My last week & My first teaching class

What a journey it was, I have to start with my last week of training. They said it was going to be the easiest week, they had many surprises for us, maybe they were just saying that to us, to just keep us going or was it a mind game? Whatever it was, I was sure glad it was my last week. My body hurt more than ever but what kept me going was knowing that Richard/hubby was going to be arriving on Wednesday night.

I can not tell you the joy I had running up to him, I was shaking so badly and my heart was racing so fast, I needed his hug so badly. I felt bad for my yogi's, I knew that they wanted someone around for them too, they were so excited for me they even cried out of joy for me, that is how close we were with each other. Richard did all 4 classes that were left and to my surprised he stayed strong and never layed down. My teachers told me he was really pushing hard in class, that his postures were kicking some butt and they were right. He stayed connected with my through yoga, he completed total of 45 days while I was gone and lost probably 15lbs or more, not sure but he looks really good and I am very proud of him.

Many teachers told me that this experience would be life changing, but for me it reassured what I already knew, I have a wonderful husband who loves me with all his heart & wonderful daughters, my life and my world around is pretty darn good. I definitely appreciate my life more now than ever, I will try not to take things for granted, and things are just things but your life is more than anything anyone can give you, that is why this Yoga is what I do and practice.

Graduation was unbelievably surreal, I could not get over the fact that I finished this 9 week course, I made it!!!! Yes I did, it was tough but well worth the benefits, maybe I will miss it someday but I am sure glad to be home with my family, my support system. The good byes were hard, I may never see most of the people I met and hung out for 9 weeks but I am sure glad I got to meet them, I will always keep them dear to my heart. Someday I will travel the world and I will get to see many of them.


So what about my roommate, well most of you know I got married a year after high school and have never had a roommate other than my hubby. I actually was very lucky to get the best roommate ever, we did everything together. We both worked really hard to get our dialogue in, practiced as much as we could, never left the hotel till the very end, which we needed. Colleen pushed me to even take a couple of the Sunday classes, that were meant for people who forgot to sign in or missed lecture but if you were a die hard yogi, you were able to take the class too, and that she managed to get me to do. I love and adore this woman and as she likes to say my sister from another mister.. hmmm I think that is the New Yorker in her.

My first week home, yeah!! Feels so good to sleep in my own bed, yes I did have those dreams thinking I was still at the Fairmont Hotel and I also had those dreams where I am doing Wind Removing and I wake up with my legs up, weird I know.

I taught my first class last night, wow what a HIGH, it was so awesome being in front of all the students and teaching them what I have been hearing and practicing for 9 weeks. I was actually surprised that I was able to share a little bit of myself during Camel & the last Savasana, now I know what they mean to teach from the heart, what a rewarding feeling. Many thanks to my home studio, they have been so supportive from the day I walked into that studio, medicated with anti-depressants to not taking anything anymore, they supported me through my training and now my teaching. I can't thank them enough.

The last week in Acapulco

Well here it is the last week, the one I have been waiting for. Today I am super happy to know that I will be home very soon, yes I will probably miss this training but today I am just happy knowing that I will be home soon. 9 weeks is a long time to be away from your family, especially when you have been married for 19 years and never been away from your family more than a week.

So what happened last week, wow it was a very crazy week. We finished with our dialogue 2 weeks early and Bikram was back in action, kicking our butts at yoga with some late nights. He kept teasing us how he may give us a triple on Tuesday or Wednesday, he said we were strong and ready for it. So the days came and left and there we were Thursday and after our 5pm class they told us not to leave the room, then they started to bring his orange towel in and that's when we knew it was the day. With no preparation ahead, most of us had drank all of our water. He started with the pranayama breathing and when it came to the 2nd set we just said NO way, lets move on and we did. I tried very hard to stay positive and I did for all of the standing series, I was very proud of myself, my legs were shaking through most of it but I managed, by the time the floor series came, thats when I said OK, gotta go get me some water. For the first time, I knew it was ok to walk out and all I could say to myself is, ITS OK.. you have nothing to prove to anyone, just take care of yourself and I did. I can only imagine what it looked like to be in his shoes and see all the bodies running out of the room or dropping like flies, it was a mad house. Once class was over, then they annouce that lecture was still on, we were up till 2:30am that day, it was a very hard hard hard day for all of us.

