Day 15

It is amazing! I have been here for two weeks already. I am sure my husband feels like it has been a lot longer.

 This is me after two weeks of yoga...Not!!! I feel like a beached whale trying to go through my practice. Tom is incredibly patient and kind as an instructor. It takes me about an hour and a half to get through all my positions and even though I am slow moving through them, I am sweating like crazy. But really, in just two weeks I have seen so much improvement and when I am done with a practice, I feel like I have been scrubbed clean on the inside even though the outside is a wet, smelly mess. I'm starting to really like this.

The other people in the shala that are doing yoga are amazing to watch. They are strong and beautiful and wonderfully flexible. I watch them go into positions that my mind tells me are physically impossible for the human body, and yet there it is right in front of me. I do not aspire to be able to do what they do but I can really see how gaining a lot of strength and flexibility will serve me well. I keep thinking that someone will comment that I don't belong there with these extraordinary people and ask me to go find a more basic class. But the reality is that no one is watching (well...I'm watching them!) and they are 100% supportive and encouraging of me.

Yoga is all about  super oxygenating the body. And guess what can't survive in oxygen? CANCER!!!! So with every deep yogi breath, I am killing off cancer cells.

I know in Chico there are "gentle" yoga classes available. No one will make you stand on your head for an hour the first day of class. They ease you into the positions and let you slowly  build strength and stamina. I highly recommend this to people of all ages and conditions.

Today we had a couple over for lunch. They are both advanced yoga practitioners. They were very nice and interesting to talk to. They were also very supportive of my efforts. They travel all over the world both teaching classes and learning as students. They are just passing through Boracay but know many people here. People at this level all seem to know each other and they all seem to travel a great deal. It seems that they are never "good enough" and are always seeking to improve. This said, they don't criticize where anyone else is in their advancement and are kind and encouraging. I enjoyed my time with them.