My Name is Colleen. I AM your Yoga Teacher!

I am sitting at the Vancouver Airport waiting for my connecting flight home to Kelowna.  It is hard to believe that nine weeks of Bikram Teacher Training are finally over!  As I sit here, I am reflecting on the experience and trying to think of what I might share.   I know it will take time to process.   To sum up the experience, I would say that Bikram wants his teachers to be an example of "bullet proof, fire proof, wind proof, water proof, sex proof, money proof, emotion proof..." tough yogis.  He is trying to show us how the discipline of yoga can transform a group of "junk bodies, screw loose brains and lost souls" into true human beings.


The final two weeks of training were extremely difficult for me.  I struggled mentally to stay in the process and not fall in to a negative state of mind.  The days got longer and harder...our final week we were getting only 3-5 hours sleep each night, lectures were long and tedious.  Two nights this week, we were up until 4:30am and as usual expected back in the yoga room by 8:00am.   Our last day of training, Bikram kept us up until 2:30am!  What a way to end the training.  I have to admit that I was slipping.  I was getting more and more tired...more and more ready to go home!  It was hard for me to find even one positive thing to say. 


Thursday we were in lecture from 11:30 am until 6:00pm.  Our last yoga class of training finally started at 7:00pm (2 hours late)  As I walked in the hot room exhausted and frustrated...just wanting it all to be over...I heard a voice calling my name.  If she hadn't called my name, I would have walked right past my friend Claire Cameron who came from Ottawa to surprise me!  Oh, such pure joy!  I was so excited to see a familiar, loving face!  I couldn't believe it...my best friend!  A true, best friend.  As I write this, my eyes are watering with tears of appreciation and love....that someone would come so far to support me in my journey...I am so humbled.


I practiced my final yoga class of Teacher Training along side Claire Cameron and my dear roommate Brittany Milove.  They carried me through the 90 min class and literally, lifted me up in full locust (I wish I had a picture of that!)  Such love and support.  The room was a crazy energy of exhaustion, excitement and anticipation.  Everyone so anxious to complete this last class...95 classes in 9 weeks!  But, that was not the end of training.  A quick shower and back in the lecture hall at 10:30pm for Bikram's final lecture that would go until 2:30am.  Right until the very end he would challenge our beliefs, our limitations, our expectations...always pushing us.


GRADUATION DAY!  YAHOO!

Group 8 - Graduation Day

I don't remember much about graduation day.  I woke up so tired I felt like I had a hangover.  I think I went to coffee with Claire and then got ready for the graduation ceremony.  I remember that I felt like crap.  I was bloated, swollen, puffy, spaced out and cranky....not what I was hoping for my graduation pictures.  It was so great to see everyone dressed in beautiful clothes with happy, smiling faces!

It will take some time to process everything I've learned during the 9 weeks of Teacher Training.  I know that already I miss my fellow trainees...Group 8...the best group in Spring 2011 training; my study partner Emma Hicks; my roommate Brittany Milove and my best friends, lecture support group....Jane Ashton and Katrina Cooke.  

Brittany Milove, my roommate

Emma, a true friend...taking care of my hair

Thank you to everyone who sent loving words of encouragement to me over these past nine weeks.  You could not imagine how those emails helped me during so many difficult times.  




As I head home to Kelowna, I begin a new challenge.  I am packing up my life and moving to Ottawa, Ontario to work for my friend Claire at Bikram Yoga Ottawa.  I will teach my first ever, Bikram Yoga Class there next week.  I'll write again...as I start the next chapter of the journey...life as a new Bikram Yoga Teacher.


With love and gratitude....namaste.


Colleen

Goodbye Radisson LAX

Week 8 - Almost there....

My study partner and new friend, Emma.  Coffee and dialogue on Sunday morning.

Before class with Kat and Jane

After a super HOT class

Friday night and class is over!  Smiling, happy faces!

