Up The Creek...Let's Share Some Paddles

Today was my first opportunity to finally teach they style of yoga that I have been studying all these years--I subbed an Anusara Inspired Class at the studio in town! Obviously we are changing the name to Yoga 1/2 because I do not yet meet the requirements of Anusara Inspired, but I have to say it was my first moment of, okay, this is how I want to teach, and these are the kinds of students I want to see. My other classes so far have been more challenging than I thought because the students are there for a different purpose, and it is not a style of yoga that I practice--they want to move, not much alignment stuff, just get led through a mildy challenging workout. But these Anusara students in town were fantastic! They were initially disappointed to see their regular teacher was not going to be there, so I knew I had to give them something juicy, challenging and yet attainable so they walk out feeling uplifted and hopefully having gone places they've never been before.

I talked about Obama's inauguration speech as the theme. His first three sentences were "I am humbled..., I am grateful..., and I am mindful." He then went on to talk about how up the creek we all are and that the only reasonable thing for us to do is start giving each other paddles, right? Service. And I am thinking, ask not what yoga can do for me, but what I can do for yoga. How many times have I (do we) come to class with an expectation of what I can get out of this? I want my core worked, I want to float from down dog to uttanasana, I want a longer savasana, I want I want. But each pose has this optimal blueprint, just like we do, each pose has an inherent integrity, and if we can bring those three qualities of humbleness, gratitude and mindfulness to our practice, we are then co-creating, uplifting our asanas to their highest vibrations. So starting on our mats, we cultivate those qualities, physically, then take them out into all our relationships, with the postal worker and our nutritionist and our kids and our ex-husbands...and THAT is service. Right? Because the energy of service can assume so many different forms. We don't have to build houses to help build community, we can build community by functioning at our highest vibration. That just might be the healthiest component we can bring to all our relationships--we can actually heal friends and family members that way. So we worked those three energies into each pose--how would this asana shift if you brought gratitude to it? How can you find humbleness in a deep backbend? How mindful can we be transitioning from Trikonasana to Plank Pose?
I talked about peanut butter too, my new best friend! And I set up Ganesha to honor the transition to a new leadership.

The areas I am weak in are partner work and physical adjustments. I'm just not ready to go there yet. I am finding that teaching is requiring me to become somewhat selfish about my learning curve. As you all probably know, I have been reluctant to teach for many reasons, one of them being that I hold myself to a high standard and I want to give students the best class possible. You take time out of your day and pay a decent amount of money and you want your time and money to be well spent. But now that I am practicing teaching instead of practicing practicing, I sort of have to be of the attitude that, this is what I have to offer, because I can only teach what I know, and I don't have all the answers yet or all the pieces of the puzzle fitting together, and it is going to take me some time to get there. And maybe I teach some crappy classes along the way. Well, it's going to happen, but in the meantime I learning from every single person that comes into class. Their individual body type, their alignments, their questions, their energy, it all adds up. And we co-create the flow of the class.

I really like it. But it is very very challenging and I was pretty nervous before today's class.
On a side note, I had two appointments with a nutritionist here in town and it has been fascinating. She is super knowledgeable and very personable and I learned a ton from her. And yes, we all know I eat really well but there are some minor things I can tweak to bring myself a little closer to optimal health, and I am also seeking a solution to my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. She is confident we can reverse it through a combination of dietary changes and organ support supplements.

I have been to several Western medical doctors and Complementary Health Practictioners over the past 6 to 8 years, and I am finding that they are all providing pieces to the puzzle of my individual constitution. But what I find the most compelling is when information starts to overlap, and I begin to hear a consistency from one to the other. That's when you know you are onto something! My endocrine system is inharmonious, pituitary-thyroid-pancreas-adrenals and we are hoping to give some system support to bring their relationship back into balance. That's the Cliff Note version. I find it just another path of self-inquiry, which you know is what I think life is all about!

Also went to a movie about Avalanche Safety by these two Canadian dudes who lost 4 friends one day when they were 17 in the back country: The Fine Line. I found it simultaneously educational, amusing, spectacular and traumatizing. These guys are doing a tour to promote it, so keep your eyes out if you have just moved to a ski resort for the winter (Geoff!).

Hey, does anyone know how to post a link to music or sound? I can do the hyperlink to internet stuff but have not yet ventured into the world of audio and perhaps one of these days I would like to share a song or two with you all? Just checking.

