Hi, lovelies.

Happy holidays to you! Whether you celebrate Hanukkah or Christmas or Kwanzaa or the Solstice or any combination of the above, here's hoping they've been happy, healthy and whole, and that you've found a little time for savasana in the midst of all that action.

Much to report since the last time I found my way into your Inbox. Thailand has come and gone, and with it, a tropical Thanksgiving, a glittering December, and now even Christmas waits another 364 days to greet us again. As we look to the new year, I can't help feel grateful for all the last few months have brought.

My time in Thailand was all I'd hoped it might be: two weeks of searing sunshine, 90 degree temps, bathwater-warm beaches, fresh fruit up the wazoo, and lots of time for catching up. I explored a flood-ridden Bangkok in search of yoga and great art, married my friends Jinny and Derek on a beach overlooking the Andaman Sea, knocked out several books that've been on my reading list for too long, sweated through a lot of strong asana practices, grew to be a pro at hoisting myself into old-school wooden longtail boats, and even (well, kind of) got a lot of writing done. It was lovely, and I could've stayed much longer, were I not missing the many beloveds back here at home, and I somehow even managed to avoid both malaria and dengue fever (score!). Hard to sum up such an adventure, but if you'd like to read a few posts that I wrote along the way, head blog-wards here, here, here & here for a little window into my time on the other side of the world.

Here on the flipside of Christmas, it's been a relatively quiet few days in San Francisco. This frontier city — home to so many transplants and nomads — tends to empty out over the holidays, so I've been savoring the stillness of sleeping urbanity, eerily deserted streets, and mellow early mornings. I'm teaching a lot of extra classes at Urban Flow in the next few days, so please see the holiday schedule below for details and swing by if you're in town. Would love to share a little breath and sweat with you before the new year brings with it a return to fast-paced regular routines.

What are you up to for New Year's Eve? I'm so happy to be toasting the end of 2011 with a donation-based class at 5pm that evening at Flying Yoga. Roll on up and get your jam on with us in a nice sweaty asana session. Proceeds will benefit the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, and you'll be done in plenty of time to get your party on. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the end of a rockin' year and do something to support the arts in the process. Please do join us.

Stay tuned for exciting news to come in the next few weeks. January's going to bring with it so much goodness, I can hardly wait. (And Nebraskans, mark your calendars: I'll be braving a prairie winter for the first time in years to teach a few master classes in Lincoln and Omaha Jan. 21st-22nd. Details to follow.)

Whether near or far, thank you, over and over, for being a grace in my life. I feel so lucky to be doing what I'm doing, where I'm doing, with the amazing folks who've become my urban tribe. How blessed we are. Truly. I feel it more than ever here in the holiday season.

Hope to catch you on the mat one of these days. Until then, so much bhakti love your way. Tasmai Shri Gurave Namah.