Sunny day in Northern NSW

Just been out for a long walk along Coolangatta beach ... It was really nice - a good time of year for it. Not heaving with people but still quite a few out walking, biking, whatever. Not too many in the water, though I did see a few surfers out amongst the waves. Too cold to contemplate getting in myself though!

I've been a bit sick for a few days, so haven't made it to class for a while. But still managing to do a (short!) practice most days ... Hoping to make it back one day next week.

There hasn't been much to look at in the way of houses to buy yet. Have driven past a few that were advertised on realestate.com.au but they're just not what I'm looking for. Didn't 'speak' to me ... ! At the moment I'm happy to wait, keep my eyes open. Well that's just as well isn't it! Not much I can do apart from that ... I'm going to the Mullum(bimby) farmers market tomorrow with a friend, and I may drive us past one house in Brunswick Heads that I've looked at from the outside. Looks nice but apart from the price being somewhat out of my range, it's right next door to some kind of garage with trucks etc. Probably I should go and check it out anyway ... :)

Oh - and I do know there's some graphics missing from this blog design at the moment. I will be sorting that out soon !!


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Class and beautiful surroundings

Went to my second class at Dena's shala on Wednesday. I'd actually been having a bad few days coughing, and that morning I was debating with myself about whether to go or not, but I'm very glad I did! Decided not to risk shoulder stand or other inversions, but apart from a couple of coughing fits it was great. Christian gives a lovely squish in baddha konasana which I really appreciate!


Yesterday a couple of friends came to visit and we had a lovely day. Sat around talking, and then went on a beautiful drive to the Tweed Regional Art Gallery and had lunch in the cafe there. The views are just spectacular - I honestly can't think I've seen more beautiful - that I can remember anyway! John said it's really similar to the Lake District ... (have to smile - for a minute I feel like I'm channelling Mr Darcy or Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice! I can just hear that conversation after Elizabeth is 'found' by Mr Darcy visiting his country home in Derbyshire!!)

The countryside round here is really beautiful ... So green and hilly after Ipswich! Fields of sugarcane in places and green rolling hills ... I'm very happy I've made this move!


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1st yoga practice at Dena's shala

I went to a class at Dena's shala yesterday for the first time ( except for one time I dropped in on one of her intensive years ago). She isn't teaching there at the moment, and even when she does, it's month-long intensives that I probably wouldn't be doing. But she told me I should go to the 9.30 class, sometimes run by Jack, and that she practices in sometimes. And that she would 'oversee' my practice.

Neither of them were there, which was probably a good thing as it might have distracted me!! And - this is the first time I've started as a student at a new shala. And my mind was full of worries about 'exposing' my pathetic practice! I was wondering if I should be listing all the poses I used to do until I got a meniscus injury 3 years ago, a lot of which have still not been given back to me ... On and on and on ... my mind is what's pathetic!! Of course I know that's not what's important, but it's hard to just accept and not listen! Christian, the teacher there told me to just do my practice as I'd been doing it at the old shala and we'd take it from there. I did put a couple of poses back in but mostly it's as it has been.

And it just felt so good to have got over that mental hurdle! Now he knows my balance is crap, and my strength is lacking, etc and I don't have to feel embarrassed any more ... I know, I know, I never did have to, but these are the mental burdens that some of us are burdened with!

So, all in all it was a lovely day! Plus I had my first visitor in the afternoon ... :)

The big move is done!

Can't. believe it - just managed to delete a whole post I'd written ... Sigh!! My MacBook Pro has pretty much given up the ghost so I've been doing this from the IPad, and there are a few drawbacks with the keyboard. Why isn't there a key to move up or down the text you've written? Sometimes the cursor just won't move to a new location where you're tapping the screen ... another sigh!! Hopefully it's better using the Blogpress app!

Oh well, here we go again!

So, yes the big move has happened! After a few very stressful and exhausting days of packing and moving, I am now sitting in my new place looking out at a wonderful view over green hills to the sea at Kirra Beach in the distance (only about 10 mins drive away). Photos below ...






God I've just done it again - at least I've only lost a paragraph or two this time!

So, for the 3rd time ... ( !)

My plan is to have a quiet week, just relaxing and exploring the local area. For those who haven't been following the saga on Facebook, it proved to be virtually impossible to rent a place in the area I'm going to buy in, that would allow pets. But then fortune smiled and out of the blue I found a flat in Tweed Heads in a lovely house owned by a friend. And Miss Squiggle is welcome! So here we are ... It's about 30 minutes drive north of where I'm going to buy (and probably a 60 minute drive to Dena's shala, but I can manage that once a week or so until I find a place to buy ...

My yoga mat is down in the living room, and I'm hoping to make it to the Shala one day this week ... I shall report back later. But I think I really must stop now before I end up losing all this post again ...


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Location:Tweed Heads West, Australia

It's been a long time between posts but ...

Here is (part of) the reason! I have been involved in getting my house sold in preparation for the big move! And as of last week, the sale was finally 'unconditional' - meaning no going back for any party!!

