Astanga

(Mysore rug in retirement; it has been reincarnated as a 'beach towel')

Beach day! I've been planning this all week. I did my yoga practice in the early morning, in the Big Park. Very quiet and no mowers this time. I finally got back to my full Primary series. I ran out of time and had to skip Sirsasana and Savasana, though. But these are small sacrifices to make for the prospect of Banana Pancakes. ;-)

After breakfast, we took our time biking down to the docks and ended up on the 1 o'clock ferry. We stopped for a coffee on the way to the beach and I added to the decadence of my morning with a home-made chocolate-banana muffin.

The beach was beautiful and the weather was absolutely perfect. I love it when it's just hot enough to make swimming appealing, but not so hot that's it's miserable to be in the sun. Unfortunately, it was noisy. The infestation of military jets continues. One of the fighter jets flew so low, I wondered if he was going to take the tips off the trees. It was actually a bit frightening.

I spent the day lazing around in the sun, swimming and reading. My latest book is 'Rapt' by Winifred Gallagher. It's an amazing treatise about the psychology and physiology of attention. The book touches on everything from meditation, to neurology, to cognitive therapy. It's well-written and engaging. This book appeals to me because it offers a scientific perspective on the benefits of meditation practice. I always love it when an aspect of my spiritual practice can be explained in a nuts-and-bolts kind of way.

This summer, I officially became a 'lake swimmer'. I've never been very comfortable in the lakes around here, but I finally overcame my water-snobbery and I've been swimming nearly every weekend since early August. I think my trip to the Island was the tipping point: it was so beautiful and clean there, almost ocean-like.

It was one thing to get over the 'yuck factor' but the temperature is a different story. This water is COLD. I've learned to wade in up to mid-thigh, exhale completely and then...just like tearing off a band-aid...inhaling deeply as I take the plunge. EEEK! As the season deepens, the water will get colder. It's very possible that this was our last beach day, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an Indian Summer.