Post training reflection

Four days have come and gone since training has ended. I was lucky enough to have my parents and Aunt come down for my graduation. My Auntie Shirley did every single class with us since she arrived, fourteen classes in nine days. She did her first double ever here and knocked out every single posture, what a rock star. My parents did their very first Bikram class, they were lucky enough to have it with Bikram on our very last class of training, and they both lived to tell about it, talk about rock stars!
I went to the make up class by choice on Saturday with Nikki and Auntie Shirley. My body was loving doing the yoga every day so going four or five days with out it will be kind of weird. I know weird is a funny way to describe it but I think that sums it up. I don’t think my body will crave it, it has been sending me signals this week that it is ready for a break.
Sunday was the day the majority of students now teachers were checking out and going home, my room mate included. I spent Sunday lounging around and enjoying my family time, that’s hard to come by these days. After breakfast I shoved all my stuff into my suitcases and switched into Auntie Shirley's room. Eleni’s flight wasn’t until the afternoon so we took our time packing up and getting ready. We left all our unopened food, plastic containers, and cutlery for Maria, our maid who has made the stay as comfortable as possible for us during our stay. It felt so surreal to take one more glance at the room before saying good bye and closing the door behind me.
It was nice not have to think about getting laundry done, going to wal-mart or fitting in a nap. It was Damien’s last night here so we all went for supper. We also took some posture photo’s by the ocean because who knows when either of us will have that opportunity again. Damien also said good bye to his mat in style, releasing it into the ocean. Okay he didn’t leave it there but he tossed into the ocean, I bet that felt good.
Monday was sight seeing day. We hired Alejandro, a cabbie we met one night after eating at Costa Nostra. He took us (me, Mom, Dad, and Auntie Shirley) around Acapulco for the day. We saw the oldest church in Acapulco, the cliff divers, shopped at the mall, stopped at the church at the top of the hill where all the well to do people live and we ended the day with swimming with the dolphins. When we got back I cooked my last gourmet Italian pasta rice cooker meal in Acapulco. Tuesday became a day to enjoy the sun.
Now I sit here at the airport waiting to board the plane. I thought I would miss training more than I do right now. I think it will take a little time for it all to sink in once I get home. I think staying a couple days after training is exactly what a person should do. It gave me a little adjustment time to get used to not having a schedule or seeing a yogi around every corner. My last class was the make up class so that was a baby step into getting back into the room with a mere 40 people. I am actually excited to get into the hot room at home, the people there are so supportive.
The weekend before week nine I was getting a little sad thinking that it was coming to an end. We were told not to even worry about week nine, not to even think about it. When week nine started it sure wasn’t what I was expecting, especially after being told not to worry about it. There was a rumor going around that the chakra doctor had cancelled. One trainee asked the staff straight out if she was coming and once again we were given the run around, saying they didn’t know. The next day we were put into the hot room for an extra three hours to do three mock classes, granted the heat wasn’t on but regardless, we were all sweating and it drained us.
There were a lot of people that began to get irritated and to the point of anger by Tuesday night moving into Wednesday afternoon. I was a little more on the annoyed side, annoyed at being kept in the dark about everything, annoyed at the disorganization and annoyed that week ninewas so frusterating. The mood took a 360 degree angle turn Wednesday afternoon when Bikram walked in and introduced Craig. In a matter of minutes the man was able to relieve some of the anxiety that was created in the last two days. Some how he was also able to capture our attention for the entire three hours he lectured for that day and the following afternoon.

If I could have changed one thing in the last week I wish Craig would have been here for at least all of week nine. There is so much to learn from him and I felt like it was just the tip of the ice berg by only having him for a couple days. Having him here seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle as he was able to connect all the dots for me.
By the end of the week I was no longer sad thinking about it all ending. I tried to enjoy every single breath and absorb everything I could in the last moments with my new Bikram family. I started to think about all the doors this opportunity has opened for me. I am also really glad that my parents came down to share this experience with me as well. When I told them I was going to training they didn’t try to stop me, they questioned why it had to be for two months and in Mexico. When I told them there was a graduation they asked when and booked their flights the following day.
At graduation and in the last class, Bikram talked dircectly to the families telling them how lucky we are, how they probably don’t even recognize us anymore. In the last couple days my parents started asking me questions about Bikram himself, teaching, and the yoga. By them asking me questions gives me the signal that they care, they are interested and want to know more, and that mean so much to me. I think having them come here for a couple days also helped me to better adjust to the coming out of the bubble.
I talked to some people about what they are going to miss when training is over. Some common answers have been:

'Getting my bed made every day’- I never really thought about this because I always felt bad for the maids. They came in, cleaned and did the same thing every single day. I felt bad because we would come back from class and mess up the neat way they arranged our stuff in the shower, dirty the cup they just cleaned, and use the towel they just folded. I was told to get used to it, it’s their job, but its hard to get used to when you are someone who does everything for yourself.

Practicing twice a day- I actually think that is something I can agree with. My body was very much enjoying and eating up the doubles. My body defintely needs a little break for a couple days but I know it will crave it daily.

Having a schedule- I am not usually one that likes to be told what to do, so having a schedule you would think would be hard for me. I actually liked having a schedule, it gave me a purpose and reason to be somewhere. On those days when we got an extra hour before lecture was nice, though I would sit in my room and think, ‘now what, so much extra time?’

Their room mate- As far as Eleni and I go; we didn’t ask to be put together but it worked out that way I believe for a reason. We come from the same studio and talked about room mates before we left but both decided to leave it up to the universe. We got put together and had the option of talking to the staff and seeing if we could switch rooms. We decided to leave it the way it was because who knows what would happen if we asked to be switched plus our schedules meshed so well together. We woke up in the morning at the same time, enough time to eat breakfast, change and get to class; perfect. After the yoga classes, Eleni would head straight up to the room to shower and get ready and I would head to the pool for my salt water swim. By the time I got back to the room, the shower was waiting for me. We went for lunch together (until the last week when Eleni got tired of the food). Supper was easy, whether we made pasta together or ordered room service, we normally ate together in the room, studied dialogue or played on our computers. We would also do our shuttle rides and shopping together on the weekends. The only thing we did not do together was our dialogue, which worked out perfectly okay. I still like to bug her about being a perfectionist, I gave up on that after by little cry at balancing stick.
We trusted each other and were able to vent to each other knowing it would stay between us. I don’t think there was a ever a moment when we completely lost it on each other either. We never yelled or threw things at each others, lol, which I heard can happen. I think we both learned from each other and I think it will continue as we head back to the same studio. If we got one thing out of this, a least we know we can travel together, we all need a good travel partner. Oh and I can’t forget to mention the kicker; neither of us snored so that was glorious.

Practicing with 300 people- I think whoever denies they are going to miss practicing with that many people is crazy. The energy is unbelievable, even on those days when you want to strangle the person next to you for lying down the entire class. One thing I have learnt from practicing with this many people is you never know what is going on with someone. You might be practicing beside someone who was up puking all night or has had diaherra for the last two weeks, but are still pushing through the poses. They aren’t stealing your energy like I used to think. I realized those were the days they needed me, those are the days I sent them my love because tomorrow it might be me, you never know. To sum it up, YES, I will absoletly miss practicing with 300 plus people.

Bikram- This is completely obvious, and he has told us since day one that for the first time in our lives we will miss someone and something; him. The guy can be a little in your face at times, but that is him, and I love it, bring it on. On the last night he lectured when he was just sitting there telling us stories, I leaned over to Eleni and said, “I could listen to him all night until class starts”. There was not one night I fell asleep when he was talking about his life and his stories (watching the Bollywood movies was a whole different story). I plan to return to future trainings and stay connected with Bikram, so the withdrawl shouldn’t last too long, but I know it’s never the same.

