Om Shanti shanti shanti...

I've been busy. Doing various things, and not inspired to blog about or project what I have been doing, thinking and feeling.

Today is Angelique's birthday. It is 12 years since she was born. Tonight the boys and I will light candles for her and eat cake to mark the occasion. We were going to climb Lion's Head last night to visit her tree, but the weather was not good and we were all exhausted after busy and happy week-ends apart. So we have postponed that for now. We'll go in the next week or so.

Speaking of the week-end Griff went off to Port Owen with a school buddy, while Quinn & Roxy went to Bainskloof with our fabulous neighbours. Allowing me to go on a yoga retreat. My first ever, after 12 years doing yoga with my beloved yoga teacher.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. We were kept active and busy. It turned out to be a yoga TEACHER'S retreat! So 9 out of 12 of us are actually yoga teachers and they are all pretty advanced. It was an awesome group of warm and nurturing women though, who were all different. Some bubbly, some quiet, some serious, some large, some tiny, but all real, natural and authentic. They have such an energy about them. Also they are real people who live in the real world. They are not false or pretentious. And they are fun. They take the classes seriously - well not seriously, I think respectfully would be a better word. But they also kick back and joke and laugh and enjoy themselves. We drank coffee, giggled about sex, declared some of the poses to be 'diabolical', we flirted with our host Peter - who responded slickly by offering us wine with our dinner and declaring us 'cheap dates' when we needed only one bottle for 10 of us!

I also enjoyed running and walking around the farm on my own, getting a chance to think & feel. I also took long solitary swims across the farm dams, an eerily strange yet liberating thing to do. Swimming out into the centre of a large body of dark water into the unknown. No one even knew where I was.

We did 6 classes including some meditations, and Kundalini yoga with mantras and chanting. It was an amazing experience. We started the day at 06:00 and ended at about 22:00. Exhausted but totally relaxed. Falling asleep without even having energy to read. I slept soundly and restfully.

One odd/serendipitous thing happened... after each of the classes as I was leaving the chapel building and walking back to our rooms I would glance down and my eye would be pulled towards a pebble which I'd pick-up. Almost all of them were heart-shaped. One was completely round and smooth. I have my little collection of 'heart-stones' now, as a memento of my trip and as a reminder to keep my heart open.

 I am so glad I went. I am going to try to keep that feeling of peaceful balance within me.

“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” ~  Deepak Chopra

Om Shanti shanti shanti...