;) It's been six months since we saw each other - we have NEVER been apart quite this long before. Needless to say it will be a long anticipated reunion!

I will be flying to India in One Month! I leave on December 15th - I will fly into Delhi, travel a bit on my own for a week and then will meet up with a tour and travel through the North of India for two weeks before flying down to Bangalore and making my way back to Mysore. I'll be spending my Christmas in Dharamsala and New Years in Varanasi! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

London

Hey hey, happy Wednesday! I enjoyed the most wonderfully refreshing weekend in London with my friends Jake and Helen. Enjoyed some warmer weather, great yoga, time with good friends, much needed sleep, and some good sights. Here are a couple pictures from the weekend.....

What time is it? GMT baby!