Many people looked at me rather strangely when I informed them that I was going to Egypt for a massage course. Well, I met Itzhak in Lahu and found out that he was holding a course in this beautiful beachside camp on the Red Sea and just couldn't resist!!!
As usual, mornings started with 5am Vipasanna followed by yoga at 6am. This time around, I missed quite a number of morning sessions. The meditation was great until about 5.30am when the flies started to come out and then it became a real exercise in pratyhara. After the 1st day, I did meditation completely covered and veiled and it worked quite well. Yoga was a different story though, since I couldn't exactly wear a veil doing ashtanga!! I had flies in my mouth, ears and every conceivable cavity....... I got so aggitated at the end of the sessions that I decided to give quite a few classes a miss. (I know, that was very bad of me!!!) I hadn't practised Ashtanga in years either. The sequence came back to me relatively easily, but I forgot how tough those vinyasas were. Boy were they tiring.
The course was wonderful. I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to concentrate as I had the kids with me. But it wasn't an issue at at all.
As usual, mornings started with 5am Vipasanna followed by yoga at 6am. This time around, I missed quite a number of morning sessions. The meditation was great until about 5.30am when the flies started to come out and then it became a real exercise in pratyhara. After the 1st day, I did meditation completely covered and veiled and it worked quite well. Yoga was a different story though, since I couldn't exactly wear a veil doing ashtanga!! I had flies in my mouth, ears and every conceivable cavity....... I got so aggitated at the end of the sessions that I decided to give quite a few classes a miss. (I know, that was very bad of me!!!) I hadn't practised Ashtanga in years either. The sequence came back to me relatively easily, but I forgot how tough those vinyasas were. Boy were they tiring.
The massage part of the course went amazingly well though. It was great getting back to basics and being reminded about the philosophy behind the practise. The giving, the compassion and the healing ........... The practise does not have to be all elaborate and complicated (which is fun, but probably is more about the ego than about giving.........), cos working the simple energy lines with the right spirit and attitude is already amazing!!
We met some wonderful people on the course: Shoo-shoo, patrick, lucy and Amr. Everyone had already been practising for a number of years except Shoo-Shoo who was new to the art but was such a natural, you wouldn't know it. Itzhak was a great teacher with a big heart and an open mind. It's amazing how he had all the pages and illustrations in Asokananda's little Red Book all memorised.
