Guruji and the Depth of Practice

"I don’t think what he’s imparting can be said. But I think there’s nothing
else really worth talking about, because he is teaching a kind of openness
of the mind and the heart which is so stunning that, at least at times, you
don’t know what to say, you are awestruck and can’t put it into words.
That’s why there is such an art, I think, to teaching. Krishnamacharya
once made a comment to a friend of mine: yoga is not mechanical. I
think Guruji is always teaching that through a very formal system. You
have to follow the form very carefully, in fact you have to pour your being
into it with intensity to create tapas, internal heat. But then you have to
be completely not attached to it. And somewhere in that changeover,
where you are able to follow form precisely but then not identify with it,
the real yoga comes out."

Is it a spiritual practice?

"Yeah, I think it’s spiritual in the way most people use that word. You
could also say it’s beyond spiritual. If someone has a concept of spirituality,
this is much more interesting than anything they could imagine. But
it’s definitely a totally spiritual practice. However, if someone comes to it
and has no interest in what they believe spirituality to be, if they just take
up the practice for improving their health or fixing some biomechanical
problem in the body, it’ll prove effective but it will also put them in touch
with their core feelings. And just by touching those core feelings they
will start inquiring into what is real. They’ll start to ask: “Why am I suffering
all the time?” “What is true?” And so they’ve come to the right
place. And so yoga in a sense is like a fountain. People will go to it, for
many different reasons but because they’ve gone to the source they start
to get a taste for it, and they might not really understand why they like it
but they’ll keep coming back to the source and eventually they’ll just
jump right back in."

It is spiritual in the sense that the Atman, the soul, is revealed, but at the
same time there is a methodology as well, so is it somehow a fusion of those
two things?

"Exactly. If we say that what is of most interest to the open mind, to the
open heart, is beyond expression, beyond words, also therefore beyond
technique, our first reaction is “I won’t do anything.” But the fascinating
thing about practice is that what is manifesting as the body and the mind
is composed of strings and strings of techniques, and so yoga is actually
the art of using techniques with incredible skill and through that one
naturally arrives at a place where there is no technique anymore but freedom.
This is one of the major themes of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the
extremely illusive themes, that the truth is ultimately formless because it
generates all forms. How can it be approached? How can you realize it?
It’s actually through seeing forms with an open mind and allowing the
body and the mind to complete their natural tendencies to complete
their forms, and in that you release form." 

(Richard Freeman)

(Extracted from, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students, by Guy Donahaye, Eddie Stern)

Guruji and the Practice

"You learn that there is a wisdom contained within the practice, if you are
paying attention. Learning to listen is key. The form of the practice and
the method of the practice contain a teaching. I believe that if you are
paying attention, if you can look below the surface and ask: Why do we
start where we start? What do we do first? What do we do next? How do
things link one-to-one through the sequence? There is something informative
that teaches you something. You learn how one pose will teach
you about another. You work from the outside to the inside. You are basically
working on clearing the way and clearing the physical blocks in the
body, which are related to clearing mental blocks in the mind.
Yoga philosophy teaches that what we are doing is uncovering, cleaning,
and Guruji said over and over again, if you listen, “This is not physical
practice, this is mental cleaning.” He talks about cleaning the nadis,
clearing the tubes that energy flows through. I really do feel—maybe this
is not unique to ashtanga yoga, maybe any yoga practice has the ability to
clear the way—but Guruji’s method does it so methodically, so systematically,
with the sequence set for us, and not relying on just doing postures
as you choose. This, I think, is really difficult. It’s hard not to fall into biases,
taking a practice where you just do whatever it is you want to do, or
what the teacher wants to do at that point in time. It’s hard not to fall
into tendencies for what your preferences might be, or for staying away
from things that you don’t like. You have a sequence that is set, and
whether you like it or not, you are going to do navasana and marichyasana
D, janu shirshasana C and supta kurmasana. There is something
about putting yourself up against that which challenges you in a way that
I don’t think you would challenge yourself normally.
I remember seeing poses in the first class I watched like janu shirshasana
C—I swore in this lifetime that I would never do that pose.
It just looked impossible to me. Kukkutasana I was convinced, literally,
never in this lifetime would I do that posture, and within a couple of
weeks I was doing it. It is a tremendous thing for a person to get, to realize,
that the things that we set as extreme limits for ourselves are just in
our mind, and we have to be careful of the limits that we impose on ourselves.
As human beings it’s amazing how prevalent this is in our society."

