June ’23 Blog

Well, doesn’t sunshine make a big difference to our way of life, our mood and our days in general!  We’ve had two weeks of glorious weather now and eating out in the garden, barbecues, friends and family gatherings, and sitting out in the evening to watch the sunset, have just been so perfect.  It all reminds me of when I lived in India for six months and how watching the sunset in Goa was just de rigueur.  Everyday, as the sun was nearing setting time, I would set off for the beach on my scooter (if I wasn’t already there) to sit outside of a café bar with a drink to watch the sun go down.  There is something so magical in watching the sun set and the night begin.  It reminds me of the whole mystery of the Universe and how small and insignificant we all are, and it puts petty, little worries into perspective.  A meditation on the bigger picture.

In other news, June has seen lots of activity at Katham Yoga and Wellness, although not necessarily yoga related!  The building work in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom continues, but the end is now in sight.  There is now a (rather gorgeous) cooker and fridge-freezer in place in the kitchen and the decorating has started, prior to the cabinets being installed in a week or two.  Living without a cooker, fridge-freezer, washing machine, dryer and sink was interesting to say the least, but we survived on lots of toast, sandwiches, ping cookery and takeaways.  Washing up in the bathroom had its challenges, but we managed, and my yoga clients were more than understanding with the state of the bathroom and the never decreasing cluttered hallway, which is still full of kitchen and bathroom paraphernalia.   Not for much longer though and as everyone keeps reassuring me: “it will all be worth it!”

Wild swimming continues and it is getting warmer in the water now and we are no longer booted and suited (well, booted and gloved) to the same degree.  We’ve abandoned our gloves and are now wearing light, neoprene shoes as opposed to the thick, neoprene ankle boots.  We’re also staying in the water much longer, over half an hour today and it was simply glorious.  I’ve no pictures to show you, but trust me, the birds were singing, the wind turbines were turning, the sun was shining brightly on the water and the clouds were soft and fluffy in a clear blue sky.  In short, simply idyllic.  A little piece of Heaven.

The rather flattering picture (!) in case you’re wondering, is of me doing the ‘duck walk’.  Twice on Wednesday evenings, the weather has been so glorious that we had yoga on the lawn.  We were practising Malasana (yogi squats) one evening and I asked if anyone could duck walk…everyone, except me, could do it for a few steps.  So, I said I would practice and conquer it that week.  I managed to capture a video of me doing four, very elegant, (wink, wink) duck steps later that week, which I posted to the Wednesday Evening WhatsApp Group, which resulted in much hilarity and teasing comments.  Just goes to show though, where there’s a will there’s a way, and as Nike says:  “Just do it!”  Simples 🙂