I've just had some technical problems with my blog and lost almost everything I wrote over the weekend.  I now have to get ready for the morning yoga class, so I don't have time to re-write it.  I guess it wasn't meant to be shared.  So, I've just attached a few photos, and the little bit of writing that wasn't lost.  I will write again later in the week if I have a few spare moments.
Namaste 




Excerpt from the blog writing that wasn't lost....
Path of the Soul Destiny Cards

At the last minute before leaving home, I felt inspired to put my Path of the Soul Destiny Cards in my suitcase.  I thought that I may need an uplifting message at some point during the training.  Little did I know at the time, how great the cards would be for not only myself but so many trainees as well.  It started one day during a 15min break midway through posture clinic.  I thought I would quietly do a card reading for my friend Emma as a fun break from the postures.  I didn't think anyone would even notice, but the cards were like a magnet!   People started gathering around to see what they were and one by one people were asking me to do a card reading for them.  Obviously we didn't have a lot of time, so silently throughout the last half of the clinic, I would let people pull a card and then let them read their own message in the booklet.  It was just what everyone needed!  I was so thrilled to see people's faces light up or sometimes a little tear would come to their eyes as a message touched them in a special way.  Almost everyone wanted to write down the message in their journal.  


I have now taken to caring the cards with me every day.  Whenever we have a few spare minutes, I do a card reading for someone nearby.  I usually don't even have mention the cards.  People either come up and ask me, or people will see me doing it for another person and ask if they can sit in.  It has been a great way to meet so many wonderful people here.  What is particularly interesting, is that although there are 44 cards in the deck, people pick the same 4 or 5 cards over and over again.  It is as though we all need to hear a similar message of encouragement.  


As you can imagine, when you live in such close proximity to so many people for nine weeks...sharing the ups and downs...everyone missing their families back home... we become close in a very short period of time.  There is lots of love here!  I feel blessed to have met so many wonderful people from around the world.  We now how friends and a place to work or just visit worldwide.  So exciting!  


I am so happy to be starting the last week of training.  Only four more days of classes and lectures!!  Graduation is on Friday!  Yahooo!

Group 8 out for dinner.  I think we had the BEST group at Teacher Training!

Week 7 - Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness

Waiting for Posture Clinic to Start...

This week we wrapped up the last of our Posture/Dialogue Clinics.  We've all worked hard to memorize each of the 26 postures and have been given some really great feedback on our teaching style.  Everyone improved so much over the past month.  It is really inspiring to see people struggle -  pushing themselves outside their comfort zone to be the best possible teacher.  In posture clinics, we focus on one posture at a time.  Now we have just 2 weeks to work on putting them all together before we teach our first class!   Wow, it still seems a bit scary to think that in only a few weeks, I'll be standing up in front of a class and leading them through 90 minutes of Bikram Hot Yoga!!

Wrapping up the posture clinics this week, you could feel a sense of relief and lightness in the groups.  Like all things here, though...while one thing gets better, something else gets a lot harder.  This week, Bikram was back lecturing, which means late, later and super late nights!  And, longer, harder yoga classes!!  Thursday we were up until 4:30am and then back in the hot yoga room at 8:00am...lecture/clinic all day and then another incredibly tough, hot class at 5:00pm - the toughest class so far!!   I feel proud that I just stayed in the room the whole 2 hours.  It was that hot and hard.  For most of us, Friday was the most challenging day of training so far. 

Bollywood Night!

Movie night again this week.  Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.   I'm not sure what it is about these Bollywood movies, but I LOVE them!  So despite the late night, I was able to watch the whole movie (all 3+hrs) without falling asleep.   Bikram wants us to understand a bit about the culture in India.  In this particular movie, he wanted us to learn about the family values in India  - about the tradition of marriage, role of parents, respect for elders, and the strong bond among generations.  Bikram often comments that we do not know how to take care of our elders...that we abandon them in "homes" without respect.   This movie was a story of a family torn apart and reunited again.  It shows the love of parents for their children and in return, love of children toward their parents and for the family unit.  Love, dedication and forgiveness.

Self-Realization Fellowship Centre

For me, the highlight of the week was our trip to the Paramahansa Yoganada's Self-Realization Fellowhship Center.  (http://www.yogananda-srf.org)  It is such a beautiful, peaceful place.  A much needed retreat from the training.

View of the temple

Paramahansa Yoganada was the older brother  of Bishnu Ghosh (Bikram's Guru), so this centre is part of the Bikram Yoga lineage.  It was interesting to see the spiritual side of Bikram yoga.  In a typical Bikram class, a student would not have exposure to spiritual teaching or the broader yoga philosophy.   We are so lucky to have this opportunity here in LA.  The centre is a very special place.  It embraces all religions and shows the oneness and harmony of Christianity and Yoga...of East and West.  The Self-Realization Fellowship offers teaching in meditation, retreats, inspirational services and individual counselling from monks & nuns.  There are over 500 temples, retreats and meditation centres around the worldwide.

