Sunday, June 29, 2008

AVID Program starts today.

No Bikram Today.

I'm starting the AVID program which goes from Jun 29 thru Jul 3rd. Hoping to get to Bikram classes at 4pm or 6:30am for Tuesday. Should try it since I'm plannning on taking this class in the fall.

Regarding AVID, I'm disappointed because the site coordinator emailed to inform me that there wasn't enough budget for a class for me to teach next year. She didn't know if I still wanted to take the training but that she would love to have me. Well, I'm going. Because when there is an opening, I'll be ready and available.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Epiphany

Someone I met in Summer 2006 during my travels in Central America who was unhappy in her marriage returned home and determined that a divorce was the answer. During her travels she had met someone new. She hadn't realized that life at home had gotten so dry. She felt that she could no longer continue in her marriage with the way that it had become. Earlier in the marriage there had been neglect and a betrayal of trust.

Of course, we can all understand how it feels to be "stuck". Then one day something happens and you come alive. It's so amazing. It certainly seems like that place or that person must be the reason. So we change everything to incorporate this new thing into our livves.

This person/place must be "it", after all, you didn't feel that way about anything up to that point.

But then...maybe, that person just happened to be there when all the obstacles were out of the way. You know, the obstacles we always have up. I don't like this, I don't want that. And then one day, someone is kind enough, smart enough, looks right, says the right things and bam!

What if we meet this person or find this place and now we can't have it? Is this a tragedy?

Well, here's a question. When you felt this euphoria where did you experience it?

For me, I feel everything in here. In me, in my heart.

So then, why do we only feel certain things for certain people?

Because we have needs and when those people who can fill that need does it for us, then we feel great.

But what if we didn't have any needs? How would we feel?

Would we feel great all the time?

If we removed the obstacles (preferences) could we just be happy all the time?

And if we were happy all time wouldn't every person, every place and every situation be special?

So maybe we should practice just being completely open and happy all the time? And then we wouldn't be dependent on someone or something else?

Doin' Better

10am Class

I think that I should just go to class whether I can do anything or not. The heat and the little bit I can do probably only helps. Just keep the dedication.

Just checked my emails and I haven't received a response yet. Hmmmmmmm..... My studio here would have emailed by now, although it's only been a day.

Erin and I were waiting forever to use the showers. She finally got in one but the other shower was still occupied. Finally, Britton (instructor) banged on the door and shouted "Three minutes! I have a tennis match to watch on tv". I can only assume it was Wimbledon which is going on right now. Then she walked off.

One minute later, the door opens and this guy walks out and he starts explaining something about needing more than three minutes to get the shower started (wah?). I was still processing that Britton was eating cotton candy and rushing people (I don't know how you can shower in three minutes) out of the shower NOT because it was inconveniencing the people in the line (ME) but inconveniencing her (PAID INSTRUCTOR). Then suddenly I realize he thought that I had banged on the door. Well, it was all I could do to mutter "wasn't me" as I ran in to hurry up and get my shower done so Britton wouldn't start banging on my door. yikes.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Erin

10am class with Afton.

My niece came to class with me. She's a cheerleader at the high school I teach at.

So today was kind of difficult because of the pain in my right hip. It feels like it is a combination of a nerve that is getting pinched a little as well as tight muscles in that area. I had difficulty doing some easy things like the floor exercise where you bend forward and touch your head to your knee. I could not do it to the right.

On the way home Erin seemed very favorable about the class. She found the floor exercises easier than the standing where she got a little dizzy. I thought that the yoga would help her cheerleading. She agreed and mentioned that it also helped with flexibility in her leg (which was broken in a cheerleading stunt).

Surprise! Erin asked when I was going again! So we're going again tomorrow! OMG! I've never had someone come with me and want to go back....! :)

Emailed the Bikram studio in Oregon to find out if they rent towels and mats.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Not yet

Okay. I'm sitting properly and behaving. Will go on Friday.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Nada

I am a cripple. Michael says it is because of the way I'm sitting. Apparently, sitting like a contortionist is not good for my back.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Nope

Pain. Hobbling around. A lot of trouble getting up.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Still in pain

I should be going to class but I'm still in pain. Maybe I can go tomorrow instead. Went to a class on GPS and geocaching. They gave us GPS receivers! cool!

The Agony

I'm supposed to go to class but I'm in so much pain. What did I do? Ouchie!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Sunday is Fun day

4pm class w Afton.

Back to class. We drove all day Saturday and I'm proud that I got to class the next day. Of course, I had thought I was going to the 10am class and it's the 4pm class instead. But I'm here!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Vacation

Gone to the Smokey Mountains for a week. No Bikram doesn't mean no yoga though. After all, have mat will travel!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Why do I do Yoga?

