86 Year Old Phantom

I've heard the rumors and was warned ahead of time that during class you may find that there is a sneaky little phantom in the hot room. She will appear out of thin air, right in back of your yoga mat, and say in the most sweet voice "You are doing this all wrong!!!!". You look back and see a svelt woman in a super sexy black one piece costume. Yes, it's EMMY CLEAVE!!!! Your breath quickens, muscles contract, eyes narrow.. You have been caught slacking by the infamous Emmy! Bikrams most senior teacher. Emmy taught our morning yoga class today. It was wonderful. Emmy is precise. Ask me why? (inside yoga bubble phrase) she is precise about the postures because YOGA IS NOT ABOUT THE POSTURE IT'S ABOUT THE BODY. This point has been reiterated over and over again here at TT. Yoga is Union between body, mind and spirit. In yoga, a person reaches the mind by using the body. Yoga asanas are designed to align body to reach the mind and then the spirit . Right Emmy?

Two Thumbs Up

We are starting to fall into a rhythm here at TT. Wake up, 8AM sign in, 8:30AM YOGA. 10 - 12PM eat/study/sleep. 12PM Sign in. 12:30 - 4PM lecture. 4:30 Sign in. 5PM Yoga 9PM sign in. 9:30 - 2AM Lecture/Movie/Clinic. The days go by fast. The nights, particularly after 9:30PM, go slooooowwwww. BUT last night we had a pretty darn good Bollywood flick. I would recommend it and it's available in English. It was Khabi Khushi - Khabi Gham. And it's all about family dynamics. (plus a lot of jerky dancing in leather outfits) The dancing is really funny. Who knew the Indian people had those moves? Dang. Lack of sleep is making some (ok me) feel more emotional. Our AM yoga teacher today said, "you can't be in a bad mood this early in the game". It's only Wed. of week two. Suck it up. I'm a mother and I usually get my PJ's on with my kids (3 and 7) back at home at 8:30PM so this is really hard. I nearly fell out of my chair on the ground last night asleep. Maybe if I fall and hit my head they will let me go sleep? My yoga practice, on the other hand, is rocking! I'm definitly improving every class. It feels great and makes me happy. Still loving everything... keep me in mind and send me good vibes!!!

PLEASE... Stop drowning the baby !!!!

Last night was another Bollywood fun filled evening. First "Boss" (as Bikram is referred to) told us the story of Mahabarata which lasted about two hours, THEN we watched the Bollywood movie (on the same subject) which was another three hours. So, in total, we had five hours lesson on Mahabarata. It's a sacred Story of a king from India. Please don't ask me anything else, I have no idea. BUT I do know that a woman was drowning her baby every 5 seconds. (yes we watched a obviously plastic baby drown in the river over and over again). lots of bubbles??? Anyway, got to bed a bit after 2AM. I thought Bikram LIKED us, why did he do that? It was brutal. I woke up this morning and just kept asking my Assie roommate. WHY? WHY? WHY? We had a good laugh then I nearly smacked her on the face with my foot when I asked her to check out my "undercarriage" to make sure my yoga shorts covered up all the parts. Things are getting punchy!!

Sweat like a Pig

First week down. I hate to say it, because I know people will think I'm (more) crazy, but I LOVE IT HERE!!! Being able to learn directly from Bikram himself has been amazing. I know that this is where I'm suppose to be. I also love practicing with 450 other yogis. It's a energy level I've never felt before during my individual practice back in Boise. You can feel more directly how connected we all are in the yoga room. Another aspect that I'm enjoying about this teacher training is that we have the unique experience of having the BEST Bikram Yoga teachers from around the world come in to teach our class. One man, Ulyssis, from Mexico was just beautiful. So graceful and inspirational. I gave him a HUGE hug after class, who cares about all the sweat!

Bollywood

Bikram is fan of the big screen. He loves his movies and last night he had us watch one of his favorite movies from Bollywood, Kahoo Naa... Pyaar Hai I think it was four hour total after a full day of two yoga classes and lecture. I fell asleep at least five times and woke up to, I swear, the same scene over and over again. It's a love story about heartbreak and allowing yourself to find love again. Bollywood loves their music and dancing! It's hilarious. So if you find that you have some extra time, watch Kahoo Naa.. Pyaar Hai. Bikram would be happy!

