Sunday, May 29, 2011

Week 6--- sleep, the good stuff

So I knew it was coming, I anticipated it for a long time, I stressed, I got excited, I got nervous, I got excited and then it came...but I'll talk about that later...

Real quick, I'll run down some high lights of week six INSIDE the bubble. Week six was a tough one, ya kow, 11 yoga classes in 6 days, little bits of sleep, lots of bits of studying and this week we had double posture clinics, which meant the pressure just seemed to be on, you could tell, people weren't quite as 'friendly' as they were on weeks 1-5 and everyone just kind of seemed to be in their own worlds mumbling to them selves "flex your left foot, forehead on knee, maximum pressure, you can mess with the Gods..." Bikram's dialogue,the prescription for teaching this yoga was the ONLY thing on everyones minds, but then some magical things happened this week that brought the fun back to YOGA.
Posture clinics, although more intense, they also were focused on bringing out each individuals personalities into teaching. We saw people dancing, people imitating Texans, Elaine from Sienfield, Screaming, doing jumping jacks and "throwing 'ish down" as they had to deliver cobra pose as a Gangsta...yup that's me, the Gangsta of Bikram yoga, don't mess with me in the hot room, just lock your knee! But still, study study study, we all had that exhausted look you get the day before a final exam, all five days this week.

But then Leo came, he showed up from Philadelphia, and he brought home to us. Leo was Leo in LA, same ole guy, and he even got to teach a class! It was amazing, it was exactly what we needed on the Friday of Week Six, we needed a lot a love and Leo brought it! If you don't know who the heck I'm talking about check out bikramphiladelphia.com and bikramyogamainline.com for schedules and go take one of his classes! It will make you want to come back for more, and it's really the only way you can really understand happiness inside a room that is 105 minimum degrees!

Friday night also brought a lot of goodness in an otherwise tense week. I'm not going to go to much into detail, because I hope that some of you reading have just decided to take the plunge into TT and are doing what I did, which was read and read and read all the blogs out there about Bikram Yoga Teacher training, but I will tell you, that one night in week six, most likely a Friday night, the Bikram teachers will announce that it's Fashion week and they will commence it with a 'party' in the hot room.

After a much welcomed class taught by Bikram's assistant Judes, who rocked our worlds and followed up Leo's morning class beautifully, I was in a mad dash to catch the Red Eye back to Philadelphia. My one and only sister's wedding shower was Saturday and I, being the MOH, was on my way! The shower was a complete success and I was so happy to be part of the celebration of my sister. She found the man of her dreams, he found his woman and now we get to watch as they journey into husband and wife. Besides the shower I got to do three other things that brought me bliss. 1. Dive into a cuddle puddle of small dogs 2. talk to, hug, snuggle and enjoy my Alex, who is SO much better live than via skype! and 3. SLEEP...can I tell you about sleep, holy moley it was a glorious, deep, drouling, snoring, wake up not knowing which way is up kinda sleep that I kept falling into. I slept on the plane and dreamt about teaching Yoga, I slept in my bed and dreamt about the days I get to sleep there again, night after night after night, I slept on my couch with the hum of TV and dogs playing and Alex sipping coffee and I fell in love with being home, and then...I fell asleep on the plane back to LA. I was out before the plane even took off. I didn't have time to be super sad about leaving home, I was to busy catching my zzzzz's.

Now that I'm back, I'm sad and happy at the same time, sad to be missing home, happy to be back with my new 430 yogi friends, excited to see who is teaching this week and what surprises they have in store for us, and tired, so tired that I cant write any more...So peace and love, I'm outta here! See you next Sunday!

So much love to you all...

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Week Five--oh there it is..

Oh hey homesickness, I was wondering when you were coming. Thanks for finally showing up.

So week five...bam half way there baby! Week five started off so high, I thought last Monday was the best yoga ever, that was until this Monday popped up and blew my mind. Martha Wright started off the week with best yoga class of my entire life, I literally cried out of pure joy. Her class was so much fun, she sang, we sang, she told jokes we laughed and I swear to God (or who ever) my standing bow, my floor bow, my back bends EVERY posture was the best posture I have ever done. And then she topped it off, at the end of class she played one of my all time favorites Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" and I immediately relived the past 3 years of my life and I cried. I was so happy laying there in Savasana thinking about where I have come from, all that I have gone through and what I have accomplished with pure patience, faith, determination, self control and concentration. I thought about my mom, my dad, my sister, Alex, my house, my puppies, my self and I felt a swell of gratefulness for all that I have. Oh and then Bikram kicked our asses Monday night. But this week I'm not going to tell you about all of the great yoga I did. I think you get it, I do a lot of yoga, I study a lot blah blah blah. This week I'm gonna get real witchya, down and dirty real.

