Week 7

This week was a shit show. Monday and Tuesday rounded out our dialogue clinics. What I mean is, we have all successfully delivered all 26 postures of Bikram Yoga and passed... from now on, our posture clinics will be fewer and we will practice stringing postures together. This is an interesting endeavor because most of us have crammed all of the dialogue into our brains and going back in there to find it and sort it is arduous. Personally, I have come up with a schedule to review but am not following it. I realize that caffeine might be necessary to accomplish this.

Now for the shit show part of this dialogue (pun intended). We didn't have class on Monday night for Memorial Day, then after Tuesday morning class- the hot room was shut down until Friday night. Because of some fire code violations/inspections/whatever we missed 6 classes and people were pissed. I can only speak for myself here, but at first it was like spring break then after a day, it began to suck. Many people went to surrounding studios because when you take a break you loose momentum. We were all in it, in the grove, going daily, comfortable with the uncomfortable prescribed 2 per day classes, posture clinics, and lectures. People were cranky and I was ready to get back into that room and get my ass kicked. When you know how good it is possible to feel doing this yoga, life any other way isn't as good. We also didn't want to miss out on 'the process' which is what this 9 weeks is called here- 'the process'.

By Friday night, new power sources for the heaters were secured and let me be the first to tell you that they work. They work too well. Friday night we were also told that Saturday and Sunday would be make up days with two classes per day. If you miss a sign in for any of the daily lectures, classes, or posture clinics then you have to make up a class extra on Saturday in addition to the one that is mandatory at 8AM. Since I am going out of town next weekend, I was a part of Team Saturday, as it is called, this Saturday. That means I did 3, pause for effect, that's right 3 classes on Saturdays. I like to call it the triple threat. This means I had class at 8AM, 11AM, and 5PM.

By 5PM mid-class, I realized that I desperately needed some sugar. My intake that day was about 5 liters of water prior to class, a healthy well rounded meal about 1PM, some electrolyte pills, and an EmergenC in my water for evening class. I savored each sip of that drink but panicked for a second when I realized that I should have come prepared with a gatorade or coconut water. Having been in a situation about a year ago, I learned my lesson and very carefully walked the line in my 3rd class between feeling faint and week and participating in class. My goals for class 3 were to not leave the room and to be smart about how hard I pushed. With some additional sugar, I could have pushed harder but instead I am happy with the 1 set per each posture that I did with my fellow teachers that also did their first triple that Saturday. It was a huge accomplishment that I am so proud of. The night rounded out with a mexican dinner in Manhattan Beach with my fabulous Group 7.

Highlights from last week include a night out of dancing and late night ocean skinny dipping with my fellow yogis and friends and general feelings of awesomeness. I am on less medication than ever here, more comfortable with looking out for yours truly, and hanging on with the serious mood swings that come with un-peeling the layers here at Teacher Training. We have had some good lectures, some bad lectures, and some incoherent lectures by Rajasheree, Bikram,Dr. Sarkar, and Dr. Mani Bhaumik- physicist and Nobel Prize winner. He spoke to us about consciousness, the body, matter, and the Universe.