Last night was another early night by TT standards. We finished up our Anatomy lecture at 11:30pm and then were free to go. A lot of peops chose to stay up studying the dialogue but I hit the sack and enjoyed a good 7 hours sleep. Still have this cold hanging around and so thats not making me feel the best so I'm making the most of our chance to catch up on sleep while I can.
Bikram is away in Japan at the moment hence no Bollywood movies. He is teaching some classes at a studio there and doing some lectures as a way to help out with the disaster relief over there. For all the critics and bad media who say he is all about making money, he does seem to be very generous in offering his time and money to help where needed and is always helping people network etc to get things done.
This morning we had Emmy again, and our group was on line 1 right in front of the mirrors. I haven't been able to see myself in the mirrors for days so was interested to see if my postures looked how I felt they were.
Half moon was pretty crap but my upper back has been really tight and sore for days so I didn't expect much change in that posture. My bow has deepened which I am thrilled about as I feel that I have been stuck and not progressed in that posture for ages. For the past few days I have felt like my back has opened up a lot more so it was interesting to see just how far I could get my chest down and really feel the back bend in Bow. My Camel also feels a lot deeper and though I may not be getting my back bend any deeper I feel like I am def able to push my hips further forward.
Triangle. Ugh. I could feel that my hips haven't been coming down enough in the set up even without being able to see myself. The carpet is really slippery when you're sweating heaps and for some reason my legs just don't feel strong enough, though at home it was one of my fav postures because I finally had gained the strength and my hips had opened up enough to find that "sweet" spot that makes the posture almost easy. Note: ALMOST :-). Anyway, all of this was confirmed when I could see in the mirror. Oh dear. My hips were miles up and my knee far too far over my toes. I hope its just a sign of other things changing and it will all come back into line but I'll have to be really conscious to make sure that sitting up too high doesn't becomes a habit.
Emmy stressed the importance of Frequency, and practicsing with Precsion and Intent. She said if you're just going through the motions and doing the postures the wrong way you aren't going to get any benefits. Uh oh...............guilty as charged on some days :-(
Her thoughts about yoga differ from Bikram's in that she believes you should practice with mindfulness and be aware of everthing that is going on in your body, whereas Bikram likes to distract you with humour so that you forget how painful and torturous it all is. I think I like a bit of both depending on my mood. Some days I am focused and have a rock star class and others I just want to get the hell out of there so are thankful for any kind of distraction. Unfortunately lately the later has been more true for me, but I must admit, being in front of the mirrors today made a big difference. You can feel the energy is more focused up there. The further towards the back of the room you constantly have people walking past leaving the room etc and it really does effect the energy and flow.
Anyway, so tonight we had Rajashree and I had my best class to date! Sheesh it only took 3 bloody weeks to happen, but hey it happened! I nailed every postue, only fell out of Bow at the end of the L side first set and charged through the rest. There is no rhyme or reason, I wasn't feeling particularly strong or motivated, but once I got in there I just seemed to hit my stride and away I went. Mmmmm.... I love yoga again :-) So on that note I think I'll sign off for the day.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Mid Week # 3
So last night we finished up at 11:00pm. We could hardly believe it! It felt like Christmas to finish so early. The benefit of having studied the dialogue before I got here is already paying off ten-fold as it mean't I could go straight to bed whereas there were plenty of yogis up till the wee hours trying to learn Awkward. Oy!
I realise looking back over my posts I haven't mentioned anything about the Anatomy lectures we have started this week. I am really enjoying them and the Dr Preddy who is teaching them has a great sense of humour and practices Bikram yoga himself so can make everything totally relevant for us. Although I know the basic muscle groups and some of the terms are familiar from hearing them in class, a lot of it is like another language and just goes right over my head. So I think it could be in for the start of a steep learning curve for me.
We also had a lecture yesterday with Emmy on Pain and its connection with the body. Unfortunately she only spoke about it for an hour or so and I SO wish she could have had more time as this is an area I find fascinating. The mind body connection and how our emotions and thoughts connect directly to the body etc. She gave us the names of a few books that I hope to read when I get back home.
