If you’re going through hell, keep on going…

Week 6 has come and gone.  So have many other things.  Now, officially two-thirds through this yoga boot camp, there have been numerous accounts of “triumphs, tears, and the torture chamber.”  This has been Hell Week #2 … with a lot of heaven thrown in.

To start the week, we had 6 ½ - 7 hours of posture clinic a day.  Memorizing and reciting four postures in one day and preparing to do the same the following day is no easy feat.  However, being the amazingly fabulous yogis that we are, we handled that task on top of incredible sleep deprivation remarkably well.  Pretty much, we rock.  I say that with the upmost sincerity.  I also say that because without each other, none of us would have made it this far with success.  We ARE each other’s rock.  

Group 13, AKA: “Lucky 13” – I love you all!

Little piece of heaven # 1: From the Lower East Side

NYC was representing here at TT on Monday night. Tricia, a studio owner from the Lower East Side taught our class.  I LOVED HER!  She was amazing!  She was full of energy.  She was tough, with a drill sergeant demeanor who held postures FOREVER!  She made us want to work hard though.  Throughout the class she referred to us as “teachers.”  This was the first time anyone had addressed us as such.  A couple of other things that stood out were in Balancing stick she said, “Your body should look like a ‘T’ as in Love…” and my favorite quote of the week, “Be nice. Work hard. Amazing things will come.”  Oh and, did I forget to mention that ‘T as in Tricia’ is Lady Gaga’s personal Bikram trainer?  Yeah, that’s right… I met my first pseudo star!

Life is all about balance, right?  So, to counter the amazing teacher and class on Monday night, one might say that Thursday zeroed out the scales.  For our evening class, we were led a teacher and studio owner from VA.  To keep the politics to a minimum, I won’t use her name but I will tell you that it was the WORST class I’ve taken.  When teacher’s come to TT and teach class, there is a certain expectation about the quality of instruction you’ll get, and when a teacher has been teaching for 10 years, well that expectation grows a bit more.  I guess this is a perfect case of why they tell us to “leave your expectations at the door”… because you’re going to get the unexpected.

When Bikram teaches, you never know what you’re in store for. You never know what will or won’t come out of his mouth.  You never know how long he’ll hold the postures or how long his class will go.  Friday night, Bikram taught.  I think he said “push” an extra 200 times.  He held the first set of triangle for what felt like 2 minutes. He went off on numerous tangents that I will refrain from restating here (but if you’re interested in his famous “Bikramisms” we can chat another time). It’s no wonder class was 110 minutes, 20 minutes longer than a “normal” class.

Little piece of heaven # 2: From the good ole Granite State

Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting in my room finishing up lunch after a study session at the pool.  There was a knock on the door.  I got up to answer it thinking it was housekeeping with towels.  I opened the door not to a Hispanic lady with linens but to a friendly, familiar face from the other side of the country.  Sara, my studio owner surprised me here in LA.  I had no idea she was coming, but I was sure glad she did.  She stayed for here through Saturday, took class in the enormous hot room, went to Whole Foods with me while I stocked up on grapes, and on Friday night before she headed home, we went out to dinner with Angelie, Hilary, Evan, Alex, and Alex’s studio owner.  We feasted on a smorgasbord of food, 4 types of lemonade, and 8 different types of cupcakes. 

Sara and Angelie at Lemonade

Little piece of heaven # 3: Good Luck and Hard Work

I think Sara brought with her all of the love, support and encouragement that all of my friends and family back home had been sending my way.  That and maybe some additional good luck… Wednesday, just a half hour or so after Sara’s surprise arrival; I was back in posture clinic.  I had been struggling with the dialogue up to this point, and a suggestion I received was to just get up and do it, go first.  So, that’s just what I did.  I got up first to do Camel.  For the first time in 2 weeks, I didn’t freeze.  I got through, start to finish, and did it pretty well.  I was so excited; I literally jumped up and down after I said the last word.  I was thrilled.  I sat down and began to work on the next posture, Rabbit.  This is my least favorite pose to do in class, mainly because I kind of suck at it.  It’s really hard for me to do and it hurts… a lot.  An hour and a half or so after I did Camel, I got back up to do Rabbit.  Not only did I NOT freeze, I flat out rocked that posture.  Two in a row and the second one was even better than the first.  The posture I’m the worst at in the hot room was the one I did the best on in posture clinic, go figure!  I was elated, so happy and so proud.  I had been working diligently and getting so frustrated with not getting to where I wanted to be.  I was hard on myself, but today I was proud.  I only wish Sara had been in that Cabana with us so she could have seen it.  It was a breakthrough for sure!

