Cold desert nights, autumny days with high-altitude sun. I'm just beginning the blog, not sure how I will direct it yet. The main thing is to stay connected to my Boston yoga community,offer insights into the yoga and be available for those who care to check in. Six months is a long time to be away. I will post pictures from time to time.

The Yoga: I realized a few years back that, for me, travel puts the yoga asana practice into the maintenance category. When I stay put, the practice grows and progresses. By trying to take Third Series on the road, it became clear if I wanted to begin the new work, I needed to ground. Every time I move it takes a few weeks to get back to where I was. These days I identify less with what poses are possible and more with the amount of Shakti moving. Getting on and off planes, changing climates and altitudes dramatically, enough is moving!
One of the biggest challenges is finding a sane space. It's cold in Taos in the morning so I am waiting until the sun is well up to practice. I go to the back porch once the sun is no longer beating there and the cold AM air is warm- like 10 AM. Sometimes its windy, sweat disappears into the dry air as soon as its born, and I'm creaky in the joints. I take more flax and olive oil, put coconut or sesame on the skin daily. But the practice is what it is, an expression of my relationship to change. New Englanders are blessed with a tough constitution (and a tough attitude might I add) due to almost constant adapting to the weather. For now, I'll be glad to keep up my usual practice schedule without pushing to any new levels. Backing off the poses is acceptable at this time.
Breath work at altitude is a trip. Any retention results in light-headedness the first few days. I felt out of breath just rolling over in bed the first night! Best thing is to sit and breathe simply, take my Agni Sara and Nauli in shorter bursts- skip the Kapalabhati for a few days. When I first lived at Lake Tahoe, I used to get high regularly from breath work. A friend noted those who live at high altitude are quite healthy because the cardiovascular system is under a constant, homeopathic dose of tension.
My chick peas are boiling- adios. Thanks for reading, your questions/comments are always welcome if you can figure out how to post them.