We are now on the home stretch.  Just two more weeks of training.  Every week here brings on a new challenge and there are always many surprises, opportunities for self analysis and growth.  I expect this week to bring on the heat - classes will likely get a lot tougher (although that is hard to imagine).  At the same time, friendships are growing and bonds between us all are growing.   Everyone has encountered a personal challenge whether it be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.  Whatever the crisis, we support each other and help each other make it through another day.  Just like the movie, life here at training is "Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness." 

Namaste,

Colleen

Week 6 - A Breakthrough

Savasana

So many days I could not imagine making it through to week 6, but here I am...about to start week 7!! Unless you are here, experiencing the craziness of this amazing training, it is hard to understand.  So many ups and downs, not only each week, but within each day.


This week, I had my official breakdown day....or...what I prefer to call my breakthrough day!  Years of fear, insecurity, worry, hurt, etc. combined here with fatigue, tension, a relentless schedule, lots of deep yoga... so many emotions had built up to a point where I just could not hold it together anymore.  With the support from my friend (and visiting Bikram teacher) Deb Small, I had a good letting go cry.  What Oprah calls, the big, ugly cry.  Not just a gentle tear, running down the cheek.  No, this was the big, ugly cry...uncontrollable.  I cried on Deb's shoulder, in front of lots of people!  I cried on and off most of the day.  Even while eating dinner....tears would just spontaneously roll down my face.  Now, for most of us, it is not easy to cry.  We have been conditioned to believe that crying is a sign of weakness and that as adults we simply should not cry - especially not in public.   So, I was resisting it so much.  Once I finally let it out, along with all of the emotions wrapped up with the tears (fear, sadness, old hurts, disappointment, etc.)....I felt so much better.  The next morning I was very tired in yoga class, but as the day went on I slowly felt better and better.  I felt great the rest of the week.  It was as though a burden had been lifted.  Sometimes in the moment, it is hard to understand the nuances of what has just happened.  I'm sure as time goes on, more will be revealed.  Right now, it feels like a lightness has been uncovered.  I was able to make it through the next few days of posture clinics without tension or anxiety.  I had a new freedom from worry and it felt great!  For those of you who know me, it may be an understatement to say that I think a lot.  I am always in my head.  So this experience was a tremendous release.  Really wonderful.  If you're holding back a meltdown, I highly recommend just letting go.


You're Not Sick, You're Scared
We had only two lectures all week.  Our lectures were given by Jon Burras, a body worker, yogi and wholistic healer.    Jon talked about the impact of stress on our lives.  He spoke about the keys to healthy aging and why most of us age prematurely and end up in disease.  Jon believes that we live in a perpetual state of stress caused by "imagined beliefs" and that this is the primary cause of illness.  In his opinion, illness starts in the mind, when we believe imagined, fear based, scenarios like, "if I'm late, I'll die" or "if I lose my money, something tragic will happen" "if I'm not good, people won't love me" or "if I don't do this or that, people will see me as weak"....all these imagined thoughts, keep our bodies in a perpetual "fight or flight" response.   Even those of us who work out regularly and are considered "fit" are still in a perpetual fear state.  What we really need in life is to learn to relax - to turn off our stress response that is running 24/7.  He also spoke about the importance of fascia (connective tissue) in the body and how it integrates our whole physiology.  He believes that fascia is where pain from both physical and emotional injuries are stored in the body.  By working with our fascia through yoga or other body treatments, we can release stored pain and stress.  He explained that this is why yoga is such a powerful healer.  No other exercise moves fascia (releasing old pain and fear) and helps us learn to relax, like yoga.  


Amazingly, his messages came at the same time of my breakthrough.  I have to say that after this week, I really understand what he is saying.  Learn to relax, enjoy the moment you are in, stop resisting, take breaks, release old wounds, practise yoga...oh, yes, and one more...don't believe the thoughts in your head... these are the keys to true wellness, health and peace.


Namaste

Hotel room living...

Week 5

Well, Week 5 was a tough one, so this will be short post today.  This past week we moved very quickly through our posture/dialogue clinics.   Friday, we did three postures in one day!  The pressure is on to learn as many as possible this weekend, in preparation for the week ahead.  