Now here is my list of things I will not miss:
10) Atlantis (lecture room) chairs
9) Not feeling safe in my home of two months (once the break-ins started)
8) Shopping at Wal-mart
7) Having to get a taxi/shuttle every time I want to go somewheres
6) Filling up the britta three times a day
5) Getting locked out of my room because the door battery died
4) Worrying about ants/being bitten in my bed
3) Mexico
2) Not knowing what will happen next
1) Chula Vista

I am not really out of the bubble yet so I can’t quite yet reflect on my entire experience, nor do I want to. I hope it takes years for me understand exactly what went on. I am excited to grow and see what the future holds as I have learnt a ton of things about myself. In these nine weeks I have begun to wake up all those sleepy, lazy brain cells, the ones I never knew I had, the ones Bikram talks about. I remember when I was 19 and I told a friend, “I know exactly who I am right now." HA, if only I had heard Bikram’s four pivotal words back them…"YOU HAVE NO IDEA!" (though I probably would have rolled my eyes). The two things I have learned throughout this entire experience is: Don’t anticipate anything and just smile.
With that I leave you with this Bikram quote:

‘When good comes in your life,
don’t get excited and jump up and down like monkey, because bad is coming very soon.
When bad comes in your life,
fight through it, be happy, put a smile on your face because good is coming.
That is life’



NAMASTE

Graduation Day

I woke up this morning for the nine o’clock makeup class. I did not have a make up, nor have I had one all training; just had to throw that in there. Actually to add to that I didn't miss one sign in the entire training. I decided to go practice with Nikki and Zia one more time while in Mexico. This time we were able to practice beside each other so that was nice. Diane taught and it was a nice relaxed class with little heat and humidity. Diane made some corrections to Auntie Shirley which she said totally helped her practice and focus.
After class I met Mom, Dad and Zia for lunch at Chula Vista. After lunch I went and took a ten minute nap before Eleni walked in with her toes and hair done, ready for the night to begin. We got ready and made our way down to the Atlantis room where the Graduation ceremony was going to be held.
Senior teacher Jim Kallet opened the ceremony with a speech from Bishnu Ghosh, Bikram’s guru, recorded in his own voice before he passed away. Craig was the master of ceremonies and seemed at home up there. Rajashree came up and welcomed us all to the Bikram family. As did principal teacher of the college Emmy, said a few encouraging words to us as well. They gave out some special awards that were chosen by the staff; Bulldog determination, Bengal tiger strength, yogini, Yogi, best dialogue, best anatomy score and valedictorian. It was so neat to see Vincent from Brooklyn crying as he accepted his award for Bulldog determination.
My two month next door neighbour Sheila won the Bengal Tiger Strength award. This lady is one tough cookie; she told me she thinks she received 20 IV’s in the first six weeks here. She was constantly kept up all night puking or getting an IV. In week seven she decided to go home and take care of herself. When Bikram came back in week eight he requested that she return and finish with her class mates. She jumped on the next available flight and joined us for our last couple weeks, which she did with such grace. The entire time she was sick you couldn’t tell because she always had a little smile on her face, so humble. To this day they still don’t know what is wrong with her, but she’s Canadian so she’ll be in good hands when she gets home.
Rajashree with the help of her daughter acknowledged the staff and senior teachers who were here throughout training. Dr. Tom who is a part of our graduating class gave a little speech. He is a retired Oncologist, which is a doctor that specialized with cancer patients. He talked about his focus for the future and hope of combining Bikram yoga with the Medicine education. Ben was our valedictorian; he gave a little speech talking about his experience during the triple class day which summed up our whole experience here.
Bikram then came on stage and give us his graduation speech. He talked about his classy white suit and fancy hat that he is famous for. He said he got it made a couple weeks ago when he was in India just for us. He talked to our families about everything we were put through while we were here. He summed up how this experience will change our lives forever and that our family probably didn’t even recognize us when they arrived here. He talked about the yoga and how we all came to be there in that moment and why. After he finished his speech, the handing out of the certificates began. It was great to see everyone dressed up and looking so fine. I thoroughly enjoyed checking everyone out and sitting with my posture clinic group again.
After the certificates were handed out, there was dinner waiting for us, a buffet roast beef dinner served outside. The place where the dinner was being held was absolutely beautiful the way they had it set up. We are in a beautiful place so it didn’t need much help from the tables and chairs that were graced with white table linens. There were three buffet lines on the outside and the bar at the one end. After dinner everyone mingled for a bit than headed to lobby bar which we’ve seen in passing over the last 60 days. It was more of a social gathering to say our last good byes and congratulations one more time. Some people headed out to go dancing but not this yogini. It was a nice chill nice to end of a great training and a great experience.

The last day

Rajashree taught the last morning class of training. It would have been Bikram’s Dad’s 100th birthday today so we did a moment of silence for him at the end of class. Monali was very sad today and said she couldn’t smile all day because she just thinks about him. The class was good and at a ‘normal’ Bikram room temperature. I had my strong New Mexico girl Noel beside me today, for some reason over the last two weeks we keep finding ourselves beside each other. So today we energized our way through the entire thing.
I met Mom, Dad, and Auntie Shirley for lunch. After lunch all the trainees made their way to the lecture hall. Today the afternoon lecture ended up being a free forum. Rajashree, Emmy, and Craig were on stage and we were allowed to ask them any questions we wanted. After about an hour of that Rajashree asked students to come up and tell their story. Over twenty students went on stage with these amazing inspirational stories of how Bikram yoga has saved or changed their life. I have mentioned before that I love to hear these stories, and when four o’clock rolled around I was not ready to leave yet. I could have sat there all day and listened to the stories.
It's so easy to judge someone and turn your nose up at someone; sooo easy, but you never know what someone has faced in their life. People who shouldn’t be alive, have one kidney, addicted, spinal problems, abuse, depression, multiple operations, etc surround us every day and you never know it. I use to be an expert at judging people, thinking I knew everything about them by the way they walked, talked or smiled. It is so easy to find things wrong with someone else when you can’t even look at your own eyes in mirror. If I have learnt one thing over this time here it is to let people be who they are, treat them like a human being. Though I am still a huge believer in first impressions.
After lecture we quickly made our way back to our rooms to get ready for our last class as a teacher trainee. Me, Damian and Eleni set up right in front of the podium, side by side. I walked to the back of the room to put my stuff away and there was Mom and Dad dressed in yoga gear, standing on a mat with a bottle of water. They were going to try their first ever Bikram yoga class. Wow, talk about an experience, the energy in there was unreal and the room was so loud with all the chit chat. I was so excited to see Mom and Dad, they looked so cute and excited.
“Check check 1 2 3 4 check, everyone on the line please”, Bikram walked in and it was go time. I felt like an elastic band in there tonight. Everyone was working together and I just did the yoga and it was amazing. I got my first correction ever from Bikram in balancing stick; “Miss Glasses. Miss glasses, head up. Yes, now you are T, loooook at thaaaat”.

At toe stand Bikram decided to go the washroom and told us all to hold the posture until he got back, yah that didn’t last. Then at stretching posture he started to walk around and stand on people’s backs. He was giving out numbers to people who could touch their head to their toes. He was enjoying it way to much as he did various poses; statue of liberty, flex, cowboy, world, etc, it was very entertaining to say the least. He stood on about ten backs which surpassed into the 800’s for head to feet touching. I think at the very first training over ten years ago was when he started countingm though it is much more common now but the counting still continues. To top it off Mom and Dad made it through their very first Bikram yoga class, how lucky are they to have Bikram teach it.
After class we rushed to shower and change beccause we were told to meet in the lecture hall at 7:30 for snacks provided by Bikram. We did just that and the snack turned out to be pizza, which was fabulous. At 8:30 our guests and teachers started to arrive for the talent show. The talent show started at 9:00 and everyone was just a buzzing, waiting in anticipation.
A little after 9:00, the lights went down and the show began. Abigaliah, JC, and Isaac were the mc’s for the evening. They made the entire show and I can’t even begin to explain how completely hilarious they were. They had inside jokes that only us trainee’s would understand and appreciate. They thanked the teachers in such a way that was funny yet totally sincere and appreciative at the same time. The performers were beyond amazing from poetry, dancing, singing, musical instruments, and skits. Having a talent show is such a great idea, it gives a little glimpse into people’s other world outside of the yoga. At the end, Bikram’s daughter came up and did a stomach muscle example with a few helpers (JC and Dominique). The end of the night was topped off with a slide show that Hillary and Cristine put together from pictures they had compiled throughout the nine weeks. They put it to music and just totally capped off the evening, it was great. At the end of the slideshow Todd built onto that by handing out the year books and thanking each of the pivotal staff one by one.

Rockstar

Last night before I went to bed I took some more pepto bismal. Praise the pink liquid because it worked and I slept like a baby, oh my gosh I was out cold until the alarm went off. Without even thinking I had my usual routine of having cereal for breakfast. The girls next door who went through the same thing a couple weeks ago went to see the doctor when they were sick. The doctor told them not to eat dairy or fruit while their stomach hurt. I didn’t realize what I did until the milk was digested and it kind of hurt, not as bad as yesterday though.
This morning’s class was taught by Rajashree, that was a nice surprise. We were all anticipating who would teach this mornings class. We already know who will teach the remaining three classes. It was nice to see and have her, man she knows how to kick our butts, actaully I kicked my own ass but none the less it was a really great class.
After lunch we had to all meet in the yoga room. Some of the teachers, along with Bikram and Emmy demonstrated the advanced series for us. They did the demonstration in 80 minutes, a class which is usually a two hour class. After the demonstration we all met back in the lecture hall to go over some last minute graduation stuff.
Evening class was taught by Craig. I worked my butt off and it was awesome. I am feeling really strong today now that my energy is not being spent on trying to feel better.

