The Great Leveler and Inspirer

I love how the KPJAYI shala is The Great Leveler and The Great Inspirer, all at the same time.

At this current point in time, there are a great number of Rockstar teachers practising in the shala. I'm gonna play it cool and not name names, but you have probably at one point or another seen these teachers' DVDs, read their blogs or attended their workshops. AND WE ARE ALL PRACTISING IN THE SAME SHALA TOGETHER.

I mean... How wild is THAT?! (I just wouldn't wanna be practicing next to them in a led Primary class. How much pressure would that be? Or... I'd probably be watching them out the corner of my eye the whole time. HAHAHA!)

I love how it's The Great Leveler in that there doesn't seem to be any preferential treatment for them - You arrived today? You get a later start time, so what if you're a Rockstar. Work your way to an earlier start time the longer you stay. Everyone has to wait their turn to practice too (I'm telling you, the only one who's got preferential treatment is the Police Commissioner, or perhaps he's the District Police Commissioner as the rumour goes. Remember, the dude who's got his reserved spot and doesn't have to wait in line?) Over here, it's Police before Rockstar Ashtangis!

And at the same time, it's also The Great Inspirer coz... Well... We're practising in the same room as so many other great Ashtangis (not just the Rockstars), all here for the same purpose. My favourite part of day is sitting and waiting for my turn in the foyer, coz I get to watch everyone else practicing. Just coz you got the next pose doesn't mean you know shit about all the other poses before it. Watching the level of refinement of other peoples' practices makes you realize how much more stillness, focus and grace can be achieved, and watching how far the human body can physically take itself (and how much of this is mental determination too) is just sheer inspiration.

I remember in Sharath's Sydney workshop, he said something along the lines of "Come to Mysore. 1 month there is like 5 months practice anywhere else." I think part of why practicing here is so different from practicing anywhere else is just coz of this inspiring energy... It's almost like you're absorbing this collective dedication and riding that wave in your own practice. I find myself wanting to push myself beyond that edge just a little bit more. Just knuckle down and DO IT. No nonsense.

Backbend Update: With backbends from the floor, I'm still hurling myself onto my knees. Yesterday, on my 3rd attempt, I came to semi-standing/ semi-squatting, kinda like an Utkatasana. Today, I was just propelling myself forward onto my knees. My friend practising next to me had some good advice. She said: You're moving forward too much. Think of moving UPWARDS. And use the inhale. AHA! Time to put this head knowledge into action. Tomorrow, I do.

Today, I finally did 3 dropbacks and stood up from all 3 without crashing or landing on my knees. Saraswati had come by to help me on my FIRST one, and immediately I felt the pressure and the walls closing in on me (and was thinking "Damn it. Now I'm gonna crash again"). Thankfully, she started assisting the lady next to me with her assisted dropbacks, so I could just get on with mine without that pressure of "ALL EYES ON YOU NOW!!". And I swear to God, that's what helped me get on with it. Every time there's someone there watching, I just freeze and my brain and body spazz out then I can't stand back up again.

Isn't it funny how much of being able to do something or not is just pure intention and having confidence in yourself too? "I CAN do this" or "I CAN'T do this" becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Oh well.

I know some people feel that talking about your yoga/ asana process is taboo. Or rather, it should be kept private. But... I guess part of how I process stuff is to talk-talk-talk about it. And visualize it. And dream about it. It's worked for me in the past, so I'm sticking to it. And boy am I glad that the whole world knows that backbends is the issue I'm currently working on, coz I'm grateful for all the advice I've been getting from all my yogi friends, solicited and unsolicited. Ask and ye shall receive. HAHA!

Today's food porn shot: Anu's Banana Chocolate Almond smoothie. Because of this bad boy, I am determined to finally get me a blender when I return to Amsterdam. This is the vegan version without curds or milk, but this is like a smoothie laced with crack. It is sooooooooooo deliciously creamy, all it is is FROZEN bananas blended with chocolate and almonds. I am soooooooooo gonna keep a tub of frozen bananas in my freezer too. Why didn't I think of that?! (This is probably not as appetizing-looking as it is. I promise.)


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Pratyahara Over Water

Look what I found! The Yoga Slackers were in Amsterdam.

They're basically people who do yoga on a slackline (kinda like a tightrope). Found the video on the original article here.



What a gorgeous shot! That's some serious pratyahara and dharana going on there.

