Well it was totally worth it today, had some transcendent fun, took a yoga class, had a satisfying ecstatic dance and made some good connections, which was after all, what it was about for me. And the best part of it was the unplanned part, in which I got to take the lead for a bit, and bring the music home.
The day started with a walk through town, which is a blast in itself, a one mile jaunt through the back streets of the old city, past temples, down alley ways, past a small outdoor market, it's totally charming to be off the main roads, hard to believe that a city this bustling has so many quiet and sweet alleys.
We did a little drum and guitar thing and people got dancing and clapping, raising the spirit, turned into a circle with folks stepping into the middle to show their moves, all good natured fun, the shy ones needing a little coaxing, but lots of smiles and applause. We said names around the circle and then broke into our groups for the first session. I took a yoga class from a Brit named Jan (guy), and I liked it a lot. My body is coming around to yoga, and I'm feeling stronger and more able to do stuff, so it was good to start the day like that. And there was a huge rainstorm during the class, just pouring and we were inside enjoying the sounds and the silence.
A great vegetarian lunch and some good hang out time with the group as we're getting to know each other a bit. And during that period, I had my guitar out and was playing a song or two with some of the women near me. I taught them 'Hey good lookin' and it sounded nice. Now it's close to time for the next sessions, but between the rain and the camaraderie, no one wanted to split. There was a newcomer there, a big Venezuelan woman named Maria who came in with a lot of noise, a lot of swagger, hugging her friends, making a big scene... one of those folks who seems to stir it up. She was there to teach a 'laughter yoga' class, whatever that is, but she was into hanging out and singing and laughing. Ditto with Dao who was supposed to teach a second massage class.
It just wasn't in the cards to break up the group and it turned into a major magical hour of songs, laughter, even a little massage as we realized we weren't going to follow the schedule, someone suggested we massage each other in a circle, which we did, then we did a little laughter stuff in the circle, falling back on one another and laughing. Very goofy, very summer camp and pretty magical. I was the house band for this period, someone suggested 'Down to the River and Pray', we sang it, someone said, Three Little Birds and we played it, a couple of spirit songs, we sang them, I shared two of my simpler sing along songs and they both went over great. 'Shine a Light' and 'Walk Down the Middle'. There was something about the energy of the group trumping the 'schedule' that was very freeing, and we all were super happy about that hour. It was probably the highlight of the weekend for many of us... the fact that everyone had a chance to step up and lead, rather than follow the formula. It was extemporaneous and full of joy. Yeah!
And then there was another of the 'Dance Mandala' offerings, maybe 35 dancers, but this time there were some great percussionists in the room, guests for this particular event... the best players in Chiang Mai. An Icelandic guy who is in town writing a book, a German guy who owns the best music store in town, and this little Thai dude, must have weighed 105 pounds, who just ripped it up on three congas. Super Latin chops, and they worked well together, so the music was GREAT! I'm still not a total fan of the self involved dance thing, I'd much rather connect with other dancers, but this event was very good and I got a good and satisfying dance in. I split soon after, walked back through town, had some food at the Sunday Market, said hi at CU Corner and now I'm back at the Guest House ready to snooze. One and a half hour dentist appt tomorrow, then an evening gig at the restaurant. Hopefully my mouth won't be too sore. Supposedly some of the folks from the workshop are gonna come have dinner and hear my set. I hope so, that would be really fun to keep the energy going... Glauber is happy, this was a great weekend....So glad I stretched the boundary of what Chiang Mai is like. There's no going back. It's yoga and dance here now...
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