After class, after savasana today Auntie Shirley was getting up and Diane, one of the senior teachers poked her head in the door. She shouted at her "You are a rock star!" to which Zia just said thanks. Diane told her she has been keeping her eye on her and she has been rocking it all out and is totally impressed. That's my Zia the rock star! The pic is me, Zia, and Nikki before class.
The routine with Auntie Shirley has been nice, she comes and does the AM class, then we meet for lunch at 11:30am. When lunch is finished she heads to the pool and I head to lecture. Then I see her again at the PM class. After class she comes to my room for supper around 7:30 to 8pm. After supper she usually comes to the lecture (last night she had a date with her book). She is a trooper though because she stayed up on Tuesday with us until 2am watching movies in the lecture hall, bless her.
Bikram lectured for the last time tonight, he talked about the warm up breathing exercise. After that he linked it all together with a bunch of breathing he learnt from his guru in India. After hislecture we did a deep breathing meditation that he said is his countries (India) gift to us through him. It was a form of deep breathing that we did for about seven minutes. When we were all finished you could feel the calming energy in the room, it was so neat. That lasted until one student asked Bikram if he would visit their studio next week when he is in town. You could feel the energy take a complete nose dive and feel everyone rolling their eyes as soon as the words came out. Well it was nice while it lasted.
We got dismissed at midnight. When I was leaving the lecture hall my parents were standing at the back with Auntie Shirley. It was so nice to see them and give them a big hug. They hadn’t even gone to their room yet, Auntie ushered them right to the Atlantis hall where we were.

Craig and Cramps

Today’s entry will probably be very short; I don’t have the energy nor the brain power right now. I think I only got two hours of sleep on the whole last night. I mentioned yesterday that I had stomach pains during the movie and when I got back to the room they got worse. I lied in bed in the fetal position for about two hours because it hurt so much, it felt like someone was inside my stomach using a carrot grater on my insides. My stomach was constantly cramping, not the actual stomach muscles but it felt like my organs were cramping. At about 4am I went to the bathroom and puked my guts out, I was so tired that I actually fell asleep with my head on the toilet seat. I woke up around 6:30 to a cramp in my stomach again, I puked again and then I had to use the toilet the proper way. Sorry to be so graphic but this is what you get when you tune in. After that I made my way to my bed and shut my eyes for 45 minutes before the alarm went off.
My stomach was cramping so much I couldn’t even stand up straight. Eleni instantly knew something was wrong. Good thing the girl sleeps with ear plugs in and didn’t have to go the bathroom in the middle of the night when I was sleeping there. I got ready for class and I don’t know how I made it there, because I had to stop every 12 steps and crouch in pain. It hurt so much it actually brought me to tears by the time I got to the elevator. I have no idea what brought this on.
I was talking to another girl at lunch that felt the same way last week and she thinks she had a virus. She went to eat the week before and had pop with ice; it took her down all last week. She had to take some prescribed meds that she brought with her before it got better.
When I got to the yoga room, Eleni went told Auntie Shirley what was going on. As soon as I saw her I started to cry, I was in so much pain. She suggested I talk to the nurse so I went to find a spot in the back of the room first for my mat. When I was putting my mat down my cramps hit again and I crumbled to the ground on my knees and started shaking. Upkar who was right in front of me instantly grabbed me and helped me out of the room to talk to the nurse.
The nurse wanted me to go see the doctor, a visit that would have cost $200 US. Me being stubborn said no, let's see what happens. She then told me she wanted me to sit out class, to which I shook my head no. She was worried that I didn't have enough electrolytes to get through class. I asked her if I would have a make up class and she said more than likely but don’t think about that. There were rumors that the makeup is 6am on Friday; thanks but no thanks. I told her I would take it easy and do class.
I did every posture, not to the best of my ability but I attempted everything. Whenever I would do a forward bend my stomach would cramp and I would crumble to my knees. So I took it easy and did what I could but I did not push myself. Oh and by the way, Emmy taught class, she is baaaaaack.
Lunch took me about an hour to eat because it was a very slow process. My stomach was still going in and out of cramping but I made it through. After lunch it was back to the lecture hall. Bikram came down and he introduced us to Craig Valleni (?). Craig has been the teacher training on site coordinator for the past like 15 years, now he is travelling around the world doing lectures/seminars for Bikram. Bikram handed us over to him until the end of training, so cool, I have heard so much about him.
Craig lectured for the entire three hours about using the dialogue and mostly about being a teacher. He has such a neat way of explaining things, using these parallels and real like situations to explain what he is talking about and link it to teaching. He explained why the dialogue is written the way it is and why it works. I had a hard time sitting still throughout the lecture as I was still in and out of cramping but I hung onto every word as best I could.
After lecture we had class with Craig, I really enjoyed his class. He was very energetic and laid back. He said he was impressed with how we moved as a group. He also teased us a little bit about having to do a triple last week and the heat in the room throughout training, though it has been much cooler this week so that has been a very nice break. He used different voices and quoted movies during class which was fun. One thing I noticed was that every time we did postures that we were kneeling down he was right down there on his knees with us (on the podium of course). I know some teachers say not to move around and use a lot of body movement in class but I quite enjoyed it, making me feel like he was working hard with us in some weird way.
Before eating supper I took some peptobismal (Nikki’s suggestion) to see if that would help with my stomach. It helped a little, I was still getting the cramping just not as sevre or as often. We had evening lecture with Craig. He talked about the different postures and the way to adapt them for certain ailments and what to look for. He also showed us what habits most beginners will start with on their first couple classes. He related a lot of the stories back to his first couple classes and incorporated his own personal experience and thoughts at the time (when he started) into the lecture. I enjoyed this element as it made it very personable. Bikram came down around midnight to reintroduce Rajashree to us and tell us that we aren’t allowed to have a party on Friday night. Then he proceeded to tell us he is going to the discothèque to go dancing Friday night but we will have to watch a movie after the talent show. He also told Craig to keep us there until 2am so we could stay and watch a bollywood movie with him after. Thank goodness Craig was on our side, we got dismissed at 1am.

Deja vu....Esak

The last Tuesday morning class was taught by Dave from Vancouver, also known as Fireman Dave. I have heard about Fireman Dave but never seen or met him before. This guy is stacked with nothing but muscle, and I heard its awesome ot see him to the advanced, can't wait. He seems really nice and taught the entire class with a smile on his face. His voice was very consistent but not to the point of being monotone which was refreshing. I lied down in savasana and I had a physically exhausting thought run through my head. It said to me “I am ready for a break and tired of taking these classes." First time I have had a thought like that since starting Bikram.
I sat with Auntie Shirley and two other trainees at lunch. We talked about that because the other girl at the table has the same thought. The guy figured our bodies have pushed as far as they want to during this training and now just wants to take a break, it totally makes sense. I don’t think I have pushed myself or gone any further in any of the posture in the last week. It might also be a mind thing, because I know we are nearing the end.
After class I made my way to the pool and ran into Nikki. For those of you who don’t know, Nikki is a teacher at my home studio. She was leaving the pool and I was heading there. I didn’t even recognize her because she had some big rock star sunglasses on. It was really good to see her and a surprise because I wasn’t expecting to see her until tomorrow.
After lunch everyone signed in at the lecture hall and got seated. After we were all sitting we were told to grab our stuff, go back to our rooms, get our yoga gear and meet in the yoga room. So we dressed in our yoga clothes and met in the room with anticipation wondering what was next. Lynn took the microphone and told us that me were going to do mini mock classes. Trainees got the opportunity to teach two or three postures in a row to all of us while we did them. So we were in that yoga room for three hours and went through all the postures three times. About an hour and half into it, and one full class later, Lynn let every other row rotate doing the postures, giving us a bit of a breather in between some postures. Thank god the heat was not on, not that that stopped us from sweating.
Evening class was taught by Esak. It was nice to have a teacher at training that I have had before in a normal class setting at home. Esak was at my home studio in July doing a demo/seminar and synergy for us so I had the opportunity to take his class there. I have always wondered if teachers adjust their classes to teach us trainees. I find Esak’s class very motivating and I worked very hard tonight. He seemed a lot more relaxed teaching in Edmonton, with good reason. Tonight he was giving corrections and calling people out on things. I really liked it and again learned a lot from him, he has such a calming energy as well. I think it makes a difference being on a podium as well because you can see a lot more I am guessing. He called us all out on bow, telling us it was not very pretty and made us do three sets.
After class on my way out I stopped to say thank you to Esak for a great class. I didn't think he would remember me because I know he meets alot of people in this business. He gave me a high five and said “yah, you work at the front desk at Pernille’s studio, I met you in the summer”. I just smiled and said “wow, good memory”, that was cool.
After supper we had movie night with Bikram starting with Diane answering any questions we had about anything. When Bikram arrived, Lisa from Las Vegas showed us a slide show she had constructed from when she visited India with Bikram last year. There were pictures of Bikram’s mothers house, his mom, Bishnu’s college (where Bikram was trained), Bikram’s family, streets, pets, food, family and the prayer centers. It was very neat to see and hear Lisa narrate for us, making it that much better. After that was finished we watched some DVD’s that had any shows or stories about Bikram over the last 25 years. After that was done we watched the last five episodes of the Lord Krishna movies that Bikram loves to torture us with. My Aunt the trooper actually stayed for the entire things until we got dismissed at 2am. I had to get up near the end of the movie because my stomach was cramping so bad, but hopefully a little sleep will help.