Class this morning was taught by a visiting teacher, David, who lead the class exactly as per the dialogue and held us in the postures for what seemed like ages. By the 2nd set of Awkward my legs were dying and yogis were coming out of the posture early and falling out but he didn't give us any relief by speeding up the dialogue at all. Oh expleteive.......
The rest of the class went ok and I got my head to knee in both 1st and 2nd set Standing Head to Knee with no trouble but again when its done to someone saying EVERY word of the dialogue s-l-o-w-l-y it makes for a bloody long set and so my bow was crap as a result as I was buggered.
A little suprise discovery I made in the class was that our group was on line 10, the very back row and unbeknownst to me (as I had never practiced back there), if you are set up near the exit doors you actually get a little bit of fresh air everyone time someone walks out or in the class. Absolute heaven as they don't open the doors EVER during class and even when its finished the heat stays on. Ugh. And yes, yogis are allowed to leave at their own discretion whenever they feel the need. Some teachers comment on it and others don't.
I realise looking back over my posts I haven't mentioned anything about the Anatomy lectures we have started this week. I am really enjoying them and the Dr Preddy who is teaching them has a great sense of humour and practices Bikram yoga himself so can make everything totally relevant for us. Although I know the basic muscle groups and some of the terms are familiar from hearing them in class, a lot of it is like another language and just goes right over my head. So I think it could be in for the start of a steep learning curve for me.
We also had a lecture yesterday with Emmy on Pain and its connection with the body. Unfortunately she only spoke about it for an hour or so and I SO wish she could have had more time as this is an area I find fascinating. The mind body connection and how our emotions and thoughts connect directly to the body etc. She gave us the names of a few books that I hope to read when I get back home.
Class this morning was taught by a visiting teacher, David, who lead the class exactly as per the dialogue and held us in the postures for what seemed like ages. By the 2nd set of Awkward my legs were dying and yogis were coming out of the posture early and falling out but he didn't give us any relief by speeding up the dialogue at all. Oh expleteive.......
The rest of the class went ok and I got my head to knee in both 1st and 2nd set Standing Head to Knee with no trouble but again when its done to someone saying EVERY word of the dialogue s-l-o-w-l-y it makes for a bloody long set and so my bow was crap as a result as I was buggered.
A little suprise discovery I made in the class was that our group was on line 10, the very back row and unbeknownst to me (as I had never practiced back there), if you are set up near the exit doors you actually get a little bit of fresh air everyone time someone walks out or in the class. Absolute heaven as they don't open the doors EVER during class and even when its finished the heat stays on. Ugh. And yes, yogis are allowed to leave at their own discretion whenever they feel the need. Some teachers comment on it and others don't.
So this afternoon we had Posture Clinic and we went through Awkward. The teachers we had for this clinic were Troy & Iko from New York and they were AMAZING! I have a whole page of notes on teaching that I will write up on the weekend as they had just so much valuable information that they shared with us. They showed such compassion, motivation and passion for EVERY student who said their dialogue regardless of how good they did or didn't do and I feel I could learn SO much from them, purely on just how to carry yourself in life both inside and outside of the hot room. They were such models of the kind of person I endeavour to be. Needless to say I hope we get to see them again.
Anyway, I got up and did my dialogue and it went pretty well. They said I smiled a lot and looked pretty natural - some of that because I had a yogi from my home studio in the demo group so that helped me relax.
In the 3rd part, I forgot the 3rd line, which is "Exhale breathing, suck your stomach in, spine straight", and so Troy asked me to do just the 3rd part again. As soon as I started and got to that line I realised I had forgotten it the first time and said so to Troy. He said that was all he needed to know as he wanted to check I hadn't learnt it without that line, and then explained the importance of exhale breathing and how that helps straighten your spine - something I hadn't realised before. He said there are some lines that it doesn't matter if you omit them but that particular line was really important in setting up the posture. So you can bet I'll NEVER forget it again.
