Sorry I haven't written and updated things here in a while, but I've been in prison......Teaching yoga, that is!

I am so happy to say that I have finally been able to get into a men's state prison and am teaching a 1 1/2 hour yoga class there. The NYTimes had a great story earlier in the week about more yoga teachers extending their efforts to this population of people.

I find it so rewarding to go there and share yoga with them. It's a dismal place to be in that you really are sorta out of sight out of mind of the rest of society. Not too many people seem to realize how many people we have locked up and what its like. Many of them have been abandoned by their families when they became incarcerated and some of them haven't have a letter or visitor since they've been there. I'm not naive and I realize they have hurt people and their addictions have often created years worth of mistrust with family members, but nonetheless, I feel called to do this work.

I also have been off to Thai Yoga Bodywork training, which is another way of saying "yoga therapy" or thai massage. I hestitate to call it massage because you stay clothed, you don't use oils and, well, most massage therapists aren't going to be putting you over into a Plow or Cobra anytime soon. This is a wonderful modality that works on the energetic systems and channels as much as the physical body. I find a thai yoga session to be like having three regular yoga classes on the prana quotient,

I've also been teaching a few more private classes. In addition to trying to get more experience with the thai work, I've picked up a few private yoga classes that have really kept me busy. I have an interesting group I am working with now, which are some NFL hopefuls who think yoga will help them with their flexibility. They are huge guys but I'm impressed with their first-foray into yoga.

Keeping the blog updated is a challenge, because my regular job (the one that actually pays the bills) also has me blogging. I guess it's pretty cool to be paid to blog in your regular life if I think about it. If you are interested in that you can see it at: www.orlandosentinel.com/outdoorsblog. The more the merrier on that one. Feel free to link to it!!!

I've been also doing more tratak meditation, which is staring at a candle until your eyes water and then closing your eyes and bringing the attention to the anja chakra (point between the eyebrows) until the candle flame "reappears" to you as an "after image." I have had some interesting experiences with this of not only total bliss, but also of seeing visions of mandala-like colorful designs. I am trying to draw them with colored pencils before I forget them. I think it'd be neat to give them to a real artist to have them converted into artwork --- or mosaics.

Anyway, I need to go relax a bit. Thanks for reading the blog and I am going to try to be more active with it.

om shanti

kumari