The picture is us four out for supper on Sunday

The last Monday

Diane is back and that totally lifts everyone’s spirits here, well it lifted mine at least. Not that our spirits needed to be lifted anymore, I mean it is the last Monday but, you know, every little bit helps. I woke up this morning feeling like I was walking on air. I couldn’t figure out if it was because it is week nine and after morning class we are into the single digits in terms of number of classes left or if it was yesterday’s massage. It was probably a combination of the two. Regardless, class was awesome, lead by Diane, the bus driver is back, Welcome home Diane. Okay she is not a real bus driver but maybe I should explain the story so it makes sense.
Diane was here during weeks two and three, back when all the shit with the room was going on, and everyone was going down. At that time it was basically every man for himself and some people did their own thing in class, ahead of the teacher. Diane taught us a handful of classes and whenever she taught she called herself the bus driver. She made certain that we did postures together as a group, not before or after we were instructed to. She was driving the bus and we were being trained not to do anything until she instructed us to, again it was exactly what we needed at that time.
We impressed her today because after we did the sit up, she said, "ohhhh, someone’s been on you about the sit up, looks goooood." She is so aware of what is going on in her room when she is teaching, well I guess not only when she is teaching but also when she is taking class at the back of the room. She always has a little note pad where she writes down things to talk to us/ remind us about later, she's always learning and helping, I love it.
The room felt really cool today, but humid. Since we are in the final week we are allowed to put our mats anywhere in the room for classes. It was nice to practice by some people I have not been near since the beginning of training. It's also kind of funny to see the spots where people do not want to put their mats in their room.
Zia met Eleni and I for lunch at Chula Vista. After lunch it was back to the lecture hall for more posture clinic with Bikram. Bikram went off on some tangents today so we didn’t get through all the postures, only two left though.
Bikram taught evening class tonight. I was not feeling well at all, by the end of class I thought I was going to vomit on my mat. I had not eaten very much at lunch and then only had little snacks throughout the afternoon. Usually when we get back to the room before class I have some yogurt because I am a little hungry but today I decided to see what would happen without the yogurt. Well after that result I will never do that again, but you don’t know unless you try, right!?
After class they had the try outs for the on stage demonstration at graduation. One of the teachers had asked me to try out but I have heard that Bikram doesn't let anyone with tatoos demonstrate though. It didn’t take long for Bikram to dismiss those with body markings. It was fun to watch the weeding out process as Bikram personally chose who he wanted to demonstrate at grad. Bikram ended up picking 30 people when they only wanted him to choose 25, he kept saying how good everyone was. He said if they can only fit 25 on the stage then it is up to Rajashree to get rid of five people, lol, nice guy.
After supper we had more lecture with Bikram. He finished off the remaining postures and then opened the floor to questions about any of the postures. It took us over three hours to get through those final two postures. Bikram once again would go off telling us stories about fixing backs and spines and then forget where he was. I am not going to complain though because it was the last Monday, lol, and we didn’t have to stay up and watch a movie.

After class on Saturday, we wanted to take some pictures of us Edmonchucks (thats what we are called here) but Eleni bailed so Damien and I took some pictures.

I haven't been hungry in 8 weeks

This morning I woke up around 8:30 and contemplated going to the make up class, just to go. Then I opted out and decided to sleep for a couple more hours. I woke up around 10:00am and went to the yoga room to meet Zia and Damian after it. We wanted to take pictures of me, Damien and Eleni together doing some postures. Eleni wasn’t to keen on the idea so she went to wal-mart instead, fine.
After taking some pictures we all went for lunch together and spent an hour down there just relaxing and talking. Talking about lunch brings me to the title of this blog. It actually makes me laugh out loud when I think about it. I think it’s one of the funniest things I heard all weekend, and it came from one of our own, Mr. Serious, aka Damian. Today at lunch Damian was onto his third plate of food when Zia asked, “Where the heck do you put it all?” Too which he replied, “I haven’t been hungry in eight weeks” with a straight face. Zia and I both instantly started laughing. He looked at us and said “it’s true” and continued to shove the fork into his mouth. Okay it probably doesn’t sound that funny when I explain it but if you knew what he has gone through during this training, you’d be laughing too.
I spent the afternoon just relaxing, eating chips and dip with Auntie Shirley. I finally got a hold of my parents after trying to talk to them for the last two days. At 4:30 we went down to the spa and went into the steam room for 20 minutes. After the steam room Zia had made appointments for us to get a 90 minute massage, so we did just that. Zia fell in love with the spa area so she booked a massage for next weekend.
After being pampered we met Eleni and Damian in the lobby. We had made a date with them to go to the local Italian restaurant for supper. The entire place was filled with yogis; it was really nice to see. The meal was good and I ate the most garlicky meal I have ever had. It made me think of Brittany, that’s one girl that loves garlic, but this was an extreme case.
It was nice to go out and relax with us four Edmontonians. It was the first time we have gone out as a group. It was like hanging out with family, making fun of each other and laughing about it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I told Eleni and Damian they are going to miss me, having me around all the time to which they both responded, “We’ll see each other more.” I told them I would show how much I miss them when they are in my class, ha ha.
We talked about our experiences during training and some of our favorite memories while here, talking and joking about teaching each other and taking each other’s classes. It seems so surreal to talk about teaching each other and the teachers back home that trained us. We had a good laugh about all the inside jokes we have amongst each other and about training. I think Zia enjoyed sitting back and listening to us reminisce about our different stories.
We had the coolest taxi driver coming home. He had a little dvd player in his car and watching some old awards show or something. The show was in English and he was singing along to it with a huge smile on his face. When he thought we didn’t want to watch it, he pulled out his dvd collection and asked what we wanted to watch. The drive was only seven minutes but it was very entertaining. He was making fun of the Mexican culture and we told him about our experience here. He spoke English very well and he spoke Italian too so that was fun. I got his business card so he can take us around next weekend.

