Too good is no good (Week 1)

Week one of Bikram Yoga Teacher Training is officially over. We did 10 classes, watched two late night Bollywood flicks, and listened to over 250 people deliver Half Moon pose in front of Bikram. The week went by in a flash and I'm hoping that the remaining eight weeks aren't that quick. I want to enjoy every single moment of this experience, as the opportunity to focus 100% of my time and energy on my single greatest passion won't come around again for a while.

Our morning classes this week were led by Rajashree, Rich, Brandy Lyn (2010 Bishnu Ghosh Champion), Antonia, and Emma. All of our evening classes were led by Bikram, with the exception of Thursday, when Jim taught. A couple of Bikram-led classes have run past the two-hour mark, but not because he's holding us in postures or making us do triple sets. Instead he's been telling us stories and correcting "Miss Red & Black" or telling "Miss Yellow" that she's stingy with the inches. He's absolutely hilarious and I've enjoyed his classes very much. What an entertainer!

Morning classes have been challenging for me. My body is incredibly stiff and sleep deprivation makes it impossible for me to muster up the energy to do class at my usual ability. Evening classes, on the other hand, have been fantastic. I have so much strength and flexibility -- I feel like a super yogi! It's hard to believe sometimes that it's still the same day when I compare my performance in the morning versus evening classes.

I practiced in the front row all week, but to the far right of the room, so Bikram and the other teachers haven't spotted me yet. It's funny how we are creatures of habit -- everyday, twice a day, I practice next to the same group of trainees. We have declared that section of the hot tent ours and don't want to venture to new areas. This will all change come week three, when we rotate around the room with our posture clinic groups. Speaking of posture clinics, I'm in Group 3! Can't wait to start delivering the next set of postures!

The first week went relatively smooth. The aspect I struggled most with were the late nights. I'd feel myself getting riled up when Bikram would announce that it's a movie night and it actually impeded my ability to pay attention to the movie. It's almost as though I was rebelling. I will need to find a way to work through these feelings, as they will take away from the training and turn me down a path I'd rather avoid. Would appreciate any advice from those who have gone before me!

To wrap up, I'd like to talk about the title of this blog post: "Too good is no good." It's something that Bikram said over and over again this week as people delivered Half Moon. What I took from it is that you have to find a way of doing things -- whether that's teaching a class, practicing yoga, raising a family, and so forth -- that's sustainable. You can't always strive for perfection and deliver at 200% because you'll burn out. You have to find a good balance. Always try your best, but perform at a level that you can maintain long-term. I've always been an all or nothing person and tend to overwork myself to the point of sheer exhaustion. So this was the most valuable lesson that I learned in week one.

Early days

Today's day four of Bikram Yoga boot camp. There are close to 400 of us in this training session, which is the biggest class ever!

Yesterday we started delivering Half Moon pose in front of Bikram. This is where each one of us gets on stage in front of the entire audience of our peers as well as Bikram and recites the nearly two minute posture while three people perform it. I decided I wanted to get it out of the way early, as the exercise is known to last two or three weeks. I was 39th. As each person went before me and I inched my way to the front of the line, my anxiety level began to skyrocket. I had to give myself a little pep talk to put it all in perspective. I learned Half Moon pose back in May -- I know it as well as my own name. I also use to present at conferences in front of similar sized audiences back in my grad school days, so public speaking isn't foreign to me. Plus, Bikram himself told us that missing lines and stumbling is to be expected. The point of the exercise is for him to get to know us.

When it was my turn, I climbed on stage, grabbed the microphone, introduced myself, and belted out the dialogue. I got the entire thing out without stumbling, although my voice and hands were shaking beyond control. After I finished, I looked at Bikram for feedback. He smiled, said "wow" and then "next," signaling the next person in line to come forward. What a relief! I was fully expecting him to tear into me, but I must have said the dialogue to his satisfaction. So happy that's over with. Now I get to spend the next several days listening to everyone else recite the posture.

We've been moving at a pretty quick pace. Yesterday we must have gotten through nearly 100 people delivering Half Moon. Bikram seemed to be in a great mood and gave people very constructive feedback. Guess I'd better start reviewing the other 25 postures, as posture clinics may start sooner than we think.

While we've only done four Bikram Yoga classes so far, my body is very sore. I could barely do most of the postures in the standing series this morning because of the aches and pains. I did open up in the floor series and am now feeling much better. The classes are very different from back home. And because the room hasn't reached its full temperature yet, I'm not sweating as much as I typically do. All in good time I'm sure. It's still early days after all.

