Hello Ottawa!

Farewell Beautiful Kelowna!

Goodbye Kelowna!

It has been a while since my last update.  The last week and a half has been a bit of a blur.  I arrived in Kelowna safely and was welcomed home with such love from my little dog Baci.  This immediately made me sooo happy!!  I then set about packing up my condo, organizing things with the movers, car shippers, cable company, etc.   I also tried to get in a few visits with some of my friends in Kelowna.  Thank you, Krista for hosting a little get together with some of my closest friends to say goodbye.  I was already pretty tired from the 9 week training program, so I was in a fog most of the week.  Still, it was good to be home, in my own bed and back with the company of good friends.  Kelowna is such a beautiful city and in the warm, sunny days of June it is absolutely stunning!  It was so hard for me to say goodbye to a place that I love so much and that really feels like home to me.  I have become attached!  I LOVE Kelowna...it is so hard to leave!

Last day in our condo

I am always amazed when life has a way of working things out for me.  I was pretty stressed about moving and flying with Baci.  I was so worried about how he would be on the plane, and adjusting to a new apt, new city, new routine.  I feel so blessed that Courtney Rodd was there to help... like a little angel from heaven!!  Courtney is a Bikram Yoga Teacher from the Kelowna studio has been coming to Ottawa to help teach classes for Claire.  Courtney is also a WestJet Flight Attendant (handy!).   As fate would have it, Courtney was on the same flight to Ottawa and we were able to sit together!!  She was such a blessing to me...keeping my mind off Baci and reassuring me that everything would be fine.  Of course, everything was fine.  Baci made it to Ottawa safe and sound.  No trauma.  Courtney also stayed at Claire's apt and was a delight to be around.  It was so great to have her helping us out.  (Claire is so busy with the studio and trying to help me get settled!)  Her bright, energetic personality and quirky sense of humour were just what Claire and I needed to help buffer the stress of the move.  I was so tired by this point that I didn't have a lot of "buffer" left in me.  

With Claire after my first class

Teaching My First Class
Both Claire and Courtney encouraged me to teach my first class as soon as possible.  I was really resisting this because I was so tired, and because I didn't feel ready yet!  I just didn't feel like myself.  With all packing and moving, I hadn't been studying my dialogue and I was getting worried that I had forgotten it all!!  They both reassured me that I had not forgotten the dialogue but I didn't really believe them.  We did a couple of practice sessions in the studio which really helped me recall the words and get used to being in the room, on the podium.  So, on Tuesday, June 28 at 4:00pm I taught my first ever Bikram Yoga Class!!  Yahoo!!  


It was basically a blur for me.  I remember that it was hard!...which is what I expected.  Talking for 90 minutes is a long time.  It requires so much concentration, energy and lung power!  But, there were also moments of divine intervention/inspiration...when words just came flowing out of my mouth with passion and energy.  I had little flashes of joy at the magic of it.  It felt so so inspiring to see the students working hard and focusing on the yoga.  I was amazed at their beautiful postures.  Really inspiring.  Of course there were also moments when they were looking at me with miserable faces...like "Are you serious?!  You're killing us!   This is hard!"  One of the things about being a new teacher is that "ad-libbing" or making changes during class does not come easily.  I only know how to teach the postures using the dialogue from Bikram.  The problem with that, is that it makes for long, hard postures...and a long, hard class!  (I have to learn to talk faster!)  I could see people were struggling at times...I almost wanted to say "I'm sorry, I know this is too hard, but it the only way I can do it right now!"  Some of them came back to my next class, so I guess they were okay.


I was relieved that Courtney and Claire were right in front of me during the class...giving me cues as to what should come next when I had that "deer in the headlights....OMG I forget what comes next" look on my face.  I said a couple of funny things and I went a little too long...but that is to be expected.  It will take time to get the flow of things.  In fact, Bikram says that it takes 10 years to become a real yoga teacher.  Until then, I think of myself as a teacher in training.  


So now, I am just trying to get myself settled into Ottawa.  I'm still waiting for my car and all of my stuff to arrive.  In the meantime, I continue to teach classes (each one is getting better) and get to know the city a bit better. I am so lucky to have a best friend who cares and supports me so much.  Claire has been kind enough to let me and Baci move in with her...so we already have a place to stay.  Now, I have to get trained at the studio (front desk stuff) and keep studying my dialogue for teaching!!


Well, that's it for today.  Off for a walk with Baci and some study time before I teach the 4:00pm class today.
Namaste

The Front Desk at Bikram Yoga Ottawa