Week 3

A special visitor, Pepper, came to our Posture Clinic this week. 

Posture Clinics
We are now in full swing which means this week was all about Posture Clinics.  Each day we split up into smaller groups (about 40 people in a group) and practiced teaching a posture.  This meant that we had to have the Bikram dialogue for at least one posture memorized each day.  This week we did Back Bending, Hands to Feet, Awkward (3 parts), Eagle and Standing Head to Knee poses.  For most people, this is a lot to memorize - especially when so fatigued and working within such very tight schedules.  The only time to work on the memorization is early in the morning before our first yoga class or on our meal breaks.  Needless to say, it is quite stressful for most of us.


Wednesday was a tough day for me.  I woke up feeling quite anxious because I had to do "Awkward Pose"  and I was having trouble keeping the second and third parts straight in my mind.  I kept mixing things up.  On top of this, our schedule kept changing this week.  I was very anxious that I wasn't going to be at the right place at the right time.  I was so distracted that I forgot to sign in for yoga class!  For those of you who don't know about Bikram teacher training, it is run like a bootcamp.  Lots of rules.  One rule is that if you miss a class or are late or forget to sign in before class....you have to do a "make up" hot yoga class on Saturday.  (Back to back to our regularly scheduled Saturday morning class)


I was really upset when I realized what I had done.  All I could think about was how bad that Saturday class was going to be because I was already so tired.  I was pretty ticked at myself.  Then, when I got into my posture clinic that evening, I found out that I was in the classroom that requires us to do dialogue from up on stage using a headset microphone!  This is so much harder and added to the stress of saying a posture I wasn't comfortable with yet.   I wanted to cry.  But, I just pulled myself up and got up there and did it.  It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either.  I was big bundle of nerves.  When we finally got to bed that night I was exhausted.  I couldn't imagine how I was going to make it through 6 more weeks of this training.


The next morning, I was surprisingly calm.  I realized that I had caused all of my own pain and had exhausted myself.  By worrying about what might happen later in the day (and imagining it to be much worse than it actually was) I was not paying attention to the present moment.  In this calmer state, I could see that by imagining the worst about what "might" happen, I messed up the present moment.  I also created mental stress for myself that wasn't necessary.  So, I have decided that I will do my best to accept each day for what it is and not worry about the next class or the next day or the next posture.  Just be present and stay with the moment, as it is right now.  When it feels bad to me or I feel myself getting anxious, I will just watch and observe how my body is reacting.  No judgement, just observe.  Stay in the moment.


Anatomy Lectures
Our lectures this week have been focussed on Anatomy.  Not my favourite subject.  I understand that as yoga teachers, we need to have a good understanding of the body and how it works...but I can't say that I enjoy learning it.  (Did I mention that I have a degree in English Literature?)  Oh...the time passes so slowly and I have such a hard time listening!  I have to admit that we have an excellent teacher, Dr. Preddy, who is an ER doctor and a professor.  He is very entertaining and has a talent for making complex information accessible for us non-medical people.  Still, I will be happy when we are done with the Anatomy section of the training.  


Yoga Training 

Taking 11 yoga classes a week (12 this week for me!), plus doing more postures during our clinics is having a big impact on everyone's body.  Lots of aches and pains.  Most people have reported having strange food/drink cravings.  If you were vegetarian before, you now crave meat.  Some people now can't eat meat.  Random cravings for olives, pickles, chips...anything salty has been widely reported.  The most popular craving is for Coke or Sprite.  I have been craving Sprite!  Those of you who know me well, know that I almost never drink pop.  I can't remember the last time I had a Sprite (maybe in High School).  Suddenly, all I can think about during Anatomy lecture is having a Sprite... almost every day.  So funny!   


I am also becoming more like Bikram, who says that he eats only once a day.  Bikram says that yoga feeds the body more energy than food.   I have to say, that after three weeks of this training, I agree.  Most days, I usually have a smoothy (protein shake) after the morning class and then one meal after our evening yoga class.  In between, I just nibble on trail mix or a granola bar when I have a spare moment.  Strangely, I am fine eating this way.   So, as long as I feel okay...I'll keep going with it.


We had a wonderful lecture on "Pain" from Emmy Cleaves this week.  I loved it!  So interesting.  She talked about pain and typical pains that are experienced in yoga.  She talked about the difference between discomfort or stretching sensation and true pain ("pain, pain" as she calls it) which is warning that an injury may happen.  She also touched on psychological pain and self induced, stress pain that manifests in the body...most often in the back.  (Boy, can I relate to that this week!!)  I could have listened to her lecture all day!  I hope we hear more from Emmy again.


In Bikram's absence, we have had his wife, Rajashree teaching our evening hot yoga classes.  Although they are still challenging, they are lovely.  She has such a sweet, kind and loving approach to teaching yoga.  So different from Bikram!  You can feel her love when she comes in the room and she shares such compassion for everyone who is missing home and their families.  She also reassures everyone that the struggles we are going through are normal and tries to help us us "let go".  She encourages us to use our minds differently...to see the positive instead of the negative.  So lovely.


I have to wrap up for this week.  My roommate Brittany is helping me study for our Anatomy test tomorrow, so I have to sign off now.   Brittany says that it is going to be fun!   Hmmm, I'm not so sure.


Much love to everyone.  


Namaste.