Unfortunately while we are here we aren't given time to have all the postures and dialogue broken down for us like that and so they said it is up to us to make sure we learn how to connect the postures with the dialogue and really start to recognise what the bodies are doing so that the dialogue almost comes 2nd place to us as we already know what the bodies are supposed to be doing. Does that make sense? Its kind of hard to explain, but for now for myself and I think for a lot of the others we are just repeating lines and not really connecting them with the bodies so that will be the biggest thing to learn.
So we're back tonight for another Anatomy lecture. Fingers crossed we finish before midnight. I am still enjoying my sleep as that supposed "not needing sleep' benefit from 2 classes a day has not kicked in!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Only Tuesday
Today's post will be short and sweet. They have moved up our evening start time from 9:30pm to 8:30pm which means we have less time after the afternoon class to get our dinner organised, cram in some studying and be ready for the lecture. As this is the only time I find to write a post, I'll make it a quick one.
So tonight we're having posture clinic. Hopefully the rest of the peops in our group will finish up Back Bending and Hands to Feet so that we can move on to Awkward. The reason for the early start is that because we are such a large group they need to make up some time somewhere along the way. The other option would be to make training 10 weeks. Oh God NO! I will stay up late, I will stay up late! Anything to make the bad days come to an end.
Well ok, its not that bad......yet. But I am certainly not loving the experience like I had envisaged. Everyone says that by the end you will just not want to leave so I'm hanging out for that because at the mo I'm ready to change my flight and get the hell out of here asap.
Its kind of hard to explain, because its not horrible, its just kind of dare I say it, boring? Oh and bloody hard work. From the minute you wake up the day is tightly run to a schedule that is exactly the same everyday (except weekends) and though some of the lectures are different and very very good, I still have a sense of dread knowing that tomorrow we do it all over again exactly the bloody same.
Anyway, enough whining, I bored everyone enough for the past two years talking about how much I wanted to come here so I had better not bore you all with details of how little I'm enjoying it!
This morning's class was taught by Emmy. She said our Rabbit postures were so bad that the only things those rabbits were good for is stew. Baaahaaaahaaa. I just loved that one! Small things make for great humour in that torture chamber!
She also said how in Bow Pose it is really important to bring your chest down parallel to the floor especially if you are inflexible. Will def think about it more next time I'm in class.
Tonight we had Rajashree again who once again charmed everyone with her lovely nature. Even when she says she is not giving us anymore Mother Love and is going to get mean she is still wonderful. She asked if anyone was homesick and then said how its good to get away so that we appreciate the people in our lives, and also to really value this experience as its not often we get a chance in life to dedicate 9 weeks purely to ourselves and our own development. A nice thought to end the class on. :-)
So in light of that I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful people back on the Goldie and in NZ whom I am missing right now. I am so blessed to have such great people in my life who make being here all the more bittersweet. Namaste to you all. xxx
So tonight we're having posture clinic. Hopefully the rest of the peops in our group will finish up Back Bending and Hands to Feet so that we can move on to Awkward. The reason for the early start is that because we are such a large group they need to make up some time somewhere along the way. The other option would be to make training 10 weeks. Oh God NO! I will stay up late, I will stay up late! Anything to make the bad days come to an end.
Well ok, its not that bad......yet. But I am certainly not loving the experience like I had envisaged. Everyone says that by the end you will just not want to leave so I'm hanging out for that because at the mo I'm ready to change my flight and get the hell out of here asap.
Its kind of hard to explain, because its not horrible, its just kind of dare I say it, boring? Oh and bloody hard work. From the minute you wake up the day is tightly run to a schedule that is exactly the same everyday (except weekends) and though some of the lectures are different and very very good, I still have a sense of dread knowing that tomorrow we do it all over again exactly the bloody same.
Anyway, enough whining, I bored everyone enough for the past two years talking about how much I wanted to come here so I had better not bore you all with details of how little I'm enjoying it!
This morning's class was taught by Emmy. She said our Rabbit postures were so bad that the only things those rabbits were good for is stew. Baaahaaaahaaa. I just loved that one! Small things make for great humour in that torture chamber!