The week of the lasts

By the end of the week you are going to be tired of hearing about all the ‘lasts’. Today was our last Saturday class. I honestly don’t even remember the teachers name or where she is from. She mentioned it at the beginning of class but my brain was still in bed. I like Saturday classes because they just seem more chillaxed as a whole. It takes me a little longer to get into the groove of things because I am still half asleep. Saturday classes have just seemed a little easier, maybe it’s because I know I can crawl into bed a couple hours later for a nap. I also believe the room is less hot than the rest of the weekly classes. There is also the fact that the rest of the day is ours and there are no expectations for the rest of the day. Saturdays mean no surprises, no second class and no anticipation of wondering how long Bikram will keep us up in the evening. Not that I get much accomplished on the weekends but it beats having to rush off to the lecture hall after lunch.
Today I ran into a girl that I have seen struggling all week. She has been walking with her head down and crying in class. It was the first time all training that I had seen these emotions come out of her. I just figured she is one of the lucky ones that get to move through things while she is here. I saw her today and she had this incredible new haircut and a huge smile on her face. She went from having bra length hair to not long enough to put in a pony tail hair. I just said to her, ‘wow, look at you, check it out’. She just smiled and said “it’s my break up hair cut” with a little spin so I could take it all in. It was those six words that started an hour conversation about our experiences here. I have not talked to her except in passing these entire two months. Two months ago she expected to go home from training, teach part time, plan her wedding and move into a new house. Now five days later she has a new haircut, a wider smile, a new outlook, and she’s packing up and moving away to put all her energy into teaching. Training was never really a thought for her until a visiting senior teacher was at her studio. When he found out she wasn't a teacher he asked her when she was going to teacher training, planting the seed in her head and she thought, ‘sure, why not?’ She never guessed in a million years that that seed would flourish into the most incredible experience of her life. Now she is living in the moment and allowing whatever is meant to happen, happen, one moment at a time.
I would like to say that it totally surprises me how people’s lives just shift, change and grow while they are here, but it doesn’t surprise me at all; I know what this yoga is capable of doing for people. I love being a witness to all the amazing changes and growth people make here. I think throughout the training I have written a lot about other people’s experiences and not really about my own. I haven’t had one of those totally break down moments that a lot of people have experienced, I think I have cried twice since I go here. The first was when I saw my kitty and hearing about how much he missed me and the second was in posture clinic when I was told to give it more heart. I know we aren’t supposed to have any expectations when we come here but I was totally expecting to have a total meltdown. It wasn’t because I thought I needed to but more because I heard it happens. When they first asked us to shut down our blogs they said it was because they didn’t want us to evaluate what was happening to us here. They also didn’t want future trainees reading about our experience and developing expectations for their upcoming adventure. I somewhat understand what they were getting at now. There is no comparing your experience to anyone else’s or thinking ‘well it happened to them’. Though I am journaling/blogging about my experience while I am here it is just the beginning. The physical presence of being at training might end next week but receiving that certificate is just the starting point.
I started this training with the thought of ‘I expect to… get sick, get diaherra, have a break down, get angry, get tired of the food, hear a lot of gossip, get tired of everyone, fight with my room mate, not see the people from my studio very much, stay up all hours studying dialogue, and get cabin fever’. I sure am glad that with all these expectations I was able to take it day by day and each moment one by one. I didn’t wake up every morning wondering when I was going to get sick, be angry, if today would be the day Eleni would piss me off, etc. It was more like, when the drama began I didn’t go looking for the latest dirt. When my roommate did get sick I would say to her, ‘don’t worry I know it will happen to me too’. I did have an angry week but I was able to recognize that and embrace it, it was all good. I thought and dreamed about the dialogue but I tried not to stress over it. Having the same food over and over got tiring, but I made the best of it and thought how lucky we are to get a buffet. I enjoyed my Melissa time and love the fact that I am able to be with and by myself. I never had urges to just get out, go home or go dancing to get away from it all. Don’t get me wrong I don’t walk around with a constant smile on my face. I think if I did that I would be hiding, hiding behind a smile, hiding from how I truly feel, and that ain't me.
I have made two new amazing friends that could not have happened with out this experience here together. Okay I have made more than two friends but these two are from my city so that is even more special. I didn’t want to get into all this sentimental stuff because the end of training is quickly approaching. The fact is my words always come from my heart; where there is no filter some times and can be a scary thought but I just put my hands on the key board and this is what comes out.
Eleni (my room mate) and I got along famously (Sunny from Boston said that the other day and I loved it so I stole it). I love that I can be sarcastic with her and she just tells me to shut up, lol. A comment from me like, “Come on little legs, speed it up” was always followed by a “ha ha, shut up”. I am going miss waking up from crazy dreams and having her laugh at me as I relived them over a bowl of cereal in the morning.
We have had so many awesome moments and memories together. I am glad that getting along with my roommate is one thing I never had to stress over while I was here. I haven’t heard too many roommate horror stories but I know there are some out there. Eleni and I were talking last night about how lucky and glad we are that we got to room together. We never planned it, Eleni especially wanted to take this opportunity to meet and stay with someone from somewhere else in the world. Coming to training we left it up to the universe, expecting to room with complete strangers but it just so happens that being roommates was exactly what we both needed, imagine that.
Some times I don’t even remember what I write about in my blog. There are times when I have something to say and I wonder if I have already mentioned it. My brother asked me last week, “Do you know how long your blogs are?” To which I responded, “yah just a couple pages”, to which he replied “exactly”. I think he was trying to give me a hint, lol. I told him it’s my way of telling a story with out him telling me I was boring him. I don’t know where I am going with this story but for about three seconds on Monday when I wrote my blog I thought about his comment. I tried to make it short but I really have an opinion and thought about everything I write about and is happening with me so it is impossible. If I just wrote about the day’s events and what we did that day, it would be boring and I become bored when that is all I have to write about sometimes. I have used this blog as my journal as well, that means no holds bar. OH, I remember my point; I was thinking about the fact that I can’t wait to go back and read my own blog in a couple weeks, months, years. I give a lot of examples about different experiences here. It will be interesting to go back and read what my take was on it all at this time in my life.

The pic is me and some of the girls from group 13

110% better

Morning class was taught by Troy from New York. He seriously had the best and most incredible energy I have seen or heard in a class. In posture clinics we have been told over and over again about using too much body movement in class because we won’t be able to last the entire class like that. I don’t think whoever told us that has ever taken one of Troy’s classes. Seriously the guy was like the energizer bunny that didn’t stop, just when I didn’t think I had anything left to give he would give us the encouragement we needed. I felt it was exactly what we needed after yesterday.
During class I felt nutrient depleted like I needed more than just water. So after class for the first time since training started I had some pedialyte. It was exactly what I needed after doing a triple yesterday.
We were told after class that we didn’t have to sign in until 1:30pm that gave us an extra hour. I was not in the mood for Chula Vista buffet so I ate my left over sandwich and took an hour nap, just what I needed. Afternoon lecture was more posture clinic with Bikram. We moved onto the floor series which is pretty good for the number of stories Bikram told us throughout the afternoon.
Evening class was taught by Ren again. Zia received her luggage so she was able to take class. Class was good and I felt a lot better and I powered right through it. Again the teacher makes such a difference and Ren is the biggest breath of fresh air you can find in a teacher. Love how he teaches in the moment in every class.
Zia came over for supper, for a gourmet rice cooker Italian feast. After supper we made our way down to the lecture hall. Before Zia arrived I asked Monali if she is allowed to listen in on the lectures. Monali gave her full permission and said absolutely so she joined us last night and tonight.
The night first started with us talking about teachers opening their own studios. We were allowed to ask any questions we wanted to inquire about opening a studio. I never realized that Bikram had such a close hands on approach on studio’s opening. He personally goes through every studio proposal himself and looks at every floor plan with his own eyes. After everyone had filled their boots with as much studio information as they could handle it basically turned into open mike night. We were allowed to ask Bikram any questions we wanted to. I seriously could have sat their and listen to him talk openly like that until morning class started. I was hanging onto every word he was saying and couldn’t get enough. I was hoping people would keep asking him questions so we could hear his hour answer. I love the way he has a story for every answer and just when you wonder how that has anything to do with the question, he links it all together, unbelievable. But than again it doesn’t surprise me because apparently Shirley McLean told Bikram he could sell ice to Eskimos, lol.
I love how this process and training brings out people’s true personalities. There are some people which I or other students have seen right through since the beginning. Some try to keep a low profile as to not be noticed by the staff. I think no matter what though it all ends up coming out. For example, Bikram started talking about a girl he threw out of training just yesterday. I had heard numerous stories from other trainees about how this girl has treated them personally or talked to staff. I personally witnessed her interaction with Bikram the other night in the lobby after class, going after Bikram with her lips just a going. She was going off the hook so Bikram had hotel staff take her back to her room, pack her bag and she was gone within an hour. Bikram started talking about different personalities and the process of the training and how well this yoga works. That is how he got on the subject of this girl he kicked out. He clarified why she got kicked out and told us how patient he and the staff have been with her this entire time. He told us that Rajashree wanted to kick her out when she was here because she had an interaction with her as well. He felt bad because this yoga could not help her. At the same time is glad it happened because he doesn’t want someone like that to represent him and his name as a teacher.
After talking about her, he called out someone else in the training, ‘another bitch’, as he put it. This girl had an interaction with Monali during our third class on Thursday. When the girl left the room, Monali made sure she was okay (her job) and faced some resistance. Monali told Bikram about this interaction and Bikram called her out about it yesterday in front of everyone. Bikram brought her to the front and asked her a couple questions about her life and why she decided to come here. I wanted Bikram to talk to her one on one but he was fired up so he did it in front of the entire class.
At midnight Bikram asked us if we wanted to watch a movie, in which we all screamed NOOOOOOOOOOO. He immediately started laughing and talking about the movie we should watch. We all groaned and he laughed more. He asked what we wanted to do and everyone shouted ‘BEDDDDDDDD’. He found that even more funny and responded with a “fuck you, LOL”. He loves to get a reaction out of us because he knows how much we enjoy our sleep.
After that he started talking about us and this teacher training saying he likes everything about us except that we like to sleep so much. He said the teacher trainees get a little bit better every year, and this year we are 110% better than the last teacher training. The staff was blown away with how fast we went through our dialogue, finishing one week earlier than last year and two weeks earlier than other years. We were lucky in the sense that it gave us more time with Bikram. Every training there is a mid-term evaluation where the teachers get together and talk about the students who are having more difficulty. It is than that some students are given a report card of sorts and basically told to pull it together if they want to graduate. This year the teachers had a meeting about that and they didn’t have to give an evaluation to anyone. Bikram said everyone that was in that lecture hall tonight was graduating (unless they break one of his rules before that). Having every single person who is here graduate has never happened before. He told us that this is the last teacher training where he plans to spend so much time with the trainees and he doesn’t want to teach so many classes. He started to talk about how fast his kids grew up and how he wants time for himself now. I think knowing that having this much time with Bikram is so rare made it kind of sad. I don’t know how much more one on one time we are going to have with him before the end of training. This weekend a bunch of senior teachers and guests start showing up. To think that it is all coming to an end pretty soon makes it so surreal, I am actually going to miss the late night talks and him making fun of us. We are now moving onto our week of the lasts, and it all began tonight with ‘our last Friday night lecture with Bikram’. He let us go to bed just after 1am without a movie.
This is for you Brit: Teacher training is going to be Palm Springs. He is talking to three different hotels right now to figure out accommodations. None of the hotels want to include a meal in the fee right now so that is where they are at with negotiations. Bikram figures it will more than likely be at the JD Marriott though.