Yogi Tea Party Weekend

Had a very nice weekend!

London is PROPER SHOPPING, and I thought I was about to have a nosebleed or pass out from excitement at simply looking at the store windows. HAHAHA.

On Saturday evening, I had dinner with Mel and Sam. Coz Sam had to rush off to take the train home, I forgot to take photos. Oops.

Then yesterday, after morning practice at YP, taught by the one and only Susan (she said I have a nice practice, YAY!) (at least that's what I THINK she said. HA), we all had breakfast, then moved over to another joint around the corner to have lunch. HAHAHA! I think we must've been sat around for at least 5 hours chatting and eating.

Good times with the London Ashtanga bloggers. We all took turns taking THE SAME photo. I think that's about 5 photos with the number of cameras we had. But there are variations coz the person taking the picture didn't end up in the shot of course. We didn't think to ask our bossy waitress to take ONE group shot where we all appeared in it at the same time. HAHAHA.

Here's my shot.

(From left to right: Helen, Kevin, Mel, Jenn, Angeline (aka AC), Susan)

Here's Kevin's shot.


Here's Jennifer's shot.
(Dudes, does Jenn have a blog? I dunno her link!)


And when Mel and Susan post their photos of the SAME SUBJECT, I'll link to them too. We can have a photo-off on who takes the best shot. Heh. (My flash was off, so I lose already.)

I've tagged this under "yoga - inspiration" coz that's what you all are to me. Thank you for a great day. :)

Practice: On My Mat & In My Head

I came home from work at midnight last night, and though I'm back at my desk at 8.30am, I wanted to write a little bit here about what I've been working on, yoga-wise.

Not much.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Not really... I've not had the time to have full-on practices. On Wednesday, I was up at 6am and flew to London just for the day, taking the last flight back that same day arriving home at 11pm. It's been lots of early mornings and late nights like this. We are prepping this big shoot in 1.5 weeks, so the heat is ON.

On top of this, sometimes the insomnia strikes as well... which pretty much cancels out any hope of waking up early to get any yoga practice in, if I've been tossing and turning all night. Well, at least not a FULL practice anyways.

So I have been doing short forms. Not DS' short forms from his book, just whatever I feel like after a few rounds of sun salutes in the primary series. Some days I've done some pranayama and meditation. And even these short 15min or 30min sessions help to centre and focus my mind. But some how I seem to just dismiss these little sessions as "not a real practice". It's all I have time for really, and it does help to centre me, so what's my problem again?

This is the thing with an Ashtanga practice I need to be mindful of... so much of it seems like attaining the next goal "When can I get the next pose?" ...But really, that isn't the be all and end all, is it.

Just do your practice.

So much wisdom in that simplicity.

There've been some interesting Twitter comments on people's thoughts on short forms - that it's not authentic, that it's not yoga, blahblahblah. I mean... Really?! Some practice is better than NO PRACTICE. It's all yoga, no matter what form you're into (asana and beyond). And the way I see it, this is my short-term plan for the state my life is at the moment. I'm not planning on doing a 15min practice daily forever. And even if I do... how is that "not yoga"?

ANYWAYS... Yesterday morning I had time to practice the full Primary series. I've been watching more Kino workshop videos on ArkieYogini's site. This video's the same one Arkie linked to, and because it's so great, I'm re-posting it.


Kino's breaking down jumping back from Padmasana, but the first half of it is pretty much breaking down a regular jump-back. The good thing about me not having a full practice in the past week means that I've been THINKING about the practice a lot. This is one of the videos that has been re-playing in my mind.

Remember how I'm working on getting rid of that foot tap on the mat as I'm jumping back? It clicked a litte bit more after watching Kino break it down.

IT'S WEIGHT-TRANSFERENCE. As you're swinging back, you're transferring the weight into the upper body.

Oh.

I've been focussing on trying to clear the feet through, so I've been thinking "shoot the feet back!" When really, at the same time I should also be leaning forward more too. I've been dreaming of these jumpbacks in the past week and it felt so logical, so easy. So when I finally got to practice fully yesterday, I realized how much harder this is in real life. HAHAHA. As I'm swinging back, my arms are almost straight. In order to transfer the weight forward MORE... I need to bend the elbows pretty much to 90 degrees - hence tipping the weight forward. I had visions of smacking my face flat on the floor as I was doing this. And I actually grazed my chin slightly on the floor.

