Djembe II

I had such an awesome day on Saturday. I met up with my friend Susi at Chai Hill as usual and one second we were in the sun drinking chai, and the next....well. Right above us, out of nowhere, was a dark grey sky. A fresh wind picked up and within seconds we were drenched. Everyone was. Big tropical storm sized raindrops, and hail stones the size of an Australian 5 cent piece pelted the ground. Thunder and lightening raged above us. Such exhilarating energy. I've always loved storms and get so excited when I'm in one. Such high energy and beauty from Spirit. What a day! Everyone was soaking wet and running for cover. I loved the feeling of every drop on my skin. I felt so alive, so close to Spirit. So connected with my environment. Looking up into the sky I received the name for my djembe. The vessel that would give so much and take me to places I'd only dreamed of. I was thankful to the animal, tree and people who had already given so much for me to have the drum I was going to get.

About 2 hours later Susi and I were in a West African store and I was purchasing my new drum. Everytime I've bought a drum (now 5) and made one, there has always been a storm. This day was no different. The first drum I saw was the one that resonated with me. I knew that this was "Storm".

"Storm" - hand carved out of West African Mahogany and sounds unreal!!

And the drum bag.

After I'd bought 'Storm' and had a couple of coffees at a cafe nearby, we then went to another West African store on the other side of the city. A smaller collection of drums, but still of excellent quality and size. After we played a few, we found the right one for Susi. Once we got back to the car, we sat on the curb and we played our new drums in the sun. People walked by while we drummed, laughed, smiled and lost ourselves in the rhythm of the moment. Two best friends, Two new wooden friends, and one magickal moment!!

This week practice has been fantastic. Now that it's a lot warmer, I'm sweating a lot more and loving it. It's unreal! It really feels like I'm doing a workout and getting rid of heaps of toxins. Not to mention the extra sweat has been a relief in the Marichyasanas. I can't wait to get a mysore rug as it's getting dangerous on my mat. I'm using a small towel on my sticky mat in the meantime and it's so dodgy.

Adam gave me money to get my xmas present this morning from the studio. I really wanted a new yoga mat as the one I have is not wide enough or thick enough. Plus it's a bonus for when I wash my mat. Now I can wash one mat and use the other while it drys. My current mat takes days to dry. I bought a 7mm thick black VB mat from the studio. Man, I love this thing. I'm going to wash it first and then use it for the first time on boxing day. Adam's going to give it at xmas but I had to get it this morning as the studio closes tomorrow for the holidays.

Practice is going really well at the moment. I'm now struggling with my left leg in some asanas. I can get padmasana but now can't get Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana that well with my left leg. I was able to before, but now it's changing. The knee hurts a little bit. It's not getting worse but there's some discomfort. I know the hip needs to open a lot more, and Greg gave me some extra asanas (which incidentally are in intermediate series) to open up my hips. I'm really careful not to push myself and then damage my knee. This is yoga not some competition. If I go as far as I can in certain asanas without hurting my knee, will it eventually open up over time?? I know it will, but I just can't see it happening at the moment. Patience....patience...I know. Don't be too excited to get it.

Everything else in my practice seems to be going really well. But then again you always think that after a couple of really good practices. When you have a bad one you tend not to think this way as much...haha. But, overall I think I've found a nice pace and comfort zone to keep working in. Practicing 6 days in a row is definitely the key so far. I'm still trying to stay up longer in Sirsasana though. Probably one more second each day...haha.

And while I have the pics, here is my cedar Native American Flute in the key of F#, and the leather bag I made and lined with rabbit fur to protect it. I might look into flickr or something to add more phootos. Saves having to download them everytime.