back to reality

wow, reality is shocking. i've been home 48 hours, hosted two parties (a bon voyage and teacher training graduation), led doga in the park, and contracted a nasty cold virus. welcome home, eh? i'm happy to share that the humane society brought some lovely dogs to doga yesterday and they got some applications for adoption. to me, that means it was an absolute success! photos to come.

the last afternoon of our training some students put on a skit highlighting our teachers and mentors. i was honored to hear that sharon asked for me to play her. i got to sit up on stage in front of the harmonium and give her well-known phrase of "if you take away one thing from this teacher training . . . " graduation was very special. shyam das played the harmonium and sung throughout. we were all called up to receive our certificates and had a photo taken with sharon and david. i complimented sharon's lovely sari and how gorgeous she looked. she replied, "i'm a reflection of you." what a perfect response. i'm going to have to remember that one! the night ended with our nightly ritual of aarti and devotional chants.

friday morning was bittersweet with many goodbyes and the packing up of my room. beau was there to help and we both drove home in our separate cars. i listened to krisha das, eminem, and tori amos the whole journey home. (yep, i've always been full of paradoxes - example, music preferences) i unpacked until 1am and was so delighted to find a small statue of lakshmi waiting for me in the mail. she was on our altar at the training and represents abundance. it was mentioned that saraswati is the goddess of creativity - she seems like someone right up my alley, too! abundance and creativity are two delightful traits that i want to embody.

i thought allergies were kicking in last night but after going through a box of tissues and little response to my allergy medicine, i concluded that it is a full-fledged cold. yuck! was in bed until 4 today and have been walking around in a daze ever since. tomorrow is a new day and i have a basket full of matters begging for my attention - documents to sign, documents to review, receipts to organize, a yoga conference tradeshow next week to prep for, this week's meetings to prep for . . . but i guess my body is begging for rest after the month-long intensive.

i have to laugh when people ask, "how was your retreat?" it's a matter of semantics but retreat it was not. life-altering, sure.

must sign off as my cold medicine is kicking in. i have a fabulous podcast to share with you tomorrow - an interview with my mentor at the training - alanna (jiva diva). it's about manifesting. i think you'll love it. until then, keep shining and have a delightful start to your week. thanks again for all your support during this experience.