Week Nine – “Whirlwind to Graduation”
In some ways week nine felt similar to the first week of training. It was a big week and we had a ton of stuff to get through for graduation. Monday night Bikram had us up late watching a part of the Mahabharata, one of the  major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It was probably the most important part – the Bhagavad Gītā. Bikram has been showing us parts of the Mahabharata throughout the training, mostly very late at night and this was the last time we were up late watching movies. Tuesday was such a long day, we had a film crew in the yoga room getting footage for a DVD video that Bikram is getting produced. They had a huge setup in the middle of the room with a camera on two rails that they could slide back and forth. They also had a large film crew with cameras mounted on cranes and other guys with cameras strapped to their shoulders. The class started at 5:30 and went until 8:00 and then they let everyone go except for people who where chosen to demonstrate postures. Each time we did a pose the camera crew would get into place to film two volunteers who were to demonstrate the postures. All of the volunteers were picked before class and I got a chance to demonstrate full locust pose. We didn’t get done until 11:00 and I was so exhausted, but the good thing is that I might be in the video! Wednesday was the advanced demo. Bikram and Emmy led a group of Bikram yoga teachers through the full set of 84 postures which make up the advanced class. It was a real treat to see Bikram practice, he really get’s into it and “attacks” each posture. I think the best part was watching Bikram teach Joseph Encinia the nauli breathing exercise which is a difficult technique done with the abdominal muscles.

Graduation – “Dancing all Night”
The day of graduation was very sureal. It was the very last day in our hotel which has been our home for nine whole weeks. That moring I woke up and had nothing to do but pack up my bags and wait around until it was time to get ready for the graduation ceremony to start at 3:00. The ceremony was really great, and it was so fitting that it was held in the same yoga ballroom that we had all our classes in. They just put up a stage and placed out a ton of chairs. My first thought was “ewww” it’s going to be so stinky in there during graduation because we’ve been sweating all over that carpet for nine weeks. Much to my surprise, it wasn’t all that bad and I didn’t notice any smell. The coolest part of graduation was the demo team. A group of guys and gals from our training we’re picked to represent us on stage. They performed the 26&2 series while Rajashree talked about the poses. These guys we’re amazing and they have been working so hard the past few weeks perfecting their routine with the help of former yoga champ Ashley Hooper. At the end of graduation we we’re called up one by one to get a photo with Bikram and our graduation certificate and then it was party time. After a very yummy dinner provided by Bikram, they set up a dance floor in the yoga ballroom complete with an amazing girl dj duo that were whipping us into a dance frenzy all night long. I danced until my legs cramped. It was so wonderful spending one last night will all my new friends. They are truly what made teacher training special. The next morning I boarded my flight and made it home safely. It’s great to be back and I’m looking forward to teaching my first class!

The Demo Team

Team10 - Graduation

The DJ

]]> http://lockingtheknee.com/bikram-yoga-teacher-training/week-9-license-to-kill/feed/ 1 http://lockingtheknee.com/bikram-yoga-teacher-training/week-8-the-most-precious-thing-you-own/ http://lockingtheknee.com/bikram-yoga-teacher-training/week-8-the-most-precious-thing-you-own/#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:55:29 +0000 Brian Keith http://lockingtheknee.com/?p=317 Tuesday during Emmy’s class I did triangle pose for the first time in two weeks. By Thursday I was dong a fairly good Standing Bow, and by Friday I was almost doing the whole standing series again. It’s been a daily class by class exploration and healing process and I hope to be doing all the poses again next week. My body craves these postures and it feels so good to get back into the poses again. During Emmy’s class she started talking about the practice of Bikram yoga and how, when done properly, can take you to a blissful state of awareness and breath that is unparalleled by any other form of exercise. I know this is a bold statement but it’s true. Once the body comes into alignment and all the bones, muscles and breath are working together in harmony, then the asana becomes effortless. Emmy says that your body is the most precious thing you own and you better treat it right. The yoga body is the most beautiful body. Bikram yoga purifies you from the inside out. The Yoga body is natural and based on health, not fitness. By performing the yoga poses you become more balanced – medically, physically, and psychologically. It is a natural state of being and Nature is always balanced. You become a more healthy person by doing yoga and fitness is just a byproduct. Nice.

