Welcome to Wanderlust, Tales of Adventure

and Travel

(This journal is in reverse chronological order)

Below are tales of high adventure, pirates, yogis, strange cities in foreign lands, and so on! These stories are strange but true, real adventures in my real life. I update the page as more stories manifest, so keep watch!

"It's a Jungle in here!."

April 2010: There has been a horrible lapse in this journal, thanks to Thailand jungle life and a huge dose of yoga! Once i arrive on the Bay, in Thailand, it is terribly hard to get on the email, much less do a computer project! So, please forgive me for my lapses. It was all in the name of yoga!

I did teach a month-long intensive in January at Haad Yuan beach, Thailand. Thanks to all the students, friends and supporters who made it so successful and fun! From what everyone tells me, a great time was had by all. We all got our challenges (and buttons pushed, even a little) and worked through them, learned loads, made friends, did good yoga and found some deeper spaces within ourselves. Well, i can speak from myself at least, and others told me similar things about their experiences. Personally, i learned so much abour yoga, about teaching, about myself, about life. After all, yoga should just enable us to live life more clearly and more cleanly, whether yoga is involved or not!

There were an amazing number of teacher training courses on the Haad Tien bay this year. Many more than ever. I think there must be more yoga there per square meter than nearly anyplace on earth, honestly! I was only guilty of one training, but others did two or even three. Hard workers! There must be more yoga teachers on earth today than there have ever been in all of history. Actually, the phenomenon of 'yoga teacher' is completely modern. There was no such thing before the west got ahold of yoga and altered it to suit modern life. Esa Hai. So be it! Let more yoga teachers spread more consciousness, health and happiness; otherwise they have failed in their duty to yoga!

After the training was over, i settled into a period of relaxation and a touch of naughtiness. I ran some more yoga classes on the bay, by demand. I was happy to oblige... but somehow Jungleyoga could not settle into any one venue. We got shuffled around from hall to hall, unable to find a home. But in this way, the Jungleyoga was a bit underground this year. One had to be talking to the right people to find out if, when and where the class was. It must be said that this approach disrupted the classes something awful. We made the most of it, however. The biggest hit was 'Reggae Friday' class, traditionally held on Fridays; where i would put on a special selection of reggae music for us to practice to. We would generally have a light and funny and fun practice and sometimes dance around a bit as well. The family was usually in attendence, thanks all you lovelies for attending!!

After Thailand time came to a close, i made my was to Australia to visit Karly and hand out with Rose for some time. It had been 5 years since i had been to Byron Bay and i was enchanted by the area all over again. There is something about this climate which particularly suits me. Just walking around and smelling the air gives me great joy. The jungle here smells very sweet and wonderful to me! So i have taken some long walks (sometimes longer than i expect. one 2 hour hike actually took me 7 hours.) {it was the map, honestly}. Soon i will go out to stay with Rose and learn more about Tantric ritual and Homa, and do some gardening as well. Life is good!!

November 2009: Dateline San Francisco... I went to visit my sis in Durango, Colorado, where my Mom is also moving. A few weeks there at 2ooo meters (6500 ft) got my lungs in shape, tho i thought i was going to have a massive respiratory collapse at one stage (try to keep up with them mountain biking up switchback trails outside of town), but i managed to survive. My sister is a champion single speed mountain biker and is involved in a great scene there in Durango. Her people have a funny and entertaining style of living and dressing, none of which involves seriousness. I love it there, for all the open space, trees and nature and will be going back frequently when my Mom gets herself there.

For the rest of the month, i am in San Fran, getting together the materials for the Training Course in January and painting the bathroom. My other sis is in San Jose, south of town, and i go down there on the weekends to see them. She has 2 kids (lovely) and a great and loving husband. No dog.

October 2009: I left Copenhagen and went to Dublin for a workshop and to see old friends, just for the weekend. We did a lovely workshop there, but there was some drama on the personal front, so the trip was marred by uneasiness. Ah, life! Good and bad are mixed, there is no denying that!! But thanks to Colm at Yoga Dublin for putting me up and letting me do the workshop.

