Week 8!

Check, Check, 1-2-3-4






BIKRAM IS BACK! Oh ya, and we felt it! So before I start in on my stories for the week, have I mentioned yet that this training is the first in about 8 years that Bikram has been so present? He has been here pretty much the entire time minus a couple weeks when he went globe trotting. I had no idea what having him here so much actually meant but to put in generally, it means WE GOT OUR ASSES KICKED!!! Bikram's yoga classes are always everyones most diffucult classes, I think for 2 reason, 1) you want to do your best for him and 2) he makes you do your best for him. He challenges you to your deepest core, its hard to explain HOW he actually does this, but he does. Every night when we exit his class, we all look like a different breed. Worked! His classes are always hotter, harder and heavier (mentally).

Monday. Bikram taught that night and like I said in my last blog, there was a lot of anticipation about class that night, I was nervous but promised myself to stay present (which is the absolute ONLY way to survive here) and try my best. So class was as hard as I thought is would be and then some! At the end of class Bikram told us that he was testing us the entire class and...WE WON! He was very happy! He said he tried to break us all night long and we just kept working hard, didnt give up and proved to him that we had been working really hard while he was away. I for one was relieved that he was pleased but in the back of my mind I had a feeling we werent getting off that easily.

Tuesday mornings class was taught entirely in Spanish. It was the first class I have taken in another language and I really enjoyed it. I was surprised that it really made no differnce that I coulnt understand what was being said, I know the yoga and therefore knew how to do the class in unison with everyone else. It was actually very meditative, you just flow with everyone and you stay very present becuase if you think about anything else besides each pose you will be lost. It was a nice change too. Anything differnt at this point is really nice. Tuesday night as you all know was the big election in the states and Bikram was so generous and let have the night off to "watch Obama win" as he put it, and we did just that with a pizza/election party in our friends room. It was one of the best nights here for sure. OBAMA! :)

That brings me to Thursday. Thursdays are always hard for me because I feel so close to the weekend yet its still not quite there yet. I am always pretty exhausted on Thursdays too, they tend to me my most challenging yoga days. Heidi, Niki and I had a luch date with Alison that day (yay, thanks again Alison for coming out to support us all, we loved having you here and appreciated your support so much), it was nice to sit and chat about being a teacher. Then we went to class that night and were a little surprised to not see Bikrams orange towel on his chair on stage. I didnt think too much about it, I thought maybe becuase he lectured all day that he just wasnt feeling up to teaching. So we did class with a visiting teacher, finished in 90 minutes and layed in Savasana when all of a sudden Manali came in and ordered everyone to stay on their mats and not move that we had a surprise....."Check, Check, 1-2-3-4" Oh hell! Bikram walks in, the lights turn on and he says "ok, lets start class" Pure terror went thru everyone. I thought, ok here we go, our tripple! There was massive amounts of crying, laying down, freaking out, my god it looked like a disaster scene. I kept calm and collected and geared up mentally for my thrid class of the day. I thought to myself, well Sash you have never done this before, lets see how strong you really are. And class began. I had no water since I finished my water in the first class. So I pretty thirsty but I thought, I have so much water in me (I have been so bloated out here, its insane) so I just kept telling myself I would be fine without water for another class, again how strong am I? They were allowing people to go out and refill their water bottles and they also had electrolytes too but honestly I didnt want to leave the room for room a couple of reasons 1) I have not left the room once during this trainig and made a deal with myself that I was not going to ever leave the room, so again it was a test of my mental strength and 2) I really thought that if I didnt stay present for 1 moment and allowed weakness or temptation to enter I would break down and not be able to finish class, I was determined to finish. Mid-way Bikram noticed a lot of us losing glucose and fading (I was becaming very dizzy and weak, I started to get a little worried that my body was not going to cooperate with my plan) and he asked who needed candy and few of us raised our hands, so he threw us some a Werther's and we continued. Not only did I finsh the class, I also did not sit out 1 posture nor take a knee! I was very proud of myself. I realized that night how mentally strong I really am. After class I had massive chills and felt exactly how I use to feel after finishing a marathon. Its a very distinct feeling. Its like you have the flu almost, chills, aches, your insides feel tight, headache, no appetite, and pure exhaustion. We also were informed we would have lecuture that evening starting at 10 pm! Yep, you heard me right, lecture STARTED at 10 pm! So Bikram let us know that again he was testing our mental strength, and I guess he just wanted to put a cherry on top of that test because he kept us until almost 3 AM! It was a doozie! Lets just say Friday was very tough, it was the first day I actually thought about skipping class in the morning and doing a make-up class on the weekend but I didnt, I kept true to the process with everyone else and obviously survived.

So that was our week with Bikram being back. It was rough and tough to say the least. I can honeslty say though, I kinda enjoyed the torture. I know I am sick, its the trainer in my though, I am always pushing myself past my limits to see what I am capable of. I learned I am one strong chick and can handle A LOT! It is very empowering! It is what makes my life so amazing and far from average. I dont settle. When you continue to push yourself, you continue to grow and explore new territories within yourself. Its times like those that you learn you really can do anything you put your mind to and thats what I live for, to live the best life there is to live. To do what makes me most happy no matter what it takes to get there. I wish that for everyone. And that is why this yoga is so amazing, because it builds that kind of strength within those who practise it. This yoga is very much a mental strengther along with a body healer and disease preventer. Its good stuff!

Now the WEEKEND! YAY! We all couldnt wait relax and chill. Saturday we did our usual shopping for the week of supplies, dropped off our laundry and got our coconut water! YUM! I will miss that coconut water soooo much! Then laid poolside with Niki and listened to tunes on our ipods. Then it was off to Carlo's casa for a beach house party! Bonfire, candles, reggae music, locals, surfers, and sweet conversations. Again, bittersweet though, loved it so much but the reality of it coming to an end also was hitting home pretty hard. I love it here. I am really going to miss all of this so much.

There is so much more I could go on and on about but time here is precious, in a week from right now, I will be on a plane back to Phoneix! I can hardly beleive it. It seems surreal. I am really having mixed feelings about this expereince coming to an end. I know I would NEVER want to do this again and yet its been the most amazing expereince of my life! I am beyond grateful for it and will cherish it for the rest of my life. All I can really do at this point is embrace every last minute here.

I wish you all much health and happiness.

Namaste~
Your Yogini
xoxox