Monday, April 13, 2009
Time keeps on slipping into the future...
and closer to teacher training. EEks!!! My time away was much needed. Hence, my anxiety has subsided. Southern Utah must be one of the most fabulous places on earth, really truly. It was captivating enough to kidnap my yoga-obsessed mind for an entire week, with dialogue in tact upon return.
This morning I took my first class in a week and I was tight as to be expected. I know that some people are taking doubles and really pushing their practice to prepare for training. I am actually taking the opposite approach. I DO take class every day (except when hiking around Utah) but my practice has become increasingly more conservative. Don't get me wrong, my practice is strong, but I know where I can and have hurt myself and I plan not to do that in training. So, I am practicing my sustainable but strong practice. Everything changes... but I am finding a lot of progress where I never expected to with this approach. For example, my hamstrings are REALLY tight, so I have not been kicking out in standing-head-to-knee, or pushing other postures that may strain my hamstrings. What I have been doing is really exaggerating backward bends such as camel and I have been feeling so much opening in my pelvis, more then ever before.
I love all of the "little things" that progress in this practice. I always say that this is my litmus test for my body, soul and spirit. It is a constant from which to measure the inconsistencies (me, life, etc.)
Tomorrow is my last day in Utah, this time is over. I leave for San Francisco tomorrow where I will meet with friends and deal with the storage unit. I am getting rid of everything. It seems a fitting time.
Everything changes.
This morning I took my first class in a week and I was tight as to be expected. I know that some people are taking doubles and really pushing their practice to prepare for training. I am actually taking the opposite approach. I DO take class every day (except when hiking around Utah) but my practice has become increasingly more conservative. Don't get me wrong, my practice is strong, but I know where I can and have hurt myself and I plan not to do that in training. So, I am practicing my sustainable but strong practice. Everything changes... but I am finding a lot of progress where I never expected to with this approach. For example, my hamstrings are REALLY tight, so I have not been kicking out in standing-head-to-knee, or pushing other postures that may strain my hamstrings. What I have been doing is really exaggerating backward bends such as camel and I have been feeling so much opening in my pelvis, more then ever before.
I love all of the "little things" that progress in this practice. I always say that this is my litmus test for my body, soul and spirit. It is a constant from which to measure the inconsistencies (me, life, etc.)
Tomorrow is my last day in Utah, this time is over. I leave for San Francisco tomorrow where I will meet with friends and deal with the storage unit. I am getting rid of everything. It seems a fitting time.
Everything changes.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Bikram Dialogue... what-it-is and why-it-is
Here is an explanation of the Bikram Dialogue, for those of you that are unfamiliar: The dialogue is a script for the Bikram yoga teacher, as an actor learns his/her lines, a Bikram yoga teacher learns his/her dialogue. The dialogue provides a clear and precise means of directing the students into and out of each of the 26 postures and the 2 breathing exercises. It also provides the backbone for this 90 minute moving meditation. Some could argue that the dialogue should be called a "monologue", but since there is a metaphorical conversation between the teacher and the students, there ARE two parties involved in the conversation (the teachers words and the practicoiners body). Using the dialogue as a medium for teaching allows for the removal of ego from the class, so that everyone (teacher and student) is in a meditative state.
It is this raw-ness, this simplicity that I love about Bikram yoga. The heat is great, the arrangement of the postures really works, it is SO accessable to everyone... and it is the dialogue that maintains all of these elements. Within the context of a very structured environment, you are able to deal with greater amounts of chaos on every level (physical, mental, emotional... everything). And the structure allows YOU to figure it out and deal with it however you need to. It reminds us that life really is simple and structured and that we can handle the chaos in a strong, flexible, graceful way. This is why I want to become a Bikram Yoga Teacher.
It is this raw-ness, this simplicity that I love about Bikram yoga. The heat is great, the arrangement of the postures really works, it is SO accessable to everyone... and it is the dialogue that maintains all of these elements. Within the context of a very structured environment, you are able to deal with greater amounts of chaos on every level (physical, mental, emotional... everything). And the structure allows YOU to figure it out and deal with it however you need to. It reminds us that life really is simple and structured and that we can handle the chaos in a strong, flexible, graceful way. This is why I want to become a Bikram Yoga Teacher.
I'm ready...
to begin the teacher training. For years I have wanted to go and have listened intently to other teachers stories from their training experiences, and I watched teachers as they struggled with their first classes out of training and quickly evolved into fantastic teachers... As I soaked it all in, I wondered "what will training be like for me?".
Now I am so close (23 days!), and yet I feel so far away. My dialogue is in good shape, (memorized through spine strengthening), my lists are made, my bags are mentally packed in my head and my practice feels great. Despite all of my good planning and excitement, I am clenching my jaw daily out of anxiety (???).
I think that once I arrive in Palm Desert I will relax, because I will be there and in it, going though it. They say that everything changes within you at training and that you literally come out the other end as another person. This is absolutely exciting to me..., but what will that mean for me? What struggles and daemons will I encounter and how will they present themselves, more importantly, how will I react to them? So many questions... in need of being let go of and merely experienced.