My ski report is decent, it is still kicking my ass, still fun-ish and horribly challenging. I tripped and fell into a North Face store today on my way back from yoga at the Peaks and it turns out I kinda sorta needed this outfitty thing that is better for crummy weather days than the gear I already have (and the pants are rather complimentary to the 'ole booty). Let's see if I can find it and show you all...
Yeah, not working, I will have to get a real photo of myself!

So that's all I got for today, maybe going to see "Australia" tonight, yeah I know it loses steam halfway through but it's something to do and fun to see movies at The Nugget.

A Smashing Good Time

I should have known we would be in for trouble when the sign outside the Greek restaurant proudly proclaimed that it would remain open until "the ouzo runs out." That is a photo taken of Mikey, Kathy, Chad, Desiree and Deanna, dancing on the table just moments before we threw plates to the floor and cheered our good fortunes as they exploded into the corners of the dining room. Chad and Kathy own a clothing company called Third Eye Threads, they were new friends to me, then Des, my teacher, and Deanna whom I also just met, an Anusara teacher in the Miami area. And Michael, I told you about him in my last post. I love festive, high energy evenings like that! We had help with some dance moves from a young woman dancing on HER table just a few feet away. The food was good too--I got a whole Key West Red Snapper, whose eye got passed around the table (sorry, Ali, no one wanted to eat it).

Here is a photos of my lovely "resort" The Waves:

You can see they gave me a goddman PT Cruiser for a rental--my absolute least favorite car--except, perhaps for the one immediately to its right. There was some unidentifiable brown aromatic blotch on the back seat that Mikey and I chose to believe was chocolate.

Monday's class was all day and part of a broader theme of Yoga as Medicine. This class specifically focused on how to use alignment principles to heal and prevent injuries. We started with the feet and ankles and moved all the way up through knees and hips, then shoulders and neck by the afternoon. We had a lot lot lot of new-to-Anusara students which turned out to be fantastic because I got the see Des teach beginners, I got to really work into some basic poses and I also walked away feeling like I know a lot more than I thought I did. It was really quite inspiring to see how excited she got watching all these newbies have so many "aha!" moments. I actually rediscovered my tailbone and made some pretty dramatic progress in my own practice--subtle yet profound.

I slept 11 hours that night! My room was sorta kinda icky and I was not comfortable using the bedspread so I slept fully clothed all weekend with just the sheet over me and pillows sort of piled around my torso for insulation! I even had to wrap my feet in a dress and tie a t-shirt around me head to keep warm--a cold front came through and I didn't bring any socks. BUT I saved bunches of money by staying there. And I still slept like a hibernating beast.

The flight home was easy, although we drove through snow flurries back to my parents' house! Yes, winter is upon us. I was very grateful for a hot fresh healthy dinner and my cozy, down-filled bed.

At Home in Hollywood

Florida, that is. It's quite nice here. I have been neglectful about taking photos but I will make up for it today and add some in before my final posting about my trip here. So this is the first Yoga Journal Conference in Hollywood Florida, and my first conference as well. I have been reluctant to attend one, even the most recent gathering that featured Anusara, which was held in Colorado in September (all good things in my world), the reason being that I tend to shy away from mass anything. Reason? Oh, I could probably give you a few, but regardless, the main reason I decided to come down here and check it out is that Desiree is here. I will be doing my Teacher Training with her this February in Tempe, where she is from, and I thought I could use a few days in the sun of the beaches and the radiance of one of the best Anusara instructors. On the planet.

So yeah, I get down into the Fort Lauderdale airport on Friday afternoon, with just enough time to let the one-armed man check me into my room at The Waves, before heading to the Westin Diplomat to pick up Mikey and head to a local studio where she taught a Master Class from 6 to 8:30pm. It was nothing short of fantastic, trying so many new poses and so many outlandish twists on other ones (like one-sided backbends--picking up one arm and then the SAME SIDE leg so you are in a backbend with just your right hand and right foot on the floor!!) and all sorts of other stuff. She is Marc's mentor, so we got to chat about him moving off Maui and launching himself out in the larger yoga world. And then I collapsed into bed with two of the biggest slices of pizza I have ever seen in my life--literally as big a flattened traffic cone--and awakened at 6 to try and find a place for a quick breakfast and email check. It turns out the nearby Marriott was the only place open, serving coffee that tastes like dark chocolate (for real) and free internet, right on the beach. One egg white and veggie omelet later, I make my way into the conference center for two more Des classes, the first from 8 to 10 the second from 10:30 to 12:30. My body was happy to be horizontal on the lunch break and then I attended a really really cool class that got me thinking.

