31 days called January

it started  with a new moon.

new year's day savasana

on new year's day we got together for a silent group primary series. It was very interesting, very soothing . We stayed together via our breath.
I dragged my husband out to a new year's day party the next town over. we spun Ganesha's wheel.

New Year's Day 

Later that evening my little doggie Antonio got sick.  We took him to the emergency vet where we found out he had next to no platelets. Later later that night we were burying him in the backyard. Tough first day. happy new year?

rest in peace my sweet boy

Little Man being lonely

the next week is a bit of a blur....
the next week also a blur....
I did yoga, I taught yoga, I walked little man.

my crew

my husband's birth day is January 18th.

 So, after a rousing saturday morning led primary in our adorable ashtanga studio we rushed off to the local animal shelter and adapted a little wreck of a malnourished  big eared chihuahua. Not to replace Antonio, but to be a pal to our other chihuahua who was sulking around without his big bro.

the big eared guy in cage P4

                                                                                               













For a special birthday dinner I took husband to a super great Japanese restaurant  Yamazushi .We usually eat wolf style. Fast. We are done before others begin. This Japanese meal was smooth and well paced.  Purposefully calming. Taking time to be with the lovingly prepared food was somehow transforming. I remember falling  in love with Nikos again during the evening.

we even put on fancy clothes

Meanwhile that same evening in NYC, my dear friend Joanna slips off a rock and lands in such a way that she shatters her talus bone. This slip from the rock, this accident, is also going to be transforming, and I will once again fall in love with Joanna all over again too.

somewhere in NYC

At this very moment, January 31st, my husband is being led through the primary series by Eddie Stern in Richmond Virginia. I was looking forward to going with him on an ashtanga road trip to my ashtanga buddy Alicia Golden's studio Ashtanga Yoga Richmond.  I was looking forward to dedicating a weekend to my practice and spending time with ashtangis.

I am here in Durham. Little  Man to my left and Skeeter to my right on our couch at home. I have stayed here in Durham to care for my friend Joanna. She has come here to  get medical attention  and rest and mend and do chihuahua pranyama.

I can dedicate my weekend to my practice and spend time with ashtangis right here 

january is coming to a close 

new moon to new moon

 it was a hell of a ride

 i have never felt so blessed in all my life

#chihuahuapranyama

Kovalam Countdown

This time last year I was preparing for my first trip to India to study ashtanga with my teacher  David Garrigues.

Going to India for the first time was so exciting, being in India was so incredible-
The sights, smells, sounds. Feet on the ground, close to the earth, that was the feeling, the idea, the part of India that has stuck with me. The feet of india-bare feet, dog feet, elephant feet, rickshaw feet, my feet crouching down to buy vegetables.....

Here are some tips for getting ready for Kovalam, and also tips for getting your feet on the ground ASAP once you are there.

stuff to pack:
band aids (called plasters) there will be lots of walking
bug repellant that you can where for sleeping
sturdy yoga mat and blanket/rug the ones for sale in Kovalam are the cheap sucky ones
bathing suit or two
summer type clothes
super comfy walking shoes that  you will not care about trashing
at least 2 super cute little and yet powerful flashlights.

you will need two because, someone will lose or forget theirs, and you can give them one.
So bring 3 so you will have a back up even after you give one away.

Other than that, you won't need much.Pack clothes and stuff that you can leave behind because your suit case will be filled with stuff you get in INDIA!!


Things you must do when in Kovalam

get to a festival or two
scrub elephants
eat brunch at the Leela Hotel
ride a crowded bus into Trivandrum
ride an even MORE crowded bus home from Trivandrum
ride a train, a super crowded one
buy a tiny coffee on the train
ride a rickshaw in crazy  traffic
drink Limca
purchase garland for the shala

store on the walk to the shala

eat dosa often
get a dress or shirt made for you
get a pair of sandals made for you
drink coffee at Puppies Cafe(best coffee on the beach)

look up at the moon! the man up there looks different

get your own money guy, trade your dollars for the rupees with your special money guy. you need your own money guy so that when other money guys try and get your to change money with then you say, "I have a money guy."

the same goes for beach chair guys. Lauren will handle the beach chair situation, she already has a beach chair guy. Follow her lead, she is the senior Kovalamer.

Things you must not do
do not buy fruit from the beach ladies
do not even look at the guys selling the big scarves. no!
do not have the eye contact with the vendors as they sit on their stoops, unless you feel like actually shopping.
do not pay the price the merchant  first states, barter... then barter some more...
do not drink the water. If you can, get a bubbler so you don't have to buy so many frigging bottles of water.



Mostly get over there and get ready to do some yoga!!!

I will not be making the trip this year, but I hope you have such a great time and learn SO MUCH that you go in 2015.

faulkner and the babies

till then.....

kiss a few elephants for me.

no shoes required

or yoga is wonderful....
what are you calling yoga if it is so wonderful?? the yoga I have come to know is demanding, difficult, sometimes wonderful, sometimes not wonderful at all.


is it wrong of me to consider vinyasa flow classes to be more like an aerobics class, more like a fitness craze than "real" yoga?  Is it "real" yoga if it is done once a week? Is it "real" yoga if the person is not interested in the spiritual aspect of the disciple? is it real yoga if it is wonderful?
When did I get to be the keeper of the  "real"yoga?.....

 Shakespeare said via the voice of Juliette on the balcony about her  Romeo "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet", this is true, but if it is not a rose, calling it a rose does not make it a rose.  People who have never seen a real rose, when seeing and smelling the non-rose collection of matter being falsely called rose will be mislead by the naming.

And that is the situation going on here in my town. We have a great deal of  air-conditioned, or super heated,  Madonna music cranking, athletes clapping for each other due to executing a nice bit of athleticism  90 minute gatherings with a 15 dollar cover charge masquerading under the name of yoga.

areobics with a yoga influenced approach, yoga type of exercise class, stretching and strength training no shoes required....

but please do not call it yoga! yoga is yoga, it is not almost yoga, it is yoga.  So how does a person who has never smelled or tasted or seen or done yoga know if it is really yoga?


when did I get to be the keeper of what yoga is? when did I start to care about who calls what/what?
WWSKPJD? Nancy Gilgoff and David Williams have both stated, in different settings at different times, for different reasons that Pattabhi Jois told them,  "Just to hear the WORD yoga in this lifetime is a blessing."
We are truly blessed. That is wonderful.
I will now try to pull this piece together... the only way i know yoga is from yoga.
the yoga i know from yoga is demanding. the yoga i know from yoga is relentless.
the yoga i know from yoga is so hard. the yoga i know from yoga is what it is.

yoga is known from yoga