Made it to....Osaka!!

With Ai-san at Kiyomizu-dera 

A few short hours on the Shinkansen (bullet train) and I arrived in Osaka.  After several days in the share house, staying in a friend's flat allowed me the space for morning yoga and pranayama exercises.  I had an opportunity to visit Kiyomizu-dera temple in neighboring Kyoto, a place possessing gardens that reflect an expression of the transitory nature of human life.

It's always fantastic for me to return to Japan, but what I find every single time is that it is also very hard for me to leave. Most of the friends that I visit when I'm here are lovely people that I met when I was living here; people that I met on project volunteering in the Tohoku region after the earthquake/tsunami; people that I slept next to in the ashram dorm during my yoga teacher training in south India...all very life transforming, yet traumatic experiences and expressions of personal growth.

My heart is so full of gratitude to be here, yet already alongside gratitude is a longing for this place and the people that I will inevitably have to leave.

Fall Leaves in the Kansai Region