What I learnt this week...

Done. 10 days. California. Much yoga. A whole LOT of teaching. Plenty of sun. Little sleep. Many friends. Little time. Unlimited devotion. One of a kind teacher. Sixty five receiving souls. Some clouds. Five dozen hugs per day. Endless laughter.

Venice, CA, Shiva's teacher training immersion, September 2008.

I am drained. We started on September 10th, at 630AM, and I have been assisting the 65 or so teacher trainees and Shiva non stop with a team of prime assistants. I learnt that:
- when you do what you like with a group of friends and people who are open to receiving, work feels like dancing for hours under the sun on the beach
- the word jazz comes from the creole (Caribbean French) word 'jasi' which means 'aroused' or 'excited', because jazz was deemed sexual and immoral in the 20s
- I love Gina and she is my karmic sister and we have to teach together
- I can't have more than one burrito a day, even if Holy Guacamole cooks the best ones in the whole wide world
- students like my teaching, and primarily because i am clear in my transmission but informal in my communication
- I can stand the California sun for up to 32 minutes with an SPF45 sunblock and up to 18 seconds without sunblock
- sunburns hurt (I knew that before)
- if you meet people with the assumption that they are amazing beings, they usually end up meeting your expectations
- jet lag is worse flying to the US from Europe vs. Asia
- we are dissolving patterns through our practice that are no longer serving our evolution, to feel the potentiality of evolution and creation within us
- I could live in LA and be awesomely happy
- The Divine, Life, our true Nature is being, but also becoming. The divine is becoming because it is perfecting itself all the time.
- I can order frozen yogurt and toppings in Japanese
- According to the Dalai Lama, we are here to embody the transcendence
- I need to put on a bit of weight
- I now wear a size Small in the US
- I am blessed to be doing something that I love, being in a circle of people I adore, studying with incredibly talented river guides, being close to very wise people, and in love with the Earth, the Ocean and the Sky
- if our governments had spent the money they are spending now saving the financial system on saving the environment and improving health, food, and education, the world would be a different, better and more conscious place (and we probably would not have to save the financial 'world' with our taxes, so generations of traders can take un-calculated risks again in 2 years)
- I miss my dogs every minute of every day and I hate being away
- I will no longer travel more than 2 weeks in a row because i MISS teaching my usual classes, public and private, to the solar practitioners who show up, once a year or once a day
- It now costs one USD15 to check in a piece of luggage on US domestic flights, USD25 dollars for a second piece of luggage, and USD100 per additional piece
- I miss the 1008 blessings of married Life
- there are total psychopaths in this world, some of them even practice yoga, and most of them just need to GET A LIFE and take a chill pill
- I like to get my ass kicked in a practice, and I don't feel I have gotten my load until I am swimming in my own sweat and need to be wheeled out of the studio
- The is no benefit in moving from a symmetrical hip asana to an asymmetrical hip asana, and warrior 3 to half moon back to warrior 3 is not neutral on your hips, but rather screws them up
- I loved every minute of being surrounded by Shiva, Gina, Beth, Allez, Julia, Meg and the rest of the Universe
- I feel unreasonably happy driving down Rose from Lincoln and suddenly seeing the Ocean, like a sheet of diamonds, ahead of me between the dark blue sky and the white sand
- One Jess is good, too Jess's is better, three Jess's is not possible cause they are twins
- One should step into the realm of fear at least once a week, to stay away from the rotten experience of undeserved comfort

I am so sad to leave. However, I am just about to jump into an insane experience. I am at LAX, waiting for my flight to Denver. I will teach tomorrow at my friend Shan's studio for the Global Mala and then head up to Estes Park for a week in the mountains with amazing friends, and to practice yoga at the YJ conference. Or maybe just to chill, hike, cook, enjoy the hot tub and think things out.

Hari Om Tat Sat