A little piece of heaven # 4: A Taste of New England in the Autumn

Let me first preface this by saying, I have the best sister in the world.  Friday night as I’m heading back to lecture, the concierge stops me to give me a package.  From whom?  You guessed it, Kim, my wicked awesome sister.  She sent me “Fall from Home.”  A pumpkin filled with yummy treats: a fresh picked apple, a caramel covered apple, mini painted pumpkin, mulling spices for cider, maple sugar candies, NH honey sticks, a whoopie pie, and a frame with pressed leaves from our yard.  So great and so perfect!  Thanks Freddie!

Nothing beats Fall in New England!

A little piece of heaven # 5: Body Surfing

Surf’s Up!  Laura and I headed to the beach on Saturday to soak up some Vitamin D without practicing dialogue!  It was so refreshing!  We did recruit some drunken guys on the beach to try and teach though.  They told us they wanted to learn how to “center their chi” and asked for our help.  Of course, we obliged.  It was hilarious, although I’m sure the day after they didn’t feel all that “centered” but more like hungover and sun burnt.  After our little yoga session, we went into the water and rode the waves.  We didn’t have a surfboard so we used the ones we were born with, our bodies.  I don’t remember laughing so hard.  We had a BLAST getting our asses kicked by those waves.  I think I still have sand and salt in my hair but it was so worth it!  The sunset after, well that was insane too...

Center that Chi fellas

Wish y'all were here for this!

A little piece of heaven # 6: "We're going to HOLLYWOOD!!! 

Today we did the touristy thing.  After the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, Keunah drove Laura and I around LA and we did all of the things people usually do the first day or two they’re here.  We just decided to wait 6 weeks.  We drove down Sunset Blvd, Hollywood Blvd, and Rodeo Drive. We saw the Hollywood sign, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Star Walk of Fame, and took quite a few photos with celebrities at the wax museum.  We went window shopping and played dress-up in Dolce & Gabbana.  $14,000 for a coat…. Ehh, that’s just pocket change! HAH!  Then we went over to Santa Monica for a little pampering.  We got mani/pedis and grabbed some dinner.  We got back to the hotel and just in time; being a tourist is tough work, we were pooped!

Look at the size of that tomato! 

Mmm, oysters!

Helloooo Hollywood!

Country Stars Gone Hollywood

Got into a bit of trouble here in Hollywood...

Johnny Castle, let me show you a thing or two

I got this under control Obama

90210

Cha-Ching! Pretty Woman Style!

The week began with an asinine amount of dialogue.  It ended with us erupting in screams of excitement, tears of joy, hugs for all, and lots and lots of smiles.  Why?  Well, at the conclusion of 6 weeks, we had done something no other group of trainees had done before, not in 40 training sessions, not ever… we finished all 26 postures.  We got through the dialogue hell and did it faster than any other group had done.   Add in having a weekend not filled with studying, allowed us to have a nice little break and see some of this city that has become our temporary home.  I guess it’s true… you can’t get to heaven until you’ve gone through hell!

Namaste!

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

Hell Week has Come and Gone… well, sort of!

Last weekend was pretty great.  Annie, my friend from Bikram Yoga Portsmouth was in LA for a conference last week.  She stopped by TT on Friday and took class with me.  We grabbed some dinner real quick before I had to be back for posture clinic.  It was SO nice to get out of this hotel and have a discussion with a “normal” person and not a crazy yoga trainee.  On Saturday, after our morning class I took a second “Team Saturday” class before heading to the beach with Laura and Lascel for some studying, a photo session, and some honey lattes.  Ohhh yeah, talk about delish?!  They were so good that Laura and I went back for seconds to warm us up after watching the sunset over the Pacific.  Sunday, I went to a Farmer’s Market with Dan and Amane.  This place was amazing!  I spent so much money but it was money well spent.  They had tons of local produce; I stalked up on fruits and veggies and of course, lots and lots of grapes.  There was this local, organic, stone-ground chocolate… umm yeah!  A whole new level of cocoa love!  After the market, Laura (who is also an avid Patriots fan) found a sports bar near our hotel where we watched the Patriots game.  We won’t talk about the score but I think Laura and I found our new Sunday hot spot for some yoga procrastination with the football crowd.

