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<p>Got up and headed over to observe the Senior Citizens. As I arrived Guruji was sat on the bench just beside the door to the Institute. I went over and greeted him, feeling much more relaxed around him than when we first arrived. There were 35 in the class today &#8211; a testament to the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I must have had a sixth sense when I put blog up so early yesterday. The internet was down for the whole beach area throughout the evening. Spent the time doing forward bends moving on to the more obscure padmasana ones which come so much more easily in this hot weather. Slept well and woke [&hellip;]</p>

<p>My last weekend in India &#8211; this time next week I will be safely back in rainy UK. Both dreading it and looking forward to it in equal measure &#8211; can&#8217;t wait to see the kids 🙂 After dinner last night wandered up the beach and happened upon a German couple booking a boat trip [&hellip;]</p>

<p>There&#8217;s no place like Home! Slept deeply and soundly so woke up refreshed and the previous day&#8217;s travel a distant memory. Started the day with a dynamic yoga practice &#8211; trying to assimilate the various pointers we have received from Guruji over the last three weeks. I am relishing having the space and the energy [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Possibly one of the most stressful nights ever. First my taxi failed to show up, then as I set off dragging my enormous suitcase down Lakaki Road I had the misfortune to happen upon the least competent rickshaw driver ever. After collecting Lorna from the Mariot we headed off to the bus pick up point [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Veg man taking his siesta atop his barrow. Mini Blog today as heading off for Goa bus shortly &#8211; internet connection uncertain over the next few days. Woke up feeling wonderful after Geetaji&#8217;s class yesterday, lots of springy energy in legs, sacrum and spine. Couldn&#8217;t put my finger on why &#8211; partly I think it [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Yes once again expecting Guruji / Abijata combo and in came Geetatji, thankfully in better form today. Some wonderful Geeta instructions: In Sarvangasana it should be like flying, never sink down heavy, the cervical the dorsal has to lift up, FLY! and in Savasana imagine there is a staircase going down the throat and the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Slept late and missed the opportunity to observe the Senior Citizen&#8217;s class. Yesterday&#8217;s trip was really worthwhile but it meant I missed an excellent backbend class last night and slept through a class I wanted to observe this morning. I think you do have to keep any other interests to a minimum if you are [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Jenny got up early to observe Prashant&#8217;s class while I planned to have a lie in &#8211; my neighbours and their revving car antics had other ideas. Ah well, up for some Pranayama instead. At Midday went across to The Ambience to meet the driver who was to take us to the orphanage. Headed off [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I Was woken pre-dawn with promised cup of herbal tea, had an actual hot shower! and headed off for yoga. The sky was a hazy purple over the lake as the sun began to come up, but I didn&#8217;t appreciate the true beauty of the place until an hour later when the surroundings became clear [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Well that was an unexpected surprise! We were awaiting Guruji and Abijata, but in came Geeta &#8211; explaining that as the institute is closed at the end of the month for the weekend, during Pranayama week she had come instead today to teach Pranayama. I felt very moved during the invocation to find myself sat [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The day began well &#8211; singing in the shower so happy to be here! After 15 years of childcare it&#8217;s so nice to get the chance to rediscover who I am when the cloak of responsibilities is shed (albeit temporarily). Headed into the Institute for practice session to find it was every bit as busy, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Managed to stay awake far too late last night and then just as I was about to turn light off, Lynda popped up on Skype from New Zealand which is 7.5 hours ahead so she was in morning mode! Woke up early for personal Pranayama practice then had a couple more hours sleep. Did practice [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Had a productive organising kind of a day here. Managed to get up in time to do a little Pranayama before class this morning and have realised this may be the key to preserving my energy once I am back to my teaching schedule / busy family life. I feel unbelievably jammy to have had [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Bit of a pants day. Went to bed too late and then had robust hypo in the middle of the night. Yesterday&#8217;s pancreas squeezing activities still making their mark. Struggled out of bed for Prasant&#8217;s class and pre-dawn walk through the park. I&#8217;ll pick out a few key points from the class: &#8220;Postures consume energy, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Lay in bed until 9am, happy not to be getting up early for Prasant. Though of course I heard afterwards it was a wonderful class &#8211; backbends; brick setubanda and padmasana, chair back arch -legs in padmasana, rope sirsasana, standing backbend (preparation for drop back), ustrasana, urdhva dhanurasana, ending with bharadvajasana. The rule is, you [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Another lovely day off. Started with practice &#8211; I am really noticing the influence of the work we are doing here. Standing poses now much more dynamic &#8211; buttock bone below the thigh in the bent leg poses &#8211; no more hovering! Also I think before I came here I was 90 per cent in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&gt; What a full on day! Right I want to start by correcting an earlier inaccuracy that is nagging at me. Right at the beginning I said the teaching hall at the Institute was smaller than Yogawest, but I&#8217;ve come to the conclusion it&#8217;s actually much bigger. It&#8217;s a really strange shape with lots of [&hellip;]</p>

<p>&gt; Class wasn’t until 6pm today so we had the day for ourselves. Practiced at home, working with each other on forward extensions. Great to have a (real, live, willing) yoga buddy!Unlike my normal press-ganged &#8216;volunteers&#8217; As my poor long suffering partner and children will testify. Enjoyed transforming my space in the apartment with my [&hellip;]</p>

<p>10 hours sleep! After snuggling up in bed and skyping with my step-daughter Aggi (in first year at Portsmouth Uni) last night had a full 10 hours before Jenny felt compelled to come and check I wasn&#8217;t infact in a diabetic coma! Right so today is the day for a really thorough practice, feeling a [&hellip;]</p>