 I would write about the first day but it is a sort of blur..I remember the airplane ride from Los Angeles International and my departing drink with soul sista Tara Fass at some trendy new spot; who knows where...My flight is chock full of rock and roll guys... big arms, tattoos, lots of equipment. There are at least 50-60 rockers in black on my flight from 20-40 years old...all sporting guitars and sound stuff for an Australian music festival in Brisbane this weekend. They have come from all over the USA. Music style across the spectrum from Metal to whatever. What fun on the plane.. Their drinking started in the LAX international airport where there was a rush on the bars there with these dudes ordering doubles and triples of booze... Yo boy!
Everyone is excited to fly 8000 air miles across the planet. It is exhilarating and amazing, still to me, to be eating at 40,000 feet, emailing, watching movies, scrolling through music.. documentaries. We live in such cool techno times.. I am upset to realize my window seat was not a window seat at all. My seat was in the middle aisle and, to my secret delight, I am sandwiched between two of these musicians.. One vampire-ish.. and the other 6ft 4 inches of gorgeousness. Ha.. Grannie slid in and talked to the tall sip and got all the info on the tour and the way it is run and all that good stuff. I forgot the name of his band..oh well... The groovy guy to my left was mysterious and reads this Carol Oates vampire novel; Daughter of a Grave Digger... the entire time. For 16 hours straight, thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder he said not a single word to either of us. All and all this was the absolute coolest flight I had ever taken. Everyone was wandering around and congregating at the bar up front...The captain had to come on and stop the flow of booze for them at one point about 4 am.. I was way asleep and not drinking on this long flight.. it is grueling and dehydrating and I was being very conservative, and happy to snooze on a big tattooed arm.. what can I say? I arrive.. Brisbane International.. go through customs smoothly. The press was there, the groupies,, and many independent film makers with all kind of cameras and microphones on poles chasing these guys for an interview. Apparently they are semi famous or more.. What do I know or care.. but it was fun anyway.  I am to be picked up by a studio manager who isn't there.. I wait.. I wonder... and then a young gorgeous girl appears with a sign that says "yoga guru"... and she shoots out "are you Dar?" OMG ha ha ha .. how embarrassing. Here I am some over 60 woman with my fat suit on... tired, and wow... well.. here we go! Outside is the painted Jeep.. immediately my pictures are taken.. I am begging to please just get me someplace to brush my teeth. We stop at some yoga props place and gather my necessary tools for teaching a proper training.. Bolster, blocks, straps.. ON the cell phone all are approved by the studio owner.. to the tune of about 800 bucks. I insist we go straight to where I can rest.. no stops at the studio..jeez.. We arrive.. big house, swimming pool, dog, cat, large kitchen, canal out back.. my own bathroom and shower room... gonna be awesome! I force myself to stay awake until 6pm and then sleep 12 hours until the next day. There is a 17 hour time difference forward..Who knows what time or day it really is.. and I am Yin-ed out and don't care.. I am in the flow.. This time around it is different. My teaching has changed. I am evolved with it all and it will once again provide the metaphors, or template for my experience my second time around in OZ. I am looking to the feminine, to the mother, to the more mysterious forces ...to the unexpected, the flow, the soft, the kind, the nurturing.. I am so deeply happy....and so relaxed into the beauty of it all! The sun is shining................... So Natalie and John are a couple I've know a decade from New Jersey.. When they opened Bikram Yoga Westwood. She is Australian and always dreamt of returning to live in Australia with John, and that dream is happening now. She is 9 months pregnant, and about to pop. She comes over to my house which is the house she was raised in. Let me tell you about Natalie...She is gorgeous with long dark hair to her waist. She has not an ounce of body fat, even nine months pregnant. She is a trained Bikram teacher.. has boundless energy and is always smiling. Today she cleaned out her horses stables, took a hot class and had a massage, and then came over to welcome me to Australia... At 5pm she left.. and had her new baby boy the next morning after 15 minutes of labor. She had him a big tub in her living room with her awesome husband behind her supporting her.. Saxon Jet Surie popped out into the warm water and was lifted onto her chest. A few hours later she went back to her horses with Saxon in tow to do her work.. jeez Louise.. what a family. I just want to note that July 7, 2005 I left for Australia the first time as a Bikram Yoga teacher... and her first daughter Sydney was born that day. This morning Sydney came into my room with the dog and hung out with me and we talked about life.. She is an amazing 8 year old girl, sophisticated beyond her years. I had seen Natalie, and taught at their New Jersey Studio all the previous week.. Now I arrive, fast forward 8 years, and the third child is born after I am here 12 hours..Just a pondering thing.. thats all.  TODAY they tell me it is Sunday and I am teaching my first power flow, named Blaze here. OK, I charge up my I pod.. I am on it.. About 25 people show up. I am going to have fun with them.. No rigidity, simply "heart-centered" yoga is on the menu. I give a pretty good class. They are a bit overwhelmed.. I am told the GOLD Coasters are Ab centered.. I mean crunches are their thing.. Well OK then I give it to them, but only after the heart stuff, the breathing.. People cry.. OMG... I am giving them permission to be who they are with total self acceptance, just as I give that to myself under the stress of having to live up to all of their expectations..It works.. We are launched!
Tomorrow; orthodox Bikram.. my specialty...yippee.. and then YIN.. my gift in the early evening.. Life is more than GOOD.. it is BLESSED!
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