The next day, I woke up feeling like a truck ran over me. Morning yoga was taught by an amazing visiting teacher from New York (Troy) he really tried to get us moving but we were all very sore or tired from the lack of sleep. I can tell you that I cried the whole standing series, I broke down so hard but I stayed in class and just tried to stay calm. I don't know what to expect this week and I don't even want to guess. Well its lecture time..gotta get ready

2 weeks left and Bikram returns

I can't believe that we have 2 weeks left, I am so excited to be coming home soon and be with my family again. I have missed them so much. My hubby Richard will be out here a few days before graduation and I am so excited to have him be here and share the experience with him. He also has a love for Bikram Yoga, I can't wait for him to practice yoga with all 300 of us in the Torture Chamber, it will be an amazing experience.

As I layed in bed the other day I realized that in 2 weeks I will be a certified Bikram teacher and that is a crazy feeling, I actually got teared up. I know that the real training and learning starts when I get home. The training has be intense, emotional but worth every penny of it, to be able to teach the yoga that changed my life is an amazing gift that no one can take away, I am honored to be able to teach it.

So 2 weeks left, Bikram is back in town again and I am sure he is gonna kick our butts in class. This time I think we are all ready, 7 weeks of 2times a day yoga, I think we are ready. Back to the late nights & lectures with Bikram. I am sure I will get cranky but I will just keep reminding myself 2 weeks left and less than that I will see my hubby.

Week 6 done!!

So week 6 is done and gone, another good week for me. What I mean about good is that I stayed focus and didn't break down. My week started with my group pressuring me to attend the Sunday 11am yoga, this is a class that is not mandatory, it is for make up classes or for die hard yogis. To my surprise my practice was probably one of my best here since arriving but the best gift was the reminder I got from it. It gave me back that feeling I have when I practice at home and why I am here. I was on cloud 9 that whole day.

My body actually hurt more this week by Thursday night I could not feel my body, as soon as I started Half Moon on Thursday my tears just ran down my face, the feeling I had was SHIT my body hurts so much but I am gonna make it through no matter what and I did like always. The morning yoga for most of us, is the hardest, as soon as we get to first set of Hands to Feet, you hear all the moaning in the yoga room, we kinda laugh about it during class.

It's unbelievable that we have only 3 weeks left, so much to still do. So far my Yoga dialogue has been going well. I still wonder if it is true that all this dialogue will be in my head when I get home. I really hope so, since I will start teaching as soon as I get home. I am very excited to getting right into it but at the same time and I am nervous.

We had Rajashree here for the whole week, what a week it was. For the most part she taught the morning classes followed by her lectures. She was very kind to us, the lectures where during the day, followed by evening posture clinics.

I am still stuck in the hotel but hopeful that by next weekend I will get out and see Acapulco, maybe even go see those cliff divers everyone talks about. 3 Weeks left and all though I will someday miss being here, I just can't wait to be home with my family and see how this whole training has changed my life.

Week 4 & 5

Wow week 5 over!!! Feels so good, even though I am so tired having to be over the hump feels really nice. Week 4 was probably my worst ever, they said it would come week 5 but it came early and I cried like a baby. I knew the training was going to break me in so many ways and so far it was proven to do that. The week started with Bikram teaching early in the week and leaving us hanging before camel, he was so upset that so many people were sitting out of postures, walking out of the room, he got so upset that he walked out on us and said class was over, we never got to Camel and believe me Camel is the best part of the yoga, people been suffering in the yoga room with cramping, throwing up, etc, but I don't think Bikram realized how bad the heat and humidity was. We had to meet Bikram for lecture that night and we all didn't know what to expect, we knew he was upset but to our surprise he decided to make some calls and they figured out that the yoga room was lacking oxygen and it was 97% humidity. Since then they have added many fans and opened some vents around the room, don't take me wrong the room is still HOT but it is finally a little better.



So what about week 5, well it was a good one for me. I just said to myself, your going to make it good and that's it!!! and it was a good one. Dialogue is going really fast, we are now starting # 17 Locust, my posture clinic feedback has been pretty good until COBRA.. I blanked out in the middle of it and added SHIT to the dialogue and I started laughing at myself, I got the students in and out the posture but the dialogue was all over the place. So now I am moving on and hoping that I will get back on track, I am still pretty nervous delivering my dialogue in front of the students, they say it will go away and I am waiting for that moment to come.

