Triumphs, Tears and the Torture Chamber.: The Hip Bone's Connected to the Back Bone

This week was the start of posture clinics and anatomy. Bikram has been out of town for the week so after our anatomy lectures, which usually end around midnight, we get to study or go to BED! No Bollywood J Still dealing with a pesky, lingering cold, this has been even more enjoyable than it would have been. Dr. Preddy is our anatomy teacher. He’s hilarious and makes lectures enjoyable. Anatomy really interests me to begin with. I think it’s fascinating to learn how and why things work, how they are affected or related, and how the yoga benefits the different muscles and organ systems. Another positive side to having anatomy for two weeks, Dr. P is an osteopath, so, he’ll adjust trainees after class… BONUS! My neck and my back love this perk!

Throughout training, we are put into groups based on last name. There are 20 groups in total. Each group consists of 22-23 yogis. I’m in group 13. There are 10 lines in the hot room and 10 cabanas for posture clinics. If you’re good at math, or even if you’re not, that means two groups per line, and two groups per cabana. Which group we are matched with changes daily, so every class and every clinic we are with new people. This week in posture clinic we recited Back-Bend with Pada-Hastasana and all three parts of Awkward. We get up in front of the 50ish other yogis, with 3 demonstrating the postures as we instruct them, and 2-4 staff members and/or visiting teachers who are critiquing us. Considering all of us have to get up and recite each and every posture, and we’re all in the same boat, you wouldn’t think it would be that nerve-racking…. But it is. It REALLY is!

This weekend I ventured over to Manhattan Beach (we found it this time… it’s a lot easier to not get lost when the public transportation takes you directly to your destination instead of driving around aimlessly trying to find it). Saturday, I spent the day on the beach with Hilary, Christina, and Laura. We practiced dialogue and even conned some random guy on the beach to practice for us while we taught him… brave soul. Between studying and talking, we thought we’d do a little yoga on the beach. It’s a beautiful beach, so we opted for a mini photo shoot by the pier. After the beach, we walked around for a little bit, got a bite to eat, and did a little grocery shopping before heading back to the hotel. This morning, I got up and after a little studying session, decided that double sessions of yoga weren’t enough. I went for a run. Six miles through the concrete jungle, and I was ready to go back to the beach… it’s much prettier there! I went back to Manhattan Beach and walked along the water. It’s just so damn beautiful; I can’t get enough. I met up with my friend Adam and we went to get sushi, which I’ve been dying for since I got here. The sushi really hit the spot, the conversation was great and we were able to watch the Patriots do quite a number on the Broncos… poor Payton.

Week 3 has come and gone. We are 1/3 of the way through training, which is crazy. I feel like I’ve been here forever while at the same time I feel like we just got started. It was really great because this week I got three care packages too. My mom sent me some of my favorite coffee from Port City Coffee Roasters and some dark chocolate sea salt caramels (my fav). I also got TWO packages from my home studio, Bikram Yoga Portsmouth. On Tuesday, the mailman delivered some goodies from the teachers with some survival essentials and a few tips thrown in there too. On Thursday, the lovely students at BYP sent me their own care package with some goodies of their own. I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful people supporting me… thank you all!

Namaste!