Week Eight – “Are we there yet?”
Holy crap week eight has been a drag. Everyone has senioritis real bad and we’re all struggling to stay present. The energy level in the training has gone down and the staff has asked us to not “check out” in these last few weeks as we complete our training. The daily routine has gotten old and we’re real tired of living in a hotel. It’s difficult to not have any freedom for such a long time. I can’t wait to get back home just to be able to have the luxury of getting in a car to drive somewhere. We’re not teachers yet and we still have more to learn. This week Rajashree was back for a few days from her trip to India and she went over the 26&2 series while someone demonstrated the postures. We were allowed to ask questions and it was very helpful to get some of those nagging questions that have bothered us all for such a long time answered. Next week Bikram will go over the series and I’m really looking forward to hearing him talk about each posture. After eight weeks of this rigorous schedule all of us are in a delirious state where every time we speak it has something to do with a “Bikramism” or some part of the dialogue. None of us speak normal English any more as certain words trigger bits of dialogue or things that Bikram always says. Every time I say “eventually” I now always follow it with “in the future” which is part of the dialogue. We’re always saying “Can you believe it? Think of it!” because Bikram says this all the time. I think we’re permanently changed and we will be like this forever.

Posture Clinics – “It ain’t over till the teacher trainee sings”
This week we got a chance to get together in our posture clinic groups two more times to recite even more dialogue. This time we were asked to give three postures, one after another just as we would do while teaching a class. We were told that it’s been a few years since they have had the trainees do this. It turns out that all the groups did so well in posture clinics that we finished early and that gave us time to get together again. I loved it and was so excited to get back together to deliver more dialogue. It has been the best part of training for me. I love my group so much and when we’re together we laugh so hard. They have become true friends and I’m really going to miss them when training is over. The way that they have structured posture clinics is great because it forces you to show your real self. When you get in front of a room full of people and have to deliver these poses it makes you raw and exposed and any front that you normally put up is demolished. That is why these groups become such good friends because we are forced to expose our true self and that is the most beautiful part of a person. Sunday night we decided to get the group together for a “last supper”. I might be bias, but we ARE the coolest group. Go Team 10! Oh Yeah, I can’t forget all the people here representing the Texas studios, below are photos of my posture clinic group and a photo of most of the Texas yogi’s y’all!

Team 10

Texas Yogi's

Halloween – “BOO-jangasana”
For those of you reading that don’t practice, bhujangasana is the sanscrit name for one of the spine strengthening exercises we do. So therefore BOO-jangasana is a dorky Halloween yoga joke. So, Um, Anyway : ) Monday was Halloween and the staff put together a Halloween party complete with a dance floor and tons of pizza and soda. Most everyone dressed up and we had so much fun relieving some of the stress from training. I chose a prisoner costume as I thought it was quite fitting for the situation I’m currently in. (Stuck in Bikram’s torcher chamber for nine weeks.) What was really exciting is that a group of other trainees had the same exact idea and when I showed up to the party there were a group of convicts that were wearing the same costume as me. Once everyone got some pizza they started warming up the dance floor and it wasn’t long before Bikram showed up and started dancing with us. I knew he liked to dance and I’ve seen a few photos from past teacher trainings, but to actually see it was a lot of fun. Here’s a few photos of the costumes:

