Heading off to Burma tonight for a quick visa run. I don't want to give money to the Burmese govt. but am tight for time. I just checked into the overnight boat, which looks very basic. My bungalow is pretty posh and I think once I move on at the end of April, I'll need to adjust to spartan living. As long as I have my yoga mat, I should be fine. I purchased a djembe drum 12 inches and had lessons - whether I strap that to my pack is doubtful, but could lead to many fun opportunities.
I just received word from Tiffany that she and hubby do not need crew for Idonesia. We'll see what that means - I'll likely head to Nepal in May, Egypt in June and No. India for July and August. Then return to the US for Marta's wedding around 9/6? Who knows?
To continue on my daily routine from the last blog: after 2.5 hours of postures, we have breakfast. Then, we have lectures on the chakras and the associated practices and phsyiology. This varies widely. We have studied chanting, singing, voice training, visualization, coloring, painting, dancing, breathing in moving warrior poses very similar to thai chi, psychology/counseling, physiology, anatomy, energy work and the various circulatory and nerve systems as well as the cerebral hemisphere. We then have lunch at 1ish. This is almost always a salad of cabbage and carrots and tomatoes shredded like coleslaw w/out the mayo, rice and a veggie curry. We then go back to school for more of the same until we finish at 4. Sometimes I have a massage scheduled, I used to have drumming lessons, and sometimes I just hike (now ride) down to the beach to use the internet and get a fruit shake. Swimming is usually not too desirable given the shallow water and 6:00 dinner time. Dinner is similar to lunch w/the salad and rice. We have twice had black beans with a mexican theme - otherwise, fairly thai-based. On Monday, we have a movie at 7:30 like Zeitgeist, What the Bleep, etc. Thought provoking films. On Tuesday, we have a sangha - a circle where we discuss philosophy or the Bhagavad Gita from 7:30-9. On Thursday, we have chanting and singing in the sound dome from 7:30-9. On Friday, we have sound journeys, but I haven't taken one yet as I usually leave for the weekends. We usually have the weekend off with the option of attending a public welcome kirtan in the sound dome on Sunday night at 7:30. This is fun b/c other yogis from the other yoga centers on the island join us for song. This was one of my favorite parts of studying with Rusty and Janet in San Francisco. Here, it is a bit more Vedic, i.e. monotone, but still fun.

The other night, we listened to harmonics a capella toning. I fell asleep and when I woke up, I thought I was royalty and I wondered where my attendants were. It was only when I saw my clothes that I realized I was Kyra in Thailand at yoga training. It was bizarre. They say the throat chakra is the realm of tapping into the electromagnetic universe through vibrations and sound. They say the electromagnetic universe contains the akashic records/field of everything in the past, present and future, i.e. all the vibrations/energies/frequencies. Did I, then, tap into a past life as royalty???? Who knows?

The journey continues...

Bye for now!

Flowing with the Chakras

There is an incredible book called 'The Book of Life' that discusses the religion and society of ancient Egypt. Believe it or not, their practices are very, very similar to yoga practiced in India and The Sciend of Yoga that we are studying at Pyramid Yoga Center here in Thailand. Take a look. It's fascinating. For instance, we've learned that humans usually use only 10% of their lung capacity. Due to pollution, processed foods, lack of exercise, stress and lack of breathing, we do not have enough oxygen in our systems to function properly, i.e. deficient immune systems, poor circulation, high stress, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, grumpiness, etc. The list goes on and on. We started this program learning how to breathe. For days and days, it seems like that is all we did. It drove me bonkers. But now that we have learned various breathing techniques and expanded our lung capacity by doing various asanas (postures), I can feel the difference in my entire body. I am more vital and radiant than I have ever been. Of course, being without work and exercising 2.5 hours every day helps, but I can really feel a difference by the increased amount of oxygen in my body. They say that one of the biggest causes of disease is oxygen deficient cells. So is it possible that if we breathed more, we could cure some of those diseases without medicine? In Egypt, the first thing they did with sick people was to isolate them for three days to do various breathing exercises. They then had the people fast or do enemas to clear their systems. They then had them meditate to connect with a higher power and to clear their mind of the internal clutter. Only after all of this was done would they try to establish what else needed to be done. Oftentimes, the cure was already exacted through these techniques.
It's an interesting prospect. The power of oxygen. I welcome your comments...
Let me go ahead and describe a typical day. At 5:30 a.m., I wake up with the sunrise and the jungle wakes up with me. I sleep with my windows open and hope that the mosquito net will keep all unwanted guests out of my bed at least. Before rising, I say five things I am grateful for and do a couple of twists. Before popping out of bed, I check for scorpions on the floor - haven't seen any yet. I have a backdoor that leads to a bathroom without a ceiling. My mom and stepfather sent me a goofy pink wallhanging (cotton) that says "life is good" with a beatnick looking yogi smiling broadly - that's the first thing I see when I open the bathroom door and it always makes me smile. Thanks mom and Eric - you guys are funny every morning! I check for scorpions and snakes as I desend the three steps to my cold shower (no hot water here) which I take under the dawning sky. I may have "a spot of tea" before throwing on loose pants and a yoga shirt with a scarf. Sometimes I grab a handful of cashew nuts on my way out.

