i think i love sweet beans

yesterday i went back to harajuku. something pulls me there. so strange, so unique. on the way out to it, i spotted this amazing little sanctuary park with wild cats, a river & a waterfall. right outside it's gate-mad mad tokyo on a saturday pre-holiday shopping frenzy. and not far from there, in harajuku, i wandered down a tiny unassuming alley, first to see what the jamaican shop had (lots of satin starter jackets-interesting indeed), but this colorful totally jaw-droppingly wild building, which is home to an art gallery called design festa. chicago has some neighborhoods that are done up in this kind of graffiti, but never have i seen such an astonishing art building in my life. i wandered in, looking at some really cool & interesting art, while the artists were busy at work in all the different cubby holes. a happy, intense place.

today was my big yoga day. waking at 3:30, preparing my special coffee from the jamacian coffee place down the street, i caught the first train-4:38 to get to the studio by 5:10. sundays are good cause i don't teach until 7, so it's plenty of time for a proper practice. taught my usual 3 hour mysore, followed by my led primary class, which built from 2 last week to 11 today, each and every student staying completely with my count...a small miracle to me. love japan. and my 2 1/2 hour adjustment workshop that was meant to cover all the poses up through navasana, but only made it through the standing sequence. it went very well, even better than the first time i taught it in chicago. and i was extremely lucky to have yuka with me translating the entire workshop. it was a HUGE help, because i did a lot of talking. i was exhausted when i began the workshop, but because it was so fun, and the students were so into it, they fed me lots of energy that carried through to the evening, when mom came home & whisked together another mad feast. i think i love sweet beans!

and the ritual bath.