"Trust me", our yoga guru Rusty said after the first yoga practise of our seven day yoga retreat, "You can all do this" Come along with me".
We did, we trusted him, feeling stiff but energized after the first session which was vigourous but do-able. When in the next day or two we were kindly requested to lay our leg in our neck, which our fellow yoga practitioners did gracefully, we started to get an inkling. The backbend push-up, ten times, was really the give away. This was a little beyond our level. Most of our fellow yogis had done at least one teacher training somewhere along the line and teach a class themselves back home. Otherwise many years of practise showed in their body and elegance of pose.
And there we were, the strange pasty smiling couple, stiff but determined, roly-poly's with less than a year of yoga. We were probably not even that fun to be with because we had decided to go along with the flow and not eat meat, drink coffee or alcohol for a week; resetting after a week back in the homeland with too many nights of friendly encounters. My body appreciated the gesture.
And we had a great time, sleeping a lot, dreams filled with the chanting of the day, and coming away determined to do yoga for the REST OF OUR LIVES, eat as little meat as possible, and come back next year slimmer and bendier.
We even got into the camp element of dining with the group and can't wait to get back into the San Francisco yoga schedule so we can hug all our new friends before the class starts.
In between the two daily yoga classes, we drove around a bit in our little orange car pretending to be tourists. We saw where Zeus was born and visited a lepar colony. Sometimes we just relaxed in our air conditioned room, avoiding the dry heat as much possible, as we are.
Now, thrown back into the real world, where there are more people like us, I am slowly adjusting to a little meat in my life once again, a beer at 5 'o clock. It is not difficult in Normandy. From yoga in the heat, to gastronomy in the sunshine. This while I hear my husband, back in California, is learning about the intricacies of the morning banana diet. He is getting a head start on the leaner him, competitive as always.
Sisters, meet me at nine in the morning on the deck for yoga. I have a dvd.
Love, S1