The picture is after our triple on Thursday. We are not allowed to leave the room before the teacher does. At the end of class Bikram played one of his songs from his cd. As he made his way to the back of the room the song was not over yet so he started to sing and dance inside the room. This picture shows all the people waiting for Bikram to leave the room so they could get the hell out of there.

Times three

Morning class was taught by Lisa Johnson from Las Vegas. I like her personality and her energy so I really enjoyed the class. I just let go and let her voice guide me through a great 90 class.
After lunch we had posture clinic with Bikram. He went over a couple more standing postures up to Triangle. He went off on some tangents about his guru and how smart he is.
Well I put my foot in my mouth, I really haven’t had anything to talk about up until evening class. Once 6:30pm hit the emotional roller coaster ride for all us trainees was on high alert.
Evening class was taught by Kylee, a young soon to doctor from Australia. I really liked her class and was kind of relieved to not have Bikram. I pushed myself really hard and had a really good class. It also helped that I liked to listen to her accent during this fast pace 90 minute class, great energy. The power flicked off and on during class, must have been all the energy we were generating.
When class was over and we tried to leave, Monali immediately got on the microphone and told us to remain on our mats. You could feel the anxiety in the room build and I thought ‘oh shit we are doing a back to back’. Sure enough Bikram came waltzing into the room, “check check 1 2 3 4 check”. You should have seen how fast the teacher line cleared out at the back of the room, 20 teachers out 23 grabbed their mats and bolted, quite funny actually. Otto from New York and Wendy (one of the regular staff memebers) were the only two that I saw stay and stood in the middle of their mats, ready to begin. Bikram walked to the front of the room and told us to get up and class was starting, so we did just that, no other option. I was really cursing myself for having such a good class before that cause I thought I was going to pass out in the warm up breathing. Bikram only made us do one set of breathing because we looked so bad, like we were going to keel over, wobbling back and forth. I was at the back of the room and I could see the lack of enthusiasm. I did about two breaths and felt like I was going to fall over backwards. I felt like my legs were jelly and I was doing the motions but I was by no means doing the breathing excercise properly. As we continued through class people started to drop, one by one, actually some people didn’t even start.
I had about ten drops of water left in water jug so that was my biggest concern. The guy next me left to get some water. He came back and realized I wasn’t stopping and that I didn’t have any water so he grabbed my jug and gave me some water. Bikram made fun of us the entire time about how bad we looked, it was actually kind of funny because there was no energy in that room. At party time (after the warm up when we are allowed our first water break) there was a mad dash to the door with water jugs.
By the time we got to the balancing series I was like jello and my body felt so light. When I lifted my leg up in standing head to knee it felt so light, though my arms felt a little heavier. Bikram was by no means holding us for the full time but it was still a struggle at some points. I think I just got to a point where I was so blitzed out that I was like a robot just doing what I was told to do. I was way too tired to think about what I didn’t want to do or didn’t think I could do, so I just did everything. There was one staff teacher that was behind me through both classes and actually this morning too. She saw me in lecture after class and gave me a high five and said, “You are strong girl, way to push through it today, good triple".
At the end of class when I went to lie down in savasana I saw Zia (Auntie Shirley) walking down the stairs. I just got a huge smile on my face and thought, ‘that’s exactly what I need right now, awesome’. I started waving and she saw me. The guy next to me asked if it was my mom and I told him who she was. He smiled and said, "you are so lucky, it would be so nice right now, to see a friendly face", indeed it was.
After class, Zia and I went to the café and grabbed some supper than went back to our room to eat supper with Eleni. Well Zia made it here, but her luggage did not. When she arrived at the hotel they didn’t have a reservation for her either. She was wondering what kind of sign it was…no luggage, no reservation, hmmmm. Unless she gets her bags tonight or early in the morning she won’t be able to do class in the morning.
As we walked into lecture at 9:30pm there was chiaos amongst everyone in the lecture hall. It quickly spread that during evening class people’s rooms got broken into again and this time passports were stolen. All the safes in the other tower have electronic safes and apparently when the power went out it temporary unlocked them all. The safes in the main tower in our rooms have key locks, not that I feel any better. Everyone was running back to their rooms to get all their belongings out of their safes.
It was so frantic in there and the tension was so high. The teachers tried to address this as soon and best as they could. Monali and Lynn stood at the front of the lecture hall and tried to answer as many questions as they could. We started to hear about a bunch of other incidents that had happened over the last four or five weeks in regards to security. None of which we were aware of before tonight. There were stories about people getting knocks on their doors at 4am from guys that said they were maintenance workers, patio doors being left open by cleaning staff, people getting let into their rooms without ids, key cards being re-scanned without id, and other break ins. For the last couple weeks when the room break ins started happening Monali kept telling us that we are responsible for our own stuff and to take care of it. Just the other night she asked us to email a girl some photos from training because she lost her lap top, when in fact it was stolen from her room. A lot of the frustration tonight came from the fact that we have taken the best measures to do that and it is still happening, we can only do so much before it is out of our control. They told us this has never happened before in all of teacher training so they are as concerned as us. I understand the staff has to try and control 300 people and it takes a lot of energy, I just think it could have been handled better. The way some of the questions were being answered and directed made it feel like we were in the wrong and being attacked. That is not a good way to approach anything especially when defences are already up.
When Bikram arrived he arrived with the man who is the head of security for the hotel. He came to tell us what measures they are taking now to protect us. They have hired security guards to walk the grounds and the floors 24 hours to keep an eye out. He is going to talk to the cleaning staff and make sure patio doors are locked after cleaning. He also said the police are going to be involved and they wanted take finger prints. A friend of mine who got her room broken into four weeks ago was told that and it never happened, so I don’t know. Bikram asked the security manager some of his own questions about the safety in the rooms. They opened the floor to questions and the guy spoke very good English so he did his best to answer any concerns. In the end we were beating a dead horse so all I can say is that even though I don't feel safe anymore they say they are going to do their best in terms of safety until we leave.
After all that went down, Bikram began to lecture, but not before making fun of our warm up breathing and the way we looked in the third class. Seeing him imitate us was hilarious and was kind of déjà vu. He lectured more about the mind and the body tonight, kind of bringing it all together. When he finished his talk at 1am, he started a video. It was video tape about his guru and other yogi’s demonstrating how strong the mind really is. There was some footage of Bikram doing some morning shows in 1975 and 1978 too. As soon as the lights went out, people passed right out. Though it is hard to watch some of the crazy things that some of them can do with their bodies, I actually watched it all. We got dismissed at 2:30 for bed.

