Ola Blog readers,

I have just landed in Rio de Janeiro after another incredible week in Florianopolis. I’ll re-cap the adventures and then when I have a bit more time post a bit about two things I’m pondering lately; dedication vs. discipline and taking risks…

After the very positive experiences in BH, I returned to the island sanctuary of Floripa. The weather was a bit cool so I took a few days to just be…some beach time, good practices and a lot of ’shanti time’. I taught class at Yoga Shala on Wednesday to a small group and gave a great Vinyasa Flow to them….lots of new stuff for the students and well received. Then I had 2 great adventure days leading into the teacher training weekend…

I called my friend Manu on Thursday and she was excited to hear from me and invited me to go to ‘circus’….not to ‘the circus’ but to play on Silks hanging from the ceiling. I have seen many performances of them before and was excited to try them. We arrived at UFSC (local university) and there was a class of Silk happening so Manu and I stretched a bit and then did some Acro-Yoga and other acrobatic tricks…she’s a bit of a circus performer type and showed me some great new stuff. It was great to be her base while she jumped and flew all over! Then we went to the silk and she gave me a little lesson and up I went. I was amazed at how safe I felt with using my hands and feet (Yes….the keys!!) to hold myself about 4 or 5 meters in the air. She gave me instructions from the ground and I made my way upside-down, split between two ropes and a few other poses that were really great. It was extremely tiring for me and the women who were there in class and the other teachers really amazed me with their strength and grace. I posted pics on my photos page (about > photos) and you can see my with my first circus act!!!! I had the pleasure of dinner with a new friend on Thursday night as well that brought some light and high vibration back to me. Thanks Claudia!

Then on Friday, the adventure continued with Paragliding! I got a call around mid-day from a friend I met who takes tandem rides on a parachute and it was truly special. We went to the top of Morro do Logoa and there were lots of pilots eager to fly as it had been a few days / weeks since conditions were good…Richard got everything set up, gave me a 3 minute lesson, really!, and strapped me in. There will be some other photos of that coming soon. Then he got the chute up in the air, gave me the instruction to start walking forward and the next think I know he’s behind me strapping in and the lift of a giant parachute pulled my feet off the ground and we were airborne. That initial sensation was really amazing. Something I have always wondered about….running off the side of the mountain until the wind carries you away. It was magical…then we cought a few thermals (warm updrafts of air) and up we went. The total flight was about an hour and the system is super easy. There was a seat on my pack and I literally just sat there and took in the amazing views of flying above Lagoa and the surrounding area. At one point, we even caught a thermal while it was making a cloud and were in the middle of this forming cloud….WOW! And with about 10 - 15 other chutes in the air, it was a very special afternoon. On the way down, Richard wanted to do a few loops which felt really amazing to have the G-forces, but made me a bit nautious…As for the landing, there were less instuctions then for the take-off, but successful and fun getting back to Earth. I felt completely spaced out afterwards for a few hours and Richard commented that being in the air like that (paragliding or hang gliding) is one of our only chances to be completely supported by the air in the natural way and I truly felt that in all my being. I got home, took a nice hot shower to prepare for class that evening and barely was grounded enough to make it to class. But alas, I’m a professional and made it happen.

The weekend was teacher training at Yoga Shala. I was an invited guest teacher of my good friend Camila’s training and had a super powerful weekend of teaching 18 very eager and interested students. There was lots of technical information as many of them were fairly new to asana practice (which I found very interesting seeing as it was teacher training, but I think many of them want to develop their practices deeper and then possibly teach) and lots of ‘David’s theory of vibrational living’ talk and….the Hands and Feet are the Keys that can open the doors of the Elbows and Knees which will lead you into the Kingdom of openness in the shoulders and hips! This analogy and methodology is going to be the fuel for my book…coming sometime in the next 5 years

Then Sunday afternoon after teacher training, I had some quality time on the beach with my new friend and am now working on a new song….It never gets easier to say Good - bye.

Now in Rio, I’ve arrived at Casa Carlao, a Yogi whom I have not yet met, but we have mutual friends and he’s invited me to his home. The doorman greeted me and brought me upstairs and I’m about to wrap this up and take an Acai in Ipanema before 6:30 class (as a student!!) at Blyss. My program at Blyss starts tomorrow and I am really excited to be back in Rio. Oh, there’s a pretty serious epidemic of Dengue Fever here in Rio right now. So I’ve brought plenty of repellent. Supposed to re-apply every 3 hours to keep the mossie’s away.

As a quick overview….I’m feeling very supported by friends and family through email and Skype. I am fully immersed in the ocean of emotion that is my traveling life and I am holding a vision for some major growth which is poised on the horizon.