One step at a time

I like maps. And guidebooks. And, you know, books of instructions.
They make me feel like the world is a safer place because it has been documented.

We have a ridiculous number of photos of me consulting maps - in Paris, in London, in Melbourne. In the Melbourne Aquarium. I mean, really. A map? To navigate the aquarium? Yes. I did. And I made my poor, long-suffering husband do it too.

Another thing I keep reminding myself of right now: how many migrants have come to these shores before me. And survived. And prospered. There is even a flashy monument with the numbers of people who have come from Eritrea, Macedonia, everywhere. And a museum. I have visited the monument, but not the museum yet. Soon.

It's like Mr Desikachar says in his translation of the Yoga Sutra (yes, the one I almost always consult):

When we are confronted with problems, the counsel of someone who has mastered similar problems can be a great help.

YS 1.37

Such counsel can come directly from a living person or from the study of someone alive or dead.

It's all yoga. Even the difficult stuff. Especially the difficult stuff, actually.

Lost in Translation

South African Flag, originally uploaded by afromusing. Australian Flag, originally uploaded by pookado.

Haha, taking advantage of the internet access while I have it.

So, although I speak English, it is not quite the same language as that spoken in my new country.
Some examples:

Did you want? = Would you like
See you later = Goodbye, because chances are you aren't going to see the person later. Or maybe ever again.
How you going? = Hello, or in SA we would say Howzit?
Singlet = vest or tank top
That's alright = It's a pleasure

That said, most everyone I have met so far has been as foreign as me, if not more so (not distance wise, but certainly language and culture wise.) So I actually don't know what Authentic Australianese is. Maybe it's to be found at my new favourite sushi bar where you can get lunch for $4 (R30) - so cheap! So friendly, so kind. Oh, wait, that's everyone in Melbourne.

Whirlwind!

Oh wow, one week in Melbourne today! People here are very very friendly, very very helpful. I have lost count of how many maps people have drawn for us, and restaurants recommended, kindnesses offered. AND. We walk around at night. After dark.

This utter lack of xenophobia makes me sad about what is going on in my erstwhile nation. It's such a stark contrast.

Anyway, I always find it hard to write about things while I am living them, so here are some photos instead!



See the originals here! And nothing will be said about all the cupcakes and coffee. Mmmm.

PS yes, I did knit that green hoodie. Love it.
PPS Thank you for all the emails and comments. Your support means so much! xxx

See you on the other side!

It's a week until we go to Melbourne; the cat goes into quarantine tomorrow, the movers come on Tuesday, and on Sunday evening, we fly!

Things are crazy here right now, and the phone and ADSL will be cut off tomorrow(ish), so this is me, signing out until I get to Australia and internet access there!

Sorry if I haven't responded to your comments and emails - I will get to it, eventually.

xxx
Nadine

A Yogini by any other name...

I was flipping through one of my old Vogues (yes, again!) and noticed for the first time a Saks Fifth Avenue advert, featuring 'actress and yogini' Fernanda Torres wearing this Carolina Herrera cropped jacket.



Now, I checked it out, and the cuffs on that? Fox fur. Not fake. Real.

As I understand the word yogi, or for women, yogini, it means 'one who has attained yoga'. That's why I have taken to saying yoga practitioner!

If you have attained yoga, you are by definition enlightened, and therefore have practiced and mastered all the limbs of yoga, including ahimsa - non-harming. Which precludes wearing fur. This actress is not a yogini. She is just some chick who does yoga poses to stay buff.

Yoga Butt

My friend Anna tells me there is a technical term for what ails me: yoga butt. Don't laugh, it's a technical term!
And no, it doesn't mean the beach-ready, hot pants wearing type of yoga butt we are all told we are aspiring to, but rather, as she puts it:

SI inflammation/instability often confused with sciatica

Yup, that's what I got. That's what a whole bunch of yoga practitioners I know have, too. Let me tell you how I think it all started with me...

I did a lot of Ashtanga. A Lot. Every day, primary series, with all vinyasas, for several years. Then I started to get hurt - sore wrists, sore hamstrings, sore knees, sore lower back, sore neck. It got to the point where I would dread getting on my mat in the morning. But, you know, yoga makes you feel better, right? So the more yoga I do the better I will feel, right?

Hmm. The end result seems to be that I have overstretched some ligaments deep in my hips, so my whole pelvic area is not as stable as it should be. (Yes, I have talked about this at length before, I know!)
A word of warning: if your hip structure doesn't want to do supta kurmasana, or any of those other pretzel poses, don't. Otherwise you will end up like me...

That's why I went looking for a kinder way to practice and teach yoga, and, thank goodness, I found it. But the legacy of my silly, joint-compromising past lives on.

Visiting the chiropractor has helped a lot. In fact I am thinking of recommending him for canonization. But. He wants me to do asymmetrical strengthening with more attention to the weaker side - and the first time I did that, I dislocated again and had to go trotting back for another adjustment.

So I am sticking to really simple stuff - the fab sacrum sequence from Yoga for Wellness by Gary Kraftsow - he has a dvd of this out now too!
I toss in a few other poses, almost all symmetrical, no one leg forward one leg back stuff, and definitely definitely no pigeon. That pose, much as I love it, is lethal to my current condition.

In fact, I am finding that the poses which feel 'right' are strength builders, mostly with my back at least a little supported - like locust (and variations), boat (and variations), bridge, gentle versions of urdvha prasarita padasana, and of course, the not cat-cow, chakravakasana.

On the recommendation of my mom-in-law, who is a naturopath, I am also taking the supplement MSM which is hopefully going to help with healing.

It appears that my yoga butt is just going to take time to heal. And patience. And we all know how well-endowed I am with patience. Maybe I should get some hot pants to tide me over?