She also said how in Bow Pose it is really important to bring your chest down parallel to the floor especially if you are inflexible. Will def think about it more next time I'm in class.
Tonight we had Rajashree again who once again charmed everyone with her lovely nature. Even when she says she is not giving us anymore Mother Love and is going to get mean she is still wonderful. She asked if anyone was homesick and then said how its good to get away so that we appreciate the people in our lives, and also to really value this experience as its not often we get a chance in life to dedicate 9 weeks purely to ourselves and our own development. A nice thought to end the class on. :-)
So in light of that I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful people back on the Goldie and in NZ whom I am missing right now. I am so blessed to have such great people in my life who make being here all the more bittersweet. Namaste to you all. xxx
Monday, May 2, 2011
At last! Rajashree !
So this morning's class went fairly well for me considering how crap I am feeling with this cold. Certainly if I was at home I would have chosen the stay at home option but when you have to practice its amazing how well you can turn off your mind, listen to the dialogue and just do the postures. Thats not to say that it was one of my best efforts by any stretch of the imagination but I got through it without too much problem.
Then this aft we broke into our groups and started working on the rest of the dialogue. We are all divided into groups of approx 20 students and from now on we will practice and do the posture clinics with that group. This includes practicing on a specific line in the hot room which is rotated daily so that everyone gets a chance to practice in the front row. Up till today we had been allowed to practice wherever we wanted and so it was interesting to see that already there were people who had established their spots in the front rows etc.
For the posture clinics we work together with another group, so there is 40 of us in total. Again, these group combinations are rotated on a daily basis so that my group gets to work with every other group here. A good way to meet everyone and keep things fresh.
Today we did Back Bending and Pada Hastasana / Hands to Feet Pose. I got up and delivered my dialogue - though not feeling the best, I just wanted it over so I could start reviewing the next posture, which is Awkward pose. Awkward to do and awkward to learn!
I did ok, though the teacher said I need to connect with the students more to try and see what they are doing / feeling. Granted at this stage, I pretty much just say the words and don't make much of a connection at all with the bodies in front of me. Something I will endeavour to work on but I'm also hoping it will develop naturally over time once I'm more comfortable with public speaking.
Then this afternoon we had our first class with Rasjashree, Bikram's wife. The two of them couldn't be more opposite. She has such a calming, loving nature and energy it makes you want to work hard just to please her. Apparently we will be seeing more of her over the next few weeks both in the hot room and in the lecture room so I'm really looking forward to that.
Tonight is our first Anatomy lecture so it will be interesting to see what that involves. Its all very well to learn the dialogue but I hope to learn why we do things a certain way and what muscles etc are involved so that I really understand the posture rather than just recite some written words. I'll keep you posted on how it all goes. :-)
Then this aft we broke into our groups and started working on the rest of the dialogue. We are all divided into groups of approx 20 students and from now on we will practice and do the posture clinics with that group. This includes practicing on a specific line in the hot room which is rotated daily so that everyone gets a chance to practice in the front row. Up till today we had been allowed to practice wherever we wanted and so it was interesting to see that already there were people who had established their spots in the front rows etc.
For the posture clinics we work together with another group, so there is 40 of us in total. Again, these group combinations are rotated on a daily basis so that my group gets to work with every other group here. A good way to meet everyone and keep things fresh.
Today we did Back Bending and Pada Hastasana / Hands to Feet Pose. I got up and delivered my dialogue - though not feeling the best, I just wanted it over so I could start reviewing the next posture, which is Awkward pose. Awkward to do and awkward to learn!
I did ok, though the teacher said I need to connect with the students more to try and see what they are doing / feeling. Granted at this stage, I pretty much just say the words and don't make much of a connection at all with the bodies in front of me. Something I will endeavour to work on but I'm also hoping it will develop naturally over time once I'm more comfortable with public speaking.
Then this afternoon we had our first class with Rasjashree, Bikram's wife. The two of them couldn't be more opposite. She has such a calming, loving nature and energy it makes you want to work hard just to please her. Apparently we will be seeing more of her over the next few weeks both in the hot room and in the lecture room so I'm really looking forward to that.
