Brilliance

Yesterday was my day off.  Have you ever been to a place, a city, a town, a village, and thought, “Wow. This place is so beautiful and brilliant. Everyone must be ecstatically happy to live here every moment!” That is what I experienced in Swanage. How did I get there when it is on the other end of a crescent moon gulf you ask? Well, I will tell you…

I am blessed every time I travel whilst teaching Bikram yoga, to meet some of the most generous and kindhearted people on this earth. It’s amazing the way people go out of their way to help you when you give them bendy spines J Well, I had the pleasure of meeting Sean, a Bikram practitioner, health oriented person and a life coach at that. Sean has a bike. A BMW motorbike. And we raced it up and down the coast! We went across to Swanage, we saw the castle of Korfe (1000 years old) and drank traditional English tea with apple tea cake, sat in a traditional British pub and drank cider and vegetarian (yes vegetarian) pie and watched the chickens pace around,  and on our way back across (through Poole) we “ran into” a bike night, where everyone rides down to harbor and shows off their bikes and admire other’s. It was just 1 pound so we decided to join the 1000’s of other bikes down there. What a site to see! Every one walking around with fish and chips, drinking beer, making googily eyes at bikes and yapping in that brilliant Enlgish accent. As we were about to leave, we ran into a couple that we mutually know from the studio! Chris, a magician, and his wife Karen, not sure what she does, but at the least a wonderful lady and good company. We decided to have a sit down meal and enjoy each other’s company a bit before we parted. How lovely! Just this beautiful coincidence made my day. These are the meetings I will think about when I am away and miss. This is one of the reasons I travel. I have to admit, I felt a bit bad ass as I was strolling through the sea of manly men and their bike helmets, seeing them look down at my helmet and noticing I was one of them. HA…. so fun.

Update on the leg: I feel the antibiotics kicking to work inside my veins. It’s a gross but scientifically interesting feeling to see all the poison, or whatever was released inside my leg, rise to the surface of my skin and almost literally bubble at the top in red. Yum. Some people predict it’s a fly. Yup, you heard right. A fly. They say it is tiny and looks harmless, but when it bites it releases a poisonous saliva into the human system and it can be very harmful if left untreated.  I’m treated, and on the way to recovery. Less pain, less swelling, and the doctor confirm my predictions.

P.S. I love their Mochas here! They are more bitter than the states and I love it that way. 

I'm off! 

Rainy and Cloudy

Here I am. Watching Friends in Bournemouth England. I would love to take advantage of the scenery, but I'm afraid I'll catch a cold if I go out there! It's been raining and cloudy and cloudy and raining for days... the only glimmer of sunshine comes from the book I'm reading "Life of Pi". I'm really into it! I did spent a couple of hours on the beach between rains one day. It didn't matter that it wasn't sunny, the view was rewarding enough. I wiggled my toes into the sand and indulged in the moment, keeping in mind that when I go back to Austin TX, this won't be so easy to attract.
I visited a little natural food shop today and found a roobuis tea that soothes my soul. I always think of my Mami when I drink roobuis since she always makes it for me when we are together. I also discovered raisins covered in a raw cacao that tickled my taste buds.
I have a nasty bite/sting on my leg that has turned into a lot of pain. It turns out I need antibiotics.... ugh. I hate taking them, but I guess it's better than risking my leg. The ease at which I got antibiotics is awesome. It continues to amaze me how easy it is to get health care help in other countries and it reminds me how poorly we were treated in the states. It makes me sad. And it doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon. One of the reasons I am continuing with a yoga practice and keeping my health to an optimum level is for that reason exactly. I don't want to give any more money to the rubbish health care system. Preventative healthcare is my business, my practice, my passion.

Time to heal myself! Have an wondrous day!

Pictures

Dinner with old and new friends

Just a castle we came across on our walk HA!

Apparently the biggest inside fresh market in the UK!

Of course... the Leicester yoga studio :)

The discussion continues...

Do you ever feel like there is someone living in your head, telling you to think, feel, and do things? Uh oh, maybe I shouldn't have admitted that, next thing you know I will be in an insane asylum here in England! I have chosen (key word chosen) to live HAPPY! hahaha sounds so simple as I write it out here on my blog, but I think it has slipped peoples minds as they go through life (it has mine)...
My main focus is to be happy and that will put less attention on the negatives that have been over crowding my head.
It's all bullshit. You know that right? We are not our thoughts... I say this and I know this, I even practice this, and yet I feel so distant from it. When people say "keep it simple" it helps to make things more complicated for me, me and my over analyzing mind... I have discovered that when I do/say/act in ways that make me happy, all of that other stuff doesn't matter. All of the exaggerated "white person problems" disappear and I can actually breathe. And not only that, but it is contagious! I see/hear/feel that other people are having more fun too because I am having fun! Brilliant. Now... to maintain this way of thinking...