All the way to Edinburgh and back again
Well it seems the Gods were indeed shining on us the last week as we have been blessed with a wonderful time in London and Edinburgh.
We left the Island last Friday, E's birthday, and spent much of the day walking around the Shoreditch area of London searching for original Banksy art work. E is really passionate about Bansky and some of this has rubbed off on me, so I too was rather excited when we finally found some original art work, protected behind a plastic covering, unlike most of the other art, that has been rubbed off and painted over. It was also really fascinating to walk around another area of London and really take an interest in your surroundings.
I have always been a bit of a late developer and my current love of London is perhaps indicative of this. Admittedly nature if where it is really at, but the energy of London is amazing, let alone all the opportunity for Yoga and music and the arts.
We celebrated E's birthday with some dancing, a lot of fun and a great way of letting go, feeling the music and allowing the body to move with the flow. It is like the Shamans and the Sufis, getting into that zone, a liberation of sorts, we should all be dancing, it is just another way to speak with the soul.
I spoke with my soul at Yoga too. I trekked up to Primrose Hill to TriYoga, which I just love, it has a wonderful energy from all the Yoga that has been practiced there over the years. I opted for Ashtanga as it was a level 2/3 so I could challenge my boundaries, plus have a bit of a work out in the process. I used to love Ashtanga, in fact that was my entry into Yoga, it is brilliant for "athletic" beginners as you can learn the sequence and then begin a home practice rather easily, plus it really does make you feel good as it lengthens, detoxifies, strengthens and challenges on every level.
Still, I did get rather bored of the sequence and as a girl it does over develop - in my opinion - the upper body strength. Plus it was actually designed for 26 year old boys, to increase their sexual vitality, and it is not uncommon for girls who practice every day (say on teacher training courses) to find that their menstrual cycle is adversely affected. However that aside, everything has its place and I have full respect for the system and for Pattabhi Jois who developed it.
These days I am more inclined towards Vinyasa Flow and Anusara Yoga and if I lived near Primrose Hill then I could indulge frequently. Well, relatively frequently, a 90 minute class costs £16 as a drop-in, we are clearly most spoilt here in Guernsey!
Needless to say, this class was good fun, challenging and physically demanding and leaving me feel a little wired, lighter, clearer and taller at the end of the 90 minutes.
The only problem was the fact I could barely move my arms and shoulders the next day after all the chattarangas and upward facing dog with all those jump backs and vinyasas!!
On Monday we travelled up to Edinburgh on the East Coast train. It is stunning out that way, we got to see the remains of the flooding and the beginnings of the snow showers that continued throughout the week.
It was cold in Edinburgh, really cold. Thankfully we were staying with my best friend Lou and her husband and 3 children. She has recently had a baby and hence our visit, well plus I was treating E to a trip to Edinburgh for his birthday!
We had fun. While I have stayed a number of times this was E's first visit so Lou showed us both around, we went to the Castle which is fairly stunning and the German Christmas Market, to the Museum which is very impressive, and then for a general wander around town. We had lunch one day at the Mosque Cafe, which is exactly that, a little like the whole Hare Krishnas eating places, food made with love, curries and rice £5 each.
E and I spent a day on our own in the city and traipsed up Arthur's Seat wrapped in as many clothes as I could manage for it was incredibly cold at the top with snow underfoot. The views were amazing as we had been blessed with sunshine, and could see the snow covered hills and mountains in the distance.
It really was a brilliant trip and i would just like to say a great big thank you to all our friends who made it so special.
Back here in Guernsey the wind has arrived again, yet more cobwebs being blown away in time for 12.12.12 next week and the supposed end of the world the following week....
So I guess we have to go out there and embrace life to its fullest, have fun, dance in the wind, and enjoy the festivities!
With much gratitude and love,
xxx