Yoga en el lago
Hello again! This afternoon, as the rains pattered down against the palapa straw roof, I shared a yoga class with 6 lovely students. Two gringos: Peter and Lucy, who were the first to share with me that they wished to do yoga by the lake. In the posada, I eavesdropped on the two of them asking Rosalia, a beautiful Kachiquel Maya in a floral blusa and lilac stripped corte, if there were any more yoga classes offered before they left. Rosalia shook her head, and lamented that she too would have loved to have practiced as well.
I couldn't help but spring up and blurt out that I was a yoga teacher and would love to lead a class! We settled on Las 5 de la tarde. Rosalia mentioned that she would publicize the class to her network, and let me know if anyone would be showing up.
At 4:40, after working up a sweat practicing zumba in my bedroom, I headed down to the stonewalled great hall and saw nobody stretching. David, the gregarious/swarthy owner of the place set a whole foods bag with 5 mats outside his door and condescendingly muttered, "Think anyone is coming to your class?" I sighed.
I headed up to my room to change into stretchy pants, and on my way back down, I saw Peter and Lucy grab mats and walk down the path towards the yoga cabana. I followed them, and we took in the magestic lake view before arranging our mats in a triangle. We began in child's pose, inhaling, exhaling, settling in, and by the time we had risen to our easy seat, Rosalia and her sister had entered. We arranged our mats in a circle, and by the time I had shared my yoga philosophy, 2 other students had entered.
The view from the yoga "studio"
What fun sharing my class. We did sun salutations, community tree and warrior 3 poses, and a deliciously long shavasana where I gave mini-head-massages with rose/sandlewood oil. After class, we all gushed on how delicious it is to do yoga. Ana, one of the last girls to arrive, shared that it was her first yoga class ever and would never forget my face :)
Que lindo! I feel so blessed for my gift of being able to offer yoga whereever I go and in multiple languages!
My Guatemalteca students today :)
****************************************************************************
Floating over the lake
on a mat of straw and sand
I breathe graitude, fill my lungs
with birdsong and empty
with the footprints of clouds.
Where can I float off to?
When loneliness breaks the circle
and spirals our foxtails into sun rays?
Light, the spark of darkness we wait
for behind our curtains, breaks free
of our rhythms, and floats along
its sacred dream, north, south, east, west
along the wings of sun.
I couldn't help but spring up and blurt out that I was a yoga teacher and would love to lead a class! We settled on Las 5 de la tarde. Rosalia mentioned that she would publicize the class to her network, and let me know if anyone would be showing up.
At 4:40, after working up a sweat practicing zumba in my bedroom, I headed down to the stonewalled great hall and saw nobody stretching. David, the gregarious/swarthy owner of the place set a whole foods bag with 5 mats outside his door and condescendingly muttered, "Think anyone is coming to your class?" I sighed.
I headed up to my room to change into stretchy pants, and on my way back down, I saw Peter and Lucy grab mats and walk down the path towards the yoga cabana. I followed them, and we took in the magestic lake view before arranging our mats in a triangle. We began in child's pose, inhaling, exhaling, settling in, and by the time we had risen to our easy seat, Rosalia and her sister had entered. We arranged our mats in a circle, and by the time I had shared my yoga philosophy, 2 other students had entered.
The view from the yoga "studio"
What fun sharing my class. We did sun salutations, community tree and warrior 3 poses, and a deliciously long shavasana where I gave mini-head-massages with rose/sandlewood oil. After class, we all gushed on how delicious it is to do yoga. Ana, one of the last girls to arrive, shared that it was her first yoga class ever and would never forget my face :)
Que lindo! I feel so blessed for my gift of being able to offer yoga whereever I go and in multiple languages!
My Guatemalteca students today :)
****************************************************************************
Floating over the lake
on a mat of straw and sand
I breathe graitude, fill my lungs
with birdsong and empty
with the footprints of clouds.
Where can I float off to?
When loneliness breaks the circle
and spirals our foxtails into sun rays?
Light, the spark of darkness we wait
for behind our curtains, breaks free
of our rhythms, and floats along
its sacred dream, north, south, east, west
along the wings of sun.
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