I had so much fun window shopping at the little touristy bazaar in Arambol with Jes.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of  my yoga practice.  It is a sacred gift I carry with me wherever I go.  My mother introduced me to the benefits of yoga when I was a senior in high school, and we would go together every week.  We loved the teachers at Jivamukti Yoga in the heart of the East Village, when it was still a small studio.

I was very excited to finally take a class in India, the true birthplace of yoga.  Sadly, Jes’ favorite teacher Vijay left town so it was not the class we were expecting.  Even an average yoga class is better than no practice at all, right? It is a total treat to do yoga outside on a rooftop with gorgeous views of coconut tress and crazy crows spiraling around the sky.  It made me forget about the hustle bustle of motorbikes and tourists and pushy shopkeepers downstairs.

I also rarely get to have a nice long class in New York, this one was over 2 hours!  Most of the deep stretching (my favorite part) happens in the last part of class, and this often left out because of time constraints.  It made me miss practicing with Dharma Mittra, whose 2 1/2 hour master classes helped me survive photo grad school.

After the long flight and the stress that comes before a long voyage it made my body and mind feel heavenly.   I never met a practicing yogi that complained about having trouble falling asleep at night. Somehow I managed to completely avoid getting jet lagged too!

The lovely view from the rooftop of the yoga studio.

The empty studio after class ended.

all this garbage makes me so sad…

Yummy Indian spiced scrambled eggs, I can’t to to try to make this for my husband, when I get home…

The view out my bedroom window, I switched to a larger room with a balcony for $2 more! :-)

Most of my clothes already looks like it was made in India! Ha!

Balcony reflections.

Pink on pink!  Someone left this Lonely Planet guide on the balcony.

After almost an entire day of travel from NYC I made it to Arambol, a fun and colorful hippie haven. Jes calls it “India lite” which is fine with me considering it is my first introduction to this magical country.

Every beach  is so lovely at sunset.

Hippie o’clock at on the beach where everyone gathers to watch the sunset.

I arrived just in time to see the full moon.  It is always so hard to photograph the her beauty!

I have always wanted to visit India forever and this year I was finally given the opportunity!  My friends hired me to photograph their wedding in Udaipur.  Before the wedding I will be in Goa with my girlfriend Jes. We are both super excited for a week of sun, beach, yoga, food, and culture!

My adventure began on Air India, which is one of the best airlines I have ever been on.  They served me several delicious vegetarian meals even though I didn’t reserve one.  I entertained myself by catching up on contemporary Bollywood romantic comedies and slept so much I didn’t have jet lag when I arrived in Goa almost a day later!

I really love Valentine’s Day, as a total romantic I can’t help myself. Today while searching for proper vintage Valentines I found these dreadful gems!

I love these imaginary cityscapes of New York showing what it would look like without light pollution. See more in this pretty NY Times gallery.

www.thierrycohen.com