Stranger in a Familiar Land

Almost each year, I'd find myself traveling (alone) back to Australia. I'd spend a couple of weeks surfing the couch in my bestie's living room, get up at the crack of dawn and catch the early tram to the yoga studio, where I'd spend the next 90 mins flowing in a morning practice. In the evenings, I'd meet up with my bestie for an evening class, eventually catching up over a sattvic dinner, and lots of giggles as our inner child come out to play. 

A beautiful summer's day
in Down Under

There is just something unexplainably therapeutic in the freedom to go about the day alone and yet not be enveloped by a sense of loneliness. An essence of magic, mystery and peace is generously sprinkled when spending the New Year being a stranger in a familiar land.

As I trek uphill to head home after a morning's Vinyasa practice, I conclude that this isn't a vacation. It is "Sadhana" (in Sanskrit, "sadhana" means "a spiritual practice exercised toward the achievement of a purpose"). It is my journey into Svadhyaya, an opportunity to self-reflect on my actions, in hope that they will become a mirror to learn to look at myself more deeply. In retrospect, my mind ceased to think and plan, and I found this non-agenda-like state refreshing as I got nurtured mentally, soulfully and spiritually. By simply being non-attached to any particular style or level of yoga practice, even the simplest of practice was profoundly deep.

The sacred practice space where I spent most
of my mornings and evenings

Yoga is such a personal journey... a practice where the initial outward progress merely masks the subtle inward growth that eventually sneaks up on us. With all sincere efforts to guide each practitioner that come onto the mat, I realize that they too have their own intentions of doing so. Even when I give my all to help nurture their yoga practice, perhaps it is me who needs (further) nurturing as it becomes evident that all they ever wanted was to stretch, tone, sweat and (hopefully) lose a few pounds along the way.

Life is too precious to mull over the what-could-have-beens. 2013 is the year where I move from energies that are not aligned. It is time to live my life's mantra to the fullest. It is time to get sexy back! (I just couldn't resist that last one).

Words to live by

Two weeks of silence, space and solitude... to flow with the Universe... to reignite my tapas and to be re-inspired to inspire. I am internally grateful to the many teachers who have taught me that life indeed begins at the end of your comfort zone.

For without you, I would have never gotten from here...

Adho Mukha Vrksasana
(Handstand - 'Urbanscapes', Australia)

... to here.

Adho Mukha Vrksasana
(Handstand - 'Urbanscapes', Australia)

"Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be" - Khalil Gibran.

Namaste, love, light and eternal blessings.