Chain Gang

Showgirls

Spanish Dancer, Black Cat, and the Queen of Hearts

The Legacy of Bikram Choudhury – “The High Yoga Troupe from Calcutta”
This week we got to see some old videos of the legacy of Bikram Choudhury. It gave a good understanding of where Bikram came from and how he came to be the Guru that he is today. Bikram is a student of Bishnu Ghosh who was widely considered one of the greatest Physical Culturalists of the 20th Century. Bishnu Ghosh would take his troupe of highly trained Yogis to do shows around the world demonstrating the power derived from Yoga practice by performing incredible and seemingly impossible feats. We saw videos of yogi’s breaking huge chains, getting walked on my elephants, bending rods of steel against their eye, and some generally crazy feats of strength and endurance. We are all getting trained personally by Bikram, and it’s rather cool to know that we’re not getting trained second hand but rather directly from the source. This week we had an extra 150 or so certified teachers in the room for recertification, all getting a refresher course on the yoga they teach daily. Not only will we get certified in this nine weeks course, but every three years we will have to come back to the source and get entergised and refreshed on the correct way to teach Bikram Yoga. Here’s a video of Bikram laying on a bed of nails getting run over by a motorcycle going 50 miles an hour!

“You can mess with the gods, but you can’t mess with the knees.”

This is a classic Bikram quote and I can now say that I understand it completely. This week I was forced to sit out most classes as my knee injury from last Sunday wasn’t getting better. Monday morning I started class and realized that I was in a lot of pain. Both my knees were swollen and irritated so I made the decision to go to the medical clinic up the street from the hotel to get a doctor to take a look. It turns out that I have a pull in the left knee and because I was overcompensating with my right knee I had developed patellar tendinitis. A knee injury is very humbling. I have struggled a lot this week dealing with my fears, anxiety, and uncertainty toward my body, this practice, and teaching Bikram yoga. All the questions of why and how the injury occurred plague my mind and to some extent pollute the amazing experience that I’m currently involved in. This week I again turned to my new found friends for support and perspective. I began to realize that almost everyone I talked to has dealt with injury’s, some worse than mine. They all have beautiful strong yoga practices despite the injury’s. So as I limp forward (temporary) I hope to say that I have learned a lesson. Shit Happens. Deal with it. Do not judge, do not live in fear, just relax because stronger and better days are ahead.

Yoga Class and Posture Clinics – “Yee Haw”
Every training Lisa Ingle from Bikram Yoga San Antonio teaches her “Texas” Bikram yoga class complete with a “yee haw” as we perform a sit up. Being from Texas, I’ve been looking forward to this class. It was wonderful. Lisa has a great teaching style and I think everyone loved her class. Monday’s classes are always somewhat difficult for most everyone and it’s good to have a few light moments where we can let out some of the anxiety and stress of starting another week here in Bikram’s torcher chamber. It was also great to talk to her as I had a chance to catch up with her on the progress of the Texas Yoga Championship marketing materials. Every year I handle the design and marketing of the event and this year she is hosting the competition. Here’s a link to the website I designed for the competition: www.texasyogaasanachampionship.com.

This week one of my friends Kathrine from our group had her studio owner here for a visit. The instructor is from Florida and taught a great class. During the spine strengthening series she called Kathrine up on the podium for an “interview” where Kathrine had to deliver cobra pose. It was amazing, and she did soooo good, totally killed the posture. Kathrine just learned the posture the day before and now she was delivering it with style and grace on an eight foot tall podium to 400 plus trainees and teachers. Kathrine said that we looked beautiful from her view atop the podium.

Kathrine from Florida

Jon Burras – “Fascia, Fascia, Facia”
Thursday and Friday we had lectures given by Jon Burras aka “The Fascia Guy”. Jon is an author, yoga teacher, wellness consultant, bodyworker, wilderness guide and international lecturer. He talked about healty aging, fitness vs. health, chakras and fascia, fascia, fascia. So what the heck is fascia and why did he talk about it so much? Basically Jon talked about fascia because it’s one of the fundamental tissue in the body that helps facilitate healthy living if you have a good concept of it and are aware of it’s function. Fascia is connective tissue and it can harden over time without proper care of your body. John introduced some great ideas about how he thinks we can age in a more healthy way. Believe it or not, nutrition is at the bottom of the list. Number one on the list is attitude. Jon says your thoughts are responsible for creating your reality and your positive attitude can reduce stress. Pretty cool. Here’s a photo of Jon in action. The Yogi’s on stage represent muscle and the seran wrap around them represents fascia. It was so funny as Jon was talking they were all swaying back and forth and making the whole room crack up.

