Today began with the alarm shunting me awake at 0530hrs. I didn't want to be late to my first full day and I find lateness incredibly disrespectful, so I set off just before 6am to find the yoga shala in the dark.
Well, woeth me. Cenang looks very different in the dark and I got a bit lost. I took what turned out to be a shortcut later, but then turned down the wrong road and got a bit lost. My GPS was totally unhelpful, so I ended up ringing Meng Foon in a mad panic. She told me to relax - so I retraced my steps and found I'd taken a short cut and had gone the wrong way around the Easy Hotel (oxymoron alert). I did remember the short cut the next day though, it cut about two minutes off the walk to the Shala!
Here's a rather zen sounding Facebook status for today:
After getting lost in the kampung on my way to the yoga shala this morning - no matter, as I had a great 1.5hr pranayama, jala neti kriya and meditation session with Marc followed by 2.5 hours of yoga with Meng Foon. "Home" for a nap then back for another 2.5 hrs tonight. And I've just found a place that does SUP yoga here so will try and fit another class into my packed schedule!
Here's a rather zen sounding Facebook status for today:
After getting lost in the kampung on my way to the yoga shala this morning - no matter, as I had a great 1.5hr pranayama, jala neti kriya and meditation session with Marc followed by 2.5 hours of yoga with Meng Foon. "Home" for a nap then back for another 2.5 hrs tonight. And I've just found a place that does SUP yoga here so will try and fit another class into my packed schedule!
I arrived, finally, and set about preparing for Jala Neti Kriya. Basically, you stick a special neti pot (a nasal cleansing teapot) spout up one nostril and pour warm salty water up in that nostril to have it flow out the other nostril. It cleanses the nasal passages and makes it easier to breathe. A word of warning - make sure you have tissues handy and for the love of yoga, ensure you tilt your head forward. Don't just bend at the waist or you'll be swallowing dirty salty water. Ewwww!
After Neti, it was on to pranayama. We diid a few rounds of Kapalabathi breathing (shining breath) before a few rounds of Nadi Shodhana. I then got to meditate for half an hour with the sounds of the morning all around me - roosters, motorcycles, sheep, goats, squirrels, geckos, a man next door clearing his throat, cars, the call to prayer from the five mosques and surau (local prayer centres, like mini mosques) in the immediate area and a few trucks and bulldozers.
After a short break, I had my first yoga class with Meng Foon. We went through a short relaxation before some asana practice. I rather like Marc and Meng Foon's variation of sun salutations, as it is similar to the Byron Level 1 variation I'll be studying in Bali and it involves sweeping the arms overhead in a forward motion instead of sideways, which means I can practice it at home without smashing into the walls either side of my yoga mat. Well, until I re-arrange the lounge, yet again, to facilitate better home practice with more room!
We finished in Savasana about two hours later after asana, philosophy and encouragement to just let go of my perfectionist tendencies and just "be". Awesome!
I headed off into the scorching hot day (only about 36 degrees and 85% humidity today) for banana pancakes and iced coffee at the breakfast station in Cenang. I then hit the "Resort", put on my bathers and hit the beach. I rented a beach chair for the day, grabbed a cold drink and had a swim, followed by an impromptu nap on said beach chair, under the beach umbrella.
Friday is the first day of the weekend here in Kedah state and Langkawi is no exception. Friday is a particularly holy day for Muslims and there are important prayers at the mosque are on Fridays. Almost everything is closed until late afternoon to give the people a chance to attend the prayers. It shuts down the island, in a way similar to Sundays in the Roman Catholic world. It's lovely.
The call to prayer is even more lovely to listen to on Fridays - I've been told that being the man who performs the call to prayer is a massive honour, which is really great. It's such a privilege to be able to listen to five different versions three times a day from all the local Mosques and Surau.
Friday is the first day of the weekend here in Kedah state and Langkawi is no exception. Friday is a particularly holy day for Muslims and there are important prayers at the mosque are on Fridays. Almost everything is closed until late afternoon to give the people a chance to attend the prayers. It shuts down the island, in a way similar to Sundays in the Roman Catholic world. It's lovely.
The call to prayer is even more lovely to listen to on Fridays - I've been told that being the man who performs the call to prayer is a massive honour, which is really great. It's such a privilege to be able to listen to five different versions three times a day from all the local Mosques and Surau.
I had some chicken substance for lunch then walked around Cenang a bit more and bought a couple of pairs of cotton pants and a couple of cotton tops, as everything I brought with me is totally unsuitable for the temperatures here. You'd have thought I'd remembered from last year but no, I forgot what it was like here and that was a bit of a FAIL. I'd better get this sorted before Bali or I'm in big trouble!
It was 5pm before I knew it and I was back on my mat for another yoga class and meditation session with Marc. Can't remember exactly what we did beyond sun salutations but I'm pretty sure there was some kakasana (crow pose) in there. Oh, and some supported headstand too.
The meditation session was more challenging tonight - in addition to all the noises from this morning, we can add a bunch of smokey fires to the list of distractions, plus ants. Lots of ants. But I managed okay and although I didn't sit as still as a statute for any great length of time, I felt great afterwards.
Tonight I had a mixed grill for dinner at Telaga Seafood Restaurant. NZ Lamb, Aussie beef and local chicken. With the national obsession version of chips, shoestring french fries on a side plate and an iced lemon tea, I felt okay afterwards. I needed meat. I didn't necessarily want it, but my body needed it.
After yet another ice cream, I'm back at the hotel and trying to wind down so I can sleep. Another 0530hrs start tomorrow, so time to write in my gratitude journal and go to sleep!
No comments:
Post a Comment