This week I was homesick. It hit me like a ton of bricks, Tuesday morning came and I was so sad. I was frustrated, I was over it, I was beating myself up and I wanted to be home in the arms of the my guy. I wanted to go to my moms and tell her how sad I was and I wanted to hang out with my sister and completely forget about myself, maybe get lost planning her wedding, or just some good ole' online shopping and memory lane skipping. But alas, I couldn't so I kept telling myself it would get better, I would wake up happier. And don't get me wrong, I had a good week. I had fun, I laughed, and studied, I did well, I worked hard, but the moment I let my mind take over I was back where I started, beating myself up, letting my insecurities take over and wanting to just give in and cry cry cry. I never really did it, I distracted my self and focused on the present moment...guys this stuff works! I said it last week, but if you live in the moment and tell your self, I am here, I am comfortable, I am breathing I am happy you will be, and I was. It's the best way to get through tough days and tough weeks. Don't avoid life, that doesn't help either, but turning it around. "Ok, I'm having a sad day, I'm having a bad day, ok, no biggie in the big picture, I have more good days than bad and I live a life that makes me happy, AND I'm doing something that will make my life and other peoples lives better...I can get through this" Turning it around worked, it took me all week, and I'm not gonna lie, it's Sunday and I'm still a bit homesick but I'm excited for tomorrow to start, I'm ready for week six and I'm gonna kick some yoga ass for the next 11 classes. And then! I get to go home, yes it's only for 24 hours, but I get to cuddle, laugh, and celebrate with the people I love the most, so week six is going to be a good week!

So here's to a good week, it's not to bad to be homesick, it's good news. It means there is a home somewhere else that I am happily returning to in 4 more weeks!

So I'm out peeps....Much love to you all! Sis, Alex, Mom Dad See you SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (oh and sista, don't you worry, your gonna have a pretty amazing day! I am pretty sure of that one!)


Namaste

Molly

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Week four--- I'm full!

So 11:21 pm Sunday night and my brain is officially full, there is no more room in there I swear. I was born with a specific amount of brain cells, and I'm pretty sure 99.5% of them are occupied with a bit of knowledge, which only is leaving me with a bit left to write this post. So if week four is sparse, I apologize. Just wait...if you are ever thinking of making you way out here, you will see, or for those of you who have paved the way before me, you know.
Highlights of week four:
Best Yoga Yet--the room was H--O--T, and the teachers were amazing. I won't go into to much detail, but I will tell you that week four started off with a bang when John Salvatorie stepped onto the podium and not only cooked us until we were done, but he made us enjoy every second of it. THANK YOU JOHN! I want to take your class every day for the rest of my life AAAAMMMAAAZZZING. But it didn't end there, I mean it would be pretty disappointing if the week climaxed on Monday at 8:00 am. So more great yoga: Wednesday night, Rajashree killed us gently, Thursday brought us Bikram and man there was nothing gentle about that, and Friday brought us pure perfection. Ida from Canada in the morning, brought us great energy and perfect dialogue, and Juan a special surprise in the evening brought me back to life after feeling kinda sickly. I love Juan's class, his first breathing is perfection and he maintains a fun, funny, fast and fierce class for 90 precise minutes!

Saturday night-- Friday afternoon I fell asleep in lecture. This isn't strange for me anymore, I fall asleep everywhere. If you give me thirty seconds, I WILL take advantage of it by catching up on some zzzz's so, during Dr. P's anatomy lesson, I dozed, I didn't mean to, I love his lectures they are funny, and truth be told I'm a nerd and I like to learn about the human body BUT there was a lull and I fell asleep, I woke up from my cat nap SICK! No, this isn't the highlight, but my sickness led me to feeling pretty miserable Friday night and Saturday afternoon, so I was forced to take it easy. I said no to studying dialogue, no to studying anatomy, and no to a night out on the town. But I did say yes to one thing, a date with my bed and the TV. I haven't watched TV since I have been here, I haven't even really wanted to but Saturday night, I crawled into bed around 8 and watched bits and pieces of of "The Bucket List" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and I think maybe one more, but I can't remember. Can I tell you? Man did it feel good to totally veg out, to give my mind and my body a break, to not think, not do, just BE! Mmmmm....makes me want to go to bed right now! Good thing after this post, it's the only thing left for me to do tonight!