Jon Burras "The Fascia Guy"

Manhattan Beach – “Asleep on the Sand”
Saturday was spent at Manhattan beach with a few of my good friends that I’ve met here at training. My friend Michelle is from Orange County California and she has a car here so we all piled in and drove out to the beach. I walked all the way out to the edge of the water and realized I was totally unprepared to spend a day at the beach. So I found a small shop where I got sunglasses, sunscreen, and a towel. I put my towel down, laid down and was fast asleep. It was really nice to breath some fresh ocean air and feel the warm sun on my skin. I usually don’t get out very much during the week and all I see is the inside of the hotel I’m staying in. Here’s a few photos of the trip to the beach:

Manhattan Pier

Michelle from Orange County, California

Manhattan Beach Sunset

Manhattan Beach

Bikram is Back – “I Don’t Want Chicken Shit In My Class”
Throughout the training, Bikram comes and goes as he travels a lot. The energy level around training increases when Bikram is here. Classes with Bikram are long (sometimes 2 hours)  and somewhat intimidating. If he doesn’t see that you’re doing the poses properly he will stop class and make you do the pose until he is satisfied. It makes a lot of sense actually, how are we going to teach a pose if we don’t know how to do it properly? Lately I have not been able to most of the standing series. I messed up my knee somehow, I have no idea how. There wasn’t any particular moment where I felt any sharp pain. I just woke up on Sunday morning and my knee was clicking and popping and was really swollen. Now it hurts to place weight on my knee. I have been so worried that Bikram was going to call me out as I stand there while everyone else does the postures. He never said a word to me, I think he saw that I had an injury and was doing my best. So after every class I’ve been icing my knee and propping it up to reduce swelling. The nurse tells me that I just have to stay careful until the end of training. It’s somewhat depressing, but I’m thinking that this knee injury will help me become a better teacher. By experiencing and dealing with my knee injury I can help my students as I might have a better idea what they are going through. I guess it’s all about the way I look at the situation that matters. I’m trying to view the injury as a learning experience and make it part of my teacher training.

Bikram taught two times this week, Jim Kallet taught one, and Emmy always teaches Thursday morning. All the other classes were taught by visiting instructors. This week the heat in the room went up. Lately the heat has been pretty good, but classes this week were hot and the one on Friday night with Jim was blazing. People were melting and the energy in the class was all over the place. I think that it was difficult because it was Friday and everyone has worked so hard this week. Monday’s class was taught by a very flamboyant John Salvatore. He is part of the Jersey Boys cast and does shows at The Palazzo in Las Vegas. He had a great ending to his class:

‎”Watch your thoughts because they become your words; watch your words because they become your actions; watch your actions because they become your habits; watch your habits because they become your character; watch your character because it becomes your destiny.”

Other great classes this week were taught by Julina Olmstead and a staff member here at training named Balwan. Juliana taught full jam packed verbatim dialogue class. We could hear the smile in her voice. It was such a treat to take her class as I’ve been following her on her blog for such a long time. Balwan is a favorite around here at training. He has an honest and pure nature about him and he is always smiling. After the deep backbend, camel pose, he said “This is the feeling you get when you are falling in love with yourself”. The moment’s after camel pose can be quite intense and this is a great way of looking at those emotions that come up after camel pose.

My New Family – “I Got Friends in Low Places”
Just like Bon Jovi, I really don’t enjoy Garth Brook’s music that much either, but I thought the line from his song seemed appropriate. All the trainee’s have been broken into groups for posture clinics I’m really starting to get to know people better and I’m building new friendships. The coolest thing is that most of the people I’m getting to know are either from another state, or another country. Now that I’m getting certified, I can go anywhere in the world and teach a class as long as they are teaching in English. I am now part of the Bikram family of teachers, and no matter when a person has graduated, I can share a bond with them that is this teacher training experience. This week I designed the t-shirt for the training. Bikram is famous for saying that his yoga makes you “stress proof, money proof, fire proof, bullet proof, all proof”. So with the help of one of the staff members, Jessica, we created this shirt below.