Everyone Together, Feet Together On The Line!

Last night was the first of the late nights. We were dismissed at midnight, after a full day of lecture and two yoga classes. It was the first day of Half Moon pose clinic which means that each student must stand up on the podium infront of Bikram (there is about 5 feet between you and Bikram) and deliever the Half Moon dialoge. He does this so that he can assess your per sonality, what your all about, what are your weaknesses/strengths, what you look like, what you sound like.... He uses your perfomance as teaching tool for the rest of the class. It was very effective. Feedback for the group was immediate but if you were the one (and there were many) he is telling the rest of the class to not be like, a little embarrasing as well. I'm happy to say that I volunteered on the first day and he had no corrections for me. Said I did "very good job". We laughed about Idaho potatos and he said that Boise is about as big as his backyard in Bombay. Being in front of Bikram was an honor. I could feel the love. He says cutting remarks but it's just his way. He has so much to share. I just love it here with him.

Bikram quotes

Bikrams first lecture yesterday was inspiring and filled with his "Bikramisms". Little pearls of wisdom from the man himself. Here's a couple I quickly wrote down. "product in BHY is LIFE, the product everyone wants" "you don't follow the world, the world will follow you" "junk body, screw loose brain, lost soul" And here's a good one. Just in case we weren't worried already "Welcome to Bikram Disneyland haunted house. No windows and No doors" Have a great day. Time for 830 am yoga. Namaste.

Bikram in the House!

Today was a great day. Bikram made his first appearance. He spoke to us in the lecture hall for one hour. He arrived looking hip in a black V neck tee shirt with bedazzled neckline, black pants and black leather biker jacket. You could have heard a pin drop, everyone just stared in amazement. Bikram has a presence and aura about him that immediately captivates. He was very grateful to us to put ourselves first and come to TT. Self realization, cosmic consciousness, mind/body connection were points he spoke on. We also took out very first yoga class today from Bikram in the ballroom. It was FANTASTIC!

Registration / orientation

Theres 424 awesome yogis from 33 different countries registered and present. We had the hotel services overview, which spent a lot of time talking about how there are no longer bed bugs in our rooms, followed by lectures by Emmy Cleaves and other misc Bikram staff. Best advise was to LISTEN, be present and allow yourself to take in the next 9 weeks. They keep talking out "trusting the process". ThIs is the 39th Bikram TT and they have refined TT down to only the Essentials. Nothing less and nothing more. So happy to be here !!!

Whole lot of rain

So this pretty much sums up our day today. I went to BHY at Agoura Hills studio in the morning. It was fantastic. It just makes me smile walking into a studio, seeing all the veterans as well as first timers. I like to get a quick glimpse at first timers to BHY during their first class. Their "wild eyes" are awesome. I recently observed a new person take class at BHY Tucson, AZ. Her body language was hilarious. Fiddling with her towel, looking at people Like we all had three heads, hands on her hips which is the international yoga code for "get me the fuck out if here!" At the very end of class before I collected my mat to leave I glanced at her and she looked peaceful with a smile on her face even! She purchased a class card after class and I saw her again the next day! I love how this yoga makes you feel! It's hard no doubt about it but so incredibly rewarding!!!

LA. We made it.

Just arrived to my younger brothers home in Agoura Hills and passed this beautiful succulent on the way to his front door. About a 40 min drive to downtown LA. Better yet just a quick drive on Kanan to Malibu. My favorite place ever! Happy to report that we made it safe and sound. Without incident and on only two full tanks of gas. (Prius) I think it's so funny to cruise around SoCal with my Idaho plates on. I can already feel the other drivers rolling their eyes.

Where are we?

Peppermill in Reno was delightful. Loves the fitness center and steam room! Mom won $400.00 on penny slots. Left Reno around 11 AM, followed by snow flurries over Tahoe area, followed by rain showers on HWY 99. But we found a cute little parisan place in Sacramento, CA for lunch and then ran around the waterfront in Oldtown. Holly loved chasing the birds. Now, I think we are somewhere near Modesto, CA at a Best Western?? Next stop Los Angeles.

On the road!

Hit the road at 9 am this morning from Boise, Idaho. With my awesome 66 year young mother and 3 year old daughter Holly. Made it to Reno, Nevada without any issues. Love the Prius!!