Feb 27Morning yoga is cooooold again. Despite that, it is a great warm-up for a half day hike in the Himalayas. It’s warm and sunny as we depart so I leave my North Face shell and hat in the room. Oops. Note to self: take a jacket when you play in the Himalayas I do [...]

Feb 25-26I have found and bought the most fabulous meditation cushion. It is Tibetan made in India. High quality and portable! The weather has turned cold and snowy. Even though we are just in the foothills of the Himalayas, it’s huge, high mountain weather. I sort of have the right clothes for it, although i [...]

Feb 21 & 22 & 23Internet connections have been hard to come by these last several days. When I do encounter one that enables me to post there will be a barrage of recent blog entries. I feel so far away from home. And just want to share the incredible experiences I am having with [...]

Feb 20We seem to go non-stop. This is an amazing vacation but not relaxing! India is not for the faint of heart. Today we visit an incredible fort that was the home of a rajasthani’s harem. It’s a nice 15 minute walk to the top that winds up the side of a mountain. There is [...]

Feb 19Today we board the bus for a five hour drive from Delhi to Jaipur which ends up taking 10 hours. Needless to say we are wiped out and a bit disappointed mostly for having missed a day to see The beautiful palaces and vibrant street bazaars here. Not much you can do about good [...]

Feb18After last nights intense walk, most of the group is feeling a bit worked as we arrive on our yoga mats at 7:30am. It doesn’t take Desiree long to get us deep into the body, guiding us skillfully to open up for big fun energetic backbends. How quickly the contrast occurs! Although seemingly a big [...]

Feb 17Sunrise over Arunachala is the backdrop for rooftop morning asana. The group needs a more mellow stretching practice. So Desiree delivers a sweet mix of hip openers, and hamstring stretches and a nice long savasana. Good prep for a day of activity and lots of sitting. After yoga I head back to Ramana Maharshi [...]

Feb 16One of Desiree’s friends has died unexpectedly. Some of the group know him. So the morning asana class begins with a dedication to him which once again brings us into the recognition of the preciousness of the present moment. In asana yoga we talk a lot about the back body representing universal consciousness (the [...]

Feb15In Pondicherry a beach town on the Bay of Bengal. Morning yoga practice of standing poses, backbends, handstands, and core work prepare body mind and spirit for another full day. India is super intense and saturated with heightened energy–kind of like asana with Desiree! I love every minute of it even though ( and probably) [...]

Feb 14 Valentine’s Day (also Michelle’s 40th birthday!) in Chennai/Madras. A half day of yoga study at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram involves Vedic chanting, Classical Yoga philosophy, meditation, pranayama, and asana. I am a student of the Krishnamacharya lineage. He is the ultimate teacher of teachers. To study this subject matter that is so dear [...]