Sunday, March 15, 2009

Yoga + Tea Ceremony = Ahh..Sunday




Today was a very mellow day. I slept in, had a banana blueberry smoothie, and did some school work online. I went to the studio for a yoga/tea ceremony workshop that was held by Pamela. It was fabulous! We did a very soothing yoga vinyasa with an extra long savasana (it was better than sleep), then followed with the tea ceremony. Today's delight: Oolong. Mmm...I had no clue that teas were so fascinating. It was so delicately prepared and sipped like a fine wine, savoring every last drop slowly so that you could let all of your senses absorb its goodness. Pamela made us a little sweet treat that she referred to as a "sunflower butter blondie" (like a brownie, but a blondie, w/out peanut butter--instead, sunflower butter). It was a nice little tea cake. There is a fine art to a tea ceremony, and I will no longer look at tea the same. Hey, coming from Texas, I think I've come a long way from Lipton and Luzianne! I had many teas in Thailand, mainly green and jasmine, which are very popular there. Now, I wish I would have brought more home with me! I guess I will have to go back...this time with Allan, and minus all of the "baggage". I am now jonesing for a cute little tea pot so that I can experiment at home.
Pamela read a verse from a poem by Lu Tung, each time we had a cup of tea, which I thought was really beautiful.

"The first cup moistens my lips and throat. The second cup breaks my loneliness. The third cup searches my barren entrails only to find therein some thousand volumes of odd ideographs. The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration - all the wrongs of life pass out through my pores. At the fifth cup I am purified. The sixth cup calls me to the realms of the immortals. The seventh cup - ah, but I could take no more! I only feel the breath of the cool wind that raises in my sleeves. Where is Elysium? Let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither."Lu Tung

All of this just reminds me to take pleasure in all of the small things in life, take everything in, and savor it, little by little. Each small cup of tea I had today, reminded me to slow down, breathe deep, and take pride and joy in all that surrounds me.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

I'm in PHILLY now y'all!



We have relocated to "The City of Brotherly Love". Which totally cracks me up because ironically, my brothers' both lived only a few blocks away from where I live now. They both went to college here and played soccer for Philly U. It really amazes me how small this world can be at times. It makes me real happy to know that I am now living in my brothers old stomping grounds.
Okay, so I have lots of catching up to do...so far, we have moved to Philadelphia, lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in the city, went to a Madonna concert, I got a part-time job, while doing a work exchange at a nearby yoga studio, I've had my 30th birthday, had multiple girlfriends from Houston come visit (along with Allan's parents), moved to a large 3 bedroom apartment (in the same building), still taking online classes, and have since quit my part-time job to focus on school whilst working only at the yoga studio. Whew...yea, 8 months in a nutshell. ;)
Hahaha! Hope you were able to take that in, because I still don't think I have. Moving from Puerto Rico, where its sunny all-day everyday, to now living where its STILL winter and I have to wear socks--is just plain weird. I called my trainer the other week asking her if I still had to go in because it was snowing...yea, she laughed at me. I had no clue!? I don't know what to do with all of this white stuff?! I'm just a Texan living out of her element in a crazy, cold city, that at first, was reminiscent to Gotham City. Now, I have fallen in love with this ancient city, truly. I have so many incredible projects coming up and I am sooo excited for the adventures to come. None of which I will bore you with now. You will get reports from time to time now that this blog is back up and running. Woooo-hoooo!!! My online therapy sessions are back!