this is me on yoga

not really, but it looks like me....I have cats, I have the dark, curly hair, I have the incense and the mala and the orange walls in my yoga room.

I bought this giclee from the Shambhala Sun, a Buddhist magazine that I've subscribed to for a long time. had to have it, and yes, very un-Buddhist of me to be attached to it. the artist is Tatjana Krizmanic, an artist and illustrator from Croatia and a Buddhist practitioner.

The painting was the cover of one of the Shambhala Sun's yoga issues. their current yoga and Buddhism issue is on sale right now so check it out.

If you want to buy some giclees of their covers and other art that appeared in past issues, check out this link (my giclee was on sale when I bought it.) you'll find calligraphy by Thich Naht Hanh and the work of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. and who wouldn't want a giclee of George Washington meditating?

Shambhala Sun is an independent nonprofit corporation, so the art you buy funds their organization -- help keep them publishing and spreading the dharma.

dharma in your world, dharma on your walls!

I WILL be back

As I said on my sister blog, I'm taking a summer hiatus, just like your favorite TV show. and as I said here, I wanted to make myself healthier, and I'm getting there.

insofar as physically healthier, I've cut out (mostly! sometimes I still cheat a little) wheat and dairy. and I'm taking thyroid meds twice a day now so my energy has returned. I've concentrated more on my own yoga practice instead of thinking about my classes, thinking about what I'm going to teach. frankly, when I teach, I channel asanas, hard to describe I know, but that's me. of course a teacher still has to think about how they will run a class, but if you don't feed yourself first with your yoga, how can you feed your students?

my back issue that I've been dealing with since last October is being resolved through the work of an awesome chiropractor I found who is not your typical bone-cracker. I've never been down with the whole chiropractic idea of someone cracking your neck and everything will be fine. my chiropractor deals with the soft tissue first, so my back right now is about 60-70% better after 5 visits.

and in two weeks I leave for Spirit Rock Meditation Center for the second retreat of my Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training. I can't wait because it is such a fabulous program and I feel blessed for being a part of it. talk about being fed. we got an email that Judith Lasater will do two days of teaching on restorative yoga. she is only one of the great teachers that I will experience. so you know I will have to blog about that.

however, before I get to Spirit Rock, I'm spending about 4 days with my California gal pal. she's picking me up at the airport and we're immediately hitting an Indian restaurant for breakfast and to pick up food for our sojourn in the Carmel valley. she got us a room with a kitchenette in a funky little motel that is Sideways style. she has scheduled us for massages at Esalen and we're hitting the hot springs at Tassajara and we're going here for some cool shopping. all along the way, we'll do a little wine tasting, a little art viewing, and talk a lot about Ma India since my friend will be making her 8th trip in the fall.

last but not least, I'm planning my 4th trip to India and I'm putting my intentions out into the universe that it will be a 6 month trip. it's part of my unending, soulful need to migrate home to Ma India (thanks for those words, sistah sita!) I returned from my last trip sicker than an Indian street dog, but as soon as I started to regain my strength I was dreaming those India dreams again.

the first month will be spent studying yoga therapy at an ashram outside of Mumbai, then after that....I blow with the wind. whatever happens, happens. I'm a woman of a certain age and I try to live my life by asking myself, "if not now, when?" the trip will culminate in the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar in 2010. me, and 40 million of my closest friends all caught up in the power of shakti.

life is good. in the meantime, enjoy the buddha cat.

peace out.