There is a guy named Dr. Robert Svoboda (I am assuming you all know by now that when I have something highlighted like that it's a hyperlink to the website, soyou can just click on it and read all about it?) who is some super scholar about Ayurveda. And you know what Ayurveda is? Yoga plus science. My two favorite topics! I was thrilled and I took tons of notes and learned all about Cultivating Your Prana. Basically, techniques for increasing your life force, strenghtening your energetic body and enhancing your vibrancy. And I am thinking the whole time, THIS I could study. It actually appeals to me a bit more than actual yoga.

Mikey and I went out to dinner at a Thai place, and we both deliberately overordered, which meant I got to eat Drunken Noodles for lunch today. I know Michale from his visits to Maui, but he actually lives in Greensboro North Carolina so I get to practice witih him when I am here or when he was visiting Maui. He has an incredible practice and is really really fun. Here is is website. I spent this afternoon blowing off some classes because I needed to be in a bikini more than I needed to be on a mat, and I am now being chased away from my outdoor spot at the Marriott pool bar because it is so cool and breezy!

More tomorrow...

Hopelessly Dedicated to You

Whenever I go home to North Carolina I get to attend yoga at Triangle Yoga, a great studio in Chapel Hill. The year I lived at home in between my Telluride epoch and the Maui era, I practiced yoga here but had not yet discovered Anusara, so I just went to a bunch of really fun and challenging flow classes. Now, however, Paul and Sommer Sobin of Thousand Petals Yoga several Anusara classes there and I love it! They do a few classes individually and one together, which is really fun. Check out the gallery of photos on their website, there are some class photos and a few of them individually. I like them, as people, and love their classes because they are always challenging and they teach lots of poses that were not part of our regular repertoire on Maui, and they also have a different approach to teaching poses that I am familiar with. So I always learn something new, whether it is a new asana or a new way to do an old asana.

They just spent a month in India, and returned with that starry-eyed jet lag culture shock that is (I find) deliciously indulgent because you are so opened up to another people and culture and WAY of being and doing, and suddenly you find yourself deposited back into your shockingly small world, feeling out of place and disordered. In a good way. You wait a bit and after the dust settles you go about your life again but slightly differently this time. I guess they had an incredible time, no surprise, and brought that inspiration back to share with us.

The first class I had with Sommer last week coincided with The Election, Tuesday evening, which felt kind of like a holiday, especially here in the swing state of North Carolina (it turns out Obama beat McCain by only 12,000 votes). The theme for class that night was to think about surrender, which they had to fully embrace on their travels, especially in a place like India, where the concept of linear time and predictable events and personal safety, are literally thrown to the winds. So she asked us to think of something that we surrender to and what that feels like. And I thought about my yoga practice and how surrendering to it feels like devotion. How I always come back to my practice, even when I have been away from it for a few days or, rarely (and somewhat disastrously I find) a few weeks. I tend to be cyclical or a bit of a binger, the pessimist might say, but either way I am good at starting and stopping and not so great at maintaining, which a whole 'nother blog post in itself, but suffice it to say that I was contemplating this sense of devotion, how I always come back to yoga. Because it is always there for me, sort of waiting where I left off. Class ended and I wandered off into the night with a self-satsifying smugness about me, reaching around every few minutes and patting myself on my back because I am so deVOTed to my PRACtice. That's how it rang in my little brain.

So that night (no lie) I dreamt Ella was my daughter, not my niece. And I get it now, the mother thing. I literally felt like a part of me was existing external to myself, that cells of mine, emotions of mine, thoughts of mine were a part of someone else, and I was living my life but also breathing and feeling and thinking the life of Ella. And I felt it on a such a deep, primal level, literally felt her experience of life that it was almost like we were one creature, one organism, that had agreed (insanely enough) to be cleaved apart superficially, yet remain conjoined with a depth I had not ever experienced before. And it was love, pure and simple.