Teacher Training T-Shirt Design

So here are a few photos of some of my new friends. These are just the few that I’ve been able to get photos with, and I’m planning on getting photos of more of them. Even after being here five weeks I’m still meeting and bonding with new people. As promised, I’ve included a photo of Toby, my room mate. He is really dedicated to this training and lately he gets up at 6:00 every morning to learn the dialogue. Next photo is Andrea, my friend from Hungary. The other day I had to deliver my posture with two huge sopping bags in my hands. The leads do things like this all the time to help people overcome some sort of problem with delivering the dialogue. They were trying to get me to use my voice in a more powerful way and by restricting my hands I could not make any gestures. Anyway, Andrea was demonstrating and kept laughing at me with the bags in my hands. It was so hard to get the dialogue out. My friend Shelly is from Houston, and we talk a lot about Texas food – BBQ, Chips and Queso, Tex-Mex. We’re really missing the hometown food favorites. She is a very practical person and we’ve had many conversations about the logistics of the training and why they have structured the training like it is. My new friend Kyra is one of the bendiest people here at training. The first week we were here Bikram asked her to come up on stage and demonstrate her back bend. He had her touching the floor behind her – amazing. My friend Vicky is from Canada and she is built like a rock, but she is one of the sweetest people I’ve met here at training. Lucille Allen is a wonderful friend of mine from Bikram Yoga Mobile. I’ve been helping Lucille with her marketing for a very long time but I’ve never met her face to face. My new friend Adam is planning on working at Bikram headquarters after training is done. He is helping me get some information about Yoga for autistic children. One of the students at my home studio has a child with autism and I promised I’d try to find out if there was any information on how yoga might help with the disorder. Jessica is a staff member here at training and has helped me out of the room several times, she has seen me at my worst. The last photo is of Lisa from Germany. She is actually the first person I met here at training. I was sitting down stairs eating and there were no seats available so I offered a chair by me. Lisa is very sweet and has the best laugh ever.

My Roommate Toby from Europe

Andrea from Hungary

Shelly from Houston, Texas

Kyra from Baltimore, Maryland

Vicky from Winnipeg, Manitoba

Lucille from Bikram Yoga Mobile

Adam from Edmonton, Alberta

Staff Member Jessica from Kansas

Lisa from Germany

“Pain is a priceless gift and a gift that nobody wants” -Emmy Cleaves

The pain of stretching and compressing the joints and muscles helps heal the body. We use pain to kill the pain in Bikram yoga. Believe it or not – it works. Everyone is feeling the aches and pains of all the yoga. The staff tells me that we’re all uncovering old injuries and everything is fine. I sure hope so because I feel like I’m falling apart.

Visiting Teachers – “Familiar Faces”
There are so many wonderful visiting teachers here at training, each one with a deep love and personal view of the practice. I really enjoy all the different teaching styles and I can’t wait to get back to my home studio so that I can incorporate some of the best parts into my classes. I love this quote from Friday morning’s class:

“It takes courage and intelligence to go through the stages of yoga…It starts with you, frozen like a statue, with nowhere to turn to for help but inside.”

Karen and David Buckner from Bikram Yoga Dallas were out for a visit and it was so wonderful to have them here for support. It’s so much easier to open up to people that really know me. Another great surprise was being able to meet Julie Havelock, owner of Bikram Yoga Sacramento. I have been working with her on her marketing materials for quite some time now and I’ve never met her face to face. I also finally got to meet Juliana Olmstead, who graduated Spring 2010. Back when I was just dreaming of teacher training I used to read her blog. It’s one of the best out there. I have a link on the right side if you would like to check it out.

Staying Present -”The Teacher Training Whirlwind”
I forgot to sign in – Twice. As you might already know from one of my other blog posts, that means makeup class on Saturday. So last weekend and also this weekend after the mandatory class I had to take an extra class. It’s really wasn’t that bad physically, it just cuts into my personal weekend time which sux because we have very little time to ourselves. The daily routine is pretty standard, but I get distracted by the whirlwind of activity around me. There are 397 trainees plus staff and visiting teachers. We are all moving around at the same time and it get’s quite crazy sometimes. I get to talking or focusing on something that I need to do before class or lecture and I forget to make my way over to the sign in tables. We’re up till midnight most evenings and when Bikram is here sometimes we don’t get to bed until 4am, so lack of sleep makes for a pretty foggy mind. I wrote “SIGN IN” on my hand and kept it there for a few days. It helped me remember to always sign in and I haven’t missed a sign in since – I plan to keep it that way.