The days are flying by so fast, we go from AM yoga, lunch, posture clinic, PM yoga, quick dinner, posture clinic/lecture, then study till 2am or later, then it starts all over again. Oh and my latest perfume is TIGER BALM..yeah I pretty much put this all over and I don't really care how much it smells, it just feels really good on, and my favorite toy is my tennis ball, this baby helps with all of those sore spots I can't get too. Well I am off to get a massage by the beach, yeah I know it sounds rough, it is, really!!!

Week 3, sick like a baby

I was excited to get this week started, but I guess my body wasn't. My biggest fear came true on Monday,there I was 2nd row in the Yoga room and yeap the girlie thing happened and of course our towels are white, maybe I shouldn't be sharing this but its the way of life, I had to run out of class take care of my issue but coming back was so hard, once you get fresh air and try to get back to that wonderful Hot room, it's not easy. So let's just say that Monday was a really emotional day then to top it off I got a sore throat and was sick like a baby all week. I had to sit out during some of the postures, blowing your nose then trying to do some of the forward bends are not fun. Whatever I got and still have is going around and spreading like crazy. But even with all this happening we have to do our 2 yogas a day and now our posture clinics have started.

Bikram Yoga has 26 postures, so far we have completed 2 of them and are in the middle of Eagle, we have to do the dialogue verbatim with 3 bodies in front of us and about 30 plus people behind us watching and following our dialogue, then we get critique by visiting teachers & some senior teachers as well. Most of the time the feedback is pretty accurate, for me it has been pacing, I tend to go to fast being the Mexican that I am I tend to talk really fast. It's kinda funny when you are walking around the hotel and you see 300 plus people doing postures, practicing in group and talking to themselves, listening to Ipods.



I gotta tell you the lectures are definitely long and sometimes not very interesting but we have to sit through them and try to listen, its pretty hard to do when you sitting in the most uncomfortable chairs but somehow we manage to do it. One of the funniest moments this week is watching Bikram take his pants off on stage and show us his butt, yeap his butt.. I guess he thought he had a pimple on his ass then it turned out to be some blister or something, he kepted saying how uncomfortable he was and decided to drop his pants and show all of us, then he proceeded to clinch his butt and show us how deep breathing show be done, its was too funny.

So what about the drama this week, well last week we had some older gentlement from Polland storm off during yoga saying that our class was way too long (Emmy was teaching) and then basically wanted to punch out one of the teachers of course he was kicked out, then this week we one of the guys from England was kicked out, not sure why. People are starting to dissappear, not sure if for medical reasons but the rumors that go around are very interesting.

The training is definitely challenging but I am also having some fun, I haven't explored Acapulco yet but sometime in the future I will. We are getting sick of the food we eat here and of course the food that we are able to make in our rooms are limited but we are managing. My yoga practice is definitely crappy, one of the things that I heard from one of our teachers during class was "you are not here to improve on your postures, you are here to be great teachers" so with that said, I am going to enjoy what I can do for now with my yoga practice and be hopeful that my yoga practice will improve when I come home. If I can learn my dialogue and give back what was given to me, that will be more satifying than anything else.

Week 2

Week 2 done, 7 more to go, I can't believe we have finished 21 classes and by the end of training we should have completed 98 yoga classes. From what I am told these two weeks we just finished are the easiest ones by far compared to what is going be coming in the next several weeks. We are finally done doing Half Moon with Bikram and are starting our Dialogue clinics this coming week. Our morning yoga classes are usually taught by one of the senior teachers and the evening class are taught by Bikram. We were told that we are the first training group to have Bikram with us for almost the whole 9 weeks of training, his yoga classes are good I just have to get use the many breaks we get in between postures, he tends to talk alot, his classes usually run 2 hours long. There has only been one class that lasted 90 minutes and he killed me, so I prefer the 2 hours for now even though I am sweating like a dog. There are cooling spots in the yoga room they are the circulating vents but you have to arrive early to get a spot, but starting next week its all going to change, the spots will be chosen for us everyday, we will be rotating from front to back so everyone gets a chance to be in the mirror and close to Bikram or any teacher that is teaching that day.

