Intro to Cranio Sacral and More...

Hello y'all from Chiang Mai, Thailand.  I've just wrapped up a 10 day course on an introduction to craniosacral and biodynamics and have had a few days of resting and stocking up on supplies (that I can't get in Bhutan). In a few days I'll head off to a 6 day yoga immersion south of Chiang Mai and on the day it ends I'll rush to the airport to fly back to Laos for a 4 week intensive training on massage and various bodyworking type things.

I don't expect to update the blog too much during this time as I'll either be too busy learning or out in a jungle away from technology.  I apologize for those waiting for more content. I will be checking email sporadically so please feel free to message me if you have comments or concerns.

Love and Light

Andy

Meditation Point

I've written a few times about the Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal Chorten in Punakha as it is one of my most favorite places in the country. On one day this past autumn I hiked to the chorten carrying my Manduka yoga mat and my very old bura, a raw silk fabric usually used for womens skirts but which I use as a shawl. I laid the mat down, did some simple stretching and then sat down for a good meditation session.  The environment proves perfect for this sort of activity as there is just something in the air here that screams SPIRITUALITY. (and that is coming from someone who isn't too spiritual)

It was a clean, clear and happy meditation period and well worth the hike out there.  Looking forward to more time there next season. :)

A Quick Visit To Sikkim

I had 5 days where work was going to be very low so was given the opportunity to leave the lodge and go somewhere else before the christmas rush. It was either go do a trek or two or see part of India, as it's right next door. As the weather had been getting very cold I felt that a trek would not be such a great idea and decided to go see Sikkim. Sikkim was once a kingdom of it's own rule but now falls under India's governance. I had heard it was a lot like Bhutan so I wanted to check out what it was.  I went to Gangtok, the capital, for two nights and though it was slightly similar in the way the land and some of the people looked, the way the area felt was completely different. More Indian... pushy and cramped. Though one very nice thing was the views of Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest peak. I found it truly so beautiful the way the peak came out of the down crested mountaintops in front of it. I climbed up to a temple on the peak of the town and just stared at Kanchenjunga for quite some time. I found it mesmerising and inspirational.

Another high point was finding the chili momo. This was a cheese dumpling set cooked in a spicy red sauce covered with onions and tomatoes as well. Absolutely deliciousness!

Yoga While We Wait

This is a post from a few months back, but I never got around to putting it up.

I was waiting for my friend Mei to get done with her 3 day trek from Thimphu to Paro and went to go meet her and her guide at the end. I had been designing a yoga mat bag made from local textile designs to fit my slightly wider mat so happened to have my mat in the car. Since there was an unknown time to wait I thought I'd lay the mat out to get some yoga out in the nature.  While my self portrait doesn't nearly do justice to anything I hope you can get a sense of how nice it was to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by beautiful nature (and grazing horses) practicing yoga.  I had hoped to get more yoga in nature and photos of it during my tenure in Bhutan but most of the time I'm there it's too cold to practice outside.