I looked up "devoted" in the dictionary:
To give or apply (one's time, attention, or self) entirely to a particular activity, pursuit, cause, or person.
And the word entirely was what stood out to me. That is what I felt in my dream. Every part of me was given to Ella. And that's not what I feel towards my yoga practice. Dedicated? Absolutely. Committed? Yep. But devotion is unwavering, there is no leaving and coming back when I am ready or when I feel like it or when it is convenient. Will I ever be that devoted to my yoga practice? Not sure. But that's what I am trying to figure out with this time off and this money well spent. So, thanks, subconscious, for keeping me honest. Thanks, dreamtime, for reaching in and taking my hand off my back. Now I'm off to Hollywood, Florida for the weekend to study with one of my favorite instructors, Desiree Rumbaugh. I've got some work to do!

A Hot Cup of Moment

I passed by this church on my way to and from the retreat center every day. The idea was very fitting for our last day and the theme we touched on (and the theme of this entry).

So Sunday's sessions were better, but only marginally. The morning class was almost all arm balances, which I became convinced I am terrible at. I started class in an OK space, but it quickly spiralled out of control, to where I was feeling like a terrible yogini, questioning why I can't get them, why Marc never teaches them, why I am hiding in the corner of the room...blah blah blah. You get the idea. Arm balances are all about squeezing into your midline, and a lot about trust and having faith, and by the end of class I was on my back watching the clouds outside the windows drifting by thinking, this too shall pass. Thank god for those clouds. The theme of the class was basically about digging in--if you really want something you absolutely have to make the desire to attain it vastly bigger than fear and doubt. I noticed that before I start each pose I have a bfried, yet very real thought (an affirmation, really) that I won't be able to do it! What the hell? No wonder I have been unsuccessful, right?

We talked for a bit about the end of a cycle, and how to experience it as an upward spiral with a celebratory ending, so instead of feeling let down and a little empty, you feel like the moment is reaching this last burst or explosion of energy that launches you out, ready for the next moment. And also about really savoring the moment and drinking in the uniqueness of gatherings like this, to see in an instant, that you will never experience ANYthing again the same way because even if you try to replicate it, some aspect, even if it is just one minor part, will be absent or different. So drink up!

Thankfully it was warm and crystal clear and super sunny out, so on the break I visited a cool booksore called Ark. They have tons of cool stuff, notecards, jewelry, cds, books (of course) and general new agey/Asian-inspired gifts. I could have spent lots more time and lots more money but I managed to get out of there with the new Wah! cd, a pendulum and a pop-up altars book with four deities. But most importantly, I had to get out and sit in the sun for a couple of hours before the final session at 4.

Lots of forward folds, introspection, to round out the weekend. Plus, lots of hip openers. I had forgotten that I dreamt last night that I finally got my foot behind my head and in my dream I thought, It's not so much getting your foot behind your head as much as it is getting your ankle on the back of your neck! And then we did it in class and there was my ankle on the back of my neck! Go figure.

The theme for the last class was all about the student-teacher relationship, symbolized by the sun (teacher) radiating out that revelatory light and the moon (student) reflecting back the light of learning and understanding. We are always in both roles. I sat beside Skeeter and BJ, which was good for me, and also Maryanne Garvin, who used to live in Telluride but is now in Silverton. I liked her immediately and hope we cross paths more often.

I scooted out pretty quickly without a goodbye to John, just wanted to get out of get some space to really digest and absorb my experience over the past 48 hours. That and I wanted to get up to Ten Thousand Waves, this delightful Japanese spa just outside of Santa Fe. On the drive up the canyon I was rewarded with a huge expanse of fading blue sky, purply mountains containing it on either side of the valley, and the full moon rising in the east, while the sun was drifting below the horizon in the west. Both student and teacher, shining and reflecting, together in the same sky.

The spa was fantastic. I have never been to Japan, but this place fits my perception of what it looks and feels like there, with winding gravel paths lit by little lanterns, screen doors separating bathing areas and a bunch of big white people in kimonos wandering about in a massage and hot bath-induced dreamlike state.