Why do I do Bikram yoga?

* Low impact
* Aerobic
* Health Bennnies
* Calorie burner
* Practice in becoming "comfortable with the uncomfortable"
* Depression sucks - movement counteracts it
* Euphoria - Joy
* E Q U A N I M I T Y
* Feel great after a shower. Yummy.

"Thar she blows!"

During Bikram class today I began to feel something happening in the lower abdomen. I was thinking that I could work through it then realized "un-oh". I just didn't know which "exit" path it was going to choose. My only choice in this situation would be whether this event took place on the mat or in the restroom. The "call" to leave came right after the 1st camel pose when and I returned on the 2nd forward bend. So I missed rabbit but I felt soooooo much better.

It was the first time I had to leave the room.

Hip okay today. Strange. I mean on Tuesday's class I thought I was crippled for life. Even yesterday I was suffering. Now the hip is feeling just fine. Just goes to show that you just keep on keepin' on. Bikram somehow works it all out.

Backward bend in half moon seemed pretty good today. I'm doing all the postures (more or less). My toughest are standing forward knee, tree pose and locust... so what's new?

Learn to Breathe thru Compromise

10am class with Afton.

Afton really says great stuff in the class. Today, she said that we need to learn to breathe through compromise.

Yes. Life has a way of presenting us with situations that we find difficult to get through. Yoga practise helps us to go through these difficult situations. Maintaining our equanimity through the difficult periods just like we maintain our balance in pose. Breath is the key.

Loved it. Love Afton's class.
10am class

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Tornadoes in the Midwest

No bikram today.

My right hip is very weak still. Hopefully, it will get enough rest as I plan to return tomorrow!

We are leaving for the Smoky Mountains on Saturday. Just checked online and there are NO Bikram places nearby. Asheville is the closest and that is almost 2 hours away. I will be hiking a lot. Oh, I could just bring my mat and just do regular yoga. duh.

Now that I think about it, here in Florida you could just do yoga outside in hot and humid climate and it would be very similar to doing Bikram. Except you wouldn't get to hear "lock your knee! lock your knee! lock your knee!". har har.

If you think about it, getting people in Florida to do Bikram in is akin to selling ice cubes to Eskimos. Bikram may be a great yogi, but he's also a great salesman. Well, great product! right?! [I know that they prefer to call themselves the Inuit, but Eskimo sounded better in that sentence. Sorry Inuit!]

Went to the movies last night with hubby. I agreed to do "double trouble". That's where you stay and go to another movie. He loves that. I don't know why. Anyways, between movies I had three voice mails. All from my sister. Apparently, they were having a tornado and she couldn't understand why I wasn't picking up since she went through all those hurricanes with me.

Called her back. They were in her in-laws basement. Of course, the tornadoes would come when she and her family are living in an apartment. They are building a new house and the old house just sold. It's certainly interesting what people consider important. Her friend grabbed the wine as she ran down to the basement, her mother-in-law grabbed her jewelry. And my sister.... my sister grabbed the chocolate and cookies. And, of course, the children. [I seriously doubt that the children knew about the chocolates, the cookies may have been brought as a decoy to those ravenous little monsters.]

Though I think that the major catastrophe resulting from a natural disaster is being trapped in an enclosed room with four children.........Click here for pictures in the Journal Star

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

10am class with Ashton. Ouch my right hip hurts like the dickens. Though I don't know what the dickens is.

Ashton said some pretty amazing things. No wonder she is so good at hatha yoga. One thing was to go beyond, that the mind was the first to want to stop, but that the body could go much further than that.

Towards the end she said to not let up. This is what you came for so just do it. Something like that. I like that she doesn't give apologies.

Yesterday's reading with Diane got to me. I expected to talk more about work and the direction that I'm going. Instead it went into my marriage and what's happening or what's not happening. She said that I was very astute and very intuitive and that I was on the right track with "letting go". Except. Except that there is a fine line between letting go and giving up.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Meeting

2pm meeting with Diane Davis in Cassadaga.

Back on track

10am class.

That was a great weekend. Lots of laughs. Luckily, everyone is doing well. I'm stiff and achy from sleeping on the couch. I do that when my husband isn't home. I just watch tv and fall asleep in the living room. Ouchie. Not looking forward to class today. Must drink lots of fluids.