(Chuck Miller)

(Extracted from, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students, by Guy Donahaye, Eddie Stern)

Guruji

"He’s like the whole orchestra. He doesn’t just have one way, he can find
a way for everyone. So he sees you and your spirit and the aspects of your
character that are competent and good and that may be lacking and
not so rounded, and he seems to be able to do that with everyone. He
doesn’t overcomplicate it, he keeps it really simple. There are three really
powerful techniques: the breathing method, coordinating the movement
with the breath; the drishti; and the squeezing, the bandhas. He doesn’t
get extremely technical, he doesn’t talk about anatomy, he doesn’t talk
about complicated energetic concepts. He keeps it incredibly simple. It
takes a brave person not to appeal to a person’s, particularly a Westerner’s,
need for information. You know, that kind of information, it’s incredibly
simple: “Breathe!” “You breathe!” “You do!” “No, no, no, don’t
think, you do!” And it’s so effective."

- Nick Evans

(Extracted from, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students, by Guy Donahaye, Eddie Stern)

The Ashtanga Method

"Yoga is a scientifically based technology that gives us certain techniques
by which we can awaken or uncover our inherent spirituality. The idea is
that we are inherently spiritual but that there are perceptual blocks to
our realization of that. I look at yoga as a way of removing the obstacles
to a perception of our true essence.

It’s what Patanjali talks about in The Yoga Sutras: yoga, chitta vritti
nirodhah—yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of consciousness.
When that happens then: Tada drashthu svarupe avasthanam—then the
true nature of the seer, the inner being is revealed. So yoga is all about
techniques for removing the blocks to our true perception of ourselves.
It’s a scientific method for the realization of the fact that we are spiritual
beings. In that sense it’s obviously a spiritual practice."

"For me it’s been a long process of recognizing the value of the yamas
and the niyamas, the process of making yoga real in my life, how it affects
my relationships with other people, my relationship with myself.
You’re only on the mat for, at best, a couple of hours a day. What are you
doing the rest of the time? You can’t practice yoga for two hours and then
go out and act like a jerk the rest of the time. I mean, I suppose you
could and people do, but I can’t see the point in that. Ultimately, one
needs to—especially if one’s a teacher—one needs to set some sort of
example."

(Tim Miller)

(Extracted from, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students, by Guy Donahaye, Eddie Stern)

Eka Pāda Bakāsana A & B

Eka Pāda Bakāsana A has been a challenging posture for me. Still working on getting more bend in the leg, which is a work in progress. As you can see my left side is far stronger than my right. At this point it's nice to get a substantial lift.

KPJ

"Guruji is tremendous, he is amazing at getting people to go beyond
where they think their limits are. It’s a little scary sometimes. I’ve seen
looks of panic and complete terror on people’s faces and also tremendous
breakthroughs. As a teacher—I’ve been teaching for thirteen years—
watching Guruji is amazing. I don’t feel confident to do the same thing
that he does. He’s got sixty years of experience teaching—he’s seen a lot
of bodies, he’s put a lot of bodies through this practice—and I feel like I
need to be much more conservative than him. I’ve seen him put people
in full lotus, and get them into garbha pindasana, kukkutasana that I
would have never believed possible. And what it gives them is tremendous
and you can take that and from that develop the discipline and love
for doing the practice, which is something that does happen through that
sense of accomplishment."