You get an idea of what it is like, yes? I went to the women's tub, clothing optional, and encountered 5 lesbians, some of whom were wearing men's boxer shorts and that's it. Everyone else was naked. What were they hiding? I wanted to ask but my fear that they might actually show me held me back. Plus I was plunging into the cold bath and then steaming in the sauna, then back in the cold plunge then back with my new lesbian friends and was just enjoying the high from all the temperature changes that I couldn't be bothered. I had to tear myself away from the gift shop, escaping with a red plastic squirting koi to bring to Townes, my friend's son in Telluride, and I also bought myself this hair stick (FYI: I collect hairsticks, in case anyone is considering how many shopping days are left before my birthday and/or Christmas) that is part of an old kimono encased in plastic. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it is actually really really cool in real life. I will try to get a photo of it on here in case anyone, someone, might care to see it.

On the way back to my home away from home, I did something very uncharacteristic of me, I went to a drive-in at Sonic, and got a grilled cheese!! If you have never tried one, let me tell you, you have been missing out. They use Texas toast (big, thick , fluffy slices of buttery white bread) and a few slabs of easy-to-melt American "cheese" and give it a quick turn on the grill. And it cost less than two dollars. I was quite hungry and needed some comfort food.

Then I fell into fitful slumber, as the person staying in the room above me was quite noisy. What are they doing up there? It sounded like they were picking up duffle bags loaded with body parts (or so my imagination told me) from one part of the room to the other. All.Night.Long.

The Urge to Merge

That is the Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat Center in Santa Fe, where the workshop is. We had two sessions today, 10:30 to 12:30 and then again from 4 to 6. Kelly gave me this cool ceramic travel tea mug and a little bag of lemon chiffon rooibos tea that tastes JUST LIKE lemon chiffon. It actually has this slightly creamy texture to it that balances the sharpness of the lemon. So I am sipping that and reflecting on the work I did today. I struggled for most of the day with my emotions and with my thoughts--it didn't start out very well, partly because I didn't sleep very soundly, which I usually do. I futzed around my home away from home until it was time to go and as I was heading out the door, took inventory of where I was with myself. Do you ever have days where you look in the mirror and feel not just unattractive, not just plain ugly, but actually disfigured? That was me. And all the while I am thinking, What the hell? Questioning why I am here, why I practice yoga, why I don't want to teach, why I quit my job, why I am here alone...you get the drift. Feeling supremely disconnected.

Guess what the theme of the morning sessino was? Connecting. Yes, that's how this all works. The moon waxing in October is the fullest out of the whole year. It is also the time when testosterone and estrogen are at their highest. Babies conceived now have the highest chance of survival. This month, this full moon, creates in each of us the greatest urge to merge, to connect. And part of connecting is also disconnecting. Because when you merge again, it is that much sweeter. I don't remember who in my life once said, "Half the reason for getting up in the morning is knowing you can get back in at the end of the day." And there is truth in that, enough so that I think about it most mornings when my bed is about as comfortable anything anywhere.

As the practice progressed we went deeper and deeper into backbends, which literally open up your chest and your heart. I barely made it to my car in time to sit and cry quietly for a few minutes. I felt bare, exposed, raw, and pathetic. All the moments on Maui over the past 6 years that I have experienced beauty, alone, were condensed into that moment. All the meals I prepared for myself and sat at my dining room table alone, while the sun set, were magnified in that moment. And all the evenings I got into my bed alone and woke up again, alone, were illuminated. And I think for the first time, maybe ever, I gave myself permission to feel how alone I have been and the depth of that loneliness.


I have always felt lucky to have a natural enthusiasm, optimism and exuberance for life. I am also a maximizer, making the best out of pretty much any sitatuion. Because of this, I have been cruising through life, specifically on Maui, happy and light-hearted and just dealing with being alone most of the time. But I never really felt how hard it has been, how draining, until I sat in the front seat of my white Mercury and opened myself up to it.

So it was very fitting for the theme today to be all about why I left Maui, why I had to make some major changes in my life. I have felt disconected for too long.

I came "home", ate some food (including a large portion of dark chocolate) and slipped into a slumber. When I awakened, the skies were the color of soot, heavy and low and suddenly thousands of marble-sized hailstones were competing to get to the earth first. It was a huge release and I watched it with a sense of satisfaction. On the drive back to the retreat center, the air smelled like juniper berries and sage. I felt drained but good, curious about what the afternoon session held for me.

