I Love Being Lionised - by Eve

I teach yoga because I love doing it, and, I believe, those who avail themselves of my classes enjoy them very much too.

This is a felicitous recipe.

Occasionally I say I would teach for free because it’s such a pleasurable pursuit. Usually I say this out of range of my husband’s ears. He likes me to earn money from teaching.

All this is preface to the fact that I don’t dwell overly much about the impact of my teaching on students, although I have had feedback that it’s made a difference in people’s lives.

I felt greatly acknowledged at my yoga studio farewell in November last year. I was especially delighted when my friend and old yoga student Carole Baillargeon turned up for the occasion – all the way from Darwin – with her partner, Martin, and his son, also.

Carole invited Daniel and me to her wedding to Martin at the end of May. I had wanted to visit her and see her yoga studios for years, so we happily accepted the invite.

Then, the betrothed couple got cold feet and postponed the wedding date indefinitely, but the invitation to visit them was still on the table. We booked our flights and arrived in Darwin on a red-eye special at 3 am.

Carole insisted on picking us up and drove us to our accommodation, a loft bedroom in one of her yoga studios. Talk about dying and going to heaven. If I chose to, I could just roll out of bed and do yoga in this gorgeous warehouse space, and in warm weather, instead of the rainy cold temperatures I’d experienced just before leaving Mitchells Island.

Carole didn’t get any sleep after she dropped us off because she had to teach her trainee yoga teachers in the next-door studio at 6 am.

We managed to sleep in till around 9 am. and then headed off to “Eat at Martin’s”, just a few doors down from the yoga studio. Both Carole’s and Martin’s businesses have recently been photographed and written up in the glossy Darwin magazine, “Resident”, because of the high calibre of products they offer.

Talk about dying and going to heaven circumstances number two: being able to roll out of bed and walk 500 meters to a wonderful cup of coffee and a menu where one breakfast offering is more stellar than the previous one.

Carole joined us for breakfast, and then we went shopping for provisions. She had carefully planned the most enticing itinerary for us over the next few days, mainly comprising a trip to Kakadu.

Daniel, Carole, Martin, and I managed to fit in an appearance at the launch of “Resident Magazine” on our first night in Darwin. It was a chance to get all dolled up and go to the nightclub venue, called “Throb” in town.

One of the features of being with Carole was that everywhere we went, current or old students adoringly greeted her. When she introduced me as her first teacher and someone who had made a big contribution to her teaching, these students looked at me with great respect.

The Kakadu trip was so special because of all the careful organising Carole had done, as well as the love she has for this rugged country. The first night we spent in Gagadju Hotel near Jabiru, not luxurious accommodation but comfortable enough.

Up at sparrow’s fart the next morning, we joined a tourist group for a cruise on Yellow Waters, which connects with South Alligator River. There had been rain the day before but this morning’s sunrise was clear and spectacular over calm waters.

We saw our share of crocs, birds, flora and fauna. I appreciated at first hand the delicate balance of wildlife that occurs in the dance between The Wet and The Dry seasons.

After leaving the cruise and the hotel, we headed to Gunlom Falls where we set up camp for that day and night. It was still a touch overcast, so we weren’t sure whether we would have a dry night, but, as it turned out, cold wind was the problem, not rain.

When we had set up our camp, we walked, and then climbed up a rocky hill to get to a series of pools, which were deep enough for swimming. I was so pleased that my bionic hips let me prance like a mountain goat up the irregular, rocky path. We stripped off and jumped into a plunge pool and were enjoying the peace until, would you believe, some of Carole’s students showed up on the bush track.

I’m not sure if they realised the naked state of their yoga teacher and co., but if they did, they were either too embarrassed or uncaring to ask. Of course, Carole gave me what I was beginning to feel was a Royal Introduction.

The most amazing thing happened the next morning. While we were having our camp breakfast, dragonflies suddenly materialised. They are known as the harbinger of the dry season, and I’ve been told they only live for 24 hours. From that moment, I felt the humidity start to drop, and I swear it continued to do so for our remaining days in Darwin.

We packed up and drove back to Darwin, just in time for Carole to teach her evening class, and I participated in it. She introduced me to her students and then dedicated the class to me.

There was a catered dinner afterwards so other students could meet me, too. It was a chance for Carole to praise me and tell some funny stories about the early days of my being a yoga teacher trainer in Sydney. One thing I’d forgotten was that because I lived at a distance from my school, Sydney Yoga Centre, I used to sleep in the office 4 days a week, to be able to get up at 5 am. (I usually finished my class the night before at 8pm).

There were three more delightful things that happened on this trip:

1. Lunch in town on the water with Sue Moffit.
2. A day in Litchfield Park, inspecting beautiful falls and plunge pools.
3. An offer to teach a retreat at Mt. Bundy Station next year with Carole.

Will we be back?

Want to join us?