11am.... time for lunch. Until next time!

California dreaming

Safe and sound in San Diego. Just came back from a full day of shopping with Heather and Bettina. We started off at The Container Store, then hit the local Walmart, followed by Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Ralphs. I bought a lot of stuff! The first question the customs officer asked me after I told him I was going on a nine-week yoga "retreat" was how much the entire gig was costing me. After I revealed the price tag, he let me through without any further questioning. I'm definitely contributing to the American economy, and today was no exception.

The Town & Country Resort is pretty decent. I'm in a gorgeous room right now, which I need to move out of tomorrow. The room I'll call home for nine weeks is in the east part of the hotel complex, and I've been told it isn't as nice as my current digs. Below is a picture from the outside. It's a room of my own and as long as it has a bed and a bathroom, it'll serve me just fine.

My hotel room from the outside. Haven't seen the actual room yet, but the exterior is quite inviting.

The Bikram Yoga "Village" is located at the north end of the resort. It consists of a large tent where we'll practice yoga twice a day Monday to Friday as well as on Saturday mornings -- 11 classes a week. (I bought enough electrolyte supplements today to sustain a small army.) I took a quick peek at the hot room yesterday (which wasn't hot at the time) and it's massive -- 14 rows and probably 40 mats can fit across each. The carpet is black and feels soft to the touch. (The Bell Boy asked if we were going to be doing races in the room -- he thought the lines were tracks!) Immediately beside the practice tent is a second tent, where we'll likely watch Bollywood flicks till the wee hours of the morning. Our first Bikram Yoga class is on Monday afternoon, which I believe will be led by Bikram himself. I can't wait!

View of the practice and lecture tents from the Royal Palm Tower.

I've met a handful of other teacher trainees and more and more (and more and more) keep arriving. A couple people recognize me from reading my blog, which is nice. Looks like we'll have a great group. And this training is apparently the biggest one ever!

A few other things worthy of mention:

It's very cold at night and in the mornings here, while it heats up pretty good during the day. (Sort of reminds me of San Francisco.) Unfortunately I didn't pack for the cooler temperatures, so it looks like I'll have an excuse to go shopping at Fashion Valley -- the best mall in San Diego and only a two-minute walk from the hotel.

Meals aren't included as part of our tuition, but we do get a discount at all restaurants on the hotel property. One of the restaurants will feature a Bikram night every Sunday, where they will offer light, healthy specials.There is also a Ralphs within walking distance. (Major grocery chain in California; I'm already part of their Loyalty program!)

I've been in San Diego for less than 24 hours, but I'm already feeling very much at home. Stay tuned to find out how the next nine weeks unfold!

Packing for Teacher Training: A Photo Essay

All my clothes laid out on my coffee table. I wanted to cut this amount in half, but only managed to put back six items.

The shoes I'm bringing. Notice none require that I wear socks! It's California after all.

All my clothing, shoes, and toiletries inside my XL duffel bag. I can barely lift it. Hoping it's under 50lbs! Otherwise I'll have to dish out $75.

Kitchen items that are coming along on the journey. Last minute I put back the Brita as my luggage was over capacity. I'll pick one up in San Diego.

Kitchen items all packed in my carry-on.

All ready to go and still a day to spare! Yay!

Mass yoga!

My Bikram Yoga studio partnered with Living Social this past weekend and offered 20 yoga classes for $20 – a 91% discount! Over 3,600 people took advantage of this amazing offer, which means that my studio is now one of Toronto’s hottest spots – both literally and metaphorically!

Yesterday, for the first time ever, I took a class that was filled beyond capacity. My studio normally fits 40 comfortably, but there were 56 people in the class and 28 were brand new to the yoga. Mats were on top of each other and it was impossible to lift my arms over my head sideways in any of the postures without hitting my neighbours.

As I began practicing, I realized this was a very different class. I was still doing Bikram Yoga, but the energy in the room was unlike anything I had experienced before. The teacher positioned me front and centre so that the newbies could follow my lead. I felt strong and energetic. I was able to execute some of the harder postures that I normally struggle with effortlessly.

This made me think about what it’ll be like to practice in a room with over 300 teacher trainees in San Diego in a couple weeks. The experience will be even more heightened, because I will be practicing alongside people who are as passionate about the yoga as I am. I’m sure the energy and excitement will be extraordinary – at least for the first few classes (before sleep deprivation and dehydration set in).