The space we are practicing in is actually a basketball court, but they completely transformed the space for us:




Hard to see, but a nice mural with fingers almost touching over the statue of Shiva Nataraj.

And there is Krishna, adorned and radiant. That one is about 5 feet tall. Nataraj on the left is 4 feet
or so.



So yeah, the afternoon session was lighter, forward folds and talks about the concept of "guru." But all in all, today was about me, I felt, and my urge to merge. To merge with the yoga community, to merge with others on a deeper level, to merge with myself, just to reconnect with the mountains too. I guess half the reason for going to Maui was knowing I could come back. And the same holds true for leaving Maui. It will make my return that much sweeter.


So I end the day with a deep sense of gratitude. What would I do without yoga? Deeply grateful for this practice, that supports me to move deeper and become more and more aware. We're all there for the same reason: want to be free of something. Maybe it's back pain for the person beside me, maybe it's feeling disconnected for me, maybe it's emotional trauma for the woman in front of me, but ultimately, we are all in that room, doing our work, breathing together, merging with the moment and the space and the intention and coming out more vibrant than we were when we stepped back into our first Downward Dog. It's good stuff.

Boulder and Beyond

I still haven't finished writing about the yoga workshop in Jackson, but I will get that posted as soon as I can. It is more reflective than just my journeys and want to give it the focus it deserves. For now, let me fill you in on my time since I left Wyoming.

I flew from Idaho Falls to Boise, then zipped into Denver, where Layla and her 3-year old daughter Isabela, whom I had not met before, picked me up and took me back to their house. I knew Layla and then Emmet, her husband from years ago in Telluride. Layla is an incredible pastry chef and is now quite successful with marketing and selling for Arbonne and Emmet just opend up a little Cuban sandwich and coffee cafe called "Buchi", which is a couple of blocks down the street from their Highlands house, at 2651 W. 38th Avenue. If you are in the area, stop in and get a pressed breakfast or lunch sandwich (pork seems to make an appearance in many of the items!) and a Cuban espresso or cafe con leche.

That is a photo of a shot glass of Cuban espresso, not a cool, foamy dark beer! How about THAT? You can probably guess the voltage of that little glass exceeds your expectation--I got completely wired (although I did have THREE shots over the course of our breakfast there). Emmet gets these crusty mini loaves and stuffs them with all sorts of yummy interior delights and then smooshes them in a panini thing and wraps them in white butcher paper and I can tell you they are incredible and a great price too.

There we all are, with little Isabela. She has this incredible strawberry blond hair and is one of the happiest kids I have been around, super chatty and spirited.

The night before we went out to a New Mexican place and I got cactus! Nopales. I love that--it's so primitive somehow, and I can remember the first time I ate cactus, I was camping in the desert with Swany and our dogs at the time, Teak (the wolf), Bullet (the Rottweiler) and Georgia (my chocolate lab). I think we were in Capitol Reef and I saw that all the cacti had fruited, so we ate the fruits and they tasted like watery strawberries! The nopales that we ate at the restaurant are just the thick green "pads" that have obviously been de-thorned.

Anyway, I hadn't seen Layla or Emmet for 8 years we figured out! They had been in Key West and made it through a handful of hurricanes before throwing the towel in and heading back to Colorado. It is so nice to reconnect with old friends, to find those ways you related before and embrace where they are now and the new qualities they have gained since we last roamed around Telluride, with Disco Night and DJs.

On Tuesday Layla deposited me at Kelly's townhouse in Boulder in the morning and I couldn't WAIT to get out and go for a hike so I went up this little trail that overlooks all of Boulder and about as far as you could see to the north, east and south, and the west you get a perfect view of the Continental Divide! It was sunny and warm and just right for my first day. When Kelly got home we went out for sushi and caught up! She has had her townhouse for about a year and she has great views of the Boulder Flatirons and I love her decorating style, sort of Bohemian mod.

Love those Colorado skies!

Kelly also has an incredible dog, Clio that is an unusual and not seen too often breed called Leonberger. They hail from some German town called Leonberg and as you can see, her other name is "Fuzzy." Here is the description from Wikipedia, and I have to say it is quite accurate:

According to the original purpose, the Leonberger is a large, strong, beast-like yet dainty dog. He is distinguished by his balanced build and confident calmness, yet with quite a lively, friendly temperament. Males, in particular, are powerful and strong. Leonbergers love the water and can hunt for wild salmon in their natural environment(s).