The pic is my dryer; chairs on the patio

Spanish class

Ulyssis from Mexico City taught the morning class. He asked us if we wanted to have a class in Spanish, to which the majority cheered. He agreed and said he would give us the Spanish dialogue if we worked together and shared energy. If we didn’t work together it wouldn’t work.
In the warm up the students have to interlock their fingers and put them underneath their chin. As soon as he started talking everyone put their hands up ready to start. He stopped us and started talking sternly about us not listening and to wait for him. Then he went to start again and he started laughing and said, ‘I wanted to get mad at you for not listening and I forgot you do not understand me, okay, I’ll give you the clue’. From there forward he would give us the visual clue of what to do in certain postures or say a sentence or two in English. It was neat to hear but I found it much more difficult because I was thinking more about the dialogue and what I had to do. There was a lady from Mexico City a couple rows in front of me so I found I spent a lot of energy trying to get clues form her on when to move and what he was saying. It’s not that I didn’t know what to do because we can all do this in our sleep backwards by now, I was more worried about when to start or go into a posture. By the second or third posture we all had caught onto what the word ‘change’ is in Spanish. It took a lot more energy to concentrate on myself today because I was thinking so much about the dialogue. It also wore on us because it was a two hour class; we haven’t had one of those since the first week.
After lunch we had lecture with Bikram. It was a mock posture clinic where he started to go through all the 26 postures one by one with us. He brought people on stage to show the difference between the perfectly executed posture and the not quite there yet posture. He also helped those who thought they needed a little extra push in some postures. It was neat to see what one’s true potential was with the a little helping hand from Bikram. I went on stage to get help with the eagle posture. Since the beginning of teacher training I have struggled to get my hands-palms together and under my nose in the posture. Bikram just grabbed my arms loosened them up then cranked them under each other. It didn’t hurt but I could totally feel the difference in my back from the twist.
Just to give you a little example of Bikram’s personality, I have the perfect story. Half way through lecture this afternoon Bikram stopped us to go to the washroom. After the break he came back and told us that he thought there was girl peeing beside him in the toilet because when he looked in the mirror and saw pink panties. He then proceeded to pull down his shorts and show us his pink underwear. He then went on to explain that he only wears white or black panties (he calls all underwear panties). I know I was wondering how he ended up with pink underwear. Then he started shouting at Monali for mixing up the panties and that he was wearing Rajashree’s (his wife) panties, we were howling.
Before evening class there were rumors of a double class tonight. Bikram had threatened us on Monday that we would have three classes in one day either Tuesday or Wednesday. I brought an extra water bottle with me just in case.
Bikram taught the evening class and he was in one hell of a mood again, in a good way. He was fired up because today he had a big bottle of coke instead of a little can like Monali gave him yesterday. He likes to taunt us with it while we are in the middle of a posture. He was in a good mood and it was a pretty mellow class, well as mellow as you can get when Bikram is teaching. During camel he came off his perch and stood on a couple people’s hips to show how far they come back. He tried to do a hand stand too but it was too humid to get any traction. Today was the first time since Bikram has been back that he played a song from his cd for us at the end of class. When the song started playing I am sure a few bodies relaxed knowing that was our last class of the night.
After supper we had lecture with Bikram. He talked about the spine, cars and told us a couple more stories about saving some movie stars lives.
At 11:45pm he opened the floor to us for any questions and then he wanted to take a 15 minute break to start a movie. Everyone started groaning and shouting noooooo, to which he laughed and started to talk about how much we like sleep. We all must have looked really out of it because after the question he said ‘go back to your coma, good night’.

This is not Disneyland

Morning class was taught by Ren again. He is exactly who we needed this morning after last night’s ass kicking class. Some people, me included, were still trying to catch their breath from last nights class. I drank so much water and this morning I still felt I wasn’t hydrated enough for class. My body must have been ready because it didn’t seem that was the case. I was surrounded by a group of people I have not practiced beside before, it was great. Ren has such great energy and I love how he teaches for and in the moment. We have only had two classes with him and both of them have been completely different. I like how he allows the energy of the room to guide him through the type of class he gives us.
After lunch we had posture clinic but a different style this time, it was held in the lecture hall. On Friday after finishing the second last posture of the series, each group got to decide who they wanted to represent them. The selected person got to say the final posture in front of everyone on stage with the microphone. Exactly how we started training with half moon in front of Bikram. There are about 21 visiting teachers and they were all there to give feedback today. Each group got to go on stage and perform the posture while the selected person said the dialogue. It was a fun way to end posture clinic in the last posture.
Our group had picked two girls to represent us, we didn’t want to have to choose one or the other. Luckily we had Michael Harris as a lead that day and he came up with the brilliant idea of solving our dilemma. Jennifer and Tracy had to arm wrestle to decide who would get to say it. Tracy won, and today before she said the posture on stage she announced that she won via arm wrestling. She told everyone that the evidence is posted on facebook and you tube. What a great way to begin the posture.
Posture clinic finished about an hour before we could be dismissed. We spent the last hour asking questions to the senior teachers that are here, giving us a chance to ask any questions we had about teaching. It was a great opportunity to pick the brain of the different teachers. Each teacher had a little something to say about each question, building onto the reply of the previous teacher.
Bikram taught evening class again. Tonight was a ninety minute, no time to think, move your ass class, it was great. He was once again calling people out on postures, but it was more towards corrections than making fun of them tonight. He used many 'Bikramisms' tonight, but my favorite was "this is not an amusement park, this is not the place to be lazy, this is not Disneyland", lol. Oh I'm going to miss him. He told us at the end of class that tonight’s class was our best class yet. Last night someone asked Bikram if we could watch the American Presidental election tonight as the votes come in. He told us we would all gather in the lecture hall to watch it all go down. But tonight as he walked out of the hot room he said tonight was the best he has seen from us and then announced that we get the night off.
YIP-EEE

The picture is Lucy and I after tonights class, nice and juicy.

I missed you guys

I woke up this morning with red marks all over my stomach. I think I got bit by something when I was sleeping, they are so itchy and they weren't there when I went ot bed. They are all in a cluster right around my belly button. Every week it seems we have have to deal with something in this stupid hotel. Anyways you might be able to see the lovely beauty marks in my picture. I got some sun this weekend so don't be alarmed by how dark my skin is, lol, (I am serious about the getting sun bit).

Monday morning week eights class was taught by Michael Harris. It was a good class and I actually was not stiff this morning, that was great. Michael was starting to call people out on things and making individual corrections. We have that on and off but he was really making a point of it this morning by coming off the podium and walking around amongst us.
Today I was beside a friend I have not practiced beside since the second week. The last time we practiced beside each other he had his big orange water jug filled with ice water, Gatorade, emergen C (electrolyte powder), and an extra towel to wipe. Throughout that class he mixed the emergen c into his water jug, than drank it all by half way through class. When there was only ice left he than took some ice out to chew on or lie on. Every couple postures he would pour some Gatorade into his orange jug with the ice and let it sit there and drain throughout the posture. When the posture was over he would take a drink. This happened after every floor pose and some standing ones. He was continuously wiping himself with the extra towel and shaking his legs during savasana. By the fourth last posture I finally said to him, “Stop with all the drama”. At the end of class he asked me for some water because he ran out.
I don’t think he liked my two comments and I probably should not have said anything, but enough was enough at that point. This is probably why we haven’t practiced by each other for the last month. Today the guy drank water only at party time and didn’t bring in any other things to fidget with throughout class. Today Michael Harris actually made a comment about the fact that we should only drink water in class. How fitting was it that I was beside the very person I told that to five weeks earlier. At the end of class today he smiled at me and said, “no drama, EH!?” That deserved a high five.
After lunch we had posture clinic with every group finishing the very last posture of the dialogue. Some people said it’s nice to be done. I agree with one aspect, it’s nice to be done the memorizing, but it’s just the beginning. Now it’s a matter of going back and making sure it’s still all there. I am totally going to miss my being with my awesome group every day though.
Bikram is back so he taught the evening class tonight. He has been gone for three weeks so he was fired up to see us. There was so much anticipation for his return. Would he yell at us and tell us we got worse? Would he be impressed with how we have improved!?
The first thing he said when he walked in was “Did you miss me?” I told Eleni he would ask that, he followed it up with an “I missed you”. He talked for about seven minutes before class about all the places he visited. He got to see his mother because he was in Calcutta, but only for 24 hours because he had to get back to us. He told us about all the interviews and news conferences he did. He also told us that he made an announcement that is no longer doing anymore seminars, he has his last one in February than that’s it. He wants to take more time to get back to his yoga and doing advanced classes, maybe teaching a couple. I guess we will see what happens in the next little while.
Class was just under two hours and man oh man did we get out butts kicked. He yelled at people, called people out on different postures, called people names, made fun of them, and swore at others. This is the Bikram I had heard so much about. I don’t think one person walked out of that room after with water still in their jug. It felt and looked like the first week the way people were lying down all over outside after class. A couple people puked during class and he tried to make a couple people leave by making fun of them, telling them to go home. It didn't work though, we are so strong now, working and sticking together to the end. In final savasana he told us it was our best class ever.
One of my friends here that Eleni and I sit with at lecture every night got sick from the class. We were looking for this person when we got to the lecture hall because usually we save seats for them or vice versa, depending on who gets there first. When they hadn’t showed up by 8:50 I went to check the sign in sheet to see if they had signed in, since it was not like them to be there that late. There was no signature on the sign in sheet so I tracked down their room mate. The room mate said they didn’t come back after class and figured we all just met for supper or something. I tracked down Molly, the nurse on staff, and asked her. She said had brought one person to the doctor for IV after class. When we told her who we were looking for, she confirmed that that is who she brought in. This person has been taking really good care of themselves for the entire training, especially after getting sick the first couple weeks. In class tonight they felt like puking the entire class, had a head ache, and really thought they should leave. Even though they felt like they were going to pass out at any moment, they did every single posture in that class and didn't leave. It wasn’t until after class when they got up to leave that they actually ended up passing out on the ground. This just goes to show how hard we all push ourselves when Bikram teaches. I’ve always said I will have to be blacked out on my back before I sit out a posture in any class. Hearing what happened to them tonight actually made we step back and think about how hard I do push myself sometimes.
I had a raging head ache throughout the entire class, and ended up drinking all my water by the end of class. I have not done this since the first week and the orange jug was my best friend. After class I couldn’t wait to get out and lie down outside of the room before my head exploded. I am so glad the energy was so good in there tonight and we were all supporting one another, we really needed that. After class everyone’s reaction was basically the same, ‘he kicked our butts’. He did in deed, and those moments when I thought I was going to keel over I just looked at myself in the mirror and smiled, I knew I could do it. It’s amazing how a little smile can give you a little burst of energy to keep you going long after you think you are done.
At the evening lecture, Bikram told us we are the strongest class ever in teacher training history. He told us he used every bad word he knows in English in class tonight. He said the meanest things to people and gave us the toughest class we have ever had, trying to break us, but we are too strong. He wanted to keep there us until someone left crying, shitting, puking, farting, fainting, or something coming out of one of our orifices. He said he tried everything he could but we were not going down. I have heard horror stories from past trainees about these types of classes from Bikram. He said some pretty mean things to some people but as a group we held strong, supporting each other and kept going. That’s why he loves and missed us!?
Tonight at lecture he talked about the mind, and the elements of the mind. He asked for an example from us students about how the mind influences us, like I said before I love hearing people’s stories. Monali made him some chicken rice curry for supper so he was feeling tired so he let us go just after 1am. That was pretty early considering he was threatening us in class with movies until 4am. The Americans want to watch the election coverage tomorrow night so us Canadians might have to endure a night of American politics. We’ll see what happens.
Oh and a side note for Shauna and Nikki; there are eight teachers here right now that were at training with you guys. They all planned to visit at the same time.