Monday we had our Anatomy final.  Second easiest test I’ve ever taken.  The only easier exam was the midterm!  Of course, having a healthcare background helped, but so did Dr. P.  He was the first teacher that I’ve had who made anatomy interesting and enjoyable.  So now that anatomy is over, posture clinics take up the majority of our day.  There was one day this week where we had to deliver four, yes FOUR, postures in one day!  I have been struggling a bit with the dialogue.  I “learn” it and then when I get up in front of the group to say it, I freeze.  I can’t remember anything.  I forget everything on the page so trying to remember which line comes next seems impossible.  One teacher had me take down my hair, shake my head around (think exotic dancer style) and then run around the room.  I had to do laps, faster and faster each time.  Then she made me start the dialogue again and I did a lot better.  I guess it got the nerves out and the energy up.  It worked!  Too bad I can’t run around the room every time… that wouldn’t fly in the real yoga classroom.

Our “hot” seems to have a mind of it’s own, either that or the people operating the heaters, like to mess with us.  I think the latter sounds a bit more realistic.  We have had classes that were only 95F, classes that were 120F and on Thursday, it was so hot that Bikram himself told the staff to turn it down.  “Boss, turn off one heater.  120F is okay but 140F is too hot.  I can’t stand here or I burn my feet!” Now that is something I never expected to hear, Bikram saying it was too hot?!  Can you imagine being in a room that hot filled with 450 people sweating their yoga butts off?!  What if I told you that the night before we were up until 4:30am watching a Bollywood film.  Yeah, a solid two hours of sleep before two scorching yoga classes.  Oy vey!  People were dropping like flies.  Bikram joked that he should change to the name to “Bikram’s Mortuary Yoga” with all of the “dead bodies” leaving the room!  The inconsistency with the heat means we never know if it’s going to be a “normal” hot room, a cold hot room, or a scorching hot room.  I think that is intentional though… the whole “we can’t control it so we shouldn’t worry about it” lesson. 

On top of that, we had some other late night Bikram lectures as well as a visiting lecturer.  John Burras, a Mind-Body Therapist, came and spoke to us on Thursday and Friday, amid our exhaustion, we listed to him talk about fascia.  Never have I heard that word said so many times… who knew fascia was such a hot topic!  He talked about “What is fascia?” and “Emotional Anatomy.” A lot of people thought his ideas were cuckoo, but I honestly thought he might be onto something.  I’m not saying I agree 100% with his philosophy but I am saying that I believe there is some validity to his ideas.  I’m skeptical yet open-minded, so I hear what he’s saying but I need to evaluate it for myself before deciding whether I agree or not with this theory.

At the end of our evening yoga class, we got some fantastic news… the rest of the night off!!!  I have never seen so much energy emitting from a single room in my life.  That hot room exploded with hooting and hollering, every last one of us was completely and entirely stoked about having Friday night off… and we needed it! I went out for sushi with a group of people in Venice.  I felt like a normal human being interacting with the real world.  It was fabulous.  Never in my life have I gotten so many compliments on how “pretty” I looked!  A little makeup and a pair of blue jeans goes a long way in the yoga bubble when everyone is used to being in t-shirts and sweats. 

Saturday was fun.  Laura and I went for a massage, a couple’s massage at that!  Thank goodness because if we had been in separate rooms, and I was by myself, I probably would have booked it out of there.  It was my first Thai massage, so the environment was different from what I’m used to.  Just imagine two beds, Laura and I each being straddle by two tiny Asian women, who were contorting our bodies and kicking the you-know-what out of us.  In the end, I’m so glad I didn’t leave – that massage was just what the doctor ordered.  It hurt but in a very good way.  Afterwards, we relaxed with some lattes at a café and put on our studious glasses to study dialogue.  Dialogue. Dialogue. Dialogue. We might have taken some gossip breaks, but hey, everyone needs a little distraction now and again!  Speaking of which, I plan on giving myself a 3-hourish distraction again today to watch the Patriots (hopefully) do some damage to the Jets.  It’s the little things in life, and for me, enjoying a little football on Sundays is a great way to keep me sane when so many people here are beginning to lose it.

People are freaking out and having meltdowns.  Everywhere I turn, someone is crying, screaming, throwing something, and just about everyone is contemplating leaving.  It might not be the best idea to have our hotel located IN the runway! I’ve heard stories about the “Hell Week” reputation that week 5 is known for, it seems to be no exception at this teacher training.  The good news for us… hell week continues into week 6.  They warned us that posture clinics are going to be even more intense (not that I can really imagine that!) and that we should expect to know 2-3 postures a day!  Yikes! I’m struggling with the dialogue, which is frustrating.  Having difficulty with one posture per day is tough, so it worries me when I need to learn more than that successfully.  What scares me the most is being able to recall all 26 postures that I’ve “learned” and teach an entire class… when I struggle with just ONE!

Eventually, in the future, I WILL know this dialogue!!!

