Posts Tagged ‘Budapest’

 

Clean Slate

June 3, 2009 at 1:17 am in On The Street | Please subscribe!

After yet another touching farewell I find myself alone again. Well, not quite as I’m locked with many in a cylindrical bubble, vibrating on the runway about to hurtle towards another location, another challenge, another.. home.

We’re pushed back into our seats as the aircraft hungrily eats its way into the sky, sniffing an uncertain future, gnawing at expectations and swallowing my 30 day habitual life before spitting out swirling pieces of past: experience gained, opportunities lost, faces frozen in goodbyes and a growing knapsack of memories.

I glance out the small, oval, airplane window as Budapest gently drops below, pulling the spider web tendrils that tug one last time at my heart before they snap and the city which felt so much like a home away from home, disappears in a white cloud.. wow that was quick.

A clean slate. I keep staring out the window, hovering in never never land, not quite ready to imagine my next adventure. Suddenly the clouds part: a window into the past as Budapest is revealed far below but before I can smile it’s snatched away again.

Hmm yes, I understand now. I’m constantly moving forward but there’s always time to reflect on the past.
:)

Thank you all in Budapest who helped me find my way.

Sorry for the absence of photos, for some reason I cant upload photos to accompany my posts and will get the problem sorted asap.

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One to remember – last class in Budapest

June 3, 2009 at 1:03 am in Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

Krisztina, Matt & Linda

My last class in Budapest hung in a delicate balance for a while with Bikram Yoga Kozpont closed on 31st of May! How could my location scout (ah.. that would be me!) stuff up so bad, placing my 365 day challenge in jeopardy. So Rob (aka RAM) and I (Team 30 Day Challenge inBudapest) met with Krisztina and Linda to seek a solution to the cold day blocking our path towards Hot Yogic Bliss.Rob Krisztina Tank Szòfi

What eventuated was the perfect farewell and a class to remember: The girls put on a small class to Bikram’s CD so we could all practice together. The room filled with energy as Bikram guided 10 yogis through the asanas before singing to us in the final savasana.

As we floated back to our mats, it was kind of spooky, looking around the room, smiling to each other in silence.Last Class

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Csepel Island photo shoot

May 29, 2009 at 8:28 am in Media, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

In the balance

I was recently contacted by Monique Opetz expressing interest in introducing my endless bender in the Om Pages of Yoga Journal Germany. Wow, great exposure! Monique found out about my world yoga journey in the Bikram Yoga Hamburg newsletter.

Yogis at workKrisztina and LaciLaci framing another great shot

Monique requested a few photos so Krisztina asked Linda’s boyfriend, Laci (Laszlo Mudra) who is a professional photographer if he was free one afternoon. Laci practices Bikram Yoga too and was happy to help out so we drove to Csepel Island, Budapest where Krisztina’s parents have a little getaway on the lake.

You can check out a few more photos of the afternoon on my Flickr.

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Not all Roses

May 28, 2009 at 1:14 am in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

I’ve been asked a lot lately about how I feel: changes in body and mind or flashes of enlightenment. So I think it’s time to come clean and If you like to picture me as a glowing yogic beacon of health, maybe pick another post to read!

About a year before leaving Australia and every so often I would have an outbreak of pimples on my head, hiding amongst my hair, festering on my follicles. I was a little miffed sure but never went to the Doc, citing my busy lifestyle. Plus after a while, they would subside with the tide, back to the netherworld, triggering neurotic neurons and sprouting crazy thoughts of conquering the world in yogic travel.

So I guess it was only a matter of time before the pimples spread and so brazenly: mounting an assault on my chin. It first happened before I left Australia but with a quick dose of antibiotics to punish an ailment of the flu variety, I quickly got things under control.

I didn’t make the connection between head and chin until Bangkok when it happened again. I administered cream from a Thai chemist and the pimples dived for cover before resurfacing 2 weeks later, freeloading their way to Mumbai. I thought I may be lacking in vitamin deficiency so I tried to eat my way out of trouble, also hoping to put on the 5 kilos I’d lost since January.

It didn’t work and when I arrived in Dubai, Tasha and the other yogis thought, “omg (oh my God) if this is what daily practice does for you, we don’t want a part of it!” I visited the chemist, desperate for something hard core and after a 10 day period of antibiotics, I was restored to my skeletal best. But within two weeks they strutted back. I hit them with a second dose and they disappeared from both head and chin; I thought I had them licked (sorry for that visual).

Now in Budapest I’m feeling strong, have introduced push-ups into my routine and even put on weight. My only setback was getting a chill the other night at a party so I’m nursing the remnants of a cold. But now the pimples are back, starting with seismic eruptions on my head followed by another outbreak on my chin. Great!

What shall I do? Well the antibiotics aren’t working, nor is it good for me and I would rather take a more natural approach. I’ve obviously got some crazy, recurring viral infection, with my immune system unable to cope. So I think it’s time to see a specialist, have some blood tested and perhaps look into colonic irrigation.. ha ha sorry for more disgusting visuals but I’ve no accompanying photos for this post!

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A day in the life..

May 21, 2009 at 11:57 pm in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

07:00 Wake up, bright eyed, bushy tailed. Savor a few moments of quiet contemplation before seizing the day.