Class with Afton. She's a good instructor. My right hip hurt like h*ll. Don't know why, probably because I slept on the couch. Did the first posture with my mind focusing on other things, then I got into it. Thinking about what I want to ask Diane in my appointment today. I want to understand about certain things that are happening in my life. Of course, the answer is always 'let go'. I've become very Buddhist. Assuming that is a Buddhist attitude. Just let go. Not that I don't give everything my all, but just do it and then let go. What is that saying that I like to tell the students? "How you do anything is how you do everything.". Doesn't exactly fit what I'm saying but I just wanted to record it because I remembered it.
:)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Girls' Weekend

No Bikram.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Girls' Weekend

St Augustine at Mary's house. No Bikram!

Friday, June 6, 2008

End of School Year

No Bikram.

Organizing workpapers, deleting email, arranging textbooks, faculty luncheon and turning in the keys to the classroom.

Then, off to St. Augustine for the weekend with my best friends that I grew up and attended school with. We get together every year and I cannot tell you want a great time we have together. The comraderie, the support, the friendship, everything. We often refer to it as therapy because we can be truly ourselves with people that we've known and trusted all our lives. Nothing better.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I Feel Good!

6 am class with Melissa.

I feel good. Like I knew that I would. I feel good. Like I knew that I would. So good. So good. Whew!

I thought that I might not be able to do that intense hot yoga so early in the morning. But it was great. My lower back a little strained because I just did a class yesterday at 4pm. And walked 75 minutes with best buddy, Nayda. So I was a little careful and towards the end I was struggling to do the situps because the back just hurt.

However, I did all the postures. Now I'm all clean and dry and ready to get to school. The kids left yesterday. My grades are exported. I'm just in the room now getting everything organized and doing my check list to exit.

My summer will be busier than the school year but it's a different kind of busy. And I'm looking forward to it.

This weekend is the Girls' Weekend in St. Augustine. Yipee! Since I won't be doing yoga on Saturday, I plan to go to yoga tomorrow morning at 10am.

You gotta plan ahead what you are going to do or it won't get done. Clean towels, yoga clothes, water frozen... everything has to be ready.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

4pm class with Britton. Small class. On the drive to the studio, I was thinking about maybe taking it a little easy today considering that I had been up so late last night. Instead, Britton is teaching the class and she really likes to go for it. So we were all going for it. It was a great class and I found that I was able to enjoy pushing myself. It's been about three weeks now and I'm beginning to feel a change in my body. I think that the two days on with one day off is working very well.

The strain/pain in the right hip is gone and now I'm doing the situps and even lowering my legs together while lying on my back instead of just flopping them down on the floor.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Visit with Family

No Bikram today.

Drove six hours round-trip to visit with family. My sister flew in with the kids and we met at my brother's house. Mom and dad came. Got some video and photos. Mom and dad aren't doing very well and you never know if these might end up being the last photos of all of us together.

My dad has really declined since Christmas. He seemed very tired. There was puffiness under his eyes. He was so stooped over. Amazing though, that he still has the capacity for intensity despite physical frailty. Truly a situation where the spirit is willing but the flesh just can't sustain the rage. Just as well since none of his children will even listen to it. His M.O. is to ask you a question. But he really isn't interested in what you think, feel or have to say. The question is just a set-up. He's just framing the topic that he wants to discuss. No, not discuss. Discussion implies a two-way conversation. He wants to pontificate on some subject that he has thought about in his world. Unfortunately, for him, this was not how anyone else wants to spend a family visit.

We pretty much end up laughing, talking and playing while he sat in his chair. Of course, that was after I told him "No, you asked me a question and I AM GOING TO ANSWER IT unless you weren't really asking a question". He had asked me what I knew about Barack Obama. What he might not have counted on was that I knew a way more than he suspected. Maybe most people didn't know which meant that he only had to wait a couple of minutes before launching into his speech. I wonder if he was surprised or stunned to find that I had plenty of information about Obama. And when he tried to interrupt, I told him so.

He physically wasn't strong enough to express the full intensity of his emotions. I was stronger. After letting him talk a little about how blacks don't like whites. Oh, wait. He likes to ask questions "Do YOU THINK THAT BLACKS LIKE WHITES?" Questions that he has already worked out all the answers for. He basically got from me that like Obama, I'm mixed race and I understand what it's like to live between both worlds and not truly being a part of either one. Of him identifying with the part that the world connects him to when they look at him and at his skin. That I, just like him, have had to listen to my white father and white friends and white family express their racism and then looking down at my own arms, brown and half-white, half-yellow, knowing that I was different. Yeah, I said, I think I do know Obama. He's like me. I'm not half black, but I'm half white, just like him. And with that, I got up and grabbed my niece and tickled her and she laughed fully and happily and lovingly in my arms. The discussion was over. He never got his full say. He may have been disappointed at having been robbed of his podium, but he had had that stage for too many years. It was time to give us all a break.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Rajashree at Funky Door Yoga in San Jose

Some really good notes on a workshop with Rajashree at the Funky Door in San Jose.
Bikram Yoga San Jose

Monday Fun Day

4pm class. I prefer 4pm because there is much less traffic then at 6pm or 8pm. I'm always afraid to push it to the last class. What if I don't make it? Something always comes up. What if I get too tired and fall asleep? That has happened! What if I get hungry and overeat? Going to class on a full stomach...ugh that'd be brutal.