The best part is that despite the frustrations, tears, fits of rage, and whatever else we feel here, everyone else is feeling it too.  We are becoming this great, big, supportive family.  We get it.  We get each other.  No one else from home, friends or family can really understand this process and what we are going through, but there are 442 other yogis who know EXACTLY what it feels like.  Just a few short weeks ago, I knew no one, not a single person here at the Radisson at LAX.  Now, I’ve made some amazing life-long bonds and friendships.  Despite being crazy (and yes, we can openly admit that), this group of strangers is growing fast into a kind, compassionate, loving and supportive family.  It amazes me just united such a large group of people from all over the world can become, and in such a short period of time.  Teacher Training Fall 2012 – I love you all!

Namaste!

Representing BYP at TT - Annie wasn't scared of the 450 other people practicing with her!

Trikanasana on the Beach w/ Laura

Hey check out his butt! (w/ Laura and Lascel)

It's our new favorite pose - Playtime-asana (w/ Laura)

Sunset on the beach

Pacific Sunset

Stone Ground Chocolate - Yummm!

Oh heck yeah! Grapes galore!

We thought this was hilarious.  A billboard above the Thai Massage place. (w/ Laura)

Team Awesome (minus Keunah... someone had to snap the photo!) How about a little sushi? (w/ Evan, Alex and Anna)

It's getting HOT in here!

Yesterday was like a day out of the Amazon.  Both the morning and the evening classes were brutally hot.  When I say, brutal, I mean 130F plus humidity is an understatement! People were dropping like flies.  By the handful, people were being escorted out of the room and treated for dehydration.  I felt as if I sweated my body weight out in a single class.  It was THAT hot!  Today’s classes were AWESOME!  I rocked class this morning; I felt so good for each and every one of the 26 postures.  Tonight we had, in my opinion, the best instructor thus far during training.  Lisa Ingle and her baby to be, energized and revitalized us in class tonight.  She inspired me with her demanding and stern, brutally honest and sympathetic, and all the while hilarious class.  She was fabulous. 

Things are heating up here, literally and figuratively.  Aside from the hot room soaring to record highs, we are picking the pace big time with posture clinics.  I delivered Standing Head-to-Knee today.  The posture clinic room I was in this afternoon was our big lecture hall.  We each had to go up on stage, use the microphone, and recite our dialogue for our three “students” and FIVE senior teachers/staff members.  I don’t know why I keep getting so nervous about it, I mean, we are all in the same boat, but every time I am about to get up to deliver my posture, anxiety sets in.  I’m hoping that will ease up with time.  Although, the thought of actually getting up on a podium and teaching every single posture, twice over and talking for 90-minutes to who-knows how many students, gets me a wee bit anxious!

After posture clinic and delivering a posture I didn’t think I’d have to do until tomorrow, I was waiting for the elevator to go change for class when they posted the “who’s got mail” list…. I just so happened to be on that list.  Not knowing who might have sent me something, I was eager to find out.  When I got to the concierge, Philip handed me a box… from Canada!  I looked down a bit bewildered wondering who in Canada would be sending me a package.  When I got back to my room, I excitedly tore into the box.  It was a French coffee press coffee maker from my dad (the company moved to Toronto hence the Canadian shipping label).  My dad loves his AeroPress so he thought it would be nice for me to have one here.  Now I can make a single cup whenever I want, or more if Hilary wants some java too.  Even better, if we both want coffee but like different kinds, we can EACH have our own – no problemo! Thanks Dad!  I also received my absentee ballot for the upcoming presidential election.  I have yet to fulfill my American duty and vote for our next president IN NH.  My very first election I voted absentee while in college in NY.  The last election I voted absentee while in ultrasound school in Alabama.  This election will follow suit, as I’ll be voting absentee from here in LA.

My Ilium is killing me!  For all of you non-anatomy speaking folk, that’s the technical term for “hip bones.”  The spine-strengthening series is done face-down, on our stomachs.  Two-a-days, every day for the last 4 weeks has done some serious bruising to my hip bones.  It’s somewhat comical because never in a million years would I have guessed that my “Ilium” would be causing so much discomfort!

Now it’s time to head back down for another anatomy lecture.  I presume that will be followed by lots of studying and then hopefully a decent night’s rest.

Namaste!

Absentee Ballot

New Coffee Making Set-Up

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!

Manhattan Beach Pier

Random dude we convinced to practice Eagle.

Toe Stand under the Pier

Roommate Pada-Hastasana

Backward Bending with Christina

My creative side coming out

Mmmm, Wasabi Edamame