First Impression

Just returned from my first yoga teacher training and feeling like i am learning yoga all over again. There is so much information so many details to remember. It is far more technical and complex than what i had expected. We already started giving instructions in pairs, i found it challenging to translate into words what we feel in our bodies and giving clear guidance so that the other person can do the poses as they are suppose to be done. I must be patient with the learning process and have confidence that the repetition will allow me to integrate the skills required to be a good instructor.

Time of change

Reading through some of my past postings, i realize this is a time of my life that is in a drastic state of change. Of course everything is always changing all the time, every second cells of our body die and new ones regenerate. Knowing quite well that nothing is as constant as change, a new life is taking form as if i was born again. Strange feeling of vertigo and excitement inhabit my being. My soul embraces all of the greatness that seems to emerge from the magic of the universe.

As i am preparing for the pilgrimage, my attention has shifted towards finding my intention in this adventure. I believe my path has begun most probably before i was even born, this will be another significant step or another road leading me towards knowledge. My intention during the ''Camino''is to share with others, meet wonderful people along the way, reflect on my life, feel closer to the divinity and walk 500km without injuries to myself or my friend Chantal who is sharing this wonderful experience with me. My heart and mind are open to the lessons to be learned from the path, i hope to come back filled with joy, hope and gratitude.

Four weeks to go before our departure...I just can't wait! It will most certainly be a life changing experience.

Getting on the train...

I had a dream last night...
The dream took place in an immense train station. I was walking through these tunnels looking for the docking area to take my train. I had somewhere important to get to and was a bit late (not that I am ever late to get anywhere). Finally i found my way to the dock. It was situated on a second floor and i could see the level down below, which lead me to think that the train would have two floors with doors on each floor. I was to get onto the second floor. Not so common for trains...The train arrived but it had only the first floor, therefore i could not get on it. I remember feeling anxious about not being able to get on the train and knew i would be late to get to my destination. I wasn't sure if i should walk outside and try to find another method of transportation. To my surprise, another train arrived, one that i could get on. One that was even nicer and more comfortable than the previous one. It was even faster and got me to my destination on time.

Things are not always as they seem. There is always another train...

Credencial

Chantal and I took our first step today towards Santiago de Compostela...
The CREDENCIAL will give us access to hostels at 2-3 EUR a night.
Departure from Montreal is scheduled on April 8th, pilgrimage will start on the 10th.
We decided to take El Camino Frances which is the path that begins in France.
We will be walking appx. 500km in 20 days from San Juan de Ortega to Santiago through the Pyrenees.
How exciting is that? Isn't life beautiful? What are life's infinite possibilities?

Back in winter land

looks like snow has taking hostage the entire city
bus shelters are covered underneath its bed
snow banks bury ''House for Sale'' signs
Victoria bridge is slippery when exiting
rooftops have been sparkled with icing sugar
snowflakes are dancing their magical ballet
gnomes and fairies hibernate beneath its coat
Snowfie has come out...

Sitting at the YVR Terminal

I am now sitting at the Vancouver terminal waiting to board my flight to Montreal.
My suitcase is full of souvenirs, so is my heart and soul...
This voyage has been a life changing experience in many ways.
Visited beautiful places, met wonderful people, practiced yoga with amazing teachers.
Found my true self and inner beauty.
Ready to explore all of life's possibilities.

Song by David Gray - My companion in the last three months...

Standing at the door of the pink Flamingo crying in the rain,
It was a kind of so-so love and I'm gonna make sure it doesn't happen again,
You and I had to be the standing joke of the year,
You were a run around, a lost and found, and then I found me half healed

Take your hands off me, hey,
I don't belong to you, you see,
And take a look in my face, for the last time,
I never knew you, you never knew me,
Say hello goodbye,
Say hello and wave goodbye,

We tried to make it work, you in a cocktail skirt and me in a suit but it just wasn't me,
You're used to wearing less, and now your life's a mess, so insecure you see,
I put up with all the scenes, this is one scene that's going to be played my way

Say hello and wave goodbye

Under the deep red light I can see the make-up sliding down,
Well hey little girl you will always make up so take off that unbecoming frown,
As for me, well I'll find someone who's not going cheap in the sales,
A nice little housewife who'll give me a steady life and not keep going
off the rails,

