Purple Valley

Where do I begin? Upon Arriving to Purple Valley my heart instantly felt at peace. I had been traveling for 12 hours from Gokalum to Goa and I was finally at the promised land. What a contrast this place is in comparison. First of all, PV is beautiful. The dining area is welcoming with hand crafted wicker light fixtures; hand crafted chairs; cushion seating, a bed swing; infinity pool set within a tropical oasis; Auyervedic Hut for wellness, the Shala for practice, and of course Ganesh house, where my net covered king size bed is located. The energy here is so lovely, I feel at ease and very safe. The first night we had a welcome dinner in which we were able to meet and greet the other guests as well as Petri and Wambui. It's such a lovely community I've gotten to know over the past few days so far, I am beyond excited to spend a full two weeks in this amazing place.

Practice time for me is 5:30 AM so, it's early to bed and early to rise. I love waking and starting my practice before the sun comes up. In the shala it's quiet, all you can hear is the sound of the breath around you and the birds starting to chirp. I've been finding my practice has evolved to a full 2 hours. The assistants are some of the best I've ever come across. Mindful, gentle, therapeutic touches; I would describe the assist as a light touch which signals to your muscles what you need to do, and your body just follows suit. It's been a dream to have adjustments throughout my mysore practice, especially as I am practicing full primary, postures such as supta kermasana, drop backs, my twists have already improved from just a few days of mindful assistance. We have a nice break after morning practice to have breakfast, and rest at the pool or get massage treatments at the Auyervedic hut. In the evenings we've had a variety of afternoon classes, from pranayama, finishing sequence techniques, chanting, and open format questions for Petri. 

Now, as you all know I'm a foodie and the food here is AMAZING. I am literally eating the colors of the rainbow. My belly is happy and I've already seen an improvement in my sleep and practice. They're serving fresh and local ingredients and all meals are vegetarian. Brekkie options include fresh fruits, porridge, fresh breads, peanut butters and jams, tea and coffee, coconuts and fresh juices. Lunch options range from green salads, soups, plant lasagna, beetroot salad, lentils, you name it and we've had it! Dinner also has lots of fresh ingredients, but additionally includes some of the local fare, so cashew curry, banana curry, steamed dosas, rice, green salads, soups, and I should mention sweet treats like raw cacao bliss balls, and banana chocolate chip cookies! I couldn't be happier. 

My roommate Georgia and I strolled around the local hood the other day. We're located in a little town called Assagao. We only strolled for about an hour, but the Portugese influence here makes this part of India feel drastically different than the rest of what I've seen.

After morning practice yesterday a few of us gals took a cab to Anjuna town which is bout a 15 min ride away. We explored the famous Manali bookshop where I purchased a few books; we strolled the streets finding all sorts of clothing and trinkets. Really excited for the adventures over the next 10 days in Goa. More to come. XX 

Last week in Australia

I arrived back into Sydney with Coreen and we spend the day wandering around Surry Hills, ate some gelato and then dined at The Winery on a delicious feast of roasted cauliflower, cucumber salad, and mozzarella bruchetta! The following day Coreen took off to head back to the States and I ubered back over to Manly to spend my last week in Oz exploring and living it up in Manly.

Mozzarella Bruchetta

We hit the ground running with a 26 mile bike ride. We started in Manly and made our way along the North beaches, stopping for a dip in Narrabeem, and to our final destination The Newport. This little gem is actually quite large and overlooks Newport Harbor. We enjoyed fresh Margaritas, tuna poke, and ceviche. 

Narrebeem Beach  

Watermelon Margarita  

Tuna Poke bowl

On Sunday we woke up early and went to the beach to spend some time cleanning up on Manly beach. It was such a terrific way to kick off the Sunday. Afterwards we headed to Allies Sup class in the Harbour followed by a fantastic late afternoon filled with Lawn Bowling! I had a blast, it was so much fun! Essentially I'd describe this game as a combo of bowling and bocce ball and you do it all barefoot! Woohoo! 

Bowling balls

Learning the game from seasoned professional Svante! 

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The rest of the week was spent hitting up lots of yoga at Powerliving. I also ate at Bare Naked Bowls about 4x and and confirm they are in fact the most delicious Acai Bowls I've ever had! Clearly if I ate there 4x in one week, that is saying something. 

Paleo Acai Bowl

I've also decided that if I ever decied to move to Australia, I'd probably set up shop right here in Manly, NSW. It's so beautiful this little beach town. Everything is walkable and reminds me so much of Saratoga. Defintely helped to have such amazing friends and hosts this past week to show me a fantastic time around Manly! We did so much the past few days including Australia Day; had my first lamington (think of twinkies), played Finksa which is a type of lawn bowling game. We enjoyed Sydneys Chinese New Year celebrations in the Harbor at the Opera Bar and naturally dined on some amazing Chinese food!

Finksa - Australian Lawn Games!  

Chinese New Year Celebrations at the Opera Bar in Sydney Harbor

Dragon installation for the Chinese New Year on the Wharf  

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I'll be back again soon Oz! India get ready, I'm coming for ya!