My oh my so much as happened since the last time I wrote! I've come down with a bit of a stomach bug that laid me up all weekend and seems to be lingering within...but I'm so grateful it didn't hit till the program was over :)
Going back to Sunday the 20, I lead my first full class with my beautiful friend Sarah. We sequenced it together, I delivered the first half and she did the second half. We got tons of positive feedback and had a lot of fun :)
Kris and I took sometime on one of our breaks to play together on the rocks and practice some of our sequences.
From there, things really started to fly. Before we knew it we were in our final practicum having our 1-1 evaluations with Lily Wednesday night. It was then that she told me, "you've got skills!" and presented me my certificate. It was such a joyous moment. Thursday morning we had our last class together and as we chanted our closing oms, I began to cry. The impact Lily and Ramandna have had on me collided with the fact that I had no idea when I'd get to share in their energy again.
Thursday evening was our graduation, aka the closing Fire Ceremony. We each came up with something for the fire to devour, as well as something to be born from it. We wrote them on pieces of paper and one at a time tossed them to the flames. We did a long series of mantras to help seal the intense spiritual practice we had shared, as well as the intentions we released into the fire. The flames were absolutely mesmerising.
Wednesday and Thursday morning some of us got up to watch the sunrise and take some yoga silhouettes together.
Friday was the most perfect first day off. I had a massage, did some journaling, had an absolutely lovely swim, chatted with some wonderful people and then went to a Kirtan! It was so beautiful. It's funny because I've never really considered myself a "music person," but in the past few months a few of my happiest lifetime moments were created through music. It's amazing.
Late Friday night my stomach troubles began. They're better, but definitely not resolved. Helping to get my food budget back on track as my trip comes to an end though! I spent a lot of time on my hammock, and far less time eating!
Tuesday morning my lovely friend Claire and I left Had Juan Bay to begin our long journeys home. Here's where we're at: water taxi -> van taxi -> feri -> bus -> overnight train -> tuk tuk -> Hyatt. The photos can hardly capture the stark contrast between our train beds (which we couldn't even sit up straight on) to the luxurious Hyatt. Check out the video Claire posted on my Facebook to see our reaction! Thanks to my wonderful friend Megan we were able to spend our last day and night in Thailand in pure pampered bliss.
Next up: fly from Bangkok to Istanbul, spend one night in Istanbul, then fly to Chicago!!
A note about photos: they're beautiful; I know. But I feel it necessary to honor the moments they're attempting to capture and share, by saying they really can't be captured and shared. That's one of the many beauties of the present moment, right? It's perfect, it's fleeting, it is.
As I type this, the rain has begun to play a soft melody on our window, on the pavement, on the cars in the parking garage. How blessed I feel to know I'll stay dry tonight as I listen to this beautiful song, holding me tightly right here, right now.
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