I was off on another adventure, this time it was with the family to celebrate my dad’s 60th. So off we all flew, CT – Joburg – Vic Falls and arrived safely at our luxury accommodation, the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. Luckily I’m the only girl in the family and got my own room, so yes, I do admit, this does help to do a self-practice in the mornings. So this was my challenge for the holiday, doing some yoga each morning.
The beauty of having a non-set practice is that you can amend it as you choose. So if you feel you need to be outside on your balcony doing a breathing practice you can do that, if your neighbour starts to light up a cigarette, you can quite forcefully breathe out and close, (not bang), your balcony door and move inside continuing with a more physical practice. You can play around with postures in the allotted space and explore different ways of meditating in nature. There is nothing more fun than being able to play around with your yoga practice in your new surroundings. And no it’s not always easy, we all have habits we struggle to let go of or like to make excuses, (not enough space, not the right floor, I forgot to pack my mat, I’m on holiday, I’m too tired… you know, yes all those excuses… been through all of them and more, but not this time)! All you need to do is show up and the practice will come, and that is exactly what I did. There really is no right or wrong way as long as you practice with a positive intention and work from a space of love. So even if you just end up sitting on your balcony, watching the animals at the watering hole, breathe and send positive thoughts and vibrations out to the universe and the country you are visiting, you are doing yoga.
I always find I end up learning a lesson no matter where my practice takes me, this time for me it was realising that I am practising more with my head than from my intuition or inner wisdom. So each morning I decided to tune into my intuition and whenever I felt that something was about to happen at the water hole I got up, did some standing postures while looking out and keeping an eye on the surroundings.
Not quite the way how we’re taught to do yoga, (of going within to quieten the mind), but instead I was externalising my awareness and keeping my focus on my surroundings, just observing. And with this, quite a magical thing started happening, I held postures. I was watching the bokkies moving down to the water hole, wondering if one of them would get snapped up by one of the very many lazy crocodiles hanging out there, 1, 2, 3, breaths, still no croc attack, 4, 5, 6, breaths still nothing, and before I knew it I was just hanging out in the pose, completely relaxed but totally alert and ready to see some action. And then, no nothing, the bokkies disappeared and I moved on to the next side.
It was a wonderful experience and the combination of the expansiveness of the land with the astonishing force and energy of the Victoria Falls a little drive away really gives you a good balance of groundedness and fluidity. Activating Muladhara, (feeling connected and grounded within yourself and your purpose in life), and Svadhistana, (your creative and flexible side,) in equal proportions is quite a thing. I am very blessed to have wonderful teachers along my yoga journey who open my mind to these things and allows me to address my practice in a new and meaningful way.
Till the next journey!.
Namaste,
Nina.