Also, the other thing is the feet need to be tucked in really, really, really close to you THE WHOLE TIME (extreme core!)

Oh.

Makes sense. Why are my feet tapping/ dragging on the floor? ...coz they're not tucked in close enough to the body. DUH.

The practice continues...

"Pull Through"

Kaivalya, aka The Reluctant Ashtangi, has just posted a video on chakrasana/ setu bandhasana.

As I liked the way this teacher explained the steps, I snooped around the other videos on this same workshop and found one on "Learning the pull through" - her instruction for jumpbacks. (I've never heard it called that before!)

I'm at the part where I'm at "take it up" as Sharath says, and clearing my feet through, but still tapping the top of my feet on the floor before jumping back. So it's nice to think about how to take it to the next step - rounding the shoulders and back.

But too bad the video stops there!!!

I was starting to do this before I left Sydney - rocking back and forth before jumping back, which kind of helps with the rounded action, but somehow I've forgotten to keep experimenting with this. This is a nice reminder.

The other thing is, I really like her explanation of keeping the energy/ prana/ chi pulled inwards. It adds another dimension to working the bandhas... Y'know, not just "engaging them" by contracting your muscles, but with the intention of keeping your energy focus pulled inwards so you're not all over the place energetically.

Who is she? She rocks!

Pimp My Phone + Farewell Yogi Coffee

I've gone and done another Asian thing. I've pimped up my other < insert name of gadget here >.

In trying to make the Nokia a tad bit more palatable, I went to Paddy's Markets (in the heart of Chinatown, of course) and er... blinged out the Nokia. I figured I've got too much pink tech already. Pink camera, Pink Mac, Pink iPod mini... so if I got more pink bling on the mobile phone, I would be in danger of being mistaken for Paris Hilton. EEEK!

Besides, all the pink bling they had for the E71 either had hearts on them, or lips/ kisses, or Hello Kitty... and er... I don't want to be THAT crazy lady whipping out that tasteless pink thing. (haha, yes I'm being ironic. I love my kitsch. Shut up!)

Here it is. Stars are a little less Paris Hilton. I think. (AT LEAST IT'S NOT A HEART!!!!)


I'm not sure if I like it. And I'm not sure if I like it because it's just a tad bit too loud (but can anything ever be too loud?) ...or I'm not sure if I like it coz it's not pink. HAHAHA. (I'm trying to break out of my pink mould here. Change is hard!) :p

The extra bulk on the phone makes it easier to type on though... I've been finding it way too skinny so there's nothing to grip onto when sms'ing/ emailing on the phone and it always feels like it's gonna slip out of my hands.

After this purchase, I realized "Hang on. I'm going home in a few days. Singapore is the land of tech. I would be able to find a gazilion MORE BLING OPTIONS. And for cheaper too." DOH! Oh well, at least if I finally decide that I DON'T like this bling cover, maybe I'll find an alternative back home. Heh. (See why I NEED to purge & destroy?)

After practice today, I had coffee with some of my yogi friends. It was a "farewell coffee" thing. I think it was probably the first time the 5 of us had sat down for a proper chat over a drink after practice.

It reminded me of what Willem Dafoe said in the "Ashtanga, NY" documentary... something along the lines of... you practice side-by-side with these people every single day... you know their names, sometimes you don't... sometimes you haven't even heard their voice coz you don't talk to each other. All you do is just show up and practice on the mat next to each other... but you know them "well". They become so much a part of your life and seared in your mind as a part of your practice because of the shared energy in the room... but often you haven't even spoken to each other! And then he said with a glint in his eye "...it's pretty wild, if you think about it."

I AGREE!!

I am inspired by these beautiful ladies' practices... and have 2 more days left of practicing amongst my gorgeous yogi friends.

The Move & More on Taking It Up The Lotus

Thanks everyone, I've been overwhelmed by your emails, tweets and comments on my previous post on leaving. It's nice to know that you guys are "there" and I can kinda sorta share this move (AGAIN!) with you.

See how I changed the blog description above? ...I'm now moving "To infinity and beyond!" ...also coz at the rate I'm moving around like a gypsy, there'll be no more space in that blog description for more countries.