As for me, how am I feeling? Everyday is diffrent, some are good days, some are homesick days, other days not sure what I am feeling. My practice is really bad right now, I feel like a robot, we wake up around 7am, eat something small like 1/2 bannana or yogurt, run to the ice machine to fill our wonderful orange water bottles we fill them with 3 limes, sea salt, sugar and of course water, after our class we usually get about 2 hours of free time, this gives you time to shower, change and go eat some free buffet. Colleen, Chris and Chris from Phillie, we tend to run to the salt water pool after class to cool off then change by the pool and head out to the buffet. People have started taking tupperwear to the buffet to take food ( your not really suppose to do this), I tried doing it once this week and to be honest with you, I didn't really like the feeling of stealing food, so for now I am passing on this idea but it is funny watching people do it and try to hide it. The food is good so far but I am sure its going to get old. Check in time to lecture is usually 12pm till around 4pm or later, then all 300 of us run to our rooms to change and get ready for the evening yoga that starts at 5pm, after yoga is done we get about 1-1/2 of free time, to eat, shower and change and go back to lecture till whatever time they want to finish. The lack of sleep is getting to me but they say the more yoga we do the less sleeping time we need, ummm not working so far!! I am pooped...

Today is Saturday and we did our grocery shopping, which actually takes alot out of you to do, all you want to do after Saturdays yoga class is sleep, but since we only get part of Saturday and Sunday, you really have to make the most of it. We found a group of wonderful Mexican ladies by the beach that do massages for $20 bucks for a 1 hour, so I have decided that I will either get 1 or 2 every weekend while I am here, believe me if you were in my shoes, you would want it everyday. Its getting late and I feel my roomy waking up, till next week my friends, please send me good positive energy the coming week.

Its Saturday, week one over!!!

What a feeling to have the week done, yes we have 8 weeks to go but it feels good to have the weekend. Bikram actually surprised us at last nights class and told us we had the Friday night off, gosh I almost wanted to cry, my body needed some rest. Our small group went to the Cafe downstairs where they make sandwiches and salads and just enjoyed eating and talking, laughing, it just gives you such a boost. Todays morning class went pretty good, I don't know if it was having the night off and eating well and knowing that we had the rest of the weekend off was the trick but it helped my practice a little. I also twisted my ankle during last nights class, I was doing Separate leg stretching and I miss stepped, so now my ankle is acting up but I will work through it.Our group of yogi's are so amazing, everybody shares, towels,space, water, whatever you need there is someone there to help you with anything.

I also didn't realize that Bikram is all over the worth, people from Africa, India, France, Chile, Mexico, Australia, etc. Bikram actualy had them do the Dialogue in there language and it was breath taking. I just can't wait to be a teacher and have the honor to teach in any of these places. I am making so many friendships, the ones that stand out the most are the yogi's from Chile, they just make me feel like family, everytime I see them, they hug me and kiss me on the cheek, just the way I grew up.

By the way if anyone ever decides to do this training I would recommend a laptop and one with a video camera. Today was the day that I needed a boost and I was able to Video Chat with my hubby, daughter and I also got to see my dogs, my macbook is awesome!!! I just love it, the picture you see is of us chatting, its not the greatest but who cares its worth having, enjoy!

I did Half Moon in front of Bikram

A couple of days go by and so much happens with this training, so many people are getting sick already, people getting carried out of class, people throwing up etc, and it's only our first week and this is suppose to be the easiest week so far, can you imagine how its going to be later on. I have had some tough classes but after my first class I decided to really pay attention to what I am putting into my body and how much water I am drinking, so far its working out great. My roommate Colleen and I just do the buddy system and help each other out no matter what, if we run out of water in class we share our water. My teachers at my studio did an amazing job on preparing me for this training and they weren't lieing when they said you practice right next to each other, you use each others towels, sweat drips on you from other people, butts get in your face, etc. yeah it's sounds disgusting but its part of the training, you learn that these are small things and you get over it.

So last night was movie night and Bikram decided to put one of his India movies on, I actually enjoyed it but it was a little dramatic, a little james bond slash Grease... LOL!!The movie was about 3 1/2 hours long, I am not lieing, Colleen and I took our pillows and my blanket, thank god for my blanket, we tried to get as comfortable as we could. Colleen has a metal rod in her back so she can't really sit for too long, so she ended up laying down on the floor. I believe we left around 2am last night. So class this morning was not very energetic, but the later class was much better.

