Welcome back old friend

I have been a bit distracted of late - time in Sydney with family and friends, play dates with my beautiful nephew and then I have also been spending time on everything else but writing, or practicing, or working or studying or anything really. Sure it is a lovely distraction to sing to a sweet little boy, but now that I am back in McLeod Ganj and I no longer have morning cuddles with my nephew, I am trying to come back to what I know. I am back in my favourite coffee shop in my favourite town in the north of India. Cafe Budan is the same, the boys are all still here, and I feel like in ways I never left. I have even moved back into my old apartment which I just love. I love the familiarity, the view, those mountains that look so magical now as they are permanently surrounded in mist of the delayed monsoon. The place is slightly surreal as the rains have come and bought with them a freshness to the air and a greenness to the mountains. It is breath takingly beautiful and each day I wake and watch the colour of the sky slowly change from dark to light as the soft gentle rain falls and the trees start to make form through the dense fog. Beautiful. Breath taking. And I can't believe I am here, it is magical.

I even rolled out my yoga mat, something I am trying to do each day. Whether it is for 5 minutes or 50, I am slowly breathing life back into my tight hamstrings and loosening the tension in between my shoulders with gentle and slow movements. Nothing fancy, nothing radical,  but simply moving with my breath, watching my mind, and allowing my body to sigh. A big long sigh as the stiffness starts to flow and the past 2 months of good times and indulgence of food and wine and catching up with loved ones start to slip away. After the movement, comes the pranayam, the breath and finally the cherry on top, the silence, the mediation, the stilling the mind. It is amazing how the body never forgets a Surya Namaskar sequence, and groans in protest to a long hip opening, and my mind settles into the space that it is oh so familiar. We have been here before, we know the drill, it is like seeing an old friend. No matter how long the distance, no matter how much time has passed, old friends never forget, they never grow weary or kick you to the curb because you have neglected them, they simply welcome you with open arms and show you nothing but love.

McLeod has welcomed me with open arms, and so to my yoga mat. Like friendships that stand the test of time, I know I can be myself and slip back into our familiar pattern. Bliss.