Friday Morning

What a fun day yesterday- I worked all morning and then met up with a few of our local Anusara Yoga teachers- Lauran Janes, Brigitte Edery, Chris Muchow, Sam Rice, Jason Lobo for a practice in the mid afternoon. We had a great time- lots of strong back bending work with no fluff and no fanfare- just how I like it. We did some good sun salutations, a long headstand and then preparatory work and then right into the back bends before we got tired. We got to very deep urdhva danurasana, dwi pada viparita with the head up and the classic form with the head down and legs straight, then lots of kapotasana (which is coming right along for me and for many others in the room!) and then into natrajasana, eka pada rajakapotasana 4 and padangustha danurasana. We finished up with a few forward bends and a shoulder stand and went on with the day. Doesn't get much better than that except if scorpion pose is thrown into the mix! Oh well, next time.

I found the practice totally inspiring and fun and I left very elevated and happy. (Of course, that might have been the back bends... but still, whatever it takes!) I took great enjoyment in having such wonderful practitioners to meet up with- each of whom was self-maintaining, honestly interested in learning, totally ready to help each other and committed to advancing their own practice. Very fine company indeed.

After practice I came home and cooked dinner for Mom and Dad and Anne and Jeff and my cousins Andy and his wife, Machelle who are in town. We had a wonderful time together eating and sharing family stories from past and present.

One of the the things I like to do when I am at home- other than practicing yoga with my friends is cook. I cooked a lot yesterday- while I was working I had some things going in the kitchen for lunch(very yummy squash, zucchini satay wraps from my Ayurvedic cookbook) and then cooking dinner was a lot of fun. I made whole wheat pasta, ratatouille (also from my Ayurvedic cookbook) and the guest each brought things to contribute to the meal. It was a really lovely way to be together. Something about cooking at home is very grounding and nurturing to me and it always help me feel anchored and settled. And let's not forget that eating food cooked at home is a wonderful thing to do and in almost every case- better tasting, better for you and cheaper.

This weekend is the final weekend in the Anusara Yoga Teacher Training at Breath and Body so I have some last minute things to do to prepare for the weekend and some loose ends to tie up before I head out next week so I best get on with it. I don't leave for another week but once I am gone, I am out of town for the better part of the month and then I come home for two weeks and then I go away again for close to six weeks. There are some very fun things on the horizon and I am looking forward to all of them but I do need to organize myself well in advance to make it more easeful.

All right- onward with the day.