With a whirlwind week that saw me fly from Sao Paulo through New York (clearing customs and immigration with ease….finally!) to San Francisco for 2 days and then to Maui…I have arrived on this magical island and feel welcomed and well received by the island and Maui family that lives here.
My 36 hours in San Francisco were great!  I landed on a Wednesday afternoon and felt full of emotion walking back into my house after the Brazilian adventures.  Thanks immensely to Naima and Sarah (the Goddesses who live in my house) who cleaned the house for my arrival!  Walking into my home with my bags and stories left me with a deep sense of comfort for my home and also gratitude for the life of travel that I am living.  To arrive into a very familiar space was grounding and pleasing to me and I was happy to be home for a moment!  Knowing that my time was very limited in SF, and with my ‘moon in Capricorn’ I went straight to work unpacking, re-packing, organizing, cleaning and more…After a few hours of that, i made it out to my dear friend and excellent Flow Yoga teacher, Janet Stone’s class.  I took my guitar and started another friend, Dazza, and I opened the class with a Mantra then did the practice (a sweaty and challenging hip opening flow) and then I gave a sweet Savasana serenade!  It was really delicious for me get to be a guest musician in an 80 person class in my ‘home town.’  Then it was out for Thai food, which I really missed in Brazil, and a short rest before and early start to Thursday that was planned out to the minute with tasks.  Fortunately, I have learned to adapt my plans to the flow of life and since I was feeling pretty good about the ‘state of affaris’ of the piles things to send to Mallorca, boxes to Europe and Brazil, sifting through my storage and things to determine clothes and stuff for the next many months of my life I was able to sneak over to Dazza’s house where he has set up a new recording studio and we recorded vocal and guitar tracks on 2 new Mantra melodies!  They sound great and we’re working on some other productions parts….you’ll hear them here soon!
Then back home for a final push on thursday night and Friday morning I awoke very early to have one last practice in my home yoga studio.  The studio in the back of my house is a very special place.  Many of you may already be aware, but it is a ‘green yoga studio’ constructed with Eco-friendly building supplies and has seen much transformation with the work that I and my neighbor Dina have done in there.  The practice was really powerful and there were several times that I realized what a strong connection I have in my home and in San Francisco and was flooded with emotion to the point of tears….some were sadness, some were joy and all were welcomed.  Moving my body, breathing and awakening emotions to be fully immersed in life that last morning in San Francisco felt like a perfect chapter changing for me in this period in my life.  As I finished the practice and closed the door for the last time (for now) I was totally empowered and honored to own that magical oasis of Yoga in the city.
Then it was on the road again….and I arrived in Maui a few hours late….but right in time!  There was a great birthday happening that much of my ‘Maui Family’ was attending and I went straight from the airport to the party and stayed dancing and connecting with friends until very late.  Then a Saturday on the beach and back to Yoga School on Sunday morning!
After traveling and teaching for 3 months, this time for me to drop deep into my practice with Eddie and Nicki again is very welcomed.  Practicing with the dedicated students who are here for this training and with my teachers who really do inspire me greatly is a super humbling experience and I already feel a shift beginning to occur for me to enter deeper into the space of receiving and learning rather then teaching (and learning…which I will always continue to do).  This training is Eddie and Nicki’s Iyengar training and we are working on 5 minute holds of poses and a lot of very detailed and specific alignment.  It’s very potent work!  After a 3 hour practice Sunday morning…I got to go to Maui’s Sunday afternoon tradition of drumming and dancing for the sunset at Little Beach.  It’s an ‘anything goes’ nude beach (no, I was not , but I buy my bathing suits in Brazil)  and full of hippies and freaks and I was beaming from ear to ear with the joy of life and HIGH vibration of Sunday at Little Beach.  There were about 20 drummers, dancers of all flavors and wild people celebrating the joy that life on Maui provides!  We had an incredibly beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean and after a nice gathering with my soul-brother Sam made it back to my jungle home on around midnight for a few hours sleep and then back to the mat nice and early.  I am doing my best not to subscribe to jet-lag and just enjoying the waves of energy that have me awake and sleepy at different times….I’ve been up at 5:30 AM 3 mornings in a row and it is a very special feeling!  I stay in bed and listen to the jungle then take a full hour to indulge in my favorite Yoga wake up routine:
Relieve the bowels, scrape my tongue, brush my teeth, massage my tongue with a wet cloth, neti pot to clean my nasal passages 30 minutes of my super dynamic foot and hand sequence, mantra chanting and intention setting for the day!  Give thanks for the time and energy to make this happen!
So now, I’m about to go to sleep early (10:00 PM) and look forward to another early morning and full day of Yoga School.  There is a great group of people with this training which included 4 Brazileira’s, 3 other men, and wide range of other Yogini’s that will make for a great learning experience on and off the mat.
I have a workshop scheduled this weekend at The Studio Maui, but other than that and keeping things simple and easy….waking, practicing, eating healthy and organic food, swimming in the sea or the natural pools at my home, time with other high vibe people and rest….I am excited to be here and send my Aloha wishes to you all.