Now starts the calls to removal companies, immigration agents (ARGHH! Visas again!!)... just as well it's part of the new year "purge and destroy" mode I'm in... I need to cull out books, shoes, clothes... put things up on eBay, send things off to the Salvation Army and only ship back the stuff we NEED. Oh, and I'm away on a shoot in Brisbane next week too. And Kelly's still in Cape Town by the way... not sure if he's headed back this way again before I leave here. So... ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Solo packing up SUCKS. (And try solo packing up within 3 - 4 weeks!!)

Breathe.

ANYWAAAAAAAAAAY.

There's been a Youtubing blitz going on here!

Got lots more great videos since I've started fixating on "taking up my lotus". Thanks to you lot, of course! Most of these came from comments on the post. So here they are again, in case you missed them.

Scroll through to 00:49 on one of Guruji's world tours. Yes, that's David Swenson taking up his Navasana into handstands between each asana, and as Liz pointed out... STILL STAYING ON COUNT! If I were the girls on either side of him, I would've stopped and watched him. No, stopped and STARED at him. (And then GLARED at him, thinking "SHOW OFF!" Hehe.)

(OK, so this isn't exactly a take-it-up lotus but it's still cool to watch. So zip it!)

I remember Daydreamingmel mentioning that someone said apparently at one point in Mysore, all the fancy transitions by the advanced practitioners in the Primary series got a bit out of hand and Guruji finally decided "Enough with the circus!" and banned all the fancy transitions. I hope it's a true story coz it's kinda funny. :)

And then here's a kinda grumpy Govindakai in his take-it-up-lotus (is he grumpy coz the camera-lady said "Whatever"?) Hahaha.

(The lift he's got looks like Gregor Maehle's photos in his Primary series book)

Grimmly had a good suggestion of puttng knees up to chest before even pushing off your hands. Tried that today and it definitely helped to make the pose feel "lighter" and easier to lift up from, but HOLEEE MOLEEEEE! How do you swing back so you get a high enough lift?

My knees just keep getting stuck on the floor as I'm trying to swing them back. Yeah yeah... Maehle says something like "lift the tailbone as high as you can"... BUT HOWWWWWWWWWW?

I suspect I may need to tilt forward A LOT more as I'm swinging back, but part of that is conquering the fear of falling splat on my face as I'm trying to uncross the lotus while leaning forward and only having faith in my core and arm-balancing strength. YOGA IS HARD.

The lotus obsession continues...

"Take It Up" the Lotus (!)

Today, it feels like my body is starting to feel a little more like it belongs to me. All that holiday feasting has made me quite physically disconnected from er... myself, and practices have been a bit off. So it's nice to start feeling a bit more "normal" now.

I have been watching Sharath's Primary Series DVD. Yes, that's right. Just watching him. Not practising along with it. I think only a Yogadork would go pop on the Sharath DVD and study it. Study him.

Out of all the yoga DVDs I've got, if I could only save ONE from my collection (ie., out of all the David Swenson, Shiva Rae DVDs etc...), I would save this one. (Ask me again in a year's time, it might change).

(Photo credit here)

It's so no-frills and basic and he doesn't even explain anything at all while he's practising. It's even got the cheezy transitions like page-turns and cube-turns (which you're explicitly taught in film school NEVER to use! But it's cute in this basic-no-frills context so you forgive it)... All he does is count and call out the next posture ("Ekam, inhale. Dwe, exhale..." etc). And that's it. Nothing else. It's all shot in the same room too, at different angles. I like how at some points in profile shots, you can see the wall sockets. No attempt to hide it/ beautify it. It just is what it is.

(Photo credit here)

But for me, this works.

Maybe I'm going through a "cut out the bullshit" phase, maybe it's part of the new year "purge and destroy" phase, but it's nice to keep things brief and as they should be (haha, from my Bali posts, you'd never have guessed this, no?)

I like how Sharath isn't the most graceful practitioner. I think this is something Grimmly pointed out a while back too. He is extremely accomplished of course, but there's none of that flow and grace that for example, someone like Kino McGregor has... or even David Swenson has (even though he's tall and lanky and almost awkward, there's a grace about the way Swenson flows through the sequence).

With Sharath, it feels like he just gets on with it and that is all. It's to the point. And it's still so beautiful to watch. I think part of the draw is realizing that "Hey! I don't HAVE to be all flow and grace and it's still OK!"

DUH. Just... Do your practice.