Currently, the sleep deprivation has proven to be one of the hardest aspects of the training for me. Staying awake in posture clinics and lectures is really difficult. By Wednesday of every week I’m so very tired. I’m a yoga zombie dragging my feet from one place to another. What keeps me going is the two classes I’m taking every day. I’ll be dead tired and thinking to myself “how the hell am I going to get through this class” and by the time the the third posture rolls around I’m energized and I’ve forgotten how tired I felt. After class I feel pretty good for about three hours and then I start to get tired again.

The weekends are when I get most of my sleep. Last night I went down stairs to the restaurant and had the biggest hamburger topped with bacon and cheese with a side of waffle fries. I had nice big slice of cheese cake for desert. I was so full, but an hour later I was hungry again – crazy. After a second dinner I crashed in my bed and slept for 11 hours. I think I’m ready for week five, I have a feeling it’s going to be quite interesting.

Posture Clinics – “Oh Shit”
Dialogue. Yeah. Um. Let’s see. Where do I start. People are freaking out about the learning and delivering the dialogue. All of a sudden everyone realized that they are being asked to deliver two postures a day in the posture clinics and they have little to no time for memorization. I say freaking out, but really everyone is handling it rather well. It’s the strength of the whole group that keeps everyone going. Any little spare time we have between classes or lectures you see groups of people together memorizing the official Bikram script that we will deliver when teaching our classes after we get out of the training. Some people here are complete naturals and deliver the dialogue as if they were already teaching and others struggle. Most of the time it’s a persons own mind that get in their way and once they learn to quiet the mind they do really well.

Anatomy 101 – “Inside Out, From Bones to the Skin, Fingertips to the Toes”
This week we started our lectures on anatomy. Dr. Jim Preddy is here for two weeks and actually makes learning this stuff rather fun. He tells a lot of great stories from the ER and keeps us entertained which helps out a lot because we don’t start lecture until 9:00 every night. He lectures until 12:00 and and it’s sometimes hard to keep the eyes open. The days are so long, starting at 7:00 every morning when I wake up. Monday we have our first test on what we’ve learned this week so I’m spending some time studying this weekend to prepare. It feels so weird to have to study for a test as I graduated from college over ten years ago.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – “Rules to Love By”
Part of the program here is to help us understand more about where yoga came from. Yoga is so much more than stretching. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a Hindu scripture and foundational text of Yoga. It is said to be compiled by a person called Patanjali who lived in the second century BCE. It includes an eight fold path of yoga that has been passed down for centuries which comes from the great sages of India. It basically gives you a framework for living; a way to conduct yourself as you are faced with day to day challenges. You could call the Eight limbs an art of right living and when followed helps people understand the inner workings of the mind. It’s an eight step program for controlling the minds restlessness. By practicing the “rules to love by” hopefully a person will start to enjoy a more peaceful state of living.

I won’t go into detail about each, but the eight fold path includes:

1. Yama: Universal morality
2. Niyama: Personal observances
3. Asana: Yoga postures
4. Pranayama: Control of breath
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of senses from their external objects
6. Dharana: Concentration of the mind
7. Dhyana: Steadfast meditation
8. Samadhi: Oneness with the object of meditation

What day is it? – “The Yoga Bubble”
I can never remember what day it is or for that matter what time it is. I have really disconnected from the outside world and I’m sailing around in this sea of yoga learning and practice. I’m pretty much on Bikram time which is non-stop, fully focused, and extremely intense. I haven’t opened my computer or looked at my phone in a week. I’m only concerned about the time when I have to be somewhere, either for lecture, posture clinic or class. You see if you forget to sign in for any of these you have to do a make up class on Saturday. When you are doing two extreme Bikram yoga classes a day, every day, the last thing you want to do is an extra class. There are so many people forgetting to sign in. When you forget to sign in you become part of “Team Saturday”. Everyone takes a morning class on Saturday, but after that we’re free until Monday. Team Saturday people have to take that extra class – no fun.

