Friends….it is still beautiful here even with a few days of intense tropical rains. The rains wash things clean and cool it down a bit and are a nice opportunity to get some work done, although I haven’t been too busy.

I had the opportunity to explore a but more of the area the last few days including a hike to some pools by sea by Barra de Lagoa and then to a magical place called Garopaba about 1 1/2 hours South of the island of Florianopolis. There are sooooo many beaches in this region and each of them have their own special feel and energy to them. I spend the weekend at Praia do Rosa and that beach is really great! Some friends and I stayed at another friends beautiful home about 5 minutes walk from the beach and I got to spend 3 nights sleeping in a hammock! Yum!

During this time, I have been thoroughly enjoying having time, place and energy to take my own yoga practice. At Praia do Luz (next to the house we stayed at) I had my morning practice of the seated footwork I am love with (and soon making a YouTube video!) and a nice 10 minute headstand looking to the sea….I was amazed how gravity works with all that water!!! And the waves looked very cool from that perspective. The next day I got to guide my friends for a verh shanti morning practice that reminded me of many of the phrases that I love to use when I teach in English but haven’t translated yet to Portuguese. I had them tanslated and used them in class yesterday at YogaShala! It was great to have new stuff in Portuguese to teach with.

The time in Garopaba was with some really special people, including Marcio who runs Centro do Ser in Florianopolis, his girlfriend Nicole, new friend Constanza and Eberhard, our host. Marcio also took me to (re) meet Joseph and Lillian Le Page at Enchanted Mounted (Montanha Encontada) at their retreat center and the vibe there is very natural and positive. I think I will organize a retreat there for next Spring!

Now I’m back in Florianopolis for one last week and taught my last regular classes at YogaShala last night and will be back this weekend for the Vinyasa Intensive. I think it will sell out which is very nice because I haven’t been working too much and could some income to balance the output!

It’s been an interesting week emotionally with a return to long yoga practices on my own, lots ot time at the beach alone (during the week….) and feeling somewhat lonely at times. I am making space for those emotions and feeling more mature recently in acceptance of loneliness rather than forcing interactions and feeling guilty about not ‘making the most of my time here.’ This is a story I used to have but now I am much more comfortable knowing that I make the best of all my time when I allow myself to feel whatever comes up. Emotions are like the waves of the sea and are unending…but when they are met by my resistance, they bounce back and forth relentlessly. With a new awareness of being a softer / sandier shore, these emotions dissipate and I am much more comfortable when they arrive. And…they also inspire me to keep opening my heart to most everyone I meet in new and profound ways.

OK…perhaps more on that later, but I’m ready for the beach

Breakfast in Brazil is ALWAYS very special and tropical. Yum!

And I’ve been flying lots of friends Acro Yoga Style!

More photos here: http://www.findbalance.net/about/photos/

Until the next post…with Light and Love,
David