Day "366": Yoga, Love and Shiny Peacocks

Look, a shiny yoga person sitting on some water!

I'm back! For the next ten days or so at least. 

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you, beautiful souls Daniel and Esther Lilley Harvey for allowing me to experience one AMAZING weekend. I don't have words for what it was like, but it's enough to say I'm blown away, in a deep, deep way. Experiences unlike anything I've had the pleasure of before, lots of incredible music and wonderful dancing, lovely people, great hands-on healing, chakra chanting, laughing and allsorts (in a broad, sweeping, all-encompasing way, not licorice). The kind of ultimate detox weekend that fills you up as well as emptying you, in all kinds of orders. I am humbled. 

Filled up with lots of this

I'm also honoured to get to know Daniel a little more. I've known him through Lilley for all this time and I feel close to him because of that, but this weekend I got to actually spent a bit of time with him. What a satisfying creature he is. Well done, Lilley and well done, Daniel for finding each other. You're so right for each other and so rich and complementary. I love you both. 

Thank you too for a lovely experience at the Sivananda Centre in Putney. I knew there would be benefits to being in Acton again. Quite apart from the fact that I'm closer to Pudding and get to walk over the Heath again at sunrise to swim in the pond, I'm also closer to the centre. I start my yoga teacher training in 10 days and I want to at least have a daily practice underway before I go. 

I'm going here, only with more snow

Today, I did a Level 2 class and found out from the teacher (much much much to my surprise, what with my terribly self-critical ditherings) that I can do Intermediate classes too. What that means is that I've bought a week class and my main focus this week has to be doing and reading about yoga, just to prepare my mind and body a bit. Wouldn't it be amazing if I'd managed to do a headstand by the time I go, so that I'm developing that rather than starting from scratch?

Thank you for sending me lovely people. Mahalakshima (????), who did her training at the same centre I'm going to, gave me all sorts of top tips (including the insider knowledge that there's a sauna, and if I'm lucky enough to get dinner duty as my karma yoga, I'll even have time to use it occasionally). And lovely, open-faced Puja, who I hope very much to see again, who encouraged me to come for food. I did, or so I thought, but instead of joining them for 'the meal', I got the soup, which was in a differnt place. So, I missed her... shame. But I'm sure I'll see her again. 

Look, a shiny peacock! *

Thank you. I feel infinitely more grounded than I did when I set off to do the class today. I am full, full, full of gratitude today. Up to the gills. Brimming. Overflowing, even. 


I started the day with a meditation, which was lovely. Just short. I'll take it slowly.

* Not as shiny as Lilley, though. She's the shiniest peacock I know.