The rest of the month i am here in San Francisco, USA, with my family and old friends. The weather is stunning and it is good to rest deeply and sit in the sun. I am working on the training manual and other parts of the teacher training course, to make it the best i can make it.... If you are around Cali, i hope to see you!

September 2009: I left the joys and peace of Swizerland and went to meet my mom in Amsterdam. We had a great holiday together, enjoying the city and the hospitality of Lucy and Mateo. Thanks to them! I taught a yoga workshop at Svaha Yoga, a lovely and full power center in the Jordaan, city centre. My mother was admired for her spirit and fitness by the students and teachers there... she is over 70 and taking a vinyasa yoga class with 20 year olds. and keeping up!! Something for you to aspire to!

After our holiday, i went back to Copenhagen to teach a bit more to the lovely students at Copenhagen Yoga. Thanks to Louise and Morten and Jorn for having me and helping me! Fall was coming but the days were still brilliant and i continued my 'urban park exploration project'. Which generally means i try to go to as many parks as i could, or at least explore one thoroughly! I did that. I hope to come back and work more with everyone there... there are some dedicated Jungleyoginis there!

August, 2009: After a few wobbly moments in July, i came to visit with my dear friends Marco and Ananda in Swizerland. They live in Le Jura, a french-speaking part of western Swizerland, in the gentle hills. Marco and Ananda have set me up like a prince, with my own flat just under theirs, a garden to play in, hills to wander in, children to play with and all manner of other things to keep me in fun and growth.

I have spent loads of time wandering around in the area, on the countless trails and pathways around Swizerland. I have walked around and wandered, sat and swam, gotten lost and found again, and even ran into a friend in town. (i only have one friend there!) So things are happening slowly and nicely. There is plenty of time to practice yoga and to work on my book and the course i will teach in January. This is just the retreat i needed to get myself together!

Swizerland is a very beautiful country, neat and tidy and well-run. To walk around in most places is like walking around in a huge park, with some wild parts and some maintained bits. One is never far from a town, road, house, sign or railway line; there is never much panic in finding yourself somewhat lost, beause you are never far from something... but there is plenty of space to roam and be alone in nature.

Marco and I are planning something special for the Thailand Training in January... he is wonderful with the mantra and bhajans and i thought it would be a great addition to the course to bring him on in a fuller capacity than last year. So he will be running evening classes and some of the afternoons, to teach people the wonders of mantras, kirtan and bhajan. There is an alternate course one can take, instead of the Teacher Training, if you simply want to do deep yoga practice. One can skip the afternoon lecture classes and concentrate energy on morning asana and evening puja/mantra classes. I think it will be a wonderful new addition!!

July: i was in Germany and Holland... wonderful workshops at Laughing Buddha, Cologne Germany and Svaha Yoga Amsterdam!!

I spent the month of May in the care of Louise, Jorn and Morten in Copenhagen, Danmark. They were kind enough to host me there, so i could teach the yoga for a little while. Our approaches to yoga were well suited, so i felt comfortable to explore as i always do. The students were small in number, but of very high quality. Some people came to enough classes to understand some of the techniques i work with and develop a relationship with them. What i do is subtle, often, and takes some cultivation to really understand. It can be a little tricky because nearly anyone can do the basics of the Jungleyoga, and yet it is deep, nearly endless when one really dives in.

So i ran some weekly classes there and a few workshops, finishing up with a retreat in Sweden with most of the gang from the classes. We had a great time up there, doing yoga twice daily and eating well and jumping on the trampoline in the between times. I want to say 'thanks' to everyone who came to the classes in Copenhagen, it was fun! We had a few laughs between (and in) poses; i hope i brought some knowledge and enjoyment of yoga to you.

In the off moments, i continued writing the training manual for the Jungleyoga Teacher Training courses, joined Senzala Capoeira classes and spent much time in the park. Spring was in full swing and the flowers were out in force, so the park was the place to be. Oh, the smells were divine!!! Lilacs were blooming alongside the chestnuts, rhododendrons, iris, violets, (roses were largely fininshed), and even many tulips. Truly spring comes late to Scandanavia. But that was good for me, because i got to enjoy it all. I even made a few trips to the botanic garden where things were really popping!

