"Practice"

Well, it's 8pm and I'm still awake!  This is fantastic!  I think the jet lag has finally left me.  I just returned from a beautiful walk around a lake/ nature preserve that surprisingly I have never been to before. Aside from the swarms of mosquitos,  (we went at dusk?!) it was simply breath taking. A sanctuary for sure.  I will walk it with my friend Regina again on Thursday morning and watch the sun come up around the lake.  Just took a rinse and am sitting here with my Ayurvedic "Anti-Aging" Face Mask on. The nice (young & beautiful) Indian girl sold it to me at the store... "Yes, madame, you take.. you are liking very much.. anti-aging... good for ladies over 30"  Wow! it's that obvious, huh? ;)  oh well... what can i say... my face is stiffening as i write this.

Prakash buried my baby kitten today. It's just not the same without her loud meowing around my room. I loved coming out of my room in the morning and seeing her little white body snuggled up on the couch in the lobby. I showed up to the shala to practice at 9am, eyes swollen from crying.. stepped onto my mat and slowly began the 90min journey inward. I had a lovely experience on my mat today. Everything felt really good.. strong and yet soft. My breath was long and smooth and nothing felt pushed or forced. Finally, I'm learning...  Towards the end of practice I recognized one of Sharath's helpers to be an old friend of mine from NY that I had met in Mysore many years back.  He came over and we said hello and I asked him if he could help me with my drop backs.. he was so happy to assist me and what a wonderful job he did! They were grounded and effortless. No pain. What a gift it was to see an old friend; someone I trusted so much to help me with postures that I have not done in a very long time. By the time practice was over I felt much better. Calmer inside- more space around my heart; lighter. And a sense of tremendous gratitude came over me for having this very sacred, life-changing practice of yoga in my life. To my left were huge pictures of the great Krishnamacharya & Guruji, both adorned with malas of fresh flowers. In front of me were over 75 yoga students from all over the world practicing the same thing I had just finished.  And to my left were Sharath & his mom, Saraswathi.. standing and smiling.  It was surely a moment to take in and cherish. I honestly don't know how I ever lived without this.. the inner strength, clarity, mindfulness, and "space" it creates in body, mind, & heart is priceless. And the relationship with everything that come from this state are nothing less than divine.

As Regina & I came home from dinner tonight we were talking about music, as she is a very talented musician and I am an aspiring singer & guitar player... guitar being a newly added practice, and she said to me: "Stacy I have an acoustic guitar sitting on my bed! I just took it down off the shelf today... You can take it and practice!"   Wow... another gift.  I am blessed.. so blessed.  Now I can compete with the young boy learning to play the flute next door ;)  The neighbors should love this!  ;)

And after breakfast this morning I was invited to go to a different part of the city tomorrow to a very special ladies home to practice Vedic Chanting and Yoga Sutra Chanting. I have heard about this woman for years but never knew where she was located... Again, another gift.

This day was filled with so many opportunities to "practice"; both on and mostly off my mat. Patience, gratitude, acceptance, trust, the list goes on..  It was filled with many blessings just the same.

Now, I will wash this hardened mask from my aging face and get myself soon into bed... ready to do it all over again tomorrow.

Love & Good night