"One of Guruji’s real strengths as a teacher is that he obviously practiced
strong yoga. He was clearly challenged by Krishnamacharya, and at
the same time he was also a scholar and I think that is unique. A lot of
people were just yoga practitioners or they were scholars. Guruji has
been both, and he brings that into the room. He obviously embodies the
yoga teaching, the philosophy, the lifestyle, as well as having done the

practice."

(Chuck Miler)

(Extracted from Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students, by Guy Donahaye, Eddie Stern)

Viranchyāsana A

Viparīta Śalabhāsana & Ganda Bherundāsana

Iceland ♥

Beauty to be experienced!

Everyone it's time to put Iceland on your list of places to visit! 

The fascinating part of being on the land of fire and ice is not just the seer beauty of the place, but the fact there seems to be subtle energy circulating that runs deep. A challenge to put into words. Pulsating. Vibrating. An extremely young country in a geologic perspective, it's no wonder I felt the shift in energy when I landed over a month ago. 

Finally I get it! Through the years I've always heard how special Iceland was, but never truly convinced, until now. It must be experienced!

Guruji

In honor of Guruji, and with the anniversary of his passing coming up, I thought I would highlight I few excerpts from the upcoming book, Guruji - A Portrait of Sri K. Patabhi Jois - Through the Eyes of His Students, over the next week. A big thanks to Steve who put me in contact with the link to Guy Donahaye's website, which have a list of passages from the book. Incredibly inspiring.

The way Guruji teaches is not lazy in any way, shape, or form. He brings the same energy, or more, to every class every day. I would be dragging, it would wear twenty of us out. I think it was the consistency and the genuine love and desire to see you learn this practice and improve your health. It took me four years in Mysore, off and on, to get into lotus. I remember the day that he finally, after sitting in front of me, got me into lotus. He stopped the whole class and almost started crying with laughter and joy. I think he was more thrilled to see me in that posture than I was. You know, that’s just one example. It goes on every day that you are in there. Whatever posture is difficult for you, he never forgets, he always makes you do it, even if you’ve gone by it. It’s his discipline and his tenacity along with the love of the practice that make him unique.

.............

I would describe it as being one of the most sincere messages I’ve ever received. When you are in there with him, you know he has totally dedicated his heart and his soul to this teaching, so you want to give him the same in return. I’ve had many teachers of all types throughout the years, from English to basketball, and of course, you meet great teachers along the way. I’ve never met anybody who loved to teach as much as Guruji. In fact, it seems to me, as he is teaching he seems younger, he’s a different person in the room. Out of the room, he’s such a beautiful wonderful householder that the combination was overwhelming to me. To me, he is one of the great humans.  

- Ricky Heiman

( Passages from Guruji, A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Through the Eyes of His Students)

Koundinyāsana B

Ashtanga for Everyone

love this

 Boiling hot water fresh from the Earth

“look, i’m not trying to be an artist. i’m not really a self-proclaimed anything. i just want to be happy. and that’s different for everyone. the american dream ideal has been shoved down our throats since it developed, and hey man to each his own. that dream was somebodies once and it’s embedded in a thousand other people right now. but it’s not my dream. it’s not my goal. because i don’t want to look at myself in the mirror when i’m thirty and regret all of the things i never risked because everyone told me “you’re not going to get anywhere” - like what the fuck is “anywhere” even? who decided that i had to be something practical in order to be happy? i am awestruck, i am spellbound, i am shell-shocked, and i am exhilarated. but you know what i’m not? i’m not bored. i don’t ever want to wake up one day and realize that i am bored. that i am unimpressed with everything that everyone else told me mattered. i’d rather figure out where i belong then have somebody else decide for me. so i’m taking my chances. why?

why the fuck not.”

(violent femme)

Ashtanga Yoga Mysore Class

I just love the beauty and synergy of a Mysore class. Wouldn't you agree?