Can you believe I finally got up on stage and did my Half Moon Posture in front of Bikram and the 300 plus students, his comment was Very Good, hey I will take it. Bikram is a funny man but has a potty mouth at the same time, he doesn't hold back anything, if you fat he tells you in front of everyone, if sound like a mouse he will tell you as well, some of these comments are embarassing but yet I find it funny and entertaining, let's see how I feel later, right? Anyways I gotta go to bed its around 1 am and I need some sleep. Here's a picture of me doing my dialogue.

Taking it easy

My first class on Monday was very hard on me, I have never sat out as much as I did my body was tingling, I saw stars, I actually felt like I was going to pass out. So I tried to take it easy but its hard when you think Bikram is looking at you during class and is saying get up and push, push, push!!! I layed down and thought what the heck did I get myself into, I don't know if I can do this for 9 weeks. I have never felt my body go through so much in a class but after thinking of it after class I realized that I had alot of anxiety coming here and also alot of emotions. Its just amazing to see and feel what you body can go through. Yesterday was our first double class and I did much better and if I can continue to stay this way I know I will get through my training.

We had our first posture clinic with Bikram yesterday, we have to do Half Moon in front of him and hear 300 plus people do it as well. I didn't get a chance to get up yet, there was so many people rushing to get it done, so I am hoping to get up on stage and get it done today, wish me luck!!! Bikram is actually a pretty funny man.

Well enough blogging, we had our lunch break and I am heading off to do some dialogue studying hopefully by the pool. This week they are taking it easy on us, so we get a little extra time, but I am thinking that its probably not going to be this way for the next several weeks. The picture I added is the room we have our Yoga classes in twice a day with 70% humidity, it gets very hot with over 300 yoga students, we saw people having to be carried out of the room because of dehydration and muscle cramping yesterday, I am hopeful that it will get better not worst!

Namaste

Namaste

Meeting my roomy in Acapulco

Well I made it, leaving was tough, saying good bye to my girls and my hubby was very emotional but I am doing ok so far. It is very humid in Acapulco but the resort is absolutely beautiful, the people in Mexico are very welcoming so far. I met my roomy Colleen she is from New York and a massage therapist, wow is she nice, I think somehow the man above was looking out for me, I also met her friend Chris very nice guy too, thought you might want to see the people I have been hanging out with since I arrived. So far I have met so many Yogi's not sure if I will remember what their names are but so far everyone has the same easy going attitude and I am enjoying it. Let's see what happens in the next few weeks, all I can tell you is that I am ready for it.

I have to say the Walmart here is pretty cool, you definitely don't need to much with you, they pretty much have it all. I am happy I did bring many of my supplies but I also could of left many of them behind, I could be $115 dollars richer today, yeah that is what I had to pay for my over weight bag, oh well.

1 day left off to Acapulco I go

Well here's the day I have been talking about, I leave tomorrow morning to Acapulco. I just can't believe the day is almost here. As much as I wanted to take it easy for the last week I actually practiced almost everyday and it was a good thing. I thought for some reason I would be feeling not so good today but today ended up being a really nice day. My daughter Jessica drove 5 hours to be able to be home before I leave, followed by a really nice going away dinner with my family and a few of my home studio teachers that I also call my friends. I'm excited to be going on this journey and to have my family be 100% behind me, wish me luck!!!

5days till Acapulco

So here I am trying to go through my packing list to take to Acapulco, I know I am probably taking too much, but how can you plan out how much is too much when you are leaving for 9 weeks and not know what to expect. I have so many mixed emotions today, I'm gonna be honest I am scared shitless!!! My body is going to go through torture and who knows where my mental health is going to be when I am there, I am praying to god that he keeps me strong and healthy while I am there.

I took class yesterday in Shoreline its in Seattle the studio is called Sweatbox, beautiful studio, nice people and my friend and teacher Penni taught class there which was very comforting for me. But there I was sweating like crazy, my postures where all over the place, my triangle sucked, carpet was slippery but of course my friend Christian reminded me to get use to it, the carpet at training is worst and the room is hotter (thanks Christian). So there I was thinking, what the hell did I get myself into, do I really want to do this for 9 weeks, twice a day, am I crazy? Am I really going to be teaching in this HOT room and give out all that dialog and get people in and out of postures and keep them strong? Well I keep telling myself, YES YES YES I am, because its my destiny and I am ready to take all the way.

