Diary of a Yoga retreat - Day 7 - pm class

We had the morning off this morning and I slept in. Well kind of. 6 years of getting up at 5am have put a dent in my sleeping in ability. Not to worry. I read my book and luxuriated in the possibility of time to myself.

Going to breakfast and seeing the countryside from the handles of a motorbike is very fun for me.

I was expecting a tough class this afternoon and I was not disappointed.

We began with suryanamaskara A. Adding in variation after variation after variation. Lying down on the floor, face down, palms up, lifting the legs and extending them away from the body. All good strengthening exercises.

Strangely though I loved this workout. This class went on and on. My body relished it though. It soaked up every posture, every breath. Practicing beside the teacher I found the unity and strength very uplifting. This asana class was at least and hour and a half in duration.

Again, I felt the comradeship, the sweetness of the connection with the people, most of these people are new to me. I have not met them before this retreat but I am beginning to see their true depths which is rather magical. Coming to this type of retreat you meet so many different types of people.

Mosquitos were abit of a problem this afternoon, biting and chomping on me. I don't love that. God may be in all of us and all of us in God but I stumble on the acceptance of the mozzies among us. I noticed other practitioners feeling the agitation that being bitten whilst attempting to hold one's leg in the air at a difficult angle. Agitation looming and mosquitos biting, not a pretty picture.

We came to sitting eventually. I didn't mind though. Spinal twists were the order of the day. As I lifted up out of my spine, opened through the heart and drew back my shoulders, inhaled and twisted, the site that greeted me was breathtaking. Mist rising from the rice paddies, sun set time. That unbelievable golden light spreading its fingers and kissing us all with that flattering light. Balinese men in straw hats working the fields, us working the breath.

There was a collective sigh from everyone as we witnessed the beauty.. I looked around as I always do and saw the sweetness of all of us. This has been a delightful experience.

We began the pranayama. My stand up comic has gone to sleep, she wasn't that funny really anyways. It was a golden pranayama today. Silken, light. Easily, simply, sweetly. The breath flowed in and out. Not so much resistance now. I am sure it is the sugar leaving my system and giving my head a break from all that thinking. I wonder how it will go upon my return to the household and the old habitual patterns. On the first night back after the kids go to sleep will I reach for the chocolate?

We begin to chant. It would appear that I have found my voice. Surprising. Only 3 of us finish the pranayama today, more experienced. We chant with the teacher as one. Today I actually chanted. No holding back. I could feel her loving this and being with me. Yoga is a great tool for getting hold of oneself and giving life a go. It seems to me that so many of these yogic practices are just a symbolic tool for allowing the grip on ourselves to take hold and then to let go. We need something to hold onto for us to let go. Strange but true.

Sweetness in singing. The power of these chants are true. They have been sung for thousands of years and their power of invocation is strong and palpable. Burning away the impurities of the mind. Clearing away the toxicity within the heart.

We took sarvasana (resting pose) at the end of the class and again, as in yesterday, I felt still. Truly still. I felt the ground beneath me and the air above me.

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