Winnipeg Yoga Shala

Tweaks

 I love Iceland!

"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk."

(Doug Larson)

In the last couple days I've had the lovely gift of a tweaked back. The strange part is I'm able to do my practice with no problems. Almost as if I can bring mind over matter in a course of two hours or more. Then afterward, when my body cools down, the back doesn't feel so good. Not sure if it's the culmination of all the hiking coming into play or what. Guess it takes a while for it to settle in.

No matter. Life is full of tweaks. With a tweaked back, the lesson to be learned is in making an adjustment. Lately, I've had to address certain imbalances in my body and bring consciousness around them. With one leg slightly longer than the other, often I feel the imbalance in my sacrum. On side pinching. With that, I've had to find ways to lengthen through, and keep my right side more loose and fluid. Bringing in a sense of balance.

With various imbalances I can never take my vinyasa for granted. I must bring an extra amount mindfulness into the area of my low back with every upward facing dog. In the end, it a good thing, with tweaks I've learned an endless amount in regards to accessing a posture.

Ha! But for some reason I can't seem to get enough of hiking around Iceland. If anything the practice of yoga has allowed me commune with nature, and come to a place of vast inner appreciation of it. It's been awesome. Although, the beauty and energy of Iceland make it easy. Unspoiled. Pure. Geo-active. The list goes on, and the contrast of fire and ice has piqued my interest into the forces of nature. Definitely wasn't expecting this insight before I planned to come here. I welcome it.

Ūrdhva Kukkutāsana A B C

Possibility

 Icelandic Beauty

"Love is the voice under all silences, the hope which has no opposite in fear; the strength so strong mere force is feebleness: the truth more first than sun, more last than star…"

(e.e. cummings)

  fjord 

The day after the climb it was back to business as usual. Practice in the morning. Sunday. The start of my practice week. However, after climbing over 4, 000 ft. on an incline makes for an interesting practice. An interesting practice indeed. On top of that my usual Primary Series class afterward, and a 3 hour afternoon workshop devoted to vinyasa, jumping back and jumping thru. A packed day.

To my surprise I was still a buzz of energy after hiking Hekla. Even after all the physical exhaustion I felt, and still feel today, a sense of renewed energy coursing through my body. This I was not expecting. I was expecting to be absolutely worthless and found it to be the exact opposite. 

I've never stopped myself from other activity because of worry of how it will affect my practice. Never. I don't see it that way. I feel the practice of yoga allows me to live more fully. Obviously I'm highly devoted to my practice, but through time I've realized it can't be my life. What it has done beautifully is open the reality into what's possible. To be in a space of limitlessness. Do I want to live big or do I want to live small? It doesn't have to mean scaling up mountains or tenuous physical challenges. It can be just as simple as offering a smile to a stranger.

In practice I continue to push the boundaries as to what I deem possible. It sets the stage to then go out in life and experience it. Living big isn't necessarily connected to material wealth, I'm talking about the spiritual wealth of active experience. Living this reality, fully open. Alive. Free.

The practice of yoga helps to open the channels, heightening our sensitivity to ourselves and to those around us. We stand better prepared to live in awareness. The critical step being what we decide to do with it. Standing in recognition. In a place of knowing and connection, to then go forth and live in yoga. Union. What's the point of coming to my mat bending and flexing if I don't make the connection off? This is the bridge I'm consciously crossing at the moment. I'm learning it never matters if I get knocked off my center. It's inevitable. But, am I able to bring myself back in daily life? This is key.

Even better, I'm making the connection not to judge myself too harshly with all my foibles. Oh! I have many! Again, learning this is where the juice is. There is no outer image to mold into. When I enter into a state of yoga it will express itself as unique as it's own, like a snowflake. One no better than the other, but extraordinary alone. 

It becomes evidently clear how the process NEVER ends. I'll never come to a place and be like, okay, I'm done. My learning is done. No. The depth we can grow into is endless. An ever expanding work of art. Which is comforting. Knowing life will continue to shift, grow, expand, contract, morph into ... anything.