The brimming classes at my yoga studio are likely to continue for a while, so there’ll be more opportunities for me to get use to practicing with lots and lots of people very, very close to me. Hopefully the studio’s popularity lasts until after I return from Teacher Training – I can only imagine what it’d be like to teach a class that full!

The Dialogue Dilemma

I set a goal for myself that I want to accomplish before I board the plane to San Diego next month. I want to know the dialogue fully and completely. The reason for this is twofold:

1. Every single person who has gone to training before me has recommended doing so.
2. I want to sleep! Sleep deprivation is guaranteed at TT, but is worse if you need to stay up studying dialogue for the next day’s posture clinic.

I’ve made pretty good progress towards my goal. This morning while I was getting ready for work I was able to learn Rabbit Pose. That means I have only two more to go! BUT, with the exception of the first six poses (up to Standing Bow), I’m not able to recite any of them effortlessly. I have to think very carefully about each line, which means instead of 10-second postures, most of mine are about three minutes!

Up to now, I haven’t had much opportunity to practice in front of live bodies. Last week two teachers at my studio made me say Half Moon Pose in front of my studio owner while they did the posture. I was super nervous, but did it without making any mistakes. It was just longer than 60 seconds. Now every time I go into the studio, they make me say another posture. Nerve racking, but good experience for me.

Getting my head around the dialogue has been incredibly challenging. You see, I’m an editor, so it’s very hard for me to not correct the grammar. It’s actually affected my professional life. I’m more likely to overlook shoddy grammar these days at work and many of the emails I write are short and directive – just like Bikram’s dialogue.

Probably the most challenging aspect of learning the dialogue is the inconsistencies in language. For example, in the standing series, all of the postures start and end just a little bit different. Same deal with the floor series. My solution to this dilemma is just to focus on the “meat” of the posture and not worry too much about beginnings and endings. I figure I’ll have time at TT for that.

There are also slight variances in the use of certain words – for example, “the” versus “your.” There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to it and as much as I try, I can’t get it right. Ultimately these nuances may not make too much of a difference when I’m actually a teacher, but I’ve been told they are important in posture clinics.

For those of you who are learning the dialogue, take solace in the fact that the floor series postures are much, much easier than the standing series. I have learned these very quickly – all within the last week.

I’m really looking forward to actually using the dialogue in posture clinics and eventually, in the future, when I’m a teacher, in my classes. As much as I find it challenging to learn, I enjoy saying it and see its value.

The balancing series

Last week I was feeling really bad. I thought a flu was coming on as I had several of the classic symptoms: nausea, sore muscles, cramping, headache. But it somehow felt different. Like I was off balance. And Bikram Yoga, which usually cures all my ailments, was actually making me feel worse. Halfway through class I'd get dizzy and nauseous and my feet, hands, and calf muscles would start cramping. By the end of class, I'd have a pounding headache and my muscles would spasm for hours after. I was also highly irritable and was having trouble concentrating and focusing on simple tasks.

After a few days of this, I hopped onto Google and started doing some research. All the symptoms I was experiencing pointed to one thing: an electrolyte imbalance.

The condition is not uncommon among Bikram Yoga enthusiasts, as we lose excessive amounts of fluid during class. But I wasn't dehydrated: I typically drink 2.5 litres of water before I practice, a litre during, and another litre after. Plus I take an Emergen-C after each class and often treat myself to a coconut or vitamin water. So no dehydration issues. Quite the contrary: All that water combined with all that sweating was flushing out the minerals my body needs to maintain balance; hence, the imbalance.

As I'm heading out to San Diego in September for Teacher Training, I was particularly motivated to find a solution… and fast! Some people recommended adding sea salt and lemon to my water, others told me to eat bananas (which I loathe) and other potassium-rich foods. I didn't think any of these were viable options for training. I mean I was symptomatic doing one class a day -- what would happen when I was doing doubles five days a week?

I paid a visit to my local health food shop and purchased a bottle of Essential Electrolytes. A Bikram Yoga Teacher Trainee before me had mentioned taking these during training and never falling ill. So I figured I had nothing to lose.

The bottle says to take one to three pills before and after “athletic or strenuous activity,” which I did that very day. The Bikram class that followed was a dream! I was full of energy, my head was clear, and no cramping or spasms during or after class. The next day I did a double -- both classes were a pure joy.

I think I've been suffering from an electrolyte imbalance for a while, but have just come to view my symptoms as the new normal. Sometimes when you feel bad for so long, you become numb to it and accept it as part of life.

I've found my solution to help me get through Teacher Training, well a part of it anyway. If only there was a pill I could take to help me memorize the dialogue!