Check her out:

Now, I am going to say something here that many may feel is somewhat blasphemous, but I am going to go ahead and put it in print: After being in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the weekend, I can't help but observe that something about Colorado, in comparison, seems somehow...light. It's sunny and warm and light and people are sunny and warm and light. Wyoming had corridors of beasts, bison and moose and elk, and then huge predators hyperforaging in their wake. It just felt so much more rugged and wild and dangerous, colder and windier and just plain remote. Which I like. A lot. And then I get to breezy Colorado and I have to admit it just felt a little lightweight compared to the wilderness I had just experienced (on a very small scale) in Wyoming. And I love Colorado. A lot. And I think about the bluegrass fans and the hula hoopers and sure, I am in Boulder which has a really mild climate and lots of really aware people, but I just felt a little wistful for that sense I had in Jackson that you really are in the wild west back there and you are perhaps a few degrees closer to the food chain.

But let's get back to how great Boulder is! And the yoga--so many instructors, so little time. I went to two classes at Om Time, both taught by Tarah, whom I liked immediately and connected with her teaching style immediately, partly because (as we determined) we have a similar practice with similar challenges which meant I integrated her verbal alignments easily. We did a two hour Level 3 practice on Thursday and I got so much out of it! Lots of new poses and assists with other students, forged new territory and had a fun time to boot. I think we would be friends if I lived there. Boulder has lots of options for how to spend your money, which I have been avoiding since I am unemployed and we are facing a recession/depression that seems to be just beginning to rear its head.

Kelly and I made two killer meals, one was butternut squash gnocchi on Wednesday, and Thursday she grilled an organic pork tenderloin with a raspberry chiptole sauce, and we had kale, quinoa and roasted beets. And wine. And watched Grey's Anatomy, which was incredibly disappointing. They gotta spice that show up with more sex or potential sex and some scandal and intrigue.

Today, Friday, I rented a car and drove to Santa Fe for a weekend of yoga with John Friend. The drive was 6 hours, as predicted, but I guess I have been super spoiled from living on an island for the past 6 years, because that was a LONG 6 hours! You head south out of Denver and cross the border into New Mexico right around 3 1/2 hours and just past a charming little town called Trinidad that I stopped in long enough to know I wanted to go back, and to pee.

Right now I am in my room at the Santa Fe Residence Inn Marriott and I have to take a moment to talk about how great Marriott is, as a company to work for as well as a lodging option. If you haven't considered working for Marriott, maybe now is the time. They have fantastic associate benefits, one of which I am exercising now--killer room rates. This place is like a condo--full kitchen, fireplace, couch and king size bed, and everyone is always so helpful and friendly.

The last time I was in Santa Fe was in the summer of, god, when was it? the summer of '96? '97? Not sure, but I came down here for a Widespread Panic concert at the incredible venue Paolo Soleri. I can't seem to find a good site to link you to it, but it was named after an Italian dude who did some incredible stuff with architecture an visioning, basically. Anyway, now that I think about it, I was actually there two summers in a row for two concerts. The second I went to with Kelly's now ex-boyfriend, Mark, who is smart and fun and an incredibly talented graphic designer and that was fun, but the first one really stands out in my mind because at the time I was driving an Isuzu Trooper whose starter had decided to stop working a few months prior to our scheduled rock and roll frenzy. At the time I discovered the starter needed some assistance, it just so happened that I had a Budweiser beer bottle under the driver's seat (don't ask) and it also just so happened that a single tap with that bottle on my starter would encourage the Trooper to roar to life and I would be on my way. My memories of that particular concert in Santa Fe involve me and my companions not being able to find that magical bottle (perhaps one of use wisely decided we should clean out open containers before attending a concert in a different state?) and all of them, all guys, pushing my car across burning hot parking lots , trying to gain enough speed for me to pop the clutch and get us going again. I also sat on my Ray Bans and crushed them on that trip. AND there were forest fires, and we drove through pinon pine and sagebrush smoke through northern New Mexico on the way back to Telluride.

I caught a spectacular sunset this evening:

from outside my room. The clouds around the sun looked like molten bronze, this radiant metallic texture that framed the yolky sun as it slipped from sight. Nice way to start my yoga weekend here, yes?