Trip to Graz _Austria

June 27
The car trip to Graz from Bad Mittendorf took about 2 hours as we got caught in the Saturday traffic to Vienna………….
The mountains in their magnificence, cradling many small towns in their foothills……very reassuring and gave one a feeling of security and grounding………..at one point the road was almost engulfed with the mountains and the greenery, and for a brief moment I felt that we will just drive right into the looming mountain…….the longest tunnel we encountered was over 7 kms, right through the mountain……I paid a silent gratitude to the engineers and the workers who built the tunnel………..as I sat and took the vista in, there was a brief moment when I thought I should take pictures through the camera lens, but in my sanity decided to sit back and take it all in through my senses…………
Graz is over 800 years old city, I remind myself I am in Europe, this is where one finds continuity of time……..history written and re-written many times over.
The zentrum, city centre, was where we decided to park ourselves, we had 3 hours and wondered how do you see a city in 3 hours……….the people watching, plus a desire for a drink and eat made the first stop easy. We sat at the Pronto Italian restaurant next to the Rathaus.
I meandered through the small lanes and found myself being offered free coffee…..why not, I thought as I sat on the sofas laid out, a promotion tour by Monarch Jacob coffee.
I saw people walking uphill a slope, which looked like some park………..wow that was the SchlossBerg………..260 steps leading to the watch tower, and a view of the city……the map indicated the major churches, opera house and other institutions of interest………..as I walked down the steps, the hanging gardens grabbed my attention………I notices some avid photographers lying on the roadside, trying to get the full view of one side……..I did not have time to go the gallery area, next time for sure I would spend more time in SchlossBerg.

Out and about in Bad Mittendorf - Austria

The small town is walk able……the people are very helpful and when approached, they will try and understand, and explain to you in what little English they know. As I walk down the road I see a huge building complex under construction, it brings one to reality that amongst the neat homes and beautifully manicured yards, flowers pouring out of each window sill, there is the expansion of the town into a business. The hotel complex will bring tourists and generate the economy……….I also notice serious cyclists, in their cycling gear.
The train station of Bad Mittendorf Hellbrunn is a quaint little stop, as I walk along I notice the red light at the railway crossing, I wait near the train tracks, and see the train silently approach the station………the red color of the train, stands out against the greenery and the backdrop of the mountains………..
Two young boys on their bikes, one of them stretches out his arm, as if to say see no hands, and gives me a high five as he passes…………the young girls, chattering, cell phones and ipods in their hands, pause and greet me. Refreshing to see this response from the children. I wonder if this is a small town synergy or do they consider me hip as I also have my little shuffle and ear phones………..
Michael one of the yoga students mentions that a restaurant serves delicious smoke fish…………he decides to take Rosa, Linda and myself by the alternate route thru the forest….an interesting hike, with rain and mud puddles, we have our umbrellas and walk along, hungry and anticipating the dinner. Mosthutte is a restaurant which opens only on Monday and Friday evenings………… made of log wood, We decide to sit on the patio, the cool air soon drives us inside as we enjoy the warmth of the wood stove and ambiance inside which is reflecting the warmth of the wood. The smoked fish is amazingly delicious, served on a wooden board with nice dark German bread. Each moment of the evening and each bite of the fish is savored, as we talk and continue to share our experiences of life.

Yoga in Bad Mittendorf - Austria

June 25
Rain has finally exhausted its downpour in this valley…………..7 days of continuous rain………as the sun came out brilliant and bright, the spirits soared………layers of clothing were shed as the body and spirit both soaked in the warmth.


Sitting on a bench in the small town, watching the people go by I wonder how our travels take us into parts of the world, into cities, towns and villages……names of places one has never heard before become a part of ones life story. Ferdinand Boehme is an artist...... sculptors all over his sprawling yard, in the house, the barn where we do yoga, the kitchen and dining hall where we eat our breakfast when it is cold and raining outside……….amazing pieces of art accompany the sound of om and yoga chants as Scarlett Mehigan his partner in life teaches yoga to her students.



The cold and damp air has us covering ourselves with layers of blankets as we sit in meditation……..the sunshine is welcome as it will warm up the yoga barn……….Alistair Ward finished teaching us Anatomy and Physiology, what a great teacher he is with an upbeat and positive energy around him which does not waver when his two little children lovingly wrap their arms around him, he effortlessly and without any change in his teaching lifts his little girl, continues to speak and then stands her down…………..there was minimum conflict within him as a person, what a way to be…………Jemma his wife is fairly like in her daintiness and lightness of being.............we learned much from her regarding herbs, their impact on our well beings and the usage of stuff which grows around our yards...............

As the training continues, we have a new teacher Racquel, she comes from Spain.....Racquel style of teaching is as gentle as her voice as she guides us along..........her yoga nidra was a journey into the depth of conciousness,,,,,,,,,,,

Altausse - Austria

Trip to lake altausse - Austria june 21, 2009

I questioned my decision to wake up at 7 on the day that I had the option to sleep in………the roommates attending the teacher training with me at bad mittendorf had included me in their plan for an early morning visit to the lake……with extra jacket, scarf and umbrella we drove off to altausse………….everything was forgotten on seeing the view of the lake……although the reflection of the mountains and the clouds removed any separation between the sky and the water………we were seeing a duality which was only one………..

the journey begins to bad mittendorf - austria

the start of the trip to vienna on june 15th......my emotions were mixed.....i was about to embark on a dream fulfilling journey but leaving loved ones behind is never easy..........

at the checkin i was notified that i am on standby, the reason being that when i booked my seat i did not select to pay the $15.00 online seat reservation fee.......after getting a negative answer if there was any way that i could be put on another flight, the comment i made was that i guess i will go to the gate and meditate.......the flight was oversold.........

seeing the long lineup of the standby ticket holders did nothing to assure me of getting a seat........when my name was called my heart jumped with joy...........the girl behind the counter looked at me and said "since you were so patient and did not come up to the counter to bother me and listenend to all the instructions, i am givng you a very comfortable seat", i smiled and thanked her...........

air canada boeing 777, new seats in first class that open out to a very comfortable bed...........you get the rest of the picture.........the journey began on a positive note.....i will continue to hold on to these positive vibes

life is for living

if life = awareness of the present and
living = union of the body and breath
then
is living a life = the union of the body and the breath in every moment

..........leaving aside the thoughts from the past and the, fantasy and fears, of projection of that past into the future

yoga today

i woke up feeling disconnected.........i sometime refer to this feeling as being off centre............i made the bed and started the laundry.............the music i put on was the instrumental from the album "conversation with god".................

the yoga practice was a complete surrender.............surrender of mind, body and soul..........after the practice there was no "i".........their was only a sense of being and oneness in existence..............did the "i" die and the being come to heaven???