Hekla {To the Gates of Hell}

 HEKLA   

photo by Anna Andres

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."

(Joshua J. Marine)

Ahhh. The saga continues. Everyone loves a good Icelandic saga, don't they? Never would I have thought I'd be so easily manipulated into climbing another mountain on this island nation. Never would I have thought ...

Last week I received a group email from the enthusiastic Icelandic hike leader. You know the one. With the bus. I don't know what kind of twisted destiny brought him into my Ashtanga Yoga New Beginners class but there's definitely been some devilish work at play. Getting back to the email, he excitedly stated the next hike would be to the summit of Hekla, the second most active volcano, depending who you speak to, in Iceland. The climb would be just under 1, 500 meters (4, 891 ft), about a 4 hour climb up. I read the email, and said to myself, HELL NO, and left it at that.


When I talked to the hike leader after class I explained the fact I didn't have hiking boots, went on to reiterate how the hike sounded a bit out of my league, and thanked him for keeping me in the loop. He seemed agreeable, and in a rush after class. I was in the clear. Whew. Dreams of the Blue Lagoon filled my brain. Now that's how to spend time in Iceland.

Later, I received a personal email from the infamous hike leader telling me he had a pair of hiking boots for me to borrow, went ahead and reserved a seat for me on that bus, and to remember, "body strong, mind weak." No he didn't, I thought! No he did not just serve me up my own words on a silver platter to swallow whole! Great. Just fucking great!

During our last class I talked a bit about one of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois's most famous sayings,"body strong, mind weak," in reference to how it is in our own minds that we perceive limitations, and that our bodies are ultimately strong and able. Anything is possible, blah. blah, blah. The thing is, I wholehearted resonate with this, but to then have someone challenge me on the very thing I said, well, well, well, NOW we're playing with the big dogs. Big, bad, Icelandic dogs. Nice. I was reluctant, but game on. If this is how he wants to play it, FINE! I'll go.

To get myself into the "spirit" of the hike, however reluctantly, I thought I'd do a bit of research on the most famous volcano in Iceland.  I found it quite interesting in medieval times it was considered the entrance to Hell. Pretty much Hell's front door. Okaaaay. Wow. They've got it all here, elves, trolls and entrances to hell. 

Moving on, the name literally means, "Hooded One" because the peak is usually capped by looming clouds. It sits restlessly in the Þjorsardakur Valley, surrounded by vast lava fields. The last eruption was in 2000. The last big one in 1970.

I didn't feel completely comforted hiking to an active volcano, especially when it stated on his email we would be warned of an oncoming explosion if there were a series of earthquakes. We'd have to be off the mountain within 30 minutes to 1 hour. Hmmmmm, I thought, and the actual decent takes 2, from my personal calculations the odds of getting down in time seemed slim. Gah! "Body strong, mind weak." What is there to fear. I was still game.

Then I decided to look in my Iceland, Lonely Planet and read up on Hekla where it clearly stated, "The volcano is due to blow its top again round 2010." Huh? I blinked my eyes. I must be reading this wrong. Nope. I read it again. Said the same thing. Great! Just fucking great! I can imagine it now, riding down the mountain on a wave of hot, molten, lava!!! NOT exactly the way I thought I would go.




But time marches on, life marches on. I was still due to go on this hike, given the risks. The biggest risk of all, the loss of my pride, lol.

I met the group at the designated check point. 14 nationalities represented, most if not all, except me, were graduate students in engineering, geology, and what have you. An interesting bunch. France, Italy, Sweden, US, UK, Austria, Spain, Iceland, Denmark, Thailand, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia. Talk about representation.