And the last and final highlight: SUNDAY: Sunday was a perfect day in the yoga bubble. I woke up feeling better and pretty well rested, I packed up my study materials and headed to the pool. I spent ALLLLLLLL day out in the California sunshine studying dialogue with friends and strangers, chatting with MARTINA ( a teacher from Philly, now living in San Diego) who came to visit for a few hours, and soaking in sunshine. I was able to learn 3 postures, study all 5 systems of the human body and still get a bit of gossiping and giggling in, and ummm I worked on my golden sheen too....I'm still pretty pale though, after learning anatomy for two weeks, I don't want to do ANYTHING that might hurt this body of mine, it's working pretty hard for me, so I need to work pretty hard for it too! Return the favor right? But the BEST part of Sunday was my last chat session with Alex. It was like I was home, sitting right next to him as we were both brought to tears with laughter. I was locked out of my room and sitting in the hallway as I didn't even try to hide my snorts, tears and squeals as I laughed and laughed as only he and I do. I don't even know what it was, or how it got started, but laughing until it hurts is the absolute best way to end a weekend. Thanks babe! Even from thousands of miles away, you still seem to be the highlight of my days!

I was going to tell you some of the not so highlights, but because I want to focus on the positive I will only briefly mention some of the few. But remember it takes 43 muscles to frown and only 3 to smile and with all this yoga, I need to conserve my energy...I choose SMILE!

--late nights in hard chairs equal exhaustion
-- exhaustion = missing home
-- having a cold= missing home
ummmm....that's it...not to bad!

Well folks, I gotta get to bed. Tomorrow starts week five and I hear it's a dusey ( I have no idea how to spell that) not to mention, tonight is probably my last chance for 5 hours of sleep until next Saturday! Ahhhhh focus on the presents people, if you worry about what's coming later or what happened earlier you will only create anxiety and fear. Instead, live in the now, I am here, I am comfortable, I am breathing, I am happy! Say it with me now.... or don't, just think about it....Good night. So much love to you all!

Namaste

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Week three--study study study

1/3 rd DONE!!!!!!! Time really does fly when you are having...fun???? Week three and we are in it, there is no turning back, no getting out, no running and hiding under the bed, I'm not sure if I would want to go under there anyway.

So week three was FAST, I woke up on Monday and before I knew it it was Friday and I only had three more classes to go. This week we got a taste of what life in the yoga bubble was really like. It's all about managing time, finding joy in simplicity and study study study, deliver deliver deliver. Each day we had two yoga classes, of course, an anatomy lecture and a posture clinic. The amount that our bodies are absorbing and digesting every day is amazing. Our muscles, including that big one on top of our necks, are working so incredibly hard. Two yoga classes a day, memorizing and input of all of the systems of the body needless to say our bodies and minds are both tired and energized, sore and strengthened, re-aligning and re-configuring. I don't want to bore you with too much yoga talk. All I can say is this is an experience, I want to enjoy and celebrate each moment here, but I also want to store and remember it forever. I figured this week I would give you a little bit of the daily run down, the emotional roller coaster that we call a week!

Monday-- Ahhhh Monday, it's been almost 30 hour since I've entered the hot room and I'm ready for it...bring it on baby I got enough in me for at least 11 yoga classes this week!

Of course, this past Monday was a special one, Alex was here, he practiced with me, I was able to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with him and he brought the feeling of home with him to sunny Cali, but Monday was his last day here, so although I wanted to enjoy every second of him, I couldn't help but be a bit bitter knowing that when I came out of my late night lecture, he would be aboard a flight to Philadelphia and room 922 would just be a little less like home...what do we say, "Home is where you are?" :)

Back to the week...

Tuesday: Oh snap...I have to memorize how many postures this week? And you want posture clinic to start what time? One hour earlier? Errr...Ummmm....I think I'm just going to take this yoga class and deal with the stress of yoga life later. Sounds strange right, stress inside the bubble....relief to the stress: living in the moment, coming to the full expression of the asana and holding it in stillness. You can't worry about later, falling or how you did yesterday. Yoga is now. So Tuesday.... ' Don't worry...bout a thing... cause every little thing's gonna be all right..'

Wednesday: Wednesday ALREADY!!!!! Yes! This is the best news, we are half way through the week!!!! Wednesday I wake up happy, and then I take a class...whoa momma, did someone turn the heat on in here? Am I supposed to be sweating this much? Did I sign up for this? Yes, yes, yes and YES!!!! Mid week and every body steps up their game, classes get harder, bodies get sorer and oh, wait, I haven't seen the sun yet this week. Wednesday I remember there is life out side the bubble and I have to get a taste of that sweet sweet California sunshine

Thursday: Oh Thursday how I dislike you, I mean really, you are the hardest day of the week. Probably because your not Friday. But for some reason, each week I think to myself, this is it almost there, I've almost made and then you kill me. You hurt me, you make me tired, but of course I survive you and so I love you. The only way to cure the pain is to feel the pain, so thank you Thursday I FEEL YOU!!!!