I have handed in my notice at work, booked the removalists for the 22nd May. And the following day I am supposed to move into an as yet un-found rental house in the Ocean Shores/Brunswick Heads region! I'm going down to start the look on Friday. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to find a reasonable place that will allow pets (e.g. 1 pussycat!). That seems to be a bit of a stumbling block at the moment, but really, loads of renters have dogs, so I can't see that it can be that difficult. (Fingers very crossed!!)

The plan is to rent for a few months to get a feel for the area, make sure I'm not making a big mistake (which I really don't think is the case)! And then look for somewhere to buy ...

It all feels a bit surreal actually! I'm leaving work at the end of next week and then have a couple of weeks to sort things out/start packing. Since Christmas I have been sorting through cupboards and taking heaps of stuff to the charity bins / chucking away etc etc. Which is really good now as I think if I hadn't then a lot more stuff would just have gone in the bin due to lack of time! I'm giving some furniture away to friends. Last Sunday Ross came over and helped me take heaps of stuff to the yearly Council Clearup at the bottom of the drive (great timing that!) Of course, as he said he went away with more stuff in his van than ended up on the roadside!

Yoga class is suffering a bit at the moment - it's been weeks since I've been able to get to a class, and I won't be able to go this weekend either. But I'm managing to mostly do my lunchtime short practices - although today I am blogging instead of practising!!

And in the midst of all these excitements I have been to 2 weddings! My nephew Peter got married to Tammy in Sydney just before Easter ... a truly gorgeous wedding in the Botanic Gardens, followed by an incredible reception at the famous Quay restaurant in the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Circular Quay. My camera photos were crap, but it was just magical! The Sydney Opera House out of one window, the Harbour Bridge out of the other, Luna Park sparkling across the harbour, and a constant stream of lit-up ferries going in and out of Circular Quay ... I will never forget that!

And then just last weekend my cousin's daughter Krystyna got married in Brisbane. Another lovely ceremony / reception with all the Brisbane family ...

Exertions in charuranga!

Since the last Bali workshop (last October) when Dena shone a big spotlight on my fairly pathetic sun salutes, I have been giving them a lot of attention. Partly the up-dog part, but lately I've really been concentrating on lowering into chaturanga. I've never been able to do that, and for many years just accepted that as the 'status quo' and didn't make any real attempt. However, this lack of strength in my arms has effects across my practice. For example, it also means I can't lift up into urdva dhanurasana, and can only do the more basic setu bandhasana with my shoulders on the mat. And that's the way it's going to stay until I put the effort in and build up that strength!!

So I'm now making a concerted effort in the chaturanga part of sun salutes, going down as slowly as possible, and it's definitely getting better, even though I still collapse to the ground with a moan <grin> - I don't know how long it's going to take, but I really hope I do keep this effort up this time!!

My friend Helen who I used to have a Sunday morning yoga practice with until she had to go interstate for a year's training placement, was back home for a few days last week. And we managed to get together on Friday (my day off) to do yoga together. Miss Squiggle, my pussycat loves this and of course was in there 'helping' to unroll her yoga mats. Well, that's what she said she was doing!! It was really nice to spend some time together, even though I don't know if/when we'll be able to do this again. Depends on whether my house has sold before she comes back for good. But we will get together sometimes, just not as regularly!

Hello new year, new beginnings

The beginning of a year always (? - well, maybe mostly!?!) seems to be a special time. A whole new blank canvas ahead, with who knows what adventures to come.

Looking back, 2013 was a very mixed bag for me. A lot of time spent dealing with my mother's estate, and the sale of her house. Then packing up/dealing with the contents of that house, which was (unsurprisingly) quite an emotional experience. And all through that I was dealing with various health issues - some of which were no doubt related in some way to the emotional stress of losing one's mother. And all of which meant I wasn't able to practice yoga for many many months. Finally I decided it was time to take control, to just get back to the mat no matter how much I was coughing! I made a decision to go to Dena Kingsburg's Bali retreat again, and had such a great time, I haven't looked back!

And behind all of those events I have been working through my own 2 or 3 year plan, to move down to northern NSW. I spent a lot of time fixing up things in my house, and finally when I got back from Bali it was time to get the real estate agents in. The house has been on the market for a couple of months now, and there have been at least two potential buyers who were very interested in it. Although in the end these fell through, I'm still very heartened. I always knew it would take a while to sell, as it's in the country, and needs a particular type of person who likes that sort of life. But I do feel confident that things will move in the not too distant future. And then it'll be time for me to move!

So, 2014 and New Year's Resolutions ...

There is much to look forward to, and one thing I really would like is, (as a friend on Facebook said) 'more yoga'! But I also really want to remember / be aware, that this all isn't a dress rehearsal. This is my life and I want to be living it now, not waiting for things that I want to happen in the future. To stay connected inside to reality and to just enjoy the ride!

I wish that for everyone ... :)