Here's an excerpt from Youtube:


So the past couple days, I've been trying to "apply" some of the seated transitions he does. I like how he jumps through with bent knees (Like me! Yay! I don't need to fixate on straight-legs jumpthroughs!) (For now at least) And for most jumpbacks, he literally just does "take it up" and swings back (Like me! ...but I still cheat and push off with a foot though).

I've been trying to "take it up" in the half-lotus seated postures and swing back while still in half-lotus. Yesterday was dismal, my body had no idea what I was trying to make it do. My legs were splayed everywhere.

Today, however, it seemed to click a little bit more. I'm in no way close to it yet, but at least I'm "taking it up" in half lotus, and then slowly walking and hopping through the jumpback from there. Hey, you gotta start somewhere right. (I've been watching Grimmly's videos too. Some nice examples on his blog, but here's a link to one of his videos!)

I have also been trying (dismally) to jumpback from full lotus. The "take it up" is OK since this is pretty much the Uthpluthi asana. It's the swing back that's HARD!! In Maehle's Primary series book, there's a good series of profile photos after Kukkutasana of how you're supposed to get the tailbone swinging high in the sky in order to get the swingback from full lotus.

Found another good Youtube video of this. He makes it look so easy!

(Hey! I think this is Malaysian blogger, Crazy Cacat in the City!)

I end up having to balance on my knees, bring my arms forward, then clumsily disengage from lotus, one leg at a time before jumping back to Chaturanga. I keep telling myself "BANDHA! BANDHA! BANDHA!" in an attempt to lift myself higher to swing back. But it still feels like there are too many things going on in the transition that my body hasn't "got it" yet with the multi-tasking.

Funnily enough, for once this time, I have patience with it. I know it will happen, it's just a matter of time.

Practice and all is coming.

Sharath in Sydney: Week 2, Day 5

I found it hard to concentrate today. Had to extremely consciously focus on the drishti, or I'd find my mind wandering off to random places.

Following yesterday's conference and Sharath's awesome display of bandha control, bandhas were also of particular interest in today's practice for me. And the importance of bandhas was again hammered home to me after sitting in on today's intermediate class.

So before I get into the intermediate class, these were internal observations of my practice today:

1. Jumpbacks
With bandha control on my mind, I was wondering how I'd apply this to my jumpbacks today. I usually lift bum up off the floor (similar action to Uthpluthi), but it's that curving/ rounding your body to tilt it forward before shooting your legs back that I'm still working on. Feels like I'm lifting bandhas up on the lift, but when it comes to tilting forward I can't find how that works yet, then I cheat by dropping one foot on the floor to give me a boost to tilt me forward before shooting legs back. Kinda like KMB's Shuffleback. Feels more like I'm hauling myself through, through sheer brute arm strength than with the ease of bandha control. It's that bloody tilt forward.
(Side note for Liz: I tried looking back through folded legs before, which kinda helped, but got scolded by a previous teacher who insisted drishti should be ahead of you instead. I think I'll go back to trying it your way again!)

So today, I consciously thought of engaging bandhas the whole jumpback (instead of giving up and cheating with the foot) and it kind of made that initial tilt forward a little bit easier. Just a little.

2. Sirsasana
Held till his NINTH count today! Longest yet. So... I don't think I'll be able to hold all 15 counts by the time he leaves (last workshop is tomorrow), but at least it's baby steps to increasing confidence and strength in the pose. Do or don't do, there is no try (why am I quoting Yoda?!) ...so tomorrow, I WILL hang out in Sirsasana for all of his 15 counts.

OK, INTERMEDIATE WORKSHOP UPDATE!!!

First off, while the lights were still off and the intermediate cool kids were setting up their mats and getting ready, it was beautiful with the sunlight streaming in through the windows, so I whipped out my camera and took a shot (I was far away in the back of the hall, so all you could see were silhouetted bodies). And I immediately got blasted by Sharath. He yelled out from the front "NO PICTURES!!"

Eeks! I was so embarrassed. I won't even post the picture here since it's illegal. I feel so guilty I feel like deleting it completely from my camera. Remove all evidence.

There were about 30 people practising intermediate, including my teacher and her 3 assistants (one of them has just recently been authorized to teach! YAY!) It's rather awe-inspiring watching your teachers go through their practice. I have so much respect for them as it is already, and even more so after today.

I realized today that I've never just sat and observed a class. Ever. Even during my teacher training when we took turns teaching, the rest of us would be assisting with adjustments and watching out for the students; there was always something "to do". So it was an extremely interesting experience today just sitting and watching people in their practice.