Say hello and wave goodbye

We were born before the wind, who are we to understand

We were born before the wind, say goodbye

Through the rain, sleet and snow, say goodbye, get on the train and say goodbye,

say goodbye in the wind and rain my darling say goodbye

in the wind and in the rain my darling

Reflection on India

It is with a heart filled with Joy, Lightness, Divine Glory and Sadness that I left India three days ago. I have not been able to write much about my experience there because it affected me so profoundly through my core being, it is challenging to describe the magnificence of it all…

India was EVERYTHING I had dreamed it would be and more. As soon as you engage on the road to your destination, in this case it was Bangalore; all your senses get bombarded with stimulus.  The airport has recently been built so there isn’t much of anything around, though you can see a city starting to take form. Buildings and roads that will one day hold apartment buildings, villas, restaurants, banks, temples, and everything else that make up a city are under construction.

Over there, rules are quasi inexistent. Don’t get fooled by lines on the road, no one respects driving principles as we are accustomed to in most countries. Drivers have an impressive way of zigzagging between buses, motorcycles, rikshaws, bicycles and pedestrians without serious damages beside few casualties from time to time. I would not even try to drive, most certainly not in a city such as Bangalore, too many things going on and too many vehicles for its road infrastructure. The entire city is under construction to allow a better flow of circulation. They are developing wider roads and building a train line to alleviate the number of vehicles on the road. Honking is the way to go when driving in India, I actually miss the sounds now that I am in Dubai…  

I met wonderful and kind people everywhere I went. On my first day in Bangalore I visited the city’s wonders. I was surrounded by beautiful temples, mosques and life in all its forms! The experience was already overwhelming and quite magnificent when I entered the Krsna temple. I sat in the middle of the main room, in front of Krsna and his eternal love Radha and began to cry. A man sitting in front of me looked back at me and asked in wonder why I was crying. I tried to explain the overwhelming feeling of being in a place of such divine beauty. He asked me to follow him to the book store, there he bought a book and CD, came back to his girlfriend and asked here to offer me this present. I was so very touched by their kindness. They changed my sadness and sorrow into tremendous joy and gratitude for the experience. How does it get better than this? Later on, my friend Sachin explained that it is uncommon to see someone crying in a temple, usually people chant and dance, it is a happy place. He said that if someone is crying, it usually means they are alone, discouraged, depressed and have tremendous sorrows. Though I may not have been in such distress I was crying over the loss of deep love, over the long and challenging road that had lead me to this place, and by a tremendous gratefulness towards god for the experience of this life. Kindness is everywhere! These two very special people have had a truly profound impact on me.

My encounter with genuinely caring people carried on through the visit in India. Whether at work with my colleagues who treated me to a scrumptious lunch at a resort on the last day as a sign of gratitude for the training session, to strangers I met in the streets and in temples, to kids who had beautiful smiles and were ever so curious to find out where I was from. I remember in a temple on the way to Mysore, there was a never ending line-up of people to see the deities, children were all around me and they started to ask my name and where I was from. We played with bells hanging from the tall doors at the entrance of the temple. We were all laughing quite heartedly, it was amusing and I felt like I was part of them. This was lots of fun pushing my way through to see Shiva (and no one gets offended, it’s part of the ritual)! My friend Sachin, his wife, daughter and I all went to have dinner at this place called 13^th floor. It was on my last night in India. A very nice way of ending such a life changing adventure. These are all experiences I will keep in my heart.

One of the highlight of my trip was a visit to Sharmila’s Shala for a yoga session. Shammi is the granddaughter of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a yoga teacher who passed away about two years back. I learned yoga listening and watching his DVD so meeting Shammi was a big deal for me to me. Imagine this, I had been waiting for this moment ever since I knew about my trip to India, and the morning of the session I woke up with a sharp pain in my left arm and shoulder. I could not cancel, it was my last chance before leaving. I told Shammi about my pain and we were careful with the postures so I ended up skipping the jump backs between them to avoid straining my arm. At first I felt like I could not enjoy the full experience of her teaching, in the end it was better than any class I had ever attended before. The next day my arm was back to normal. Perhaps what I had to learn through this is that often time things don’t turn out the way I had imagined, but it can be even better than that if I open my heart to the experience. Practicing this positive thinking in Dubai…