08:00 Bag packed (Skins, MacBook, map, camera, water & sunnies), out the door with a brisk 200m walk to the bus stop.

08:30 Arrive Bikram Yoga Kozpont for 09:00 class. Chat with a few yogis, then enter the studio for some pre-class stretches. If I loosen up before class, the little voice whispering “What the F*#% am I doing here?” as I strain into Arda Chandrasana, isn’t as loud, especially during a morning class. Today doesn’t disappoint and I have yet another powerful class – amazing really and I have to pinch myself, why is my practice so strong? It’s day 19 in Budapest and every class has been unbelievable!

11:00 With a cheery koszonom (thank you) & sziasztok (hello/goodbye) to Linda, Rob (aka RAM) and I make our way down back streets towards the VII district. We joke about “sexy platform fairies“, “two plucky ladies”, “don’t worry” and any English sounding Hungarian dialogue during class that we have absolutely no clue about. For a westerner the practice here is unique: we follow the class in union, in tune, by feel alone. For me, this may be the reason for my strong classes: I know what I need to do, letting the unfamiliar dialogue wash over me rather than getting hung up on each instruction to be followed or the style of delivery.

11:30 Meet Harlon, a Budapest local, at Frici Papa’s for brunch of 2 boiled eggs swimming in luke warm creme of spinach. The conversation circles around Harlon’s bmx tricks, Rob’s apartment renovation, Hungarian life & how beautiful the women are here with anything idiosyncratic passed off as “This is Hungary”. We follow the meal with an espresso chaser.. life in Budapest is good.

14:00 A quick look at furniture shops with Rob before arriving at his apartment for some wifi time: reply to a growing list of emails (very cool, thank you), book flights to Zurich, research raising money for the Fred Hollows Foundation and add another Bikram Yoga studio to the Global Bender Challenge in June – my goal is to get 50 studios signed up.. c’mon yogis!

16:00 Back out on the street to meet with Tank and Anthony for coffee at Liszt Square, top up phone credit and purchase a travel adapter.

18:00 Back to Rob’s. More wifi time, sort through photos and realise how many I have and that I should be uploading them to flickr for everyone to see. I stress about not doing enough.. soon, I promise!

19:00 Tank arrives home and whips up a dinner of salad, macaroni cheese and pork. I pass on the pig but wolf down the rest, always craving fresh fruit & veg since leaving Oz. They settle down to watch a DVD and I keep fluffing around on the internet, then..

22:40 Shit, my last bus to Buda is about to leave! I say goodbyes and set off down dimly lit streets, my smile lighting the way. I’m lucky to have met Rob and his cool mates. It’s nice to spend some “bloke” time again, hanging with the boys.

00:30 Fall asleep wondering where the day went..

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Open your coffin

May 16, 2009 at 1:47 am in Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

In the past my morning classes were like opening a coffin. I was stiff, running a cold sweat through the first set of half moon and when I creaked my way out of Pada Hastasana, I would float my arms down into a bout of vertigo.

“Mix it up, create the change” I say, so I’ve transformed my afternoon habit into a morning one; so much so, it’s what my body expects now. However when I heard the afternoon classes in Budapest are a full house, maxing out at 50 people before turning away late comers, I knew I had to get to one! I treated myself to a few afternoon sessions this week and wow – just as packed as the classes at home (see Maroochydore “Clean Sweat”) but 3 times the number of yogis, sweat and smiles after class.

Ooh, I love that energy when your mats are separated by inches, arms weave and float as one during Poorna Salabhasana and whether you’re suffocating or levitating from one Savasana to the next, you’ll thank yourself for putting ‘you’ first and getting to class in the first place.

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In Budapest, just in time

May 6, 2009 at 10:23 pm in On The Street | Please subscribe!

Before leaving Australia I decided not to purchase a round the world ticket (quote approx. AUD $9000) in favor of booking each segment of the journey on the fly. I calculated it would cost me about $1500 more but this gave me the most flexibility in case my destinations changed.

Of course I was warned against this as several countries only allow you through customs if you have an exit flight, meaning I would have to book at least a month ahead each time. But I liked the idea of living on the edge so I decided to be my own agent.

What a saga lay ahead..

I’d organized my flight from Dubai to Budapest while still in Mumbai. It was a challenge finding a flight arriving Budapest in time to attend the last class of the day, 12:00 on Sat 2nd May. I finally booked on Aerosvit Airlines with a 5hr night stopover in Kiev, Ukraine. But 2 weeks later I received an email informing me the flight from Kiev to Budapest was rescheduled and would get me into Budapest that evening, meaning I would miss the class! Great, so I canceled the flight and had to start all over again.

It took me the best part of 2 days trawling flights via any city in Europe to find an alternative. I was even considering doing a stopover in London to pick up a class so I wouldn’t miss a day – remember this isn’t an option! In the end I had to purchase a round trip (Swiss Air: Dubai – Budapest via Zurich) as this was cheaper than a one way and landed me in Budapest at 09:00. A bus, train & a short walk with some broken English directions got me to Bikram Yoga Kozpont just in time!

Now all I have to find is a bed.. but that’s another story!

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