5 days to go, I am going to a dialog study group today in Seattle and hopefully take class at 4:30 with my hubby, spending as much time with my family right now is so important to me right now, the balance with studying the dialog and spending quality time has been really tough but this week is all about my family. On Friday a group of the Bikram teachers & friends from my home studio are coming over to send me off to training, then I am on a plane to Mexico.

Countdown, less than 2 weeks to go!!!

So here I am back home from dropping off Jessica at Gonzaga, met her roommate Sarah and her parents, great family!!! I had so many mixed emotions, happy, proud of my daughters accomplishments and her bright future ahead. It was hard coming back home without her, not hearing her loud burps in the car ( she gets that from dad) and of course the fighting between her sister and her. No one can ever prepare you for this and I know that I will get through it, so I am sad but also happy for her.

Less than 2 weeks to go, then I will be on a plane to Acapulco, Mexico for my Bikram training, I'm a little nervous, but not scared anymore, my excitement has over taken that part of me. I will miss my daughter Chelsea so much and of course my hubby Richard, 9 weeks is a long, long time to be apart but as he says, I have given them 9 years to be home with our girls they can give me 9 weeks. I am taking my laptop so I can blog and email, video chat as much as I can, but from what I hear there isn't alot of free time, the time you get is what you need to study, so I can't promise that I will be blogging a bunch but I will give it my best shot.

Less then 4 weeks to go, then Training

I can't believe how fast the time has gone, in a week we will be leaving to drop my oldest daughter to college, she is going to be a freshman at Gonzaga University. With my whole preparation for Bikram TT I haven't really had the time to think about how much I am going to be missing my girl, I guess that is kinda good but then who knows how I will be feeling when we are in her dorm, helping her set it up and then leaving her there. I sure hope I am prepared for that. Then 2 weeks later I leave to Acapulco for 9 weeks. Where has the time gone?

I am so thankful to have such wonderful Bikram Teachers around me and a wonderful studio owner that I also call my friend, Annette has taught me so much about myself, I thank her for her encouraging words and helping me find my inner voice that led me to my decision.

Since I received my Bikram dialogue it has consumed my life this summer, it has been yoga, dialogue, family, yoga, rest, family, etc. I have kinda stressed myself a bit that I gained 7lb in a month, I'm not worried about it, since I know I will be losing it during training. It is very unlike me to gain weight this fast, but I figured it out and I think I am ok with it for now, as long as it goes away soon, if not, well then I will have to figure that one again, LOL!!

Namaste!

Decision Made

I never thought I would ever be blogging, but here I am heading off to Bikram Yoga Training leaving my family for 9 weeks. So I thought well why not, what a great way to share my journey with my friends and family and what a great way to stay connected with everyone as well.

This decision was not easy for me to make, I have been married for 19 years to my best friend, never lived on my own, I went straight from Mom and Dad's home to getting married and having 2 beautiful daughters. My oldest Jess is heading off to College, she leaves right before I leave to Acapulco. My youngest Chelsea & my poor hubby are left behind at home by themselves. It's definitely going to be tough getting through all of these changes, but what keeps me going is my wonderful supportive family. I had those days, where I said "NO" I am not going to be a Bikram Teacher, but they saw something that took me awhile to discover and that was that I was very passionate about my practice. So here I am heading off to Bikram Fall Training 08.

My Bikram Yoga practiced started about 3years ago, when a friend of mine invited me to try something different yoga in a heated room about 110 degrees 50% humidity for 90 minutes, 26 postures, sounds easy right? So there I was thinking, wow the room is HOT!! But I was hooked, not only was I physically looking great, I was able to get off all of medications such has Prozac, Anxiety pills, and who knows what else I would be on if I didn't have my Yoga. I am a better person because of my yoga, and that is why I am ready to give back what was given to me, I am ready to take on this challenge and teach the Yoga that has changed my life.

I will be leaving my family for 9 weeks, I will be practicing in a heated room that is approx. 110 degree 50% humidity for 90 minutes, 2 times a day Monday through Saturday with lots of lectures, posture clinics that can last till the next morning, I hope I am ready and that my body is ready for it too.