on the way home

I have been on many planes in the last 24 hours. I would love to change my clothes , and actually lie flat to sleep without my neck in weird positions. We boarded the Kingfisher airline in Cochin, after dipping our feet in the Indian ocean in Alleppy, and visiting 2 churches, a palace and several bazaars and shops. I did not bring back the gorgeous 42” 5 metal statue of Shiva dancing the divine cosmic dance of fire, (known to some of you as Nataraja) but I have a family of rosewood elephants to remind me of the elephant family in Thekkady and henna designs on my palms. We stopped at some street vendors, and the woman took wooden stamps and covered my palms with graceful designs. A group gathered around us, and I bought some of the stamps before she covered my whole arms with designs! We ate lunch in an old hotel. When we arrived at the airport, I was very sad to say good bye to Biju, I just brought my hands to my heart and said Nonni, which is thank you in kerala. In India, a woman should never initiate a handshake. (I also found out that Namaskaram is good morning in Kerala, and Namaste is good morning in northern India.)

We arrived in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay for our connecting flight to London. WOW! This was another totally different experience. The airport is a massive crush of humanity, even at 11:30 at night! Tons of traffic, beeping horns, close calls, luggage everywhere. There is lots of security – stern looking armed guards, and people pushing and talking in many different languages. Kind of a semi organized but scary chaos. There were several security checkpoints and body searches. I no longer smile but raise my arms and let them frisk me. This is serious business. It is amazing it is not more volatile. Long lines everywhere. There are separate lines for women and men to be searched. The flights to and from London and India are packed. . Our flight took off at 2:45 am and we had a dinner of Pizza Hut before we boarded! (Tasted strange to eat pizza) I was very happy to get on the plane and leave Mumbai behind. We immediately went to sleep and awoke somewhere over Russia a few hours later. When we arrived in London for a short layover I was glad to be there. Even in London there are many more security checkpoints than I am used to.

So, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, on the last leg of the trip home, I am finishing the last entry for this particular journey. My mind is starting to look ahead to the weekend, and coming home, wondering about the snow, wanting to see my children and all my pets- my chickens and goats. The dogs will whine and bark and lick my face when we walk in the door, and the everything will look different to me. (It always does when I arrive home!) The cats will decide in their own time if they will acknowledge me or not. I will sleep in my own bed, and gather the girls around me to pull out all the treasures from my suitcases. I will go to the studio and sit by the fire, thinking of where I have been. I am looking forward to seeing you all. Even though you have followed my journey, I need to catch up on yours! I will begin my life again here, teaching and sharing this yoga which is so different here, but grounded in the stillness and beauty of India. I hope I can share that essence with you.

Until we meet again. Namaskaram! Om Shanti!