After a intensely busy weekend my day off was super chilled, full of nourishing food and rest. I felt the sun on my skin again for the first time in days and it even managed to hit 30 degrees which was a blessing and apparently unusual for Shanghai at this time of year. The cold here has really dried out my skin, Indra (my hostess) treated me to a full body Chinese oil massage, WOW!!! Just what i needed! My body soaked up the oil like a dry sponge dropped in a lake, perfect! After the massage i kept the oil on for the rest of the day and by by the time i took a shower my skin had absorbed all the oil taking back what the air had depleted me from. When arriving here it took me a while to really realise how big Shanghai is, apparently it has rapidly expanded in the last 10 years, so 10 years ago the area where i am staying (Pudong) was just rice fields and wet lands with hardly any buildings. Now there are tall tower blocks 30 plus stories high towering above the busy roads and the flow of life in the city, the metro service is very reliable, clean and safe and all the taxis have meters so no haggling for a cheap price! The response to my classes and workshops have been positive from each studio and i learn there is not a lot of variety when it comes to Yoga in this city. They have the Ashtanga, Hatha, Iyengar and hot Yoga but hardly any flow. Life in a city lacks the natural and organic ebb and flow of life which is so easily attained in nature, this is one of the greatest gifts (i feel) Shiva has given to the global community of Yoga. Re connecting to our own inner Pulsing Vinyasa again and again is nurturing, full filling and a great reminder that we are more then just the mind. In China your never alone, there are people everywhere, always! Even leading up to the Labour Day holiday when people can enjoy a long weekend and perhaps venture into the mountains or come together with family the streets still have a constant buzz with buses, cars, motor bikes, electric bikes, 3 wheeler motorised vehicles and anything else with wheels rolls past ignoring the green pedestrian sign and beeping at you to hurry and cross the road. The morning after a meal with Karma Yoga i had time to attend one of Richard's class which was a great fusion of Acro Yoga warm ups, Vinyasa with Anusara influence elements. Once again i find myself in a place connecting with like minded individuals which gives me confirmation i am riding the right wave as we are all part of the global Yoga tribe and living the same dream.