I've heard that Week 5 is a hard week, generally.  We are at the halfway point and we are all tired.  Last Monday was especially hard for me...probably the hardest day so far both mentally and physically.  I just wanted to go home.  I felt so "over" all of this yoga training!  Here's a snapshot of what it was like to be in my head:

"Why did I think this yoga was so amazing?  These people are really strange.  I can't stand being with so many people any more.  I need more sleep.  I'm so sore.  I'm too old for this.  I want to go home.  I miss Baci!  You can't go home now.  You spent a lot of money on this program.  You have to at least finish it.... besides, you quit your job.  You can't go back.  Oh ya, I quit my job!   Oh no, I don't know my dialogue for tomorrow!   This is too hard.  How am I going to learn it all!   I'm so behind already...."  etc, etc, etc

That was Monday.  I made a point of writing in my journal every day in an attempt to settle myself and drop the negative self-talk.   I kept reminding myself to let go of the anxiety.  Just let it go.  You don't need it.  Gradually, I started to feel better.  By Thursday morning it was almost gone.  It popped up again today and I observed that it is at it's worst when I am really tired.  So, tonight I need to go to bed early.

Emmy Cleaves with students after yoga class

The highlight of this week was our lecture from Emmy Cleaves.  As I mentioned before, Emmy is Bikram's most senior teacher.  She is 86 years old and looks better than most 70 year olds.  She is an inspiration.  She taught two really tough yoga classes this week and gave a lecture on Thursday afternoon.  Her lecture focused on physiology and yoga.  It was so great.  I could listen to her all day!  She explained the principle of "Lock the Knee" in Bikram yoga and how to do it properly (without damaging the knees).  She spent quite a bit of time on how our lifestyle damages our bodies.  Sitting, in particular, is the main problem.  From young age, our children sit for hours and hours at school and then at home in front of the TV or computers.  As we move on in life, we get office jobs, drive around in cars and watch more TV.  She explained how this damages the spine and impacts the whole body.  This is why so many people find the yoga painful.  In yoga, we are retraining and reversing years and years of poor posture, muscle atrophy and negative patterning in the body. The good news is that Emmy believes it can be improved and, in some cases, reversed.  It takes hard work....but it can be done.


This part is for all of my Bikram Yoga friends out there.  Squeeze your butt more and harder during class!!!  During Emmy's and Bikram's classes this week, there was a theme that came through..."Squeeze the Glutes!"  Emmy explained how all of our sitting has caused our largest muscle, the gluteus muscles to become extremely weak.  To safely execute most of the postures, you need to really squeeze your glutes.  Bikram demonstrated his squeezing abilities (It was pretty funny.  You had to be there.)  and told us that we have to squeeze them really tight during Pranayama Breathing and Half Moon.  He said that no one was squeezing tight enough!  Similarily, in Emmy's classes this week.  She focussed on squeezing the butt, especially in Backbending, Standing Bow and Balancing Stick.  Over and over this week....Keep your butt tight!  Squeeze your Glutes.  So, for all of my Bikram Yoga Friends....to quote Emmy, "you have to bring mindfulness to your butt and squeeze it" more during class.  Try it and let me know how you make out.

Earlier this year, my dear friend Eva gave me a book called Journey to the Heart: Daily Meditations on the Path to Freeing your Soul by Melody Beattie.  One of the messages this week was to not be afraid of making mistakes.  When I was feeling particularly low, these words were so helpful.  Thank you, Eva.

Inspiration corner in my room

Week 4 - Lessons in Love and Healing

"This is Where the Magic Happens"

Our Hot Yoga Room - Look at the Chandeliers!

Healing Yoga
It is hard to believe that I have been living in this hotel, doing this intense training, for a month!    Many days I have felt homesick and sad.  A month is a long time to be away from home.  I miss my little dog, Baci!  I am starting to feel tired and my body is reminding me of it every day!  There are also wonderful moments, new friendships and new lessons learned.


Rajashree (Bikram's wife) says that Week 4 is the time when all of the stored emotions come out and old injuries surface in the body.  Well, was she ever right!  I have felt like crying almost every day.  In one yoga class, she asked how many people have cried in class?  "Is there crying?"  (My hand went up...along with about half of the room.)  "Good!"  She says, "Let the crying come out.  It is good for you.  This is stored pain from the past."  The she asked how many people feel anger during the yoga?  At least a third of the room raised a hand.  "This is good" she says.  For most people, it is hard to understand how anger or crying in yoga class would be a good thing.