My departure from India was challenging, I did not want to leave the place. After a good breakfast with fresh fruits, yogurt, and dosa with coconut chutney, the waiter asked me to wait five minutes before leaving (he knew it was my last day). By the way, did I tell you about the contest they have at Oberoi (the hotel)? They have regular staff meetings where they exchange about guests, they have a contest where they need to answer personal questions about the guests like what does Mr.Varma like for breakfast? Which news paper does he read? Which guest wakes up at 5:00am every morning to practice yoga in front of her patio doors? That would be me! So Pradeep came back with a cake and on the plate it was written “Bon Voyage”. Pradeep and one of the waitresses who served me most of the time, said that this was a present to wish me a safe trip and to say that they would miss me at the hotel. They made me cry…again! I cried once more at the airport after going through security at the gate before boarding the plane. It was the last step towards leaving the country. India is on the top of my countries to visit, I will definitely go back, though I would not recommend it to those who may not like to be taken outside of their comfort zone. The cultural differences may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it was definitely mine!

I would summarize my trip to India as a life changing experience in every sense of the word. It has brought me closer to my true self, to the higher purpose of my life, to my spiritual being…

Love,

Sophie

P.S. I am crying as I am proof reading the last sentence above...

Une note en français pour Alex

Mon voyage en Inde est incroyable, encore plus que ce que j'avais imaginé.

Tout est particulier et différent. Les sons, les couleurs, les odeurs émanant des plats succulents, la bonté des gens, leur simplicité et surtout leur flamme intérieure qui transparaît à travers tous leurs gestes et dans leurs yeux. Vraiment, j’adore mon expérience et je me sens extrêmement choyée.

Mes yeux ne me suffisent pas pour tout capturer ce qui se passe. Imaginez pour un instant que la population est passée de 5 millions d’habitants vers les années 2000 à 10.5 en date d’aujourd’hui…La ville est toujours occupée par les voitures et leur klaxon, les toup-toup (taxis à trois roues) aussi nommé les Rikshaw et les milliers de piétons tentant de se frayer un chemin parmi ce chaos.

Demain je commence ma journée à 6h30 avec un cours de yoga, suivi d’une excursion dans la belle ville de Mysore puis je dinerai avec un copain et sa femme. Ce sera une journée bien remplie.

Je ne pense pas avoir la chance de placer de nouvelles photos sur mon flickr car la connexion internet est vraiment lente. Ça ira à mon arrivé à Dubai, prochain arrêt ce dimanche.

Je vie un rêve qui m’habitait depuis des années et c’est tout à fait sublime!

Je vous aime,

Sophie

Bangalore India - Divine Glory

Divine glory in this sacred place chanting and dancing amongst devotees
Shiva destroyer of ego and universe
Brahma creator of the universe
Deities united to bring equilibrium in all things and being
Salvation was atteined through your enlightning wisdom
Consciousness of a Supreme blessing
His Divine grace has touched my heart and soul
Forever transformed into a being of joy and glory

How about Singapore?

My first impression of Singapore: It's a clean city!
Singaporeans are proud of their country, and so they should be. It is amazing to see how they care for their environment. In public areas you will not see people litter, ashtrays and garbage cans are available along the sidewalks and they are actually used! The streets and walkways are all very clean.

Singapore is about 50km East to West and 30km North-South. It's a really small country with about 5 million inhabitants, 1 million of them are expatriates that came to Singapore often times to advance their career because the opportunities are here. The unemployment rate is quite impressive, it stands at around 5% only. Though the inflation has raised the price of gas, housing and food, the economy is still doing quite well in comparison to other countries. The president made a public speech just last week about the importance of continuing to work hard and not settle for the successes that this country is experiencing. Singaporeans have worked hard to build this economy, the high rises are proof of the success but the young professionals must keep up the efforts.

It's interesting, the concerns are similar to those we are facing in North America. They need to keep kids in school, continuing education for the workers to raise income and increase productivity, and help low-income families with various programs. It's the same ALL around!

Singapore has great historical treasures contrasted by modernism. Between high rises you can discover old architecture like temples dating from previous centuries, old shops along the Singapore river, colonial and art deco architecture. It's nice to see the contrast of old and new. It is reflected in their mentally, keeping the heritage and adapting to new generations. It's all over their publicity boards.

They are quite vigilant about public security. It's not uncommon to see publicity in public places about prevention against terrorism and crime. They sensitize the population regarding their responsibility in making sure Singapore remains safe for them and for everyone around. This is a lesson to be learned for the Western civilisation. It is indeed a safe place to be walking around, as a woman I feel secure roaming the streets of this wonderful city.

