A.K.A. Paradise or Yoga Retreat in Review, III

When I was in San Diego, the weather man said It's going to be another gorgeoussss day. Felt that way about day seven in Negril a.k.a. paradise.

We went to The Cliff Hotel on Friday to practice yoga and to have breakfast. I had been thinking about getting a massage at another hotel but it worked out for me to get one at The Cliff.

Outdoor Massage Space

The last yoga practice was sweet with equally sweet music. Joy did a Thich Nhat Hanh meditation that I like.

I am a flower; I feel fresh. I am a mountain; I am solid. I am like the (Caribbean) breeze; I feel free. 

Most of us were so serene after practicing yoga in such an awesome surrounding, that we tended to sit in complete silence after practice. You could really hear a pin drop...or the waves.

I found an opportunity to take pictures of my fellow yogis which I had been itching to do for quite a while without being disruptive.

The Conductor

Post-massage, I swam a few laps before it started to rain. Three children didn't care about the rain and it wasn't an issue because there was no lightning -- almost joined them.

At some point I remind my fellow travelers that they should check in with their airline but I had issues. I write down necessary information on the back of a Ganesha (remover of obstacles) card that I have in my wallet and when I get back on WiFi, I'm able to check in and I'm in Group B which is great...

Later on, when we meet for our final dinner, Joy makes a super sweet toast thanking us for coming and telling us how appreciative she is and how amazing we are... I'm totally registering at the high end on the warm and fuzzy meter at this point.

Photo Credit: Lorenzo from Lorenzo JAM Tours

*Love the picture that I took of Joy conducting class and also love Lorenzo's picture of us at the breakfast table.

Stunner

Went to Trader Joe's last night so I wouldn't have to go today. As I checked out, looked out the window and saw a stunner of a sunset.

Went to Zumba this morning and tried to decide what could get done before 5:00 p.m. yoga and decided to do yard work. My neighbor is very nice. He's a self-described farm boy -- showed me what poison ivy looks like and also offered to help me get weeds off the fence. I told him thanks but I was okay since it was like working in a big old Zen Garden.

Cleaned up and headed to New Moon Flow in Gemini, a special yoga class. Felt like I was going to be in trouble during just the first few minutes in class because I was finding everything hard.

As we arrived for class, Joy gave out bandanas. Alison left her bandana by the door and she joked that she thought it was a party favor but at some point in class, we put the bandanas on and did yoga. Interesting experience. It reminded me of when I stopped wearing contacts while swimming and it made me focus more on what I was doing. Wearing the bandana also made me feel a little isolated because, obviously, I couldn't see anyone else but I definitely was more focused.

While blindfolded I was able to do half moon pose on my right leg but couldn't even get myself to attempt it on the left side -- same for Alison. We also did a meditation before the bandanas came off. Joy said that she couldn't remember the Thich Nhat Hanh meditation completely but I thought her rendition of it was great.

I am a flower; I feel fresh
I am a mountain; I feel solid...

I tried to find the meditation and came upon this exercise. Oh my God, I love singing bowls.

View from Inside of Trader Joe's

All I Do...

Kept flip flopping about whether or not to go to 8 p.m. yoga yesterday. Knowing that I'd probably sit down and watch Netflix, I headed out.

Pamela, Donna's sub, decided on a restorative class. The workday had been a blur but I saw the return of my focus with yin yoga and whatnot. Yummy class...

Lately, all I've had to the urge to do is walk and practice yoga. Okay, I did go to the pool on Sunday but didn't realize that it was spring break. Swimming denied. Walking on...for about 75 minutes this evening and finished listening to a TED radio podcast called Happy. I liked what the host said about we have some input into how happy we will be...how our emotions are a compass (you keep going in the direction of what makes you happy)...and that happiness takes work -- religiously and over time.

Next, I checked out Krista Tippett's On Being podcast Mindfulness, Suffering and Engaged Buddhism. The bulk of the podcast is an interview with the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. She also talks with Cheri Maples who was a police officer when she went to a retreat and thought that she would have to leave the facility because of the nature of her job. Having to kill someone would negate the whole nonviolence principle that the retreat espoused but someone pulled Maples aside and told her that, of course, she should stay and who better to carry a gun than someone mindful.

Maples notes that after attending the retreat, her energy changed and, in turn, the energy of the people that she had to arrest also changed.

Maples worked as an officer for 20 years and later became a lawyer, social worker and founder of the Center for Mindfulness and Justice.

When Tippet asks Thich Nhat Hanh if he has any pressing questions, he says no and then If you know how to handle the present moment, you know how to handle the future...

On another note, Jeannette Winterson could have used a social worker or two. I spent a lot of time wow-ing out loud while reading her book. A fave passage from Why Be Happy...:

Freud, one of the grand masters of narrative, knew that the past is not fixed in the way that linear time suggests. We can return. We can pick up what we dropped. We can mend what others broke. We can talk with the dead. (58)

Savasana And Other Zones

Went to a much anticipated class and yoga date with Cindy yesterday.

Jen likes to remind us of a Thich Nhat Hanh mindfulness exercise.

The exercise is simply to identify the in-breath as in-breath and the out-breath as the out-breath. When you breathe in, you know that this is your in-breath. When you breathe out, you are mindful that this is your out-breath... 

Toward the end of practice we aligned two bolsters, wrapped a strap around our legs, got on top of the bolsters and put our shoulders on the ground in a kind of supported fish pose.

A few minutes later Jen said As we move into savasana...but I had been in the savasana zone for quite a while. Fish pose is very relaxing.

As Jen closed practice, she talked about the meaning of Namaste, we said it then she softly said thanks and we thanked her back. I turned to Cindy and we saluted each other.

I keep thinking about something that Gloria said on Sunday about yoga being an opportunity to make connections and build relationships. I took that literally but also thought about ongoing relationships that can be strengthened by reconnecting.

I just finished reading Complete Idiot's Guide to Yoga. I read Yoga for Dummies but related to Complete... more.

Loved this part:

Yoga is like a key to the secret door into the zone. Because yoga unites body and mind, it teaches you to discipline your mental state just as it teaches you discipline over your muscles. Your mind can be the instrument that keeps you in the zone of peak performance. Yoga unlocks the secret door to new productivity, creativity, efficiency, and true delight. (11)

Someone at work asked me when I stepped into my first yoga class and I realized that this month marks my second year anniversary of participating in a teacher led class. Lucky me...

Past Tense

I worked week-old stiffness out of my neck at the Kennedy Rec Complex.

I did eight laps before being overrun by the furious front crawlers in the designated lap lane.

I thought about Thich Nhat Hanh and mindfulness as I watched the clear blue sky and the clear clouds.

I practiced doing the sidestroke on my left side which turned out to be a clumsy effort and I, of course, practiced the front crawl.

Lately, I've been feeling like this clinging bird on a wire.