After every storm comes a rainbow! Practice this morning seemed glorious after the hellaciously difficult one yesterday. I enjoyed a lovely walk to the shala – still very dark outside – I could see the stars in the sky…It has been a habit of mine, since I was a little girl, to pick out the brightest star in the sky – I imagine it to be my daddy! So this morning, on the way to practice, I stopped in the middle of the quiet road and stared up to the sky for a few minutes – smiling inside and out – I spent a few minutes looking for my father. When I found him I sent him kisses. Felt wonderful to connect with him – haven’t in a while. It set the tone for a wonderful practice – when I got to my mat I spent several minutes breathing – and dedicating my practice to all the people I hold dear – of course my father was on the top of my list! And as often happens, I could feel his presence with me this morning through practice – there is no better feeling in this entire world ;) I silently chanted my opening mantra – and then was off on a beautiful flowing moving meditation. Better than it has been in a long while – I was so deep in the midst of the moment – my drishti was super strong, breath and bandhas controlled, body loose and light…

Was quite lovely to do the opening mantra with Saraswati this morning – and to have her assist me in every asana that I need help with – Supta Vajrasana, Pincha Mayurasana, and Drop backs. As I was feeling good physically, I spent a good deal of time with backbends today – it’s been a while since I – 1) had time to work on grabbing my ankles on my own, and 2) felt strong enough to…Today I did – back was a little tight but still able to do some good work. When Saraswati came over to assist me – she didn’t mess around. As she helped me grab my hands to my legs she put them straightaway on my knees (man is she intense – Sharath usually places them a bit lower and then moves them up after a breath or two.) After she gave me a nice adjustment in forward bend, I grabbed my mat, my towel, my tissues, and myself – and headed to the stage to close. I noticed it was 6:05am when I headed to the stage – figure it takes about ten minutes to do closing – and when I came to from Shavasana it was 6:30am…Wow, a nice 15 minute Shavasana – rockin ;)

I gave my respects to Saraswati – and I can’t begin to tell you how good it makes me feel inside every morning to do so – as she always looks over and gets a huge grin on her face when I put my hands together and give her a little bow to thank her for her presence, grace, love, and devotion. Love that woman!

Went outside and saw Sharath dressed and ready to go somewhere – he smiled and said, “good morning!” I smiled back and told him good morning – he said he liked my yoga mat bag – it’s a backpack bag that I picked up from Annanda – fellow yogi who created a rockin back sack for your mat – not something I’d really use so much in the states – but when you have a fifteen plus minute walk to and from the shala – lets just say it makes life much easier. I smiled to Sharath and said, “thank you!” Then I walked out of the gate and realized that our coconut guy wasn’t there – nor was his truck full of coconuts…Hmmm….Odd…Never come out of the shala – ever – and he wasn’t there ready to chop open a coconut with his machete. Hope he’s ok. Since I simply couldn’t break my daily ritual of having at least two tasty and hydrating coconuts (my type A personality shining through) I walked up the road to the infamous ‘coconut stand’ to get my fix. As I walked up I saw several other yogis’s doing the same – ha! Enjoyed two coconuts, had a chat with Erin – and then opted to head to the gym…I know I’m a bit odd – but don’t we all know this by now? I just jumped on the eclipse machine and did thirty minutes of cardio – as I knew it’d give me a much needed burst of energy – and I have a very long day ahead of me…And it did the trick – first ten minutes were a bit rough – but the last twenty were rockin – as was I – rockin to some good tunes on my I-pod. That done I headed back to Tina’s for my second shower of the day.

Perfect timing! By the time I showered and dressed – it was 8am – time for breakfast!
My appetite seemed insatiable this morning – luckily a bowl of oatmeal, four egg whites, and a fruit salad did the trick! I also enjoyed the delightful company of Jake, Erin, Elise, Petra, John, Lisa, and some other nice yogi’s. It’s almost time to head to my Odissi lesson – and feeling full of energy – stoked b/c some mornings zee body isn’t quite ready for dance at 11am. Really attribute it to the cardio after practice – maybe I’ll try it a few more times and see if I get the same result!