YES

“All your life you are told the things you can not do.
You will be told you’re not good enough.
They’ll say you are the wrong height, the wrong weight, or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this.
They will tell you no a thousand times, until all the no’s become meaningless.
All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. They will tell you no and you will tell them YES!”

I wrote this quote as an inspiration from my friend Kaylee back home at the studio and Lucy who is here at TT with me. Before I left for training Kaylee gave me a package of letters labelled one for each of the nine weeks I am here. I have been reading them one by one after each Saturday’s class. Week seven’s letter had this quote written in it so I thought it was appropriate. My TT friend Lucy, also a blogger, posts quotes on her blog every now and again, so that’s where I got the idea.
When I read this quote my mind instantly went back to when I decided to go to training. I don’t think anyone ever told me they didn’t think I could do it. I know there were a couple people that probably wondered if I really would do it. They probably asked themselves if this was one of those whim things I got in my head like when I decided to take a break from college and live in Italy. When I make up my mind to do something it’s pretty hard to change it, I think my parents figured that out a long time ago, I blame it on the Italian in me. I also blame it on the fact that no matter what crazy thing I decide to do I am supported 127% by my parents. They might not like the idea but at the same time they don’t hold me back. I think I might have talked about this before; I’m having a déjà-vu moment. I am mentioning this today because the two times we had Joanie as a teacher this past week she always ended with a few inspirational words. She told us to think about the people we left behind and those who sacrificed their own lives to make it work for us.
I am one of the lucky ones that doesn’t have a lot of attachments and things ‘to take care of’ before I left. There are people here who left their kids, some very young, behind to take this opportunity for themselves. There are three women here that have their small children here with them. Two of them have nannies and the other one’s husband is here to look after the baby while they are in class. I just look at them and think that I could never do that. Then again I am not a mother and I think Mothers are the strongest people alive.
Other trainees have told me how they had to pre pay bills, get someone to look after their house, pets or family, quit their job or took a leave, sold their car, and of course took out a loan. It actually doesn’t surprise me the sacrifices people make to come here. I don’t really have a story to tell so I like to listen to everyone else’s.
Today was another day spent going to Wal-mart and McDonalds. We also found Eleni some shoes to go with the dress she bought yesterday, fun stuff I know you wanted to know about. I spent the afternoon lying by the pool, in the shade of the palm trees with some friends. We didn’t even talk or think about dialogue at all, it was so nice. I know I should be taking advantage of this time and going back and reviewing but it was nice not to think about it.
My posture clinic group decided to go out for supper tonight. It was really nice to get out, dress up a little and carry a purse; first time I have done that since I got here. We went to 100% natural, which is a local hot spot restaurant among yogis. We ended up staying there for three hours just talking and having a good time. I didn’t realize we were there that long until I got back to my room, the time flew by.

The pic is me studying dialogue by the pool, though you can't tell its by the pool.

Getting out

Morning class was taught by Mike again, same thoughts as last time.
For lunch we got to switch restaurants and eat at a new restaurant that just opened in a new part of the hotel. They had the same food as Chula Vista, our regular lunch destination but it was a change of scenery so I really didn’t mind.
We sat with a couple other yogis’ today and it was interesting to hear their take on the different teachers. One of them told me that he didn’t enjoy a certain teacher the first time we had him. The next time we had him he made up his mind to really listen to everything he was saying. He said after doing that he had a different take on him. I think it is cool to hear how people deal with the different situations they are faced with and other peoples take on different classes or teachers. Some times when I have a view on someone and it’s not necessarily a good one, it’s good to hear someone else’s reason for loving them. Not that we are supposed to analyze the different teachers, reactions, classes or anything for that matter here. I think it is good sometimes to reflect on why someone had a certain impact/reaction on you. I like being able to bounce ideas and talk about different situations with the people here who are going through the same thing. Everyone reacts differently and that’s why we keep coming back. How boring would that be if everyone had the same reaction to teachers or situations? Being able to experience the different teachers and reactions has allowed me to grow so much in such a short time. Talking about it is also a good way to vent if everyone agrees with you, lol.
It seems Halloween is an entire weekend event here. Mexicans celebrate Halloween as the day of the deads. They believe that past ones visit them each year on Halloween. There is a day for children, adults and a day for them to return to the place of the dead. They prepare by making Mexican bread as an offering in preparation for the visit. We got to enjoy some of this tradition as they delivered some to each room for us to enjoy. I enjoy seeing and experiencing how different cultures celebrate their traditions.
After class I was on my computer and a girl from my floor came storming down the hallway with a laundry bag. I didn’t even have to ask her before she started telling me what happened. She had pulled a dress out of her closet that she was going to wear out tonight but to her surprise the dress had mold all over it. She proceeded to go through her entire closet and realized that anything she had not worn in awhile had mold on it. She packaged everything up and was on her way downstairs to deal with the situation. Immediately after that I proceeded to raid my closet looking for the same thing but it seemed my clothes were in good shape. I did however come across a pair of sandals I have worn once since being here. They were covered in mold and it totally freaked me out. I washed them with soap and water and sprayed them with tea tree, I'll have to see what happens when they dry. Eleni was not impressed when I told her about the closet situations, ‘aghhh, hasn’t there been enough things to deal with in this stupid hotel’. Can you tell we are about ready to go back to the comforts of home?
After taking our routine Saturday afternoon nap Eleni and I headed to the mall. She needed to find something for graduation. Just in case you care, she did find a dress that looks amazing on her, so the trip was worth it. We had to take a cab there, and he came back and picked us up two hours later. We saw about 50 other yogis in the mall, I guess they all had the same idea. This is the first time we have left the ‘compound’, other than our Wal-mart or mega trips. It felt great to get out, even for a few hours. I didn’t even touch my dialogue today and it felt great. I ran into some people and they tried to talk about studying but I nixed that right in the bud. I should be taking advantage of this time and going back to review, that’s what Saturday’s have been for the last 6 weeks. It felt great to not think about it; class, nap and shopping took up my entire day, and I ain’t complaining one iota.

The picture is of the Acapulco bay from the top of the hill on the way to the mall.