Astanga

Newsflash: Summer is here!

Sunny days are here, and hot, summer-y, HUMID, weather is here! It's awesome! We had a few gray days last week, but so far, August looks like it will be hot, humid and sunny. And I'm so grateful - the winters here are so cold, my happiest days are in the summer. It's been so dark and cool this summer, it didn't seem fair.

But better late than never, right? Today was a beach day, my first this year! I slept in a bit, taught a morning class, then headed off to the ferries.

I *love* riding the ferries. I always feel like I'm really going someplace when I cross water. The trip isn't long, no more than 15 minutes but the view of the city from the water is fantastic and it really feels like a daytrip. I packed a picnic and everything!

At my favourite beach, I rediscovered my favourite spot, and unrolled my travel mat. I started sun salutations before noon, but it was already HOT out! I'm glad I brought my old Mysore rug because it was too hot to practice on my black travel mat without it.

I found the heat and the sun really distracting and struggled a lot to maintain focus. No bugs today, but lots of sweat rolling off my brow and glinting sunlight off of the water. There was some cloud cover in the afternoon and I have to admit, I could have used some of that in the morning because (and I can't believe I'm saying this), it was just too much sun.

I ended up doing half-primary instead of full, which made sense, given I was surrounded by hot sand (Kurmasana would have been unpleasant). I did do the closing sequence, though and headstand was fun (and elicited some stares - by this time the beach was filling up). Savasana wasn't fun. I just felt hot and miserable, so I got up, changed into my bikini and went for a swim. Floating Savasana!

Yes, you read that correctly: I actually *swam* in the lake, the yucky, icky lake. For the record: I'm a water-snob: I hate lakes for swimming, especially this lake. But it was SO hot out. The water felt amazing - I even went in for a second dip. The sun felt good after the water. There's nothing like a swim in cool water, then drying out in the sun (I really miss having a swimming pool at my apartment building).

After the swim, I did a lot of reading, flew my kite and listened to music. I ate fresh fruit for lunch and dozed off. I stayed until about 5, which was the perfect amount of time. It was nice being there solo, didn't have to follow anyone's schedule except my own.

The fun continues tonight - I'm going out for Thai food and *may* even go out dancing afterward.