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January 12, 2013

Rain, Again. ~ Kim Manfredi

When the Forecast is Wet, Don’t Do Your Laundry & Four Additional Tips for Surviving a Yoga Vacation in Sri Lanka

Rain. Again.

It seems, once again, as if the rain will never end.

Everything is wet. I feel under the weather but I wonder how much of that is in my very damp head. Yesterday, I had the bright idea to do my laundry before the rain came. It turns out that the rain isn’t leaving for a week.

We shall see what happens to my clothes hanging on the line.

Tip #1: Don’t do your laundry when rain is forecasted in Sri Lanka!

Tip #2: When it is raining, don’t each too much.

There is no way to expend the energy (unless you are having sex in your bungalow, which I am definitely not doing).

The coconut oil sits in your belly. After three weeks, I have a quarter inch of the stuff lining my insides. It’s tasty and it’s hard not to take seconds…the curries are so good. Hence the tip, once it’s inside, the “good” fat sits like a wax sculpture; it sits like a casting of your inner world.

Today, I found myself in the market looking at the cabbages, carrots and beets, imagining them steamed. I am imagining them raw, anything raw.

Tip #3: Get a massage…but don’t be shy.

There are several versions available in the area.

Jacob gives a great acro-yoga, flip you in the air and spin you around kind of stretch; Michael gives some terrific bodywork but yesterday I went to the Ayurvedic Hospital for my second therapeutic massage.

There are two “patients” in the room, side by side. There are no sheets or towels; the whole thing happens in the buff. There are quarts of oil and a whole lot of rubbing that starts at your head and moves to your toes.

No land is left untouched and by the end of the generous hour you feel immaculate. But don’t be shy, these women mean business and sometimes you have to hit a little lip to get to the upper thigh.

Tip #4: Keep a positive attitude.

“I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny.” ~  Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat

As my friend James says, it can be a bit like a prison camp here in Sri Lanka. Especially when it’s wet. It’s important to keep your mind on the good. We are all alone, dueling with our practice, wrestling with nature and facing our neurosis.

These discomforts are the raw material of transformation. The seeds I plant in my head now will feed me throughout the year; I choose health, I choose peace and I choose stillness.

“Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering—and it’s all over much too soon.” ~ Woody Allen

Tip #5: Fall in love with your new friends.

Ask for help when there is a six-inch spider in your room. Invite yourself into a conversation, even when it’s in German and you are terribly self-conscious about your inability to speak even a second language.

Tell someone you appreciate them being here.

Accept invitations into the unknown. When the rain comes, it either wipes you clean or it makes you mouldy. Love your new friends.

 

If you follow these tips your yoga vacation will be quite enjoyable. If not you may find yourself in a frightening post conflict country where it is raining all the time, everything is wet and you wonder why you ever left home?

“It is a fine line between orgasm and murder in Sri Lanka.” ~ James Hamilton

 

 

Kim Manfredi began studying yoga and meditation in 1988 to facilitate healing from a severe fall that resulted in four broken vertebrae. Although she found limited mobility in her spine and permanent damage to her right leg, the benefits of yoga were apparent to her even with her first class. She and her husband Chris Blades own Charm City Yoga Center in Baltimore Maryland. The studio boasts six locations, 12,000 student visits per month and has won best yoga 12 years running. Kim runs the 200 and 500 hour teacher training, offers her own public classes as well as specialty and nutrition workshops. She is dedicated to remaining a students as she dedicates her life to helping others. Follow her on facebook and twitter.

 

 

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Assistant Ed: Elysha Anderson

Ed: Bryonie Wise

 

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