Is she in the U.S. or some other continent?
If she’s in Hawai`i, where is she?
Is she at home? The Handsome Bloke swears this is seldom the case.

Well, today, Tuesday, I momentarily know where I am. I am at a Retreat Center called Lumeria which is on the Makawao side of Maui. I arrived on Sunday via the route Hawaiian Air clerks call “traveling backward.” I live on the Big Island of Hawai`i. The next island to the north is Maui. But, there is only one flight daily from Hilo to Maui. Otherwise, one first has to go north to Honolulu, change planes, and then fly south again. Good opportunity to get some reading done.

Stepped off the second flight into what I consider a major tropical downpour. This is unusual for Maui, so the taxis are not located under cover. So, you guessed it, by the time I dragged myself and my bag across the street, I was drenched to the skin. And, then I momentarily could not find my phone without which I not only could not find the address to my destination, but would be without most of my life details. Thought I might cry – who could tell? I was already wet. Just then the phone appeared. Artificial reality to the rescue.

But the destination makes it all worthwhile. The Lumeria Center is a truly magical pocket of Hawai`i. [www.lumeria.com] The website pictures are accurate, and I’ve added a few of my own to this blog. The atmosphere is serene. The food excellent. And, it stopped raining.

Even better — the reason I came. A 10 day Purna Yoga Retreat led by Aadil Palkhivala and Savitri from the Alive and Shine Center in Bellevue WA. [www.aliveandshinecenter.com] I do believe that Savitri is the foremost practitioner of meditation in our world. And Aadil is a true master. But what makes Purna Yoga special is the way it integrates body-mind-spirit so that we experience life to the fullest.

So, I don’t know where Carmen Sandiego is right now. But I know that I am on an incredible journey through life. And so are you. Embrace it.

Photos by Author.  All Rights Reserved.

The post CHECKING OUT, CHECKING IN first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

Purna Yoga

I didn’t post last week, because I attended a four-day yoga workshop at Big Island Yoga Centers in Kealakekua, Hawai`i. Aadil Palkhivala, founder of Purna Yoga, led us through sessions on hips, knees, inversions, twists, backbends, backs, necks, and shoulders. I didn’t realize I could focus on so many body parts – fortunately not at the same time. Nevertheless, it took all my concentration to keep up, and so, alas, none could be spared. To learn more about Purna Yoga, check out http://www.yogacenters.com or listen to the radio show http://www.aliveandshineshow.com

[Sidebar: This position is called “Full Lotus” – like the flower.  No, I cannot yet achieve this model of flexibility — which may be why I have other names for the position.  Just sayin’]

History at the Manago Hotel

I had a second adventure the same weekend, because I stayed at the historic Manago Hotel in Captain Cook, about four miles up the road from the Yoga Center.  It is a fascinating slice of ”Old Hawai`i”  — in business since 1917.   http://www.managohotel.com  I’ll be sharing about the Manago Hotel in my next blog.

Legends of Pele at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is about a 40 minute drive from my house.  It, too, is another world.  The domain of Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes.  Hawaiian practitioners still conduct ceremonies and make offerings at the Kīlauea  Summit.

If you look closely at the bottom portion of the photograph I took yesterday, you will note the remanents of a ho`okipu, an offering left behind.

The volcanic gas rising from Halema`uma`u Crater is sourced from the molten lava lake beneath the crater floor.  The crater has been active since March 2008.  Take a look at the park website and web cam http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm

The Legend of `Ōhi`a, Lehua, and Pele.

(There are several versions of the story, so you may know a different one.)

Once there a boy called `Ōhi`a and a girl called Lehua who grew up together.  When they became young adults, they had eyes only for each other, and swore to be together always.  `Ōhi`a was very handsome, and one day, as he walked through the forest, he met a beautiful woman.  The woman invited `Ōhi`a to be her lover, but he refused.  She invited him again, and `Ōhi`a rejected her a second time.  The woman was Pele.  Enraged, Pele turned `Ōhi`a into a tree.

Later, Lehua searched the forest looking for her lover.  When she realized what had happened she cried incessantly, until the gods took pity on her and transformed Lehua into the lovely flower that blooms on the `ōhi`a tree.  Thus the lovers reunited, never to be separated again.

This is how the ‘ōhia lehua tree, a species of flowering evergreen, came to be created.

I took this photo yesterday.  See how closely Lehua clings to `Ōhi`a`s strong branches as she prepares to bloom.  I find it a beautiful metaphor of eternal love.

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