Tonight is our first Anatomy lecture so it will be interesting to see what that involves. Its all very well to learn the dialogue but I hope to learn why we do things a certain way and what muscles etc are involved so that I really understand the posture rather than just recite some written words. I'll keep you posted on how it all goes. :-)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Weekend at Laguna Beach
Well the weekend is over already. I can't help but feel a bit of a sense of dread at the week ahead. I'm battling a cold, still feel exhausted amd feeling a little homesick too so the thought of the intense week ahead is a little overwhelming. Lets just hope the Mondayitist doesn't settle in too badly.
I did have a fantastic weekend though. Some friends I know from NZ live near Laguna beach which is about an hour away so I hired a car and went down to spend the weekend with them. Unfort the cost of hiring a car doesn't make it something I can do every weekend but it was SO nice to get out of this hotel and away from here.
The weather was fabulous so we went to a restaurant on the hilltop overlooking the beach and spent the afternoon up there. My friend left NZ over 5 years ago and it was before I'd discovered Bikram yoga so it was interesting to hear him say the change he could see in me. Certainly I feel very different and handle things in my day to day life with so much more clarity and confidence than I ever did before so it was nice to have that recognised. It will be interesting too to see how my personal strength and perspective on life changes over the next month and a half.
So we start posture clinic tomorrow. That is where we break into smaller groups and work on each posture including delivering the dialogue. I am SO grateful I put in the time to learn the dialogue before I came here. It means what little free time we have is mine to do as I wish which is a god-send!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to an early night so will sign off here. I have pics to upload from the weekend but the internet is really really slow so am unable to at the moment. I believe its a long weekend for all the peops in Oz so you guys have Monday off. Oh what bliss! :-)
I did have a fantastic weekend though. Some friends I know from NZ live near Laguna beach which is about an hour away so I hired a car and went down to spend the weekend with them. Unfort the cost of hiring a car doesn't make it something I can do every weekend but it was SO nice to get out of this hotel and away from here.
The weather was fabulous so we went to a restaurant on the hilltop overlooking the beach and spent the afternoon up there. My friend left NZ over 5 years ago and it was before I'd discovered Bikram yoga so it was interesting to hear him say the change he could see in me. Certainly I feel very different and handle things in my day to day life with so much more clarity and confidence than I ever did before so it was nice to have that recognised. It will be interesting too to see how my personal strength and perspective on life changes over the next month and a half.
So we start posture clinic tomorrow. That is where we break into smaller groups and work on each posture including delivering the dialogue. I am SO grateful I put in the time to learn the dialogue before I came here. It means what little free time we have is mine to do as I wish which is a god-send!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to an early night so will sign off here. I have pics to upload from the weekend but the internet is really really slow so am unable to at the moment. I believe its a long weekend for all the peops in Oz so you guys have Monday off. Oh what bliss! :-)
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Art of Being a Teacher
We had a lecture today with Lynn a teacher from San Fransisco on how to think as a teacher and the importance of having compassion for your students. It was really really interesting and changed some of my thinking about my approach to discipline in the class etc.
Part of the rationale behind making TT so tough is that they hope it will teach us to be compassionate with our students. When we're having a tough class and / or struggling with a posture she said to think about how you're feeling, how you're breathing, what is going on in your head and how you get through that - and to remember those feelings when you see students struggling in your class.
Granted we want everyone to "kill themselves" and work hard but there is also a need to recognise when someone has maybe hit the wall and is having a hard time in class and to respect that. And that means, that if they need to sit down, if they need to drink lots of water, whatever it may be that we should NEVER make assumptions about what someone is capable of. We don't know what is going on in there lives and what kind of day they might have had etc, so we should respect that as adults we are all capable of making the right decision about how to look after ourselves. We need to empower our students to make the right choices about what is right for them.
She spoke a lot about the fact that in her opinion, someone doing some yoga is better than them doing none at all. Therefore if they are late to class (she will allow yogis to come in at any stage through Pranayama breathing) or need to leave early then that is ok. She said we are yoga teachers not prison guards and we should make the yoga room a safe place for your students not a prison cell. A lot of things are non-issues and so don't worry about them.
