Feb 11
Surya Namaskar (sun salutation) has taken on a whole new meaning. Watching and breathing with the orange glow of the sun breaking through the palm lined horizon from the bow of the Kettuvallum is the most sensory rich morning meditation of my life. Everything comes alive as if in celebration of another day to be a reflection of the divinity within. How did I get here? Is it a wonderful dream?
Apparently it gets even better. A four hour winding drive where we gain 2500 feet of elevation takes us to our next stop. A few folks are very motion sick. I too am feeling slightly off but not nauseous, thank goodness.
Our destination is Paradisa Plantation Retreat in the Cardamom Hills of Kerala. It is set on a working organic tea, spice, and COFFEE plantation. Did I mention there are fields of coffee surrounding us as we practice asana yoga? OOOOMMMMGGGG!!!!!!!
A deep hip opening and arm balance practice is just the right thing for the post long van ride. Since this is the ayurvedic treatment portion of the trip, Our theme today is to allow ourselves to receive inner body massage. So we find the alignment of the bones and hold that with the embrace of the muscles and wait for the organs to move into more optimal spaciousness for more efficient functioning. Its not a practice of grasping for poses, rather an opportunity for the bones, muscles, and organs to come back into the natural architecture of the body. This embodiment is brilliant, spacious, efficient, grounded, and a balanced pulsation of giving (doing) and receiving (being). Tonights practice is breakthrough upon breakthrough for me in asana (poses) I have never been able to ‘do’ . Desiree is an extraordinary teacher of the Anusara method which teaches the innate pulsation of everything in the universe: stability & freedom, effort & ease, rooting & rising, hard & soft etc.
I now turn in under a moon illuminating a fragrant landscape and know for certain the sun will rise again tomorrow on a dream that is for certain.
– YogiPod posting from India using iPhone
Location:Paradisa