Midnight Special

I just got home from my weekend workshop in Houston (actually it was Friendswood/Pearland) studying with my beloved yoga teacher, Mary, who moved from Austin all the way to Boston last summer. My love for Mary runs deep; she was my yoga teacher for several years. I made myself her devotee, her apprentice. I believe that her understanding of yoga and yoga philosophy not only transcends the world of yoga we live in today, but that she embodies the concepts of truth, wisdom, and courage. She and her spiritual mentor, Buddha, a Catholic priest, officiated our wedding. Anyway. The last time I visited with her she told me she was never going to teach yoga again, which made me feel so sad, not just for me but for the rest of the world. She is truly gifted.

Her workshop this weekend was on the Bhagavad Gita, a document so near and dear to my own heart, thanks to her introducing it to me several years ago. The name translates from Sanskrit to English as "Song of God." It is considered the jewel of Hindu literature and sacred text, and was written some time before the Common Era. It contains the first mentions of yoga in all the relgious canons. It describes the different paths of yoga, and how yoga is a process and how to live with true meaning and purpose. It is said to be the only book Henry David Thoreau brought with him to Walden Pond, and Robert Oppenheimer quoted from it when he witnessed the first atomic bomb go off. I love reading and teaching it. It is so relevant to my own life.

Anyway.

To have Mary teach a workshop on it was really a rare and special treat, and I wasn't going to miss it no matter how bad I felt. I am still nauseated most of the time, very tired, and have that damn yellow discharge. I managed to squeeze in a doctor visit on Friday, peed in a cup on my way out of town, and he is supposed to give me test results Monday. He didn't seem alarmed, but I am so worried about every little thing. Especially since my low back/sacrum hurts so very much.

I ate really well on the trip, was only a little stiff from being cooped up in the car -- I rode with three other friends and we had a great time -- slept six hours (!!!) instead of two to four, and practiced very sweetly this morning from 9 am to noon. I have given myself permission to use props and support for every single pose if I want to. I am really learning so much about modifying and accomodating for the baby in my belly. I haven't done a backbend since January. And no handstands or headstands. Lots of standing poses with the chair, and stuff at the wall like chaturanga and bujangasana.

I will write more later on the themes of the workshop; it was really deep and thought-provoking. Now, since I didn't nap at all today, I should be hitting the sack.

Tomorrow (today, since it is just after midnight) I plan to lounge and laze all day.