People here are polite, charming and welcoming. They have a great sense of humour! My colleague at the CAE office told me that Singapore is a fine country, they will fine you! I thought this was hilarious. Often i was surprised by people greeting me on the street, asking about my place of residence and wondering if i was enjoying my experience in Singapore. I am!

Chinese New Year is approaching, offices, buildings and the entire city is decorated with Chinese ornaments. Bunnies have invaded the city to welcome the Lunar year. There are shows offered for free in the streets, especially in Chinatown. Check it out on my flickr page.

Tiong Bahru is amongst the places i visited. It is a part of town where young professionals and families come to live and establish small businesses. It's a nice area outside the tourist belt and worth while seeing. The architecture is different, very art deco. This is where i attended the yoga classes on Saturday and Sunday morning. The shala is owned by Celeste, a wonderful yoga teacher.

I also visited little India to get a taste of it before experiencing the real thing in India. My best Indian meal ever was at the restaurant called Lagnaa. I was greeted by two really nice and welcoming ladies. The place was simple with minimum decoration but yet charming with their arrangement of low tables and cushions to eat sitting on the floor. I tasted amazing dishes. As an appetizer i had a rolled poppadom stuffed with potatoes, onions, nuts and a mix of spices. Simply delicious! The main course comprised of Mutton Masala, just the right blend of tomatoes, cardamon and other spices. This was accompanied by Okras; cooked to perfection, not mushy like most people prepare them. The sweetness of onions and tomatoes blended exquisitely with the Okras. Everything was just perfect from the ambiance, music playing melodies of sitar and drums reminding me of Cafe Del Mar or Beaches CDs, and of course the warm and friendly service.

I spent a day in Chinatown walking through the street markets, visiting the temples, having a cocktail on a rooftop bar and enjoying a succulent Korean meal - calamari, cooked spinach salad with nuts and sticky rice. Very tasty!

On my last night, my colleague as offered to treat me to a typical Singaporean meal. We will be having seafood. Can't wait!

I definitely recommend Singapore, there are many things to see and do and I have not had enough time to do it all and believe me I TRIED!

Almost forgot...managed to enjoy a day at the spa with a massage. Life is beautiful!

Point of Destruction - Point of Creation

This three week trip is marking the end of a truly special romantic loving relationship with Roy. I have been blessed with experiencing love in a way that i had never experienced before. Through the relationship i received the gift of discovering the connection to my true being, the one that is spiritual, magical, energy and playful. This gift will remain with me as part of my make up, it has not dissipated because Roy and i are no longer a couple. It was marvelous to be experiencing such beauty with a loving partner such as he. This is the part that my soul aches for and i must learn to live life without this connection to him. Before my trip, he has given me another gift by releasing me from the expectation that one day our path may cross again as loving partners. Roy was clear, it will never be. In everything that i have ever experienced, this was one of the most challenging reality to face.

Is it possible that i was seeing something that was not really there? Were all of our friends and relatives wrong in thinking that we were such a great couple together? Not that it should really make a difference what people say but i am talking about those that are dear and close to us, those people who love us and care for us. In reality, all that really matters is how Roy feels inside and he was clear about the fact that he did not love me enough to be in a life-long relationship with me. I have to respect and honour his decision. I now am faced with the "mitote", thoughts and impressions about love and what it means for me. Next time love comes my way, will i recognize it? How will i know that it is true and real? What makes people fall in love and stay in love? These are the questions that i ask myself and for which i have yet to find the answers.

I realize that this trip is a gift from the universe to begin healing the wounds of the separation from an extraordinary being. My attention has shifted towards finding inner peace, my higher purpose in this life, and erasing old "karmic" lessons to make space for something new.

I met a disciple of the Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness yesterday, we had an interesting exchange for a while. I realized, though he is part of a sect and i would not agree with all principles, that we are looking for the same thing, a higher purpose than our current life because we need to believe that we are part of something bigger than ourselves alone. This life is short and serves to learn and grow through experiences. If that is the case then there is something to be learned through the relations that we develop with others. At this point, my understanding of what i have learned through my relationship with Roy is about being connected to the magical part of our being.

The way i understand the theory behind the point of destruction and creation is that we have to let go of things that are important or habits or thoughts in order to create something that is new. It can be about quiting a job in which we are truly unhappy in order to find self-actualization. It can be about letting go of what we want for our children and let them live the experience of life without intervening. It can be about letting go of a wonderful relationship to find the beauty and love within ourselves.

