Thinking back over the trip now that I'm home

I've been home a week now, and thought I'd reflect back on my trip and summarize my thoughts.

First of all, it was a wonderful trip and I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to go! Thank you Michael & Beverly for making me aware of the yoga retreat, for encouraging me to go along and for being such great travel companions! I'm sorry my desire to ride elephants put you in the Chiang Mai hospital Michael!! Note to self and anyone else who is thinking about riding elephants bareback - wear long pants!! They have very coarse hair and it will prick your legs as you are trying to hold on. And you don't realize it until you are off and start seeing little bumps pop up on your legs. I only had 3 or 4 of them which I thought were bug bites and immediately put antibiotic ointment on as soon I noticed them, but Mike had on shorts and got the worst of it with hundreds of pricks that ended up infected. Not good! But he has survived and is on to his next adventure.

The experience at Yoga Thailand was so beneficial on a number of levels. First, the people teaching the classes, Adarsh & Heleen, were wonderful teachers and were very enjoyable to be around. And the people I met there who were attending the retreat were also enjoyable. Of the 12-14 people who were there, 4 of us were American. There was a couple from Australia originally from the Ukraine, two British women, one of whom lives in Dubai, a German professor who once taught at UF, and Heleen who lives in California, but is from the Netherlands. There were also drop in students from Sweden and other places. It was wonderful to be around such diverse people who were drawn together for a common interest. We had many conversations and I learned much about the different cultures and environments in which they live. This is one of the main reasons I love to travel - learning about things I would never learn if I just stayed in the U.S. I also learned alot about the Thai culture and cuisine thanks to the staff at Yoga Thailand who were so very accomodating. And I learned a little about Buddhism too. But selfishly, the most beneficial thing was that this retreat set me on a course to get healthy again. Since leaving Yoga Thailand, I've been doing yoga almost every day (except the days I was traveling) and I can tell a big difference in my flexibility (my mouse shoulder is much better!), and I'm even starting to lose some weight! Yay! It takes a lot of concentration and mindfulness to do the breathing right, remember the poses and do them correctly, so it is mentally and physically challenging but is very calming at the same time. The eight guiding principles of Ashtanga yoga seem to be good ones and I want to research more about the history and philosophy around it, and have already ordered the book "Yoga Mala" that is by the Yoga Guru, Sri K Pattabhi Jois, that taught my teachers. If anyone is interested, you can visit the website for Adarsh & Heleen at http://www.ashtangayogadaily.com/yoga.htm. They have also recommended one of their yoga buddies to me who teaches in Atlanta. I'd like to try and make it to a class with him at least once a week to keep motivated and make sure I'm doing it correctly (so I don't hurt myself).

I'm already planning my next trips - the first of which will be down to St. Thomas, USVI, which is a favorite, and is someplace where I can stay for free. We have friends who live there and Dave is there working and housesitting for the next few weeks. Then I'll spend some time at my beach house in Laguna Beach, FL once all of my renters are out. It's very peaceful once school is back in, and the weather is really nice there in Sept & Oct. I've got my heart set on a trip to Prague in the fall, and I'd really like to work Egypt and the Pyramids in somehow. Now if I can just get the money to hold out!! I'll be sure to keep my blog updated as plans progress and trips are underway.