yoga today

yoga today, my every other day practice. I've noticed the changes in my body, leaner, my balance improved, stronger stomach/core muscles. I can do intense climbing and exposure to heat with less pain and exhaustion. my energetic system is cleaner, less stuck, the energy flows smoothly from the deep meditations at the top of the mountain to the free movement dance/kirtan sessions. I sit with my back straight, not leaning on a support, for hours in a half lotus on rocky ground and I feel the downward flowing energies swiftly permeate my chakras. the kundalini is awake flowing up the spine and sleep is a precious commodity. my 4 to 5 hours a night are so beneficial. I cant imagine I spent the last 40 years not doing yoga and survived. its a testament to the restorative nature of the human body that I have not died from disease over the last ten years. meditation the last 4 years did reduce the tension and stress of life and removed major anxieties, but only the yoga actually improves the system, strengthening and elasticizing the musculature and the nervous system. the blood is more oxygenated and the organs less inflamed. I come from a very strong parentage the dna filled with excellent codes. the family genetics seem to support long and robust life. my hope is that the yoga will offset the tendency towards mental deterioration that so often comes to old age. of course what is old anymore. im seeing people in their 60's doing daily hikes up the mountain and with a shine in their faces and a love in their hearts that would have seemed unlikely to me 20 years ago. my father is in his 90's, my friends turning up to the 70's.  I don't see life slowing down, the sense of adventure the ability to expound on life and love and work and spirit. what can I do to keep this sense of youth, my inner consciousness does not change, but the body and face have. its only yoga and exercise that can keep the body tuned and young at heart, I feel the pleasant strength of my limbs, as the upper body gets a workout from the sun salutes and floor work on the mat. there is still stiffness in my lower back from the incessant climbing I do on the alternate days. my divine yoga teacher, from france, Tillicho, has helped me sooo much and her perfect lightness and brilliance inspires me. but next week she leaves for Thailand and I am needing to write down the asanas and the stretches so I can do the work on my own. ive been doing yoga now for a year, since last march in NY at the Divine Shakti Center and then with Kumari, kumaridotcalm.com, at Frazier Park in the mountains, and now with my present teacher in tirvannamalai India, I think I should be able to do my own hour and a half of stretches and asanas. so I promise not to deviate from my perfect path of health and strength and become my own yoga teacher. or maybe I can just find another class before everyone leaves town.