It's a Yoga Yoga World

Week Seven. Dialoge done. Completed posture 26 in class today. Whewwww Check that off the list. Now, lots of lectures and some hot yoga sessions. But wait, we can't do yoga because our big yoga ballroom was shut down by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Yes, it is true. I guess it wasn't to code on some electical issues and we have not had yoga for two days now. Most people would think that a reprive from two sessions of 90 minutes of torchure would be nice. No not this crowd. If they don't get the problem fixed quickly they are heading for a massive yoga meltdown of a epic level. I said to my roommate tonight they if they don't get the damn room heated up, I might just need to take up Vinyasa Flow. So, people are freaking out a bit about that. Scrambling to Manhattan Beach studio or Headquarters to get their "Yoga Fix". When you're used to a certain routine, it's a bit difficult to change. Remember Jake from Shawshank Redeption? He never made it on the outside. Similair situation here. We might have some yogis etching their name on the ceiling at our beautiful Radisson hotel rooms and then getting the noose out, kick the chair over and your done. Namaste...

Fascia

Yesterday we had a lecture by Jon Burras about Facia. I hope I never hear the word Facia ever again. It was kind of interesting, this Fascia stuff but there is something about that word that bugs me. Not sure what. In any event, fascia is in our body. It is the connective tissue surrounding all our muscles, nerves, organs... just about everthing in the body. What he was trying to say is that Fascia is the glue that holds our bodies together and keeps us upright. (not the bones) Also that the Fascia acts as a superhighway for our energy lines. If the Fascia is dead or damaged you get a blockage in your energy in that area. Jon's lecture was interesting but he made some medical claims that I thought were pretty unsubstantiated. I don't think that's very cool. Not with a group like this, who trust people are telling them the truth. Today he is speaking on Chakras. I think this is more in his wheelhouse and experience. I have a feeling the lecture will be very enlightening. Get back to ya on that. So, Training is plugging along. It's FRIDAY. Everyone is happy. Three weeks left. That makes me sad to think about. I love the yoga bubble we are all in. Imagine going somewhere, surrounded by likeminded people who you can live with, eat with, learn with, grow with.... As a adult, I know that this is very unique and special. I was given a couple quotes from someone here at TT who's life has changed quite substantially before coming and is continuing to change. It's a beautiful process to watch. Here they are. "Somewhere out there beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field - I will meet you there" and also "Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door" and of course this last quote I love so much. (see below)

Week Six

Week Six. We were told that week six is the hell week. I'm not sure if it is, but I'm pissed off anyway. I'm so done with all the posture clinics. I think Bikram has been sick or something so still no lectures, just posture clinic. Today I was kind of negative. When I got up to deliever my posture they (the four senior teachers on the panel) asked what was my "homework" or what am I working on. I just turned and said, "at this point, I'm not really sure, speed up, slow down, smile, don't smile, move, don't more, turn over and roll around???...." (we get feedback from a million people) and then I just said "I'm just pretty much done with all these posture clinics. I know I'm going to teach and do a good job, but I'm done with this." So then, there was a hush that kind of went over the room. I kept staring at the teachers and they stared back. I'm pretty good at insubordination. Lots of practice in the past. Anyway, did the posture with one of my best dialoge delieveries but no energy or personality. I think at this point, I have sweated out all my personality in the Hot Room. It's gone. So, now I have 5 minutes to get my shit together and get downstairs for the second yoga class of the day. After that I think Bikram is going to keep us up until 3AM. Perfect.

Sanskrit as a Second Language 101

Last week was one big Sanskrit nightmare. We had double posture clinics nearly everyday. People are stressed. I'm stessed. But still surviving, still laughing, still smiling. The thing is that everyone HERE knows the postures and the diagloge so you feel extra anxiety but the reality is that when we all go back to our home studios and start teaching, NOBODY will know and nobody will judge. We are all our own worst critic here. Someone said to me that teaching is going to be the easy bit but finding out why we are here, under the pressure we are is the hard part. As far as I'm concerned, I'm surrounded by the most beautiful pleople inside and out here at Teacher Training. These are the people who have looked inward and have asked the question WHY? What is it about this yoga that at makes me feel the way I do and want to share it with other people. What is it in yourself that you are trying to bring out to the surface. I can tell you that I have never had a experience like this before. Not ever. and its amazing. I have included a poem called "The Invitation". Please read it when you have a quiet moment to yourself with out distractions and then just be still with your thoughts after. Enjoy. It doesn't interest me what you do for a living I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love for your dreams for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon... I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain mine or your own without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy mine or your own if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful be realistic to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure yours and mine and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes." It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