I walk up two hills and then a jungle path to get to the Pyramid. Sometimes I wear shoes, sometimes not. If it's raining, I may or may not take an umbrella. It doesn't really matter as it is relatively hot and steamy and we have water tubs outside of the studio and bathroom to clean our feet. The walk up both hills takes about 15 minutes. The Pyramid is open air with the largest mosquito net of blue ever seen. The 26 of us meditate there from 6:30 - 7:00 a.m. with the guidance of teachers David or Marina. As of yet, I haven't been able to stop the chatter of the mind. The jungle is teeming with noises from all the creatures and curiously there is a karaoke bar down the road that blasts thai music accompanied by bad singing during those morning hours. There is a lot to listen to, but my mind is the loudest of all. At one point, I had a haze where I didn't really hear anything, but I came out of the haze saying over and over: "In the work of One, there are no others." I take this to mean that while I am on this path of yoga, I ought not to get involved romantically or to pursue other activities as they will distract me from this inner journey. Thereafter, it's all good, even better in fact, b/c I'll know myself better and will certainly love myself much more. This program is good in every way possible. It's as if I left a charade and am in a grounded, nurturing place that encourages me to look at myself, feel myself, find where I exist as part of this world and STOP just to listen and feel and create. It gives me vitality, life, inspiration and answers a lot of questions that I hadn't bothered to consider before.
After mediation, we have asana practice from 7-9:30 a.m. It's incredible to do these practices in flow with our inhalations and exhalations. In San Francisco, I attended dynamic, fast classes that told us when to inhale and exhale, but it was all so fast that I often didn't breathe correctly in order to keep up. Thankfully, we took a LOT of time to learn the breathing, so I am finally doing the asanas as they are supposed to be felt - a flow of body and breath. It's incredible! At 9:30, we go down to the restaurant for breakfast. Every day I have a cup of tea and homemade mueslix of coconut and ground cashew nuts atop fresh papaya, pineapple, mango, banana and raisins with yogurt and coconut milk (sometimes I had palm sugar also). Yes mom, you'd be in heaven. I love breakfast here - it's the best mueslix I ever had. All made here, except for the yogurt and raisings.
Thereafter, it's back to the pyramid. We sit on pillows in either lotus, cross legged or knees bent underneath us. The point is to keep our backs straight for hours and hours in these positions. It was difficult initially, but it's getting easier. We stretch at times, too. We then discuss the chakras and their effects physiologically, psychologically and spiritually. The first, manipura, is the root chakra - it is materialism, survival instincts. Very rooted. The second is more fluid, represented by water and covalence - this represents our emotions, social instincts and reflections of other ideas - this is also the sexual attraction area. The third, swadhistana is the fire energy, like the sun. This is where we create and are active and strong. It destroys things to create new things. It is action! The fourth is the heart chakra. Love in and out. Emotions of where we've been and where we're going. it also the repulsion element in that we extend beyond ourselves to provide. It is somewhat connected to the intuition element which we'll get to in chakra 6 - ajna - third eye. Details to come. We're on the 4th right now.
During these hours, we also watch movies, learn sanskrit chants, songs and names of asanas. We are learning Egyptian dance, Yantra yoga (yogic numerology), diet and nutrition, voice training, Bhagvad Gita, Indian and Egyptian philosophy and tons more.
I rented a motorbike finally for the rest of my time on this island. It's nice to have one as the Internet and civilization are down a very steep mountain. Now I can ride my bike down and not have to climb back up.
I get homesick for my friends and family. We have a terrific community in SF. There is also a terrific community here. Tonight, I am going to dinner with an English lady named Vicky. I hope you are all well. I am very, very, very happy to be here. Life is short. I'm glad I'm living it like this now.
Kisses and hugs and love!!!
Kyra

It is finally sunny today. We have had days of torrential downpour followed by sweltering heat. The cicadas in the jungle are going crazy with their songs before and after the downpour and mosquitoes are everywhere. Fortunately, they don't seem to like me too much. For a while, there was just one living within my mosquito net. It reminded me of Rusty saying "If you don't think you can make a difference as just one person, think of a single mosquito." He was right. I have several cute little geckos in my cabin and I love to hear their songs.

I've travelled half the island on my motorbike or by boat. It is easeful and free to ride through the tropical jungle - even in the rain. I can't believe that five weeks have already passed. We have six more to go. This week, we finished the 4th Chakra. We're learning so much, that I can't really convey in words all there is: physiology, psychology, anatomy, science, vibrational energy frequencies, creative expression...the list goes on. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to be here now.

The female yoga instructor has a boat that she sails around the world with her husband and child. We got along famously. They may need crew from July through Sept. to go from Australia to Indonesia. If so, there is my plan. I will keep my fingers crossed, but am also relishing the fact that I have no plan. Life is delicious right now.

I think of home often and wonder how you're all doing. I've been visited now by two buddies from SF and ran into another. The lovely flow of life that San Franciscans live fits nicely with this island. Like a second home for the community.

I'm as pleasant as punch right now. Learning a lot every day. Perhaps when it has all percolated, I can share details. For now, it is brewing...