Day 72: There Are No Coincidences in Life

The yoga website and DVDs led us to believe we were staying in ashram style accommodations right on the beach. What we got was a caravan park (for all you Americans, this is a trailer park) right off the freeway, 3-4 people to a room, and 6-8 people sharing one bathroom. It also happened to be the tail end of the Blues Festival in Byron Bay, and well, caravan park and drunk, obnoxious party-goers go hand-in-hand. Several people from the part-time intensive in conjunction with ours decided not to come back. I decided to take "a wait and see approach". After two nights of averaging 3 hours of sleep, I woke up on the third day sick. It was time to get out of Dodge. I called the Aussie Resort up in the Goldie and sure enough, Jenny had a place available. Right on. I then looked for transportation and sure enough there was a shuttle leaving in 5 hours. Was chance solely at work here? I knew I made the right decision but I couldn't help to be a bit bummed by not being able to continue. However, it did ease the sting knowing that the program was not a perfect match for me as it was very light on the practice, and too heavy on the theory and the chanting (chanting is my least favorite part of yoga). Alright, get comfortable, now begins the story telling (and there won't be an abridged version D).During the shuttle ride, I struck some conversation with Jemma, who definitely had the yoga-air about her. Sure enough, she is a practicing yogi. She explained how she just got back from a 3-day Kirtan festival (that's yoga music) in Byron. She pulled out her MAC (good taste), pulled up iTunes and played some Kirtan music for our shuttle ride. She educated me on the yoga scene in Byron, where to go and what to avoid, and she turned me onto some great Yoga retreats throughout Australia. The driver got in on our yoga conversation, as not only was he a practicing yogi, he was also an aspiring buddhist. I remember thinking, this feels right. As we approached Jemma's stop, she asked to exchange information, and she gave me her card. Pink on one side, brown on the other, very cute just like her. At first glance, I saw the word "naked" (hmmm...), and then "treaties" (huh?). I now wanted to fully process the info on the card and read the entire word: naked treaties rawganics by jemma [and at the bottom of the card it read] raw, vegan & organic, gluten, dairy & sugar free. No f___kin way. I turned to Jemma and told her that what little doubt I had remaining about leaving the yoga intensive, had evaporated during the span of the shuttle ride. She leaned forward and replied, "Isn't it great when the Universe takes care of everything?" She pulled out a white crystal, put it in my hand, and instructed me to hold it for a moment. Normally I would be too cynical not to laugh or say something sarcastic, but this time around, I obliged Jemma and I went with the flow. She left me an open invitation to practice yoga with her, and to visit her raw kitchen when I return to Byron Bay. As the driver pulled the shuttle away from the curb, he turned to me and said, "There are no coincidences in life." Check out Jemma's website and yes, that is her under the white sheets looking quite rawganic. This must be her alter ego because she was so wholesome and hippy looking when I met her.

After two days of laying around and sleeping, I'm finally shaking this cold and I'm ready for the next adventure. I'm back up in the Goldie, and my plan is to use the next two weeks as a run and swim block. I'm going to reawaken the runner that used to be in me. And yes, that means double run days, speedwork, run drills, and 90-120 kilometer weeks. Though I won't have my yoga teacher certification by the end of next week; I will, however, be a certified level I kitesurfer. What's that saying about lemons and making lemonade?