First off, you can so tell when someone is "in the moment", completely internalizing the practice. Their eyes almost have this glazed over look. Coz when someone is struggling or isn't quite present, you can totally see it in the eyes. It is amazing to watch that moment when someone fixes his/ her drishti, everything looks sharp and in focus, and then the glaze comes over the eyes at that point when they go within. Pretty damn cool.

It was great seeing everyone lined up in Trikonasana and it would've made for a great picture. The alignment even in this basic pose was sometimes a little bit off, but it was interesting to see how different body types end up having different kinds of alignment issues (how someone needs to rotate the torso more, or how someone needs to tilt the pelvis more...) I have a fixation on alignment, especially with my rotated pelvis issues. Sorry for going off-topic here.

Everyone got up to Eka Pada Sirsasana, and then the last row of people dropped off and didn't practice Dwi Pada.

A few people were told to stop at Tittibhasana. While everyone was in the A version, someone was already wrapped up in the B version. Sharath looked up, pretty annoyed and said "What are you doing?" He kept repeating "What are you doing" several times coz the person didn't realize this was directed at them. Everyone else had to hold A version the entire time. He told this person "you stop after this".

B version walk forward & back: Everyone had to synchronize each step to his slow count. I felt their pain!

A couple other people dropped off at Pinchamayurasana. By the time they got to Karandavasana, there were about 18 out of the original 30 left. Out of this group, only 3 were able to do the full Padmasana lift back up. Of course all 3 were boys. How annoying! (Sorry, I struggle with arm balances and like to think it's the guys who have it much easier in these!)

Sharath went round the room and gave everyone else an individual assist to boost them back up again, and this same group continued all the way till the 7 headstands. (I'm struggling to hold my ONE headstand for longer, and now there are 7 more to look forward to. Oh Yippee.) (Of course, that is if and when I get there)

During the 7th headstand, Sharath motioned for the others who dropped off to join the group again, and everyone then went into 3 regular backbends, followed by 3 unassisted dropbacks/ standups.

EVERYBODY could dropback (I'm just thinking of Grimmly's earlier question here). Some people struggled with coming back up again on their own, some people struggled with doing it a 2nd time, but most were dropping back and standing up like they were doing it all their lives. Interestingly, I looked over at Sharath at this point, and he was watching the people who were struggling. I can't tell if he seemed a little distressed or worked up, but the expression on his face was definitely tense. And he was definitely watching the students who were struggling. I don't remember seeing him assisting anybody here - he might have but I might not have seen this.

The energy in the room during the Intermediate class is definitely a lot more serious than in Primary. No jokes from Sharath, it feels like your asana needs to be completely buttoned down before he'll let you move on to the next one.

So, in wrapping up... it was completely inspirational to watch the Intermediate series in action. The amount of strength and CONTROL it takes to do things so seamlessly, so effortlessly. And this also goes beyond just physical strength - you can see how much mental strength it takes as well to master the series. Respect to the discipline and dedication it takes to get there.

Listen to me, I am head over heels in love with Ashtanga again.

Yoga on Camps Bay Beach

Every Sunday morning in the summer, Shanti Cape Town has a yoga class on Camps Bay Beach. It's the most brilliant idea - if you can get your arse to the beach by 7.15am, before the rest of Cape Town wakes up, that is!

I hauled my ass out of bed this morning to do just that and am I glad I did it. There were 6 of us on the grassy patch just by the beach, in front of Caprice, and we went through a Mysore-style class up till Navasana. Mysore-style is basically when you go through the Ashtanga series on your own, without a teacher leading the class. But the 6 of us were instinctively keeping a similar rhythm with each other, since we all started at the same time.


I can't even begin to explain the feeling of practicing in the outdoors, with the dramatic natural backdrop of Cape Town... In front of me was the Atlantic Ocean, and every time I came to Downward Dog I had the 12 Apostles mountains behind me to gaze at, and with Upward Dog or Backbend prep, I was staring up at the blue, blue African sky. Not to mention the sound of the waves gently soothing me till I almost fell asleep in Savasana. It was such an awesome experience. I'm feeling connected and ready to start my Sunday!



It happens every Sunday if the weather's good, and Ulrike sms's you the night before to let you know if it's on or off. Contact Ulrike from Shanti Cape Town if you want to be on the list!