Late April:

Since i have written you last, dear web-surfer, i have not only changed countries, i have changed continents! After India, i flew through Bangkok on my way to Bali. BKK was hot as the blazes, but i ran into a very old friend G.H., a dancer who had done the funniest modern dance/theater work that i had ever seen. So my mission to Bangkok was fulfilled, even though i did not know what that mission was until i met her! After this random but happy encounter, i flew to Bali to do some yoga and see old friends who live there. I was happily joined on my voyage by Tiger, Savannah and Daniel- by chance! Again a lovely encounter, entirely unplanned!

Thus i arrived in Bali and took a lovely place in Penestanan, Ubud, where the rice was tall in the fields. It was wonderful to be back in Bali, the center of arts and crafts for the whole world. I love the way that nature is such a strong part of life. Flowers, plants and natural materials abound in Bali, and it creates a very soothing approach to life. Everywhere are offerings to the Gods and spirits in the form of rice, flowers, food, even cigarettes. It is all holy! Once the offerings are placed, the animals and insects get to enjoy the bounty. Truly, human effort and endeavor is no better utilized than in Bali.

When one visits different villages around the island (and there are many) so many amazing works of art can be seen. There is certainly the most powerful tradition of handicraft, art, music and dance of anywhere on the planet in Bali. There are entire villages of stone carvings, of paintings, of jewelry, of wood and bead and bone. The amount of beauty around Bali is staggering! So many of the houses look like temples and even the roadsides are covered by statues of Buddha and Ganesh, Shiva and the Goddesses, so that even the roadsides look like temples too. It is truly amazing!

I also managed to teach a few days on the School of Sacred Arts Teacher Training for Japanese students, run by Troy and Simone. They are the original motivators, who got me to start the Jungleyoga School in the first place. Thanks, you two! And they brought me onto the training for a few sessions, for fun. I had a great time with the students, despite the language barrier. Smiles always break that one down! The classes went very well and hopefully i will go on to teach with them more in future, maybe even in Japan! I will keep you posted on that one!

I spent a wonderful time with friends on various parts of the island, and even managed to squeeze in some yoga classes as well. I taught a two day workshop on my favorite subject: The Swara cycles of breath and movement. Some of my old friends/students came and we had a great time doing yoga together again. Yoga makes a wonderful bond between people, a special type of connection, and it was great to be back amongst these wonderful friends again.

I finished up the trip by volunteering at the Bali Spirit Festival of Yoga, Music and Dance. It was 5 days of classes, workshops and concerts by some top talents in their fields. I was in charge of the Lawn Pavilion, which hosted 4 different classes per day. Somehow, this areas seems mainly devoted to African dance and drumming! Suits me! So i got to hang around and listen to drumming and throw myself around a bit in the dance classes. I had a great time and again met some wonderful people. The festival was filled with beautiful yoginis and yogis, dancers and musicians. YUM! Just right for Bali.

I made a nice connection with Mark Whitwell, a teacher who some of my friends had recommended to me. They saw some similarities in our styles and thought we should meet. And, true to their visions, we got along nicely and had a few laughs. His teacher and my teacher (Gary Kraftsow) are guru-bhai, meaning they have the same guru. So our approaches are similar in concept even if different in method. It also showed me that i have truly developed my own style, for i saw many elements of Krishnamacharya in Mark's work, as there is in mine, but i also realized that i have added many things to the basics of what Sri K. has given to the world. Everyone creates their own yoga in the end!

Check Mark's Site

Eventually, the festival had to end, and so did my trip to Bali. Reluctantly, i got on a plane and flew to K.L. for a short layover on my way to London then Copenhagen. While waiting in the airport in Malaysia, i realized that i had booked my ticket for the wrong day! I arrived on the 5th of May and booked my ticket to go to London (a 1 am flight) for also the 5th of May. Idiot! Funnily, i met a friend from Ireland in the airport who had done exactly the same thing! Two idiots! Ah well. I had a short trip into town, to sleep in a horrible sweaty hole of a hostel, and then back to the airport to take my newly-bought flight to London. Let that be a lesson to you! Measure twice, cut once. OM

Have you seen these men? If so, let me know!

(Amargiri Nagababa pictured at bottom left)