We returned home very late last night. One of our connecting flights from Chicago got cancelled for some reason, so we had to spend four hours there, instead of two. When we returned, the cats were very happy to see us. The younger one didn't let me walk, she seemed to be permanently attached to my feet. She did not even mind me stepping on her a couple of times. All night long she was squeezing into me very tightly, trying to assure herself that we are really here.
We liked San Francisco very much. What a beautiful architecture! Nice people, too. Two things left me unimpressed, though. First, the weather. Where is the fabled California heat? We were half frozen half of the time. The second - the amount of beggars on the street that caught me unprepared. Even quite nicely-dressed people would come up on the street and ask for money to buy some food for the children or some such. I think I left a sizable chunk of my son's college money on the streets of San Francisco!
Arturo met us early morning on Sunday to take us to the studio in Berkeley. Arturo looks very young, much, much younger than his age, and very fit. This CRON thing must be working very well. It took quite a long bus ride plus and additional short bus ride to get there. What a dedication on Arturo's part! When we came to the studio, there were no one, except for the teacher practicing. Eventually the studio filled up; it had nice energy.
I had a very nice adjustment in Tiryaìgmukhaikapada Paçchimottanäsana and Baddha Konasana. Since Arturo was practicing in front of me, I had a chance to observe the same Baddha Konasana adjustment being done on someone else. The teacher was seating behind the student in mulabandhasana, both hands on the hip creases of the student, rotating the hips backwards and pressing the pelvis down. With the rest of his body, the teacher leaned on the back of the student, nudging the extension of the spine and gently pressing down at the same time. Boy it felt good! My hips said "Aaaah" and opened really wide. I also had an excellent help in the backbends; but it seems that I completely lost my ability to stand up from UD again. I will chalk it off on the recent cold and hope that the ability will be regained...
On Monday I skipped practice because I had to present my poster on the conference. In the afternoon we were roaming the city for so long that around 6 pm we collapsed and did not get up again till the next morning. On Tuesday I dared to venture to the "other" Arturo's studio, though it was cutting a little close to the departure time. It worked out well, nevertheless. It was a very beautiful studio, with a large boutique, several practice rooms, and changing rooms with showers. There were not quite as many people there as in Berkeley, but the feel of the practice was just as wonderful. Catherine was very nice, indeed. She took her time to work with me on my UD, and said that if she had more time with me, I would stand up in no time. Alas, the time was an issue. I was really happy I had a chance to practice there, especially taking into account a full day of sitting in the planes and airports ahead of me. It was good to see Arturo practice again, too.
When I think about all the people I met either virtually or in real life thanks to this blog, it fills me with a warm and fuzzy feeling all over. So far the experience was absolutely wonderful, and I hope I will continue transferring my virtual friends into "real" ones one by one. :)
13 comments:
The virtual transfer is delightful indeed. I've said before that we really are a special community and when I think of the true friends I've made that I wouldn't have encountered but for the yoga blogs, it makes me just so happy!
Welcome home! We missed you!
The California heat is only Santa Barbara and south. San Fran is usually quite cool and rainy, from what I understand. For the warmth, you have to go Santa Barbara, LA, OC or San Diego. I'm glad you had such a good experience.
Aaah yes the blogs have brought a lot of us many new friends & connections. It's an amazing thing. Works!
i missed you Alfia! so glad you are home!
i have the same observations about SF. when i have been there it has been sunny by breezy and cool. and i was shocked by the aggressiveness of the homeless population. so many of them get right up in your face and follow you and it can seem very threatening!
Hi, Tova:
I missed you all! We had one computer with us, but Victor was on it all the time. Did not even have a chance to check how you all were doing. It was a weird feeling of disconnect from the outside world. How DID we live without internet?
Mwah! It's good to be back! :)
Hi Alfia
Your comment on the weather really made me laugh. In San Francisco we know when someone is a tourist in the summer, when they are walking around one of those jackets you buy in Chinatown with the Golden Gate image and San Francisco written on it. It's cold here until late September, where we have only two weeks of warm weather. I wore shorts outside only one day last year.
I could have warned you about he street people. I know it's hard, but sometimes you have to ignore them, because they are too pervasive. I get acosted 5 times a day. You can google about this to find out the history of why there are so many homeless - it started with when they closed a lot of mental institutions during the Reagan administration; that put a lot of people on the streets. Plus in our weather, people won't freeze, as you would in NY in the middle of winter.
I'm glad you got to work with my teachers. They are very dedicated. Sorry about your plane delay. I sometimes pack a super thin practice mat on my carry on. On more than one ocassion I've done a yoga practice while waiting for delayed flights to board. It changes one's level of stress considerably. People adjacent to you practicing at the gate will either ignore you or look with curiosity. But you feel great.
Cheers,
Arturo
I was 4 times in SF and I was always cold.
The first time I was dressed with a thin summer dress, I was shivering till I bought something real to dress. Now I'm prepared: Winter coat, a hat, a scarf. It's good to drink some alcoholic beverages, then SF is great.
Greetings from cold and rainy Germany.
Yes, the homeless problem in California is ridiculous. In LA it's REALLY bad, both downtown on 'Skid Row' and on the West Side where I used to live. In addition to Reagan closing the mental hospitals, the homeless congregate on the West Side of LA because it is near the VA Hospital and on Skid Row because that's where all of their services are. California in general does not deal very effectively with its homeless population, IMHO. It is far far worse there than anything you would see in NYC. We would never allow the state of affairs you see in LA.
welcome back, alfia!!! i can't wait to see you in AYC - tomorrow morning? (^_^)
Hi, Rayna:
Yep, I am coming back to shala tomorrow. I guess the return of the routine is in order... which is a very good thing!
See you tomorrow!
What a nice description of your trip and experience! There's the virtual-real yoga connection and i think there's also a virtual-real SF connection...the SF we read about and experience in our hearts and the underbelly of the city we see that reminds us of the social realities in many American cities.
It's late, but I hope you know what I mean. :)
Sonya, Armani:
It is interesting about social realities. I never thought we had it so easy in DC. I mean we have our share of homeless people, but they are never agressive, and not as numerous. My son used to help in a soup kitchen and I was always surprised how nice many of them were. In San Francisco, however, I was woefully unprepared for the onslaught. So, so many of them. Very sad.
I love the image of your cat squeezing on to you so tightly. How cute! :)
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