This One's For You - Dr. Jim Preddy, DO

For the last two weeks we have had the pleasure of learning Anatomy and Physiology by guest speaker Dr. Jim Preddy, DO. He is a ER doc from Las Vegas. So you can image all the destruction that comes into his office daily. And yes, he had pictures of a lot of it. (more later on that) I have worked in the medical field in a sales capacity for 10 years. I know physicians and I really have enjoyed studing their behaviors. Great people, for the most part. So, having a background speaking with docs, I was suprised to have such a intelligent, yet funny, yet self depricating, yet commonsenseical (is that a word?), yet quick witted physician lecture. The world needs more people like Dr. Jim Preddy in it. He came to lecture, on his vacation for two weeks. I'm sure he wasn't paid for his time. He also adjusted (he's a chiropracter, massage tech, and ex cheerleader as well) about 400 yogis for free as well. He's a yogi himself. His body has undergone many changes since he started Bikram Yoga. I think he has lost about 50 plus pounds? He's makes sense of Bikram yoga from a medical commonsense perpective while making fun of himself the whole way. Sometimes you meet people who have a immediate influence on you. You want to become a better person. You can see their evolution and you look for it more in yourself. That's Dr. Preddy. As for his gruesome slideshows, I liked the nail through the brain xray, feet/legs turning into scales, skin on the scalp ripped off with bone expose, foot turning unnatural way due to being broke at the botton ankle (they had to put the foot back on basically), but I'll never forget the picture of the man with the worst case of Chlamydia who had the huge abcess with puss ozing out and his penis about to fall off. Classic!

Happy Smiling Faces

I was waiting for things here at TT to slow a bit before I checked back in. Well, I think that was dilutional thinking so here I am at 630AM writing. I want to thank everyone out there for thinking about me as I go through the processes here. Believe it or not, I can feel it. I really can. Yesterday's evening class we had one of my favorite teachers, Jim from San Diego. He said at the beginning of class, "my brain, your body". What he meant is shared energy, synergy. It was a hard class (they have been slowly turning up the heat here) and I was struggling. When you start to lose steam early, particularly with this type of yoga, it can make you worried because its so physically demanding. Also, I know that my body will start going numb and other lovely side effects kick in. Anyway about 60 minutes through the class I remembered what Jim said. This guy Jim, I swear used to be a bad ass Jedi Master in another life, he has energy times 1000. When I finally let go and was ready to give up from exhaustion, I did what Jim said. I let him think for me and just followed his direction carefully and completely. I had a surge of energy that can't be ignored and finished the class strong. Mentally that was a breakthrough for me last night. Jim has a saying "hidden force, latent energy". We are all capable of so much more. More peace, more determination, more love, more understanding, more happiness, more more more. I was very happy after class and felt great. Our bodies are a amazing thing. Leaning to LOVE it all here at TT.

Please Pass the (enormous Costco size jar of) PICKLES

TGIF. Is been a busy week for a yogini. Who knew being a yogi would be so demanding. So happy that I have 400 plus more happy smiling yogis to help me along. So that was kind of the theme of the week. Posture clinic started here. So imagine having to get up infront of 45 strangers and recite a yoga dialogue that really doesnt roll off the tongue yet. Kind of nerve racking. Bikram yoga seems to attract a lot if type A personalities. So that kind of ups the antsy a bit when learning and performing. I had some up and downs (rehearsing dialogue is by far the most challenging aspect so far) but I have been learning to not beat myself up over it. That doesn't benefit me at all. So happy it's FRIDAY! We still Have full day, ( up till 1130pm) but Saturday we only have ONE yoga class. It seems do easy now, slam dunk! So we had a great teacher from Huntington beach today teach our 8 AM class. She gave us some advise. Pickles. Pickles are one of the BEST foods for yogis. Replenish all the sodium and other minerals we sweat out. Bon appetite.

Survivor Bikram Style

Yes my last entry was a little bit of a SOS. But I'm still here, gotta do the work. Suck it up baby. The pace here at TT has quickened. They are implementing new features and then will last minute change the game. Just to make sure we don't get too comfortable. (or to just f$ck with us) Today my breakfast/lunch was two cans of sardines and one green apple. Are you feeling me now? This is nuts. Bikram was here last night and had a optional movie night after our classes ended at 1130pm. I hung out until 130am. I was pretty proud of that effort. I heard that people stayed until 7am!! Yep 7am! We are peeling the onion here. Someone said this experience is more demanding than basic army boot camp and LONGER! I think I deserve some props!!

Welcome to the Jungle

I think the shit has hit the fan here and that's all I have to say about that.