Well, a few days on and – much to my own surprise – I find myself having very quickly surrendered to the serenescent influence of the Bamboo Yoga Retreat, which (as I alluded to in my last post) is turning out to be something of a paradise on earth… I never imagined I’d so effortlessly slip into the daily rhythm here, which – bar the odd spa treatment – runs pretty much exactly the same here every day, with only the type of yoga classes held and food served really changing… In addition to the below schedule, you can also take as read in my case that 6am is “run time” and 6pm “wine time”. Yin and yang and all that… 😉

But seriously, I did not expect to so readily adapt to this somewhat hypnagogic new routine – not given my usual nature as incurable control freak and life-long high-octane traveller. And yet, contrary to expectations, I’m absolutely loving the sense, for once, of being truly unburdened of the constant decision making, logistical planning and necessity of getting oneself from A to B (which, as anyone who’s read my Japan posts knows, collectively constitute the mainstay of a usual “Sarah trip”). By contrast, what to do, what to eat, when to sleep, etc., are all pretty much pre-decided for me here, with the most challenging decision being which spa treatment to book in for the day… Even the yoga and meditation classes are, I suspect, more a means of “structuring nothingness” than representing a true end in themselves – merely providing a way of punctuating the day, while otherwise allowing one’s mind to simply drift off into blissful oblivion…

As for the yoga, it turns out that pretty much everyone – bar the “top tier” of yoga enthusiasts here – found that initial power yoga session seriously hard too (or, sensibly, opted to sit it out altogether), which made me feel rather better after my previous, somewhat frustrated post. As predicted, I’ve definitely gotten much more out of the slower-paced sessions, where – rather than having to try to juggle multiple movements in quick succession (no chance!) – you maintain a single pose for up to several minutes at a time, “breathing in” to the stretch and allowing yourself to slowly but surely relax your muscles in the process. This was something of a revelation in itself, as I realised in doing so just how much stress and tension I’ve been seemingly hanging on to without realising. I also found the guided meditation sessions (where you focus on someone’s voice) surprisingly resonant too – as opposed to those spent sitting in the lotus position endlessly chanting ‘ohmmm’, which, quite frankly, just left me feeling a bit silly.

I wouldn’t say I’d had any grand epiphanies per se here, but could definitely see myself going in for a bit of slow flow hatha or yin yoga once back – though it remains to be seen how far that actually sticks on home turf. After all, it’s one thing doing a relaxing yoga class to the slowly setting sun and the calming sound of waves crashing against the sand:

Quite another, however, to try and replicate it at home, lying on the living room floor while keeping one ear out for the lodger and being repeatedly jumped on by the cat…

As for now though, I’m enjoying my stay here beyond expectations – with the only downside to speak of being Putin seriously pissing on my chips over the course of the last 24 hours. After all, it’s hard to stay fully “in the moment” while world leaders threaten global thermonuclear annihilation, which I’m hoping against hope represents “just” the usual posturing and bluster here…

Anyhoo, tomorrow marks my last full day here before I move further up the coast to nearby Palolem. I’ll admit, I’m almost sorry to leave – but I figured I’d still post today in the interim though, just in case it all goes boom in the next 24 hours. In which case, I’ve had a good innings and will at least be going out on a high… well, until the radiation poisoning and/or fallout make it to remote south-western India, that is….

And on that cheerful note, I’ll say goodbye for now, and hopefully post again from Palolem in a few days’ time… Fingers well and truly crossed till then!