The best way to describe going through this experience is like a wave. One day, you are so thankful to be able to practice yoga twice a day...you come to appreciate the lunch for what it is (recycled leftovers)...and you enjoy the uniqueness of everybody here. The next day, you dread getting up in the morning and going to the morning yoga class...you constantly question the purpose of sleep deprivation...and everybody gets on your nerves. It's like a big giant wave at Wild Waves. My boyfriend can certainly back attest...each day he talks to me, I'm a different personality. Luckily, I am not the only one here that is going through the wave.
High's and Low's from Week 5:
HIGH'S
-made a guest appearance on KOMO's website on unemployment and blogging
-got good review on my delivery of Standing Bow from Heather (Vegas studio, used to live in Seattle).
-my sis is going to visit me next week
-Starbucks xhot vanilla soy latte is delightful
-spending 30 min in bed during break
-my bug (cold) ran away
-deep tissue massages are heavenly and painful (pain is good)
LOW's
-starting to feel stiff 'n sore
-got a poo poo review on my delivery of Balancing Stick from Lisa (Texas). I did the dialogue but she wanted me to do jumping jacks while delivering it. REALLY? I didn't know I had to wear my jogging bra to posture clinic. Then she went into the "what did you do for a profession?" and "why do you want to be here?" I'm sorry. Slightly irritated with this question. I didn't fork out 11K to be asked what I was doing there.
-going to bed at 3:30am after sitting through a 4 hour Mahabharat. Oh yeah, there are like 56 volumes and we are on the 3rd one. Subtitled and very poor special effects. PLUS the sleep patrol is full force so if you look like you are dozing off, you will get a kind wake up call.
-brown knuckles. WTF? my knuckles look like they've been rubbed in dirt. No idea why my knuckles decided to get a tan. I guess it could be worse - roomie has had heat rash for weeks now.
-my unemployment benefits were denied so i'm a poor yogini in training. will teach Standing Bow on the streets for $20.
-my scale officially speaks the truth. darn it. i weighed myself at the spa and it is true - lost a whoppin' 1.5 lbs!
We had Jon Burras (www.jonburras.com) speak to us about yoga, energy and health. By far the best guest lecture. I learned so much from him. He critiques the Western view of medicine and healing - which is primarily driven by $ and scientific results. Instead, we should be concerned about taking care of our fascia. It's a connective tissue that holds and balances the human body. Western medicine doesn't acknowledge fascia. Enegery runs through fascia. When you are practicing Bikram yoga, the muscles lengthen and stretch, and the fascia does as well. When you get injured, what do doctors tell you? Rest the injured area and don't move it. That is the opposite of what you should do to heal. You should exercise and move the fascia so that it can heal and not go into "cold storage." Be wary of doctors that want to operate on an injured area. Remember that surgeries are money makers for doctors. During lecture, we heard from students and visiting teachers that have suffered from illnesses (thyroid cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, broken back, broken leg, etc) that have recovered through Bikram yoga. It's really amazing to hear the personal stories of recovery. No surgeries or medication. The yoga is the best prescription.
*My favorite quote of the week*"If you spend your life defending limitations, then you keep them." Jon Burras
Pics - While waiting for Bikram to arrive for lecture, we were bored and someone started the wave. It was hilarious. The room was divided in half and as each wave passed, it got louder and stronger. Sort of how the emotions have been this week - up and down like a giant wave!
