The proof is in the pudding

Howdy!
well, you've all been very patient with my not writing. I fear my negligence will cause readership to drop dramatically, so, if it's not too late.... here's the news and the latest pikatures....
I am just now starting to get my head around the fact that I am free again. No classes. The program ended friday.
The training was excellent. I have inherited many teaching tools. I am very grateful for all that the teachers did to help us along in our learning about anatomy, and ethics, philosophy and techniques. And it was fun to be so excited and enthusiastic about school.
It was so busy and intense, my head is still swirling from what happened.
So many classes, and so much note taking and test writing and essays and orals. yikes!!
They designed the course very well so that in addition to the paper and pens coursework and hands on teaching, you also really delve into personal development and bonding with the other women in the program ( no men in the program and the women ranged in age from 21 to 53).
I really felt the feeling that we are all not separate in this world, we are one. What I do to others, comes back to me, effects me, because they are a part of me, and me a part of them. Just as you are a part of me and I am a part of you. This is what i learned. It was not taught explicitly or directly, it was what I came to on my own from what I experienced.
Others suffer and struggle, others are sad, others feel as I do, we are all together in this experience of life. We all want the same things: peace, happiness, love, to feel fulfilled. We are part of one creation, not separate, not at all. This is a very powerful teaching.
So now I am a certified yoga teacher with the papers to prove it. Somehow this endows me with a confidence in myself, my ability to teach, and a sense that I have something to offer and share with the world if that knowledge is so requested. Even though I had this before, I didn't feel a confidence about it. So this is a big gift to me. A big gift.
Now I will spend a few weeks staying here at the ashram and just integrating, studying and practicing. I still have so much to learn.
The weather is getting nice now. Birds are singing.
The river is green.
The wind blows warmer and warmer everyday.
I am excited about the future and what it will bring.
Only about 3 months left of this trip. I can't believe it's nearing near the end. It seems like just yesterday I had 6 or 8 months left to stay here.
Now 3.
wow.
The plan is to stay here a month. Go to Dharamsala for a month or so (where the Dalai Llama lives), and then I want to take another Ayurveda course which is nearby here, for one month. I am becoming more and more intrigued by Ayurvedic medicine, ancient Indian naturopathy based on the idea that in order to be healthy, strong and disease-free we can re-align ourselves with nature and her rhythms and laws. Everything from diet to massage, daily routines and excercise, there are many little places in daily life where we can use ayurvedic principles to create balance within ourselves and harmony with our environment. If it means that we can all live more peacefully in our bodies, pain and discomfort free, with a mind that is calm and easy to concentrate, and we feel generous with others and relaxed, is this not your definition of Utopia? I think its mine.
Does it sound airy fairy? It might until you see it work. The proof is in the pudding.
I have to run. I am taking my friend Jasmine downtown by rickshaw to introduce her to my ayurvedic doctor and to pick up some herbs for myself.
enjoy the pictures and i'll be back soon
love