I’m in Goa, transitioning from the Mysore bubble of Ashtanga community and practice to the states, California and my ‘home.’ It’s beautiful here, I can walk barefoot from door to beach in less than five minutes, the sun and sand are warm and I’ll get a week of practice with a Certified Ashtanga teacher, Rolf and his partner, Marci.
Goa reminds me of Bolinas crossed with Nice crossed with the Cinque Terre of Italy. That is equal parts India, Europe and the grooviest parts of US.
Three months in Mysore have touched me deeply and as much as I’m ready for the states, and as soothing a balm these beaches are, my heart is really tender here. Fortunately, right before I left I made a last trip up Chamundi Hill, visiting Swamiji, a well-spirited, seen-it-all saddhu who lives at the Shiva Cave Temple, to whom some of my first teachers introduced me, for a reminder that the divine is everywhere, inside and out, if you’re willing to look. …and that a sense of humor goes a long way on just about every front.
Deborah Crooks (www.DeborahCrooks.com) is a writer, performing songwriter and recording artist based in San Francisco whose lyric driven and soul-wise music has drawn comparison to Lucinda Williams, Chrissie Hynde and Natalie Merchant.
Singing about faith, love and loss, her lyrics are honed by a lifetime of writing and world travel while her music draws on folk, rock, Americana and the blues. She released her first EP “5 Acres” in 2003 produced by Roberta Donnay, which caught the attention of Rocker Girl Magazine, selecting it for the RockerGirl Discoveries Cd. In 2007, she teamed up with local producer Ben Bernstein to complete “Turn It All Red” Ep, followed by 2008’s “Adding Water to the Ashes” CD, and a second full-length CD “2010. She’s currently working on a third CD to be released in 2013.
Deborah’s many performance credits include an appearance at the 2006 Millennium Music Conference, the RockerGirl Magazine Music Convention, IndieGrrl, at several of the Annual Invasion of the GoGirls at SXSW in Austin, TX, the Harmony Festival and 2009’s California Music Fest, MacWorld 2010, Far West Fest and many other venues and events. She toured the Northwest as part “Indie Abundance Music, Money & Mindfulness” (2009) with two other Bay Area artists, and followed up with “The Great Idea Tour of the Southwest in March 2010 with Jean Mazzei.