On the flip side she said we need to learn how to get the best out of our students and recognise when people are responding positively to corrections or being pushed. And that as a teacher when we are practicing we should lead by example and be the kind of student we want to teach. E.g. We can do this by teaching our students when to drink water. Don't tell them NOT to drink, but tell them when it is time for a water break and they will then learn when its appropriate to drink.
So all in all a much more relaxed approach to whats going on during class and I hope I remember to take that with me into the hot room. Much as I like having the discipline and work really hard to not fidget, drink water, and get distracted etc, I realise that is how I like my practice but may not necessarily work for everyone, and yeah sometimes you just have a crappy practice for seemingly no reason at all, and to just let that happen :-)
Part of the rationale behind making TT so tough is that they hope it will teach us to be compassionate with our students. When we're having a tough class and / or struggling with a posture she said to think about how you're feeling, how you're breathing, what is going on in your head and how you get through that - and to remember those feelings when you see students struggling in your class.
Granted we want everyone to "kill themselves" and work hard but there is also a need to recognise when someone has maybe hit the wall and is having a hard time in class and to respect that. And that means, that if they need to sit down, if they need to drink lots of water, whatever it may be that we should NEVER make assumptions about what someone is capable of. We don't know what is going on in there lives and what kind of day they might have had etc, so we should respect that as adults we are all capable of making the right decision about how to look after ourselves. We need to empower our students to make the right choices about what is right for them.
She spoke a lot about the fact that in her opinion, someone doing some yoga is better than them doing none at all. Therefore if they are late to class (she will allow yogis to come in at any stage through Pranayama breathing) or need to leave early then that is ok. She said we are yoga teachers not prison guards and we should make the yoga room a safe place for your students not a prison cell. A lot of things are non-issues and so don't worry about them.
On the flip side she said we need to learn how to get the best out of our students and recognise when people are responding positively to corrections or being pushed. And that as a teacher when we are practicing we should lead by example and be the kind of student we want to teach. E.g. We can do this by teaching our students when to drink water. Don't tell them NOT to drink, but tell them when it is time for a water break and they will then learn when its appropriate to drink.
So all in all a much more relaxed approach to whats going on during class and I hope I remember to take that with me into the hot room. Much as I like having the discipline and work really hard to not fidget, drink water, and get distracted etc, I realise that is how I like my practice but may not necessarily work for everyone, and yeah sometimes you just have a crappy practice for seemingly no reason at all, and to just let that happen :-)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
First Milestone Completed!
This afternoon we finally finished listening to everyone deliver their dialogue for Ardha Chandrasana, Half Moon Pose which is the first posture in the Bikram series. That means we have heard it a total of 430 times! Oh my lord. I could die happily without ever hearing that bloody part of the dialogue again........... Words cannot describe the mind numbing boredom that came with that exercise. As I've said before, I understand the reason behind it, and I think its brilliant that Bikram puts the time in to meet every single one of us individually, and its a lesson in patience etc etc but ......oh my expletive expletive expletive!
I couldn't post yesterday as there has been problems with the wifi internet in our rooms and so it mean't we couldn't get access online. Which is probably just as well as yesterday was probably my worst day to date and so it would have just been a post of bitching and ranting. Hmmm, only took 10 days for me to get the shits with all of this. Oy!
It didn't help that the night before we were up till 4 a.m. watching a Bollywood movie. I actually really enjoyed the movie but I struggled to get by the next day on only 3.5 hours sleep and so my temperment and frame of mind was not good.
I am starting to understand why some teachers said to me that though its an amazing life changing experience they would not choose to come back here. There are a lot of what I call "following like sheep" exercises which is just a necessity when trying to manage a large number of people like this, and you have to have the mentality of just "playing the game" and being where you need to be when you need to be etc etc.
