Blindfolded Yoga, Among Other Things

Incense, Ganesha (Hindu god of success), Floral Arrangement in the Shala

I’ve been battling a bit of anxiety about this upcoming week and impending solo travel to Phuket and then Munich. Logistically I know things will be fine for both the hectic schedule this week and the travel, I can’t seem to turn my body’s reaction to the stress off. I’ve tried meditating, turning on music to distract myself, watching reruns of junk tv, but nothing is really helping and I continue to feel uneasy and sick to my stomach each morning. It sucks, to be honest. I’ll have to either keep working on it, practice santosha (the idea of being content and accepting wherever you are in life), or maybe surrendering to the fact that I am “Vatta” according to Ayurveda, and Vatta people don’t agree well with travel. I need to do a blog post on Ayurveda complete with the test to see what type of person you are. It is really spot on for me! (Side note: my instructor is British and I’ve been picking up these silly British phrases like “spot on” and without realizing it, have been incorporating them into my everyday talk. It cracks me up.)

 Love my blindfold :)

Today, after my bout of morning anxiety, I headed to meditation and pranayama class. Then we had our two hour asana class…blindfolded. The idea behind the blindfold is to a) check out your balance and b) be a little more introspective. It was pretty awesome, actually. My balance is way better than I had anticipated, and I actually preferred the blindfold to a regular class because it cuts down on distractions and you can just focus on your breath. Maybe I’ll teach a regular blindfolded yoga class when I’m certified…

Unrelated:

Also, a few random things about products inThailand:

-nearly all of the lotions for sale here have bleach in them to whiten the skin. Just as we have bronzing everything in the states, Thais are all about wanting to be white white white.

-nearly all shampoos have some sort of agent to fight against hair loss. Something in the Thai diet is causing people to lose their hair in clumps.