Wow! It's a miracle! The exuberant hike leader was on time! Arrived in his usual joyous, energetic self. He never seems to tire. Always filled with energy and a zest for life. Must be all that mountain air, like I've said before. It's gotta be. I have no other explanation for it. Everyone quickly boarded the bus, then I was faced with hike leader number two, from my first Icelandic hiking experience. I saw the look on his face. It said it all. She's coming?! Oh God.

It was a quiet drive out to Hekla. Once off the main road, the bus ambled over to the trail head on a rough lava laden road. It was a bumpy ride, a slow, tiresome ride. During the drive I kept thinking maybe Hekla will blow right now so I don't have to go on this godforsaken climb. Wouldn't that be nice. Thinking it unlikely, I continued to amp myself up for what was ahead. With a group of experienced mountain hikers it was a task to feel worthy of going up. When the friendly, Australian girl next to me stated she'd be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in a couple weeks, it didn't exactly stroke my confidence, but nonetheless, "body strong, mind weak," eh?

Lava Fields

lava lava lava!

and more lava!

When we arrived to the trail head everyone tumbled out of the bus in usual fashion. Gear ready, bundled up, boots tied. I had my borrowed boots, about two sizes too big, wearing extra socks, no hiking poles, which could have come in handy later, but I continued to remind myself, this is a mental challenge, not merely physical. "Body strong, mind stronger!" Would I crack this time? Only time would tell. 

And we were off. The first part of the trek marching through an expanse of lava fields slowly climbing upward. I felt in good spirits even though the view to the top seemed like an endless journey. The peak of the mountain danced with the clouds. Don't look, I thought, just feel each step under your feet, better that way. To look up will only trip my mind. This seemed to help for I was able to keep pace with the first half of the group with no problems, except for a few areas of the ascent when I had to tell myself, whatever you do, DON'T look down. No looking up. No looking down. Just keeping moving one step at a time. 

We stopped for lunch at 1000 meters. I made it with no complaints. Of course the hike leader had to add his two cents in. 

Chiding me, "Oh Laruga, I was expecting you to be the last one in the pack!" 

Really, is he trying to be charming or just push my buttons. 

I smirked a bit, and simply said, "Ye of so little faith." 

Our banter was quite funny, and I needed to refuel. There was still quite a bit to go before we reached the top. 

 Climbing Hekla

What a view!

After lunch the group gathered up to make the final leg of the ascent. The snow was deeper. A challenge. I felt ready to go. I felt good. So I thought. Then things swiftly began to change as I started the climb. At first I was with the lead pack, then slowly one by one I was being passed as lactic acid started to build in my behind, then slowly move down my thighs, burning like hot fire. A hot fire I've never experienced before in my life! WTF, I thought. Oh, how swiftly the tides shifted from before lunch to after. It was like nothing, I'll say it again, like nothing I've ever experienced. I literally could only take five steps, then I had to rest. It had nothing to do with my cardiovascular system, that was fine. It was as if my lower body was sizzling, the lactic acid build up getting worse, and moving down to my calves. Seriously, WTF, was all I could say to myself. I was at the mercy of my puny legs. I was at the mercy of this godforsaken mountain. It wasn't looking good. It wasn't looking good at all. 

Somehow through all of it I wasn't the last one in the group, and quickly I was left alone in the middle. On a mountain, by myself. The pack to the front marching swiftly on, became smaller and smaller  toward the horizon of the peak. The pack behind me, slowly moving forward, and me in the middle. Wayward. Burning. Oh. The burning!

It was literally, five steps, rest, five steps, rest, sometimes only three ... and when a bit ambitious, I took ten. That was when I could psyche myself to push a bit more through the ache of my legs. Oh. How they ached! Slowly, but surly I made it upward. Then came the wind. I was stumbling into a whole new weather pattern. The wind howled powerfully feeling as if it could blow me off the ridge. I'm not kidding. This is where I started to get a bit mental. Thoughts of "body strong, mind stronger," were wavering, and it didn't help that I saw the lead pack already reach the summit in celebration. They seemed so far away. I felt so alone. It was me, the mountain, and the wind. And, somehow through the agony of my burning legs I kept moving forward. I was like the little train the could, barely. 