The walls – “Breaking Barriers and Self-Discovery”
Ok. So when I was a kid I had asthma. As as a child I would wake up in the middle of the night with asthma attacks. As I got a little older, most of my attacks would flare up during physical activity. By the time I was in college I really didn’t have many problems with my asthma. The thought of a full on asthma attack hasn’t even crossed my mind in twenty years.

Friday morning class I had my first asthma attack since I was like twelve or thirteen.

My lungs seized up and I could not get any air in. An asthma attack is like trying to get deep breaths through a straw. Your lungs tighten up and you just can’t get any air in. Experiencing this attack is not a bad thing. This is called self-discovery. One of the hardest aspects of my personal practice is breath control. It has always been something that I’ve struggled with. When I get overwhelmed in class my breath gets shallow and fast and I really have to use my concentration and patience to bring it back to normal. The classes here at training are hot, humid, and tough. That, combined with the rigorous schedule pushed my lungs to their limits.

I am in a safe environment, and the staff is always there to help us through our breaking points. I’m now taking my inhaler before class in order to keep my airways open and I’m getting back into the groove of things.

The Bikram Dialogue – “Your Mantra”
Jim Kalett lectured on the Bikram dialogue this week and he said something that never occured to me.

“The Bikram dialogue is a mantra.”

A mantra is a chant that the mind can focus on. It helps bring the mind and body into union. The dialogue helps people focus on the right parts of the body at the right moment. If you tell people to kick, it’s less likely that they will be thinking about some other body part that is not needed to perform the posture correctly. The dialogue gives the foundation for which anybody can do the posture.

Photos – “The Yoga Ballroom”
Here at the hotel they have a huge ballroom on the second floor. I was told that Bikram had the room rebuilt. Now it’s a monstous hot yoga room that chews up and spits out some of the most advanced practitioners. This week I’ve mostly laid on my back in a yoga coma gasping for breath trying not to pass out. Below is a photo of what I look at as I lay there. It’s a huge and somewhat magical looking chandler that sits so still while I lay there in a delirious state looking at. The other photos are of my friends from Dallas, Yasmine and Terri. Terri comes from my home studio and is a wonderful ray of light every time I see her. She keeps my thoughts positive and I’m not sure what I’d do without her right now. Yasmine practices at a studio not far from my home studio and she is my rock, the one that I can go to when I need some grounding and support. The other photos are of the Yoga ballroom, one of me in Triangle pose. I still don’t have a good photo of my roommate, but I will post one just as soon as I have it.

Savasana Chandelier

Yasmine and Terri

Triangle Pose in the Yoga Ballroom

The Yoga Ballroom

Orentation – “Forget What You Know”
Orientation on Sunday was with Jim Kallett. He is one of Bikram’s senior most teachers, certified in September 1997 and has been on the teacher training staff since 1998. He went over some of the basic aspects of training and talked about forgetting what you currently know or think you know about Bikram or Bikram yoga. While in training there should be no judgement. Bikram may call you out if you need it, and what he says you might not like, but it is what you need to hear at that time. If he says nothing to you, then you don’t need it. Jim said that Bikram will see through you like a crystal. He will, in an instant know who you are, what kind of teacher you will be, what you need to hear, and how you will die. He won’t use this against you, but he will use this to help you. Bikram will poke at your weakness until it is your strength.

This Weeks Classes – “I Fell into a Burning Ring of Fire”
The first class was with Bikram and it was soooo hot. I have had to leave some of the classes this week and after spending some time outside the room to cool down I go back in to finish class. The staff told us that they are still working out the heat with the room and the classes sine then have been a bit better. They are still very hot, but not as intense as the first day. All the teachers and staff have been telling us to take it easy the first few weeks. They tell us that they are going to slowly “ramp up” the intensity. Bikram’s classes are amazing, they are full of great information about the yoga and the postures. He is always telling jokes and making everyone laugh.