Friday: ' I got love darlin' love sweet love darlin'" Friday's are amazing. The mood is so high, the yoga is fabulous and I feel on top of the world! I am on top of the world. At this point of the week I have done 10 yoga classes, met at least 20 new people and found out one thing new about myself. Friday's help me remember how proud I am of myself, and every other person in the world who take leaps of faith in doing something they believe in.

And Saturday--Sunday---weekend LOVE! This is the time we feel the effects of the yoga, we are kind to one another, we sit in hotel rooms and celebrate strangers ( my birthday this weekend) we make yummy healthy meals in hotel bathrooms and share stories and experiences. This is the time when we get to know one another. Weekends are the times when roommates go on adventures and laugh uncontrollably while studying anatomy or stumbling out of the best massages of our lives like we are half drunk. We nap, we sunbathe, we feel all the good effects of working so hard and we wonder how we will ever go back to practicing one time a day....oh wait, I know how.

I'll be home enjoying everything else that is Yoga. The yoga that is cuddling on the couch, walking my puppies, coffee in clark park, Vietnam Cafe, making Kimchi and Tom Yum and sharing it with my man at a DINNER TABLE! The yoga that is cleaning the baseboards and making the bed, sitting across the counter from my mother as she cleans and cleans and cleans out the streaks at the bottom of the sink while planning wedding showers. The yoga that is skype dates with my sister, and Monday checkin's with Amy. I think that I will manage just fine when I get home...in fact I know I will, I will manage even better after doing 9 weeks of Yoga Living!

So what's in store for this week...I turn 27 in the hot room. I take a test, I recite dialogue, I study, I stay up late, I do yoga, I drink lots of water, and I eat and all the rest that happens in between....

See you next week...Namaste


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Week Two---the honey moon is over

So I think of my days here, or weeks here as one long continuous day with a few naps here and there. Week two was hard, physically, but also really quite amazing. I already know that I can never imagine really doing less yoga than I am doing right now. It feels so good! Just don't ask me about yoga on a thursday morning, when I still have 5 more classes to take before the weekend, because as good as I may feel, the long continuous day gets tiring annnnd it hurts a little.

I figured this week I would give you a bit more insight of what a day in my life looks like and also tell you a bit about the special visit I got this week too!!!!!! Monday morning my alarm goes off, 6:45, I eat a hearty meal, and drink lots of water and top it off with a dose of electrolytes, I then spend a fair amount of time, getting ice, studying, picking out cute yoga clothes and trying to write an e-mail or do something that prepares me to enter the real world again in 7 weeks! At 7:50 I head to the 2nd floor of the Radisson, where the yogi's have taken over. I spend the next two hours yogaing, morning classes are a great wake up call and I learned last night, a great way to warm up synovial fluid in your joints aka MORE FLEXIBILITY!!!! Then it's hydration time, me and 430 other yogis cram the elevators, sweaty and half naked. In my room, I shower, make lunch and study again, before posture clinic. I prepare myself for 6 hours of rehearsing, learning, and stretching in lecture, dialogue clinics and another yoga class. The 5:00 yoga class is my favorite, after sitting in lecture for a while, it feels so good to get warmed up.....thank you hot yoga for turning synovial fluid from honey to water two times a day!!! (that's a good thing if you were wondering) I am learning Anatomy here too!!! Then dinner time, stuff my face time, get it all in because who knows what time I'll hit the bed. Night time lectures are a bit of a mystery, so we prepare our selves for long nights of yoga talk, anatomy talk, and bollywood movies. Lots of water bottles to pack, we have the fear of dehydration instilled in us, you know who the yogi is by the gigantic bottle of water they are toting around EVERYWHERE they go. "let's run to the bathroom," "Ok, let me just fill up my water bottle quick" And then after a full day of yoga, lecture, yoga lecture, it's a meeting with my bed. Just a quick meeting, maybe 3 hours, maybe 5 before it all starts again. The continuous day doesn't end until Saturday at 10, and oh my god does 10:15 Saturday morning feel good!

I know, I know, I promised to write about the surprise visit I had this weekend, but I'm out of time...yoga is calling my name! So I'll just give you a hint, he's my favorite person, I met him in the hot room and he came to spend 3 days taking care of his girl! Thank you Alex (oops, I let it slip) for coming out and making this weekend so special. Loveeeeee you!

Much love to you all, see you next week!