Lots to do. We're having finals and the students' last day is Wed. I have a lot to get done. Tomorrow is with my sister, her kids, mom, my brother. I have to drive 2.5 hours to get there and then drive back. So, it'll be a long day and no Bikram!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Whose Ham Sandwich are you talkin' bout?

In the forward bend, many of the instructors will say to bend forward "like a JAPANESE ham sandwich".

Now, I'm half Japanese and I've never seen a Japanese ham sandwich. I mean, mom made me a ham sandwich and but it looked just like the one they served in the school cafeteria. What does one look like and how does it differ from a regular ham sandwich?

Howizit that all these Americanos are so familiar with a Japanese ham sandwich when I am not? Are they all from California?

Is it made with Japanese bread and/or Japanese ham? Do you spread it with wasabi-laced mayo? Or is it called that because it was simply made by a Japanese? If so, how do Japanese prepare sandwiches differently? Could there have been some aggressive little Japanese at the end of the sandwich line that was furiously packing the fluffily assembled lunches and smushing them into the little plastic baggy?

What does this say about Japanese people? That they can't handle a sandwich without flattening it out like a pancake? Why don't the instructors say flat like a pancake? That's something I have a visual on.

Can you go to a sandwich shop and order one?

I mean wuzup with the ham sandwich?

Diet

I am craving more fruit and salad. There's nothing better than cold skim milk. Wait, yes there is. I found this greek yogurt, OKIOS, that is nonfat. It is so creamy and yummy. I think these things are cooling to the body since so much heat is generated during the yoga practice. I've been snacking on blueberries and strawberries. The strawberries were so sweet, no tartness at all. The great thing about berries is that they act like little 'scrubbers' in your intestines. Very good for you.

With all this activity, it's be a shame if I ate back all the calories, so I'll have to watch it so I can lose weight too.

Skin So Soft

Wow. It's only been a couple of weeks and my skin feels so clean and soft...smooth. It feels so good and yummy and I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting into my jammies after getting home and showering.

Breathe Deep

Another thing that is helping me greatly through class is breathing deeply.

Breathe through your nose deeply and fully. Filling up the tum and then into the chest. The instructors say to breathe out through your nose too. Today seemed very hot so I just told myself that "It's Okay" and started breathing deeply. Especially between asanas. Though I did get a little "wiggy" and chose to lay down during a short part of the locust. I was making a huge effort and my heart rate really shot up there. But I'm sure that some of the distress was caused by dehyration. I didn't drink much water prior to class.

So, two things that help. Drinking lots of water prior to arrival and remember... BREATHE DEEPLY!

To Pee or Not to Pee? That is the question.

Well, here's a very important topic for Bikram. You need to hydrate. I've learned that it is best to drink a lot before class. However, I tend to drink a lot of water only 30 minutes before. This creates a guessing game of "can I go just before class begins or can I make it through class"?

Rather than go through all that drama, here's the answer from someone with more experience:

Drink a lot of water, about 8-12 cups prior to class. Then stop about 1 1/2 hours before the start of class.

So simple and so obvious, I'm sure I would have thought of that soon.

She's also got some really good advice for starting the 30 day challenge. On Common Ground

Good Sunday Mornin' To Ya!

10am class w/Joe. Yes.... Joe. Joe is the one that didn't want me to get water til he said it was o-k-a-y. The Joe that talks like he's the announcer at the Kentucky Derby. Joe that INSISTS to everyone "wait til I say when". I've concluded that it isn't that he isn't good. And it isn't that the other teachers don't tell us to wait for water, wait to move in unison, etc. It's just that Joe seems to have a "need" for it. Yes, I have concluded that Joe has OCD. Let's call it JOE-CD.

When I walked into class this morning, it was packed. One of the few spots was right in the middle of the room. While staring into my own eyes into the mirrored wall, Joe moved to his left and now I found myself staring at his crotch. Then he moved back. It went on like this. The chuckling created some balance issues with standing bow.

So far, there aren't any handsome young gods teaching. But when one does, I know exactly where to put my mat....