Rooting, rising

It's hard to believe how fast June is flying!  Hard to believe that I left East Timor nearly 6 full months ago.  It's funny, because in my mind I have a vision of it, just as I left it.  But of course, things change, and nothing ever stays the way you left it.

This week the teacher who took over my yoga classes back there has left, and there is nobody to take over.  It's funny how bittersweet that feels - sweet for all the memories, and sad that (and yes, I am coming a bit late to the party here) a yoga era is over.

Maybe the first class you teach is like a first love - there is something innocent, naive, and absolutely enthralling about it.  I can look back on it and chart my evolution as a teacher, remembering the things I tried, the mistakes I made, the lessons I learned, and the inspiring yogis and yoginis who I shared a small, sweaty room with 2-3 times a week for those years.  No matter where I go in the world, every time I teach, I will carry those classes with me.

We are rooted in the past, and from it we grow, change, stretch, bloom.  So I guess although things change, they are not lost - they carry on.  Namaste to all my Dili students - I miss you!

[To illustrate this post, I found this amazing work by Eliza over at artasana.com - check her out!  The title of this piece is "Rooting, Rising", from which I also borrowed the title of this post.  It feels serendipitous!]