The interesting part was the mental component to the climb. I started to focus on every single one of my limitations. Intriguing. When the going gets tough I immediately went through the list of every negative I could find. My boots, are too big. I'm cold. I don't have muscular legs. I've never hiked in snow before. I've never hiked to the summit of a mountain no less. I don't have the proper equipment. It went on and on. Then I realized, how is this gonna help me? I had to turn my attitude around. I'm young. I'm strong. For God's sake I've got air in my lungs, let's move! Yah. That little pep talk lasted for about ten steps. Lol. "Body weak, mind weak." Blue Lagoon sounds so good right now. Why am I up here?

Alas, I was moving. However, I was losing feeling in my fingers, and felt tingling in my arms. Temps steadily dropping.

After the lead pack ended their celebration at the top, they began their descent. I was STILL on my way UP. My morale, on the way DOWN. They passed me by, all smiles, beaming. It's that mountain air I tell you. I did my best to be at peace with my state of affairs.

Then the hike leader starts charging his way toward me off the summit. 

"Laruga! We must get you up this mountain!!!"

Seriously where does this guy get all this energy? Really. I need to know. He can make the most sour, rotten batch of lemons in to the sweetest tasting lemonade. It must be a gift.

In my moment of peace. My moment of zen. The first things out of my mouth were ...

"I so don't like you right now!"

The wind howled and bellowed making it hard to hear. "WHAT?!" He yelled.

"I SAAAID, I SOO DON'T LIKE YOU RIGHT NOW!!!!!"

"Ahhh," he responded. Then he quickly took my hand and literally dragged me to the top, burning legs and all. He even threatened to throw me over his shoulder, Viking style, but I decided I better stay on my feet and make this climb legit, if you know what I mean. 

Again, his enthusiasm won out. 

Finally, I made it to the TOP! I freakin' made it to the top! Wooohoo! 

Me at the Top! 

Photo courtesy of Gunnlaugur B. Ólafsson

Never in my life have I felt more exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. Something happened to me up there, I tell you. There's something to scaling up a mountain, feeling as if you have nothing left, to make it, and breath it all in. It's fucking cool. No better way to describe it. None. 

"Body completely shattered, mind blown." I felt good. 

Because I was literally shivering into convulsions, the hike leader made me practically run down the mountain to maintain and build heat in my body. Snow makes for a soft landing on the way down. The best part, sliding on a few of the slopes directly on my bumb. THAT made my day. It's the proper way. It just is.

The descent

So the saga ends. I made it to the top of Hekla, with a bit of help. 

Am I glad I did it? 

Hell ya! 

Somehow the thirst for adventure and open possibility will always win out.

I tell you, ever since I made it to the top of that mountain, I've had a buzz. Seriously. There's something to it. Not sure what it is. All I can say, it must be that mountain air. 

The End. 

Mighty Hekla

Notice how I'm way in left field, literally! Lol.

Photo courtesy of Gunnlaugur B. Ólafsson

Dwi Pāda Śīrsāsana

Happy Day

 Amazing Gaia!

Hot Springs 

"I hope nobody ever asks me what inspires me. Because that’s a stupid fucking question. There’s no answer to it. Nothing inspires me. Because it doesn’t take inspiration to create, to live, to destroy, to do. Anything and everything you want to bring into fruition is already within you. And it’s not a matter of calling it forth or waiting for something to sail into your life to open the doors of possibility. It’s a matter of being confident enough to just put what you need to into words, pictures, notes, or handshakes. A sturdy handshake is just as beautiful as piano concerto.
If it was a matter of inspiration, we’d all be sitting with our heads out the window waiting for signs that we were supposed to begin. We were born! Begin! The only inspiration should be the fact that your stupid, fat heart is beating."

                    (Digital Moleskine)