Bikram’s wife Rajashree’s classes are full of great information. My practice has changed so much just after one class with her. I’m now trying my best to keep my knees together in hands to feet pose. It’s tough for me to do, and “ouch” I feel it right in the hip joint. Emmy Cleaves, Bikram senior most teacher taught Thursday morning. She is the only one who walks around the room. The rest of the instructors teach from the podium in the front of the room. Emmy is very intelligent when it comes to the mechanics of the body. She stresses the importance of doing the postures in correct alignment as to avoid pain in the future. If you do the posture incorrect, then you create imbalances in the body.

Friday morning’s class was taught by Ulises Calatayud, he owns several studios in Mexico and was teaching most of the class in Spanish which was really entertaining. Friday evening class was taught by Jim Ambrogi from DC. He reminded me of a high school coach and had this sort of sing song style of delivering the dialogue. Saturday morning we had a quite mellow class taught by Lisa Johnson from Las Vegas which ended with an eight minute chanting and meditation. It was a good way to end our first week and ease into the weekend.

The Body – “Getting Stronger”
I am so happy that my body is holding up under all this yoga. The first few days were a bit rough with a few leg cramps, but no real major problems. I can tell I’m getting stronger and my balance is getting precise and comfortable. I can feel my spine moving and changing. I have always had problems with my right shoulder. It has always been tight and it has always felt as if it was “winged” out. This week the shoulder has loosened up and it’s really moving and cracking. I know that doesn’t sound like a good thing, but I know that it’s healing. I’m drinking over a gallon of fluids a day which includes water, gatorade, V8 juice, cocunut water, and soda. Hydration is a huge subject here. There have been a few days where my stomach has been a little wierd, but nothing too bad.

The Dialogue – “You Have a Funny Voice”
Everyone has to deliver the first posture dialogue to Bikram while everyone else watches. There are about 400 of us so it’s taking quite some time to get through everyone. Delivering the dialogue to Bikram is mor about him meeting you than delivering the words perfectly. I gave my dialogue the first day, Bikram said I have a funny voice, which is something I already knew. He said there was nothing wrong with my dialogue, but I might consider voice training to help me understand how to use my voice better. He says that he has used a voice trainer for years and I will be so surprised what they can do.

True Friends – “Staying Alive”
I’m so lucky. My room mate is awesome. We get along really well and I’m so glad to have him. It’s just the first week and we are really supporting each other well. Toby is from Europe — he grew up in Paris then moved to Scotland when he got a little older. He doesn’t know any of the dialogue and I’ve been helping him learn the first posture so that he can deliver to Bikram. I’ll post some photos of him soon. My friend Jenni came and picked me up on Saturday and took me to out to get some very much needed supplies. We also went to get a wonderful Thai lunch as well as a great gourmet burger for dinner. Jenni is from my home studio in Richardson, she recently moved out here for graduate school. It was nice to get out of the hotel, I haven’t been outside very much since I got here. Sunday my friend Eric picked me up and we went out to Venice beach and drove around Hollywood a bit.

I’m gearing up for the second week of training, I’ll probably add some photos fairly soon.

So back to the main subject of this post — 10:00am class at my home studio, Bikram Yoga Richardson and the farewell party after. A lot of very wonderful friends came out to send me off and take class with me before I head out tomorrow morning. I put together a silent auction to which many of the wonderful students donated their services to. For those of you future trainees who are reading this and wondering how the hell you’re going to get the cash together for teacher training, a silent auction might be the way to go. I’m very fortunate to have some very talented and extreemly genourous friends at the studio that offered their services. I am truly humbled by the generosity of everyone as I embark on my journey. Here’s some pics of the event today.

Studio Owner Yassi Maige

Owner of Bikram Yoga Dallas, Karen Buckner

My wife Lisa and my son Tyler

My partner in crime, Jeff Shafer

Texas Yoga Champ Sara Stout