In order to deal with this anxious, obsessive stage that I am going through, I have planned a trip to South Central Utah for one (plus?) week. No yoga, minimal dialogue, just pure adventure, good friends, hiking, fresh air and relaxation! ("totally relaxed, nice and loose, comfortable easy flexible") I plan to see as many archaeological sites that I possibly can, SO excited!
Now I am so close (23 days!), and yet I feel so far away. My dialogue is in good shape, (memorized through spine strengthening), my lists are made, my bags are mentally packed in my head and my practice feels great. Despite all of my good planning and excitement, I am clenching my jaw daily out of anxiety (???).
I think that once I arrive in Palm Desert I will relax, because I will be there and in it, going though it. They say that everything changes within you at training and that you literally come out the other end as another person. This is absolutely exciting to me..., but what will that mean for me? What struggles and daemons will I encounter and how will they present themselves, more importantly, how will I react to them? So many questions... in need of being let go of and merely experienced.
In order to deal with this anxious, obsessive stage that I am going through, I have planned a trip to South Central Utah for one (plus?) week. No yoga, minimal dialogue, just pure adventure, good friends, hiking, fresh air and relaxation! ("totally relaxed, nice and loose, comfortable easy flexible") I plan to see as many archaeological sites that I possibly can, SO excited!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Preparation
Less then a month until I arrive in Palm Desert for the 9-week Bikram yoga death camp. It sounds appealing, no? Yes. I am preparing to change my life, all over, inside-out, from bones to skin, fingertips to the toes with my smiling happy face. Brain washed, yes... what can I say? This stuff works - on so many levels!
So, here is my list of things to take to training:
-Yoga clothes, lots of them (easy)
-yoga mat (maybe 2)
-comfy clothes for lectures, posture clinics, etc.
-swim suit (never leave the house without one of those... thanks mom!)
-a couple of "fancy" outfits, especially for graduation (keeping in mind that my body will change in unforeseeable ways by then)
-Bikram's books and yoga anatomy books
-an electric strip (or 2) to ensure that there are enough electrical outlets for myself and my roommate
-my IKEA closet hanging drawer (could come in handy if there is not enough space, if it is not needed no big deal, it is small).
-travel neck pillow
-electrolytes (emergen-c, elete, potassium pills, sea salt)
-Magic Bullet (blender)
-protein powder
-George Foreman grill (?)
-elecric tea kettle
-cooler (?)
-notebooks, journals, pens, markers, post-it's, etc.
-nesessary toiletries (including enough -and extra- artillery for that female time of the month x 3)
-camera
-earplugs
-a couple of cases of coconut water and kombucha
-I am sure that I am forgetting something... oh well
Right now it is dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. I have memorized up to Cobra, leaving me with time left to get through the spine strengthening series and at least up to camel. I feel good about that. Hopefully this studying will stick with me in training, allowing me to gain me some sleep and lose some stress.
Thankfully, the people at the Sugarhouse studio (in Salt Lake City) have been very motivated in making sure that those of us going to training are well prepared. Three times a week they meet with us for posture clinics. Meeting this often has kept me learning three postures a week and made me learn how I memorize. Never before have I had to imprint 90 minutes of script and information into my head. It is a big download. When I am not consciously studying, I am listening to voice recorded postures on my iPod. DIALOGUE!!!
Okay, onto more studying and then class.
Cheerio!
So, here is my list of things to take to training:
-Yoga clothes, lots of them (easy)
-yoga mat (maybe 2)
-comfy clothes for lectures, posture clinics, etc.
-swim suit (never leave the house without one of those... thanks mom!)
-a couple of "fancy" outfits, especially for graduation (keeping in mind that my body will change in unforeseeable ways by then)
-Bikram's books and yoga anatomy books
-an electric strip (or 2) to ensure that there are enough electrical outlets for myself and my roommate
-my IKEA closet hanging drawer (could come in handy if there is not enough space, if it is not needed no big deal, it is small).
-travel neck pillow
-electrolytes (emergen-c, elete, potassium pills, sea salt)
-Magic Bullet (blender)
-protein powder
-George Foreman grill (?)
-elecric tea kettle
-cooler (?)
-notebooks, journals, pens, markers, post-it's, etc.
-nesessary toiletries (including enough -and extra- artillery for that female time of the month x 3)
-camera
-earplugs
-a couple of cases of coconut water and kombucha
-I am sure that I am forgetting something... oh well
Right now it is dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. I have memorized up to Cobra, leaving me with time left to get through the spine strengthening series and at least up to camel. I feel good about that. Hopefully this studying will stick with me in training, allowing me to gain me some sleep and lose some stress.
Thankfully, the people at the Sugarhouse studio (in Salt Lake City) have been very motivated in making sure that those of us going to training are well prepared. Three times a week they meet with us for posture clinics. Meeting this often has kept me learning three postures a week and made me learn how I memorize. Never before have I had to imprint 90 minutes of script and information into my head. It is a big download. When I am not consciously studying, I am listening to voice recorded postures on my iPod. DIALOGUE!!!
Okay, onto more studying and then class.
Cheerio!
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