"It" in this case refers to this blog. It was first created in the fall or winter of 2009, I'm guessing- I know it was sometime that year. I had just moved to the most beautiful place on earth, and I didn't know what to do with myself. Thankfully, a kind soul adopted me as her friend, and started bringing me to her yoga classes at a seaside yoga shala located in a beautifully rustic, eco-chic spa resort on the Caribbean. Oprah has stayed there. Not to brag, just sayin', it's a pretty special place created with intention by great people who got the formula right (I think the secret is to include a little bit of magic). Though I feel myself beginning to digress. I'm good at that. It's now November of 2011. A full two years after I intended to start blogging about my Caribbean adventures living in Grenada, West Indies. I no longer live in Grenada, I sadly packed myself up in April of 2011 for the last time, and set sail on a big 'ole cruise ship bound for the mainland.
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| Steps down to the pool & lounge at LaLuna. |
The space between August 2009 and April 2011 is a lot to reflect on. I tend to root myself into a place and stay a while. Prior to Grenada, I lived in Seattle for ten years. I intended to stay for oh, maybe one year. So last spring, when I left the island, my life was really just taking off there. I hit my stride, I had my people. I felt like a real expat. So, needless to say, my perspective has changed dramatically from that day in the fall of '09 when I sent out a mass email to all those I'd left behind, describing my transition thus far, complaining about my lost luggage and how difficult it was to get anything done on the island, also claiming, "maybe I'll start a blog". The former, complaining about how difficult it is to get anything done on the island, was eventually brushed off with a simple explanation "T-I-G". This. Is. Grenada. In other words, island time. We be friendly, but we not be fast, ok? I'm not sure who coined this phrase, either Matean or his friend Mikey- "Nothing happens fast in Grenada except driving." I'm pretty sure I could write a whole post about driving in Grenada. In any case, island time is a real phenomenon which is alive and well in Grenada.
I'm sure you'll find many reflections about my time on the island here, it had a huge influence on my life, my choices, and who I am today. We are all, hopefully, constantly evolving beings. Some more than others I suppose. Lizards love yoga is just that, reflections on the daily evolution. Musings on my observations.
And yes, lizards really do love yoga. I first observed this in Grenada. Practicing at the yoga shala at LaLuna was an amazing, magical experience. A shala, if you are not aware, is a Sandskrit word that means "house". So house of yoga. In this case, the shala was an open air pavilion in a Balineese style, thatched roof, beautiful hardwood floor, right on the beach. Lizards commonly seen in Grenada are anoles, little lizards that change from green to brown in color depending on what they're sitting on, or maybe how they're feeling. I don't know. They are normally a bit jumpy, that is they tend to dart around quite a bit with people moving about them. However, for some reason, they seem captivated by yoga. During a class, they would gather around on their chosen perch, and just watch. Sometimes they'd even venture out on to the floor, seemingly moving in closer for a better look. They were never frightened by the sudden movement that may have come with the changing of postures. Non-reactive observers, a phenomenon I can take a cue from in my own life and practice. Be the lizard- a non-reactive observer. And when the time is right, move in closer, get a better look, participate, and be present.
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| Yoga Shala at LaLuna. |