As i am writing these few lines, the sun is coming up and i could not help but be inspired and feeling like i will be alright.

This morning, i am setting up for another class of yoga with Celeste. She is a wonderful Ashtanga teacher. Her shala is outside of the tourist belt, it makes for a nice experience of local life.

Blessed in Singapore!

After a 28 hour trip, i finally made it to Singapore!
The travel went well beside the fact that i missed the connecting flight in Hong Kong which delayed my departure by 3 hours. Not too bad.
Met some nice people on the plane, a sushi chef from the Willow in Hudson which Marc, Micheline and I will be visiting when I get back from this trip. She was going to Hong Kong to visit her brother who lives there. I met Roshan on the segment from HK to Singapore, nice person, he is originally from India, grew up in HK, studied in San Francisco and now lives in Singapore for work. He nicely offered a guided tour of the city which i will most gladly accept.

I am exhausted! Both physically and mentally. It's been a long journey getting here.
Staying at the Fairmont, right downtown Singapore. The view from the 10th floor is SPECTACULAR!
I was so excited when walking into my room that i jumped up and down like a little girl.
Took a hot bath with a glass of Hardy's Nottage Hill from Australia listening to Sydney Classical station. What else could i be asking for at this point?

The girl at the reception desk was quite excited about my last name, to my surprise, she is a big fan of Roy Dupuis and is now convinced that he and I are related. Made me feel like a star for 2 minutes.

I feel blessed by this wonderful opportunity and truce from the past few months.

Thank you god!

Love
Sophie from Singapore

About ready to leave...

Passport - check
Visas - check
Laptop - check
Connections - check
New camera - check
My heart - check

Thank you to all for your calls/emails/texts...
Your warm wishes were a blessing.

Going to do what i love, training for three weeks and travelling.
What else is possible?

Mom, do not worry i will be safe (that goes for you Tom)!

Love you all,
Sophie xox

Ending - new beginning

time to move on
taking a trip to Singapore, India, Dubai, Australia
new beginning perhaps...

What is love?

Love is bliss

Love will make you lose your step and fall to the ground

Love will pick you up and carry you when you are weak

Love is grand

Love will make your heart pound to its peak

Love is soft and tender

Love is the only thing that can elevate your spirit

Love can tear your soul to pieces

Love will inspire you

Love is kind

Love is forgiving

Love is free

Love is to be shared

Love will bring tears of joy and sadness

Love is forever

Love cannot be taken away

Love is you

Love is your embrace

Love is god and god is love

Love is passion

Love is universal

Love is everywhere

Love is in every living thing

Love is when you look at me

Love is more precious than any richness

Love can make you appreciate the rain

Love can make you appreciate the sun

Love is in everything that you do

Love is our embrace

Love  is now

Love will make you tarry in the moment with your lover

Love is conundrum

Love is your path

Love your path

Love is in your Karma

Love can break you and make you feel like you can never love again

But you will...love again

First step to my healing

The path begins with a crossroads. There you can stop and think what direction to follow. But don’t spend too much time thinking or you’ll never leave the spot. Reflect a lot on the choices that lie ahead, but once you have taken the first step, forget the crossroads for ever or else you will always torture yourself with the useless question: “did I take the right path?”

Paulo Coelho

He was a crossroads, i must now follow the path ahead and never look back...
sophie

Sadness as a partner...

I have been thinking about my path and it all does not seem to make a lot of sense right now. Is it possible that LOVE is just not accessible to everyone of us? Did it pass my way but i was just too busy to see it? If there is a purpose to everything then i just can't bring myself to seeing what it can be. It's been more than two months and the feeling of emptiness is still as raw.

While i am very excited about this coming trip, sadness is my partner...

Good news - not so good news!

Sharmila wrote back, I will be practicing yoga with her once I reach Bangalore. VERY exciting!
Brisbane Australia is having one of its worst flood in 100 years, not sure this part of the trip will take place. Hope all my Aussie colleagues are safe! It’s really sad and tragic.

Getting everything ready

Getting ready for the big trip around the world. Still many things to look after before leaving, it's somewhat unsettling and exciting. Not sure i will have enough time to get everything done in time.
At least i got my new super cool camera - Canon PowerShot SX120 IS. Looking forward to taking memorable pictures of all the beauties that awaits me...

First blog

What if everyday was a celebration of life, wonders and beauty?