Rajashree was right about old injuries, as well.  Working 20 years in an office, at a desk job has taken a toll on my neck, shoulders and hips.  This past week, my shoulders have been really bothering me.  It feels like there is a hot poker in my left shoulder blade all day!  One class, the pain was so intense, that I had to sit out the postures that require lifting your arms up in front of the body or over head.  (This is almost the whole class!)   Emmy Cleaves told us that the "Stress Monkey" likes to sit on the shoulders.   So, I knew that this was not an injury.  I was experiencing years of old stress (and maybe a little new stress).  Although I knew that I didn't have to worry about it...it still bothered me every day this week.  The pain felt real (and still does) to me; my muscles were tight, tight, tight!  


As I mentioned earlier, Bikram has been away for a couple of weeks.  He returned to teach one class on Thursday.  I was concerned, because my shoulder was at its worst that morning.  How was I going to make it through a Bikram class?  There was no way that I could just lie down or not lift my arms in Bikram's class!  (I have heard him shout and yell at students from the podium.  I did not want that to be me!)  Just class started, a thought came into my mind:  "Bikram would heal my shoulders and I would be fine."  I'm not sure where this thought came from, but it transformed me in the moment.  This was just emotional/mental pain...not an injury, so it could be released through yoga.  Amazingly, we started the breathing exercise (which all week had been so painful) and I didn't feel any pain at all.  It seemed that there was only one point of focus from Bikram.  "Lift the chest."  Over and over...."Lift the chest!"  No pain in my shoulders.  I completed the whole class...no pain.  It was one of our hottest classes, too.  Students were leaving the room and visiting teachers were dropping like flies...everyone was dying from the heat.  I didn't feel a thing.  I felt great.  I was free of pain.  I had a great class.  


Things like this are very hard to explain.  How does a middle aged woman with a tight, stiff body and chronic shoulder pain make it through a HOT Bikram class, while amazing yogi's all around...with beautiful, young, strong, flexible bodies...just collapse under the heat?   Was this Bikram's Yogic healing power or was it my mind believing and letting go?  Maybe a bit of both?  A wonderful experience either way.  Don't get attached to the pain.  


(The pain returned in the evening lecture...but not as intense as before.  Just a dull ache now.  I feel that I can ignore it...let it go...it will pass or not.)


Lessons in Love

John Salvatore

Each week, I experience so many wonderful lessons that it is hard to share them all.  I try to pick just one or two of the most important to me each week.  This week, another important moment was again in the hot room!   The magic always happens in the yoga room!  We had an amazing visiting teacher, John Salvatore.   John is famous in the Bikram world and on Broadway.  He owns his own Bikram yoga studio in New York City and is currently starring the in the Broadway musical "Jersey Boys" in Las Vegas.   He flew in for a day and taught a fabulous class for us.  Other than Bikram, I would have to say that John is the best teacher I have ever had!  An inspiration!  He started our class by talking to us about love...about sharing love with each other in class and throughout the day...supporting each other with love.   


That very morning, I was feeling quite annoyed with everyone.   I was especially annoyed with the guy beside me in class.   While I went out of the room for a minute, he moved my mat!   I came back and my mat was in a completely different place.  (This was not the first time this had happened)  He moved it so that he could have a better spot in front of the mirror.  Now, I had the spot with the cracks in the mirror and my mat was about two inches away from my neighbour.   Then, John Salvatore came in the room with his speech about love and this amazing, energetic, funny, inspirational class.  About half way through class, I looked over at the guy beside me and our eyes met in the mirror.  My anger was transformed.  I felt totally different about him.  The anger disappeared and I felt so much love for him.  How could I ever have been mad at him for moving my mat?  It seemed so crazy.  Everything changed in that moment.  We smiled at each other and I felt love for him.  I felt so much love for everyone in the room.  Thoughts are powerful.  Transform your thoughts and you'll transform your life.


I am watching our many guest teachers and thinking about what kind of teacher I will be.  One thing I know for sure....I want to be a teacher that teaches from a place of love.  I want to remind everyone to be kind to themselves, to learn to love themselves and from there...they can love everyone around them.

My New Friends: Kat and Jane, from the UK

Today will be a day of studying for me.  There is a lot of pressure during the week to memorize the dialogue.  I want to make sure that I don't start the week behind in things.  We also have our Anatomy final tomorrow morning.  I am so happy that Anatomy is almost over!  (I did okay on our last test, so I have more confidence about tomorrow's exam.)  I'm hoping today will be a nice sunny day so that I can sit outside and study.  One thing that is nice about being in LA is the weather!  Gorgeous weather.


Much Love....Namaste

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.