Monday, April 18, 2011

First class, of the first day, of the first week!




We met with Bikram for the first time today. He arrived without any fanfare and just casually walked onto the stage and said hi! Not at all the grand entrance I had expected of him. Perhaps another reminder for me in not having preconceived ideas about how this TT experience is going to go?



He welcomed us to LA and gave us an overview of what to expect through our Training, about how much it was going to change us and how we had to come here with an open mind and be preprared to start learning from scratch.




He also emphasised, as all the other staff members have, that we are to take it EASY for the first week! He said to consider this first week a "Bikram Vacation". He won't kill us until the 3rd week...lol (Hmmm ... I bet not so funny by the 3rd week!)



We then had the afternoon free to do whatever we wanted until yoga class at 5pm. Of course any spare time at TT is not really spare time, as it is spent studying dialogue or getting ready for class - which is exactly what we did.




Then the class was upon us and we all walked into the Hot Room for the very first time. What can I say except HOT and HUMID, HOT and HUMID! You could SEE the humidity in the air as you walked into the room. OMG. A big change from the Studios where we've been doing classes for the past few weeks.






Did I mention it was HOT and HUMID?



So Bikram was definitely very kind to us and didn't hold the postures for too long and gave us nice long Savasanas inbetween, but there were still yogis dropping like flies all around. I took all the advice from earlier in the day and just eased into class. Even so it was still pretty tough and though I felt strong it was more getting my breathing calm in the intense humidity that I struggled with. I found once I opened my mouth and took a few breaths that way instead of through my nose, that it was then very hard to regulate it again - which is exactly why we are told not to do it, (and usually its not an issue for me but today it was, so it will be something to be aware of in the next class).






Anyway, I made it through without any dramas and good to have that first class under my belt (or should I say yoga shorts?) but makes me feel a bit daunted about what is to come. My mantra is going to be to just take it one posture at a time. And sometimes that may even be broken down to just the first side of the first set.........



Me after class. I look a lot happier than I felt before the ten minute Savasana I took at the end of it :-) Its amazing though how 15 minutes after being out of class the torture is forgotten!

We were lucky enough to then have the evening free (a one-off as most evenings are filled with lectures or the infamous Bollywood / Hindu movies Bikram insists we watch) So we are relishing the extra time and cooking up a storm so we have meals organised for the next few days. Cooking in a hotel room without a kitchenette is an art form in itself so we are applying the K.I.S.S. principle and eating very simply! And it may become even simpler still as the weeks go by and sleep becomes a priority.

Which suits me fine. I make it no secret that I didn't even put a lot of effort into cooking when I was at home with a fully equipped kitchen and I'm already of the mindset that eating food while here will be primarily an energy source rather than for pleasure :-)