For someone who's supposed to be just chillin', I've been pretty busy I guess; more in the sense of bouncing around from place to place. Home was awesome and much-needed, but now I'd say I'm pretty much settled at Resort de Bales, where I've gotten a very warm welcome (Sarah/Sham is sitting beside me and noticed that I'm blogging, and she sends an enthusiastic "HAI" out to my small blogosphere). Upon my arrival, Ian, Sarah, Niya, and Odin were sitting on the front stoop waiting for me, "lei-ed" me with green mardi gras beads, and showed me to my room:
I feel so relaxed and at home already. I think I'm starting to heal.
I started my Bikram yoga regimen yesterday, and it kicked my ass. As usual, I felt awesome afterwards though. One thing that was interesting is that my instructor is a guy from high school, who grew up a few streets down from me! It was really cool to chat with him for a bit before and after class, and from an all-business perspective, he is one of the best instructors I've had. That says a lot considering that over the past four years I've had many instructors, and he's relatively new at it. Actually, he's teaching the class I'm attending today, so it will be nice to have my first two classes with the same teacher because I expect to struggle a bit today from soreness and exposure to the studio environment (105F, 40% humidity) for two consecutive days. Nonetheless, I know I will benefit from the class even if I have to sit out of some poses, which is one thing I like about yoga compared to the more competitive team sports I've done: it doesn't matter how flexible, coordinated, or in shape you are...if you respect your body's limitations and just do what you can do, a person who can't touch his toes will get the same benefits as someone who can do the same pose but put his forehead to the floor. Same goes for if you can do some poses one day, but can't seem to pull it together for those same poses the next (which will probably be my experience today because my legs and shoulders are mad sore) - it's totally ok! Doesn't get much better than that. Yoga is the only place I can think of where I don't get mad at myself for not performing consistently, which is another reason I like it so much...I'm gentle with myself.
Speaking of encountering people from the past, I firmly believe that most people we meet come into our lives for a reason. I recently had a friendship that blazed into existence where we had constant correspondence...and almost just as quickly fizzled out. Which is a good thing. We engaged in positive and negative conversation, the result of which caused me be more introspective and learn about myself, but I'm convinced that our connection had a set course, and the fuse came to an end after a couple months. I benefited in that I got to know myself better and was exposed to a mindset and lifestyle drastically different from my own, so while there were some jarring bumps, I prefer to embrace the good and educational things, discard the bad, and move on without looking back. Usually severing ties is difficult for me and I don't have much experience with it, but this has been surprisingly easy for me. Probably because I realize how intense, and therefore stressful, the relationship was, and I felt a weight lift from me when it was terminated.
Google Reader is what I use to keep track of all the blogs I follow, and one of them is called "Amazing Spaces," and this Caravanserai in Central Turkey was featured:
I was struck because...I've been there! I have vivid memories of many of my childhood experiences, and I distinctly remember running along that ledge when I was about 5. I lived abroad until I was 7ish, and I'm so grateful that my folks took the time and effort to take me around so I could see amazing things and fully optimize my experience.
On another, unrelated note, I would just like to say that for the first time since I can remember, my heart and spirit are happy. I'm stoked for what's to come.
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