Its a mind set and a great lesson in being present and just learning to deal with things as they are because thats what "is". E.g. We have to prepare our own meals and there is only one (repeat ONE) working microwave for 430 peops to share. Now you don't have to be a mathematician to realise that getting your food cooked at mealtimes is going to be a mission, so you just learn to prepare your meals in other ways. NO amount of complaining is going to magically make another microwave appear, though some people want to give it a good go!
Anyway, today is a different day and after a full night's sleep I'm feeling human again. I knew that for me the sleep deprivation was probably going to be the most difficult thing for me to cope with. My practice is coming along well and I have had a number of really strong classes which always feels good :-)
Emmy taught this mornings class and apparently will teach reguarly on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so that is something to look forward to. She is the only teacher who doesn't teach on the podium - its so high she says she feels like she is going to get a nose bleed up there. lol And she doesn't say the dialogue in the way we are to learn it, which keeps you really present as you can't predict when to go in and out of postures.
She said that when teaching a class she feels like a conductor leading an orchestra and the energy from all of us in the room dictates how to lead us. A nice thought, except we were all SO tired from the late night before I would imagine the energy we were giving off would not have made for very nice music at all..........yawn.......sigh..........
Some notes from this afternoon's class, that is class # 18 (Thursday) which Jim taught and I really enjoyed:
Eagle - to keep you hands / palms together and pull the elbows down BEFORE you interlock the fingers if you need to. This makes you use your shoulders to pull the elbows down rather than your hands. Also, which ever leg is on top after you've "twisted like ropes" that, that is the direction to twist your legs towards to get everything in one line. e.g. If your left leg is on top then you would twist your knees to the left.
Standing head to knee: That you have to bend forward even a few inches rather than just standing straight up and holding the knee (if you can't bend all the way forward). Its a forward bending posture and you have to get your body to start doing it to gain any improvement.
The same for camel, you have to keep your knees together at the start of the posture and go into it that way so that you don't create a habit of spreading the knees always thinking you are unable to do it.
He stressed that it is very important that we don't modify the postures to suit the body and any injuries / inflexibilities we might have. That we have to change our body to be able to do the posture. Therefore even if you can't do the posture fully you have to go as far as you can even if thats just going a few inches in the right direction.
Apparently if you took a dead body you would be able to put it into any yoga posture regardless of how inflexbile that person might have thought they were. This just shows how much of it is mind over matter and how our mind holds us back. Interesting eh? Not that I want to be doing yoga with dead bodies to prove it!
Well I think thats it for today. I'm having to come down to the lobby for wi-fi access so need to get back up to my room and organised for tonight's lecture. Lets hope its not a late one. Hmmm I think that may be my new mantra as I say it at at the end of every post!
I couldn't post yesterday as there has been problems with the wifi internet in our rooms and so it mean't we couldn't get access online. Which is probably just as well as yesterday was probably my worst day to date and so it would have just been a post of bitching and ranting. Hmmm, only took 10 days for me to get the shits with all of this. Oy!
It didn't help that the night before we were up till 4 a.m. watching a Bollywood movie. I actually really enjoyed the movie but I struggled to get by the next day on only 3.5 hours sleep and so my temperment and frame of mind was not good.
I am starting to understand why some teachers said to me that though its an amazing life changing experience they would not choose to come back here. There are a lot of what I call "following like sheep" exercises which is just a necessity when trying to manage a large number of people like this, and you have to have the mentality of just "playing the game" and being where you need to be when you need to be etc etc.
Its a mind set and a great lesson in being present and just learning to deal with things as they are because thats what "is". E.g. We have to prepare our own meals and there is only one (repeat ONE) working microwave for 430 peops to share. Now you don't have to be a mathematician to realise that getting your food cooked at mealtimes is going to be a mission, so you just learn to prepare your meals in other ways. NO amount of complaining is going to magically make another microwave appear, though some people want to give it a good go!
Anyway, today is a different day and after a full night's sleep I'm feeling human again. I knew that for me the sleep deprivation was probably going to be the most difficult thing for me to cope with. My practice is coming along well and I have had a number of really strong classes which always feels good :-)
Emmy taught this mornings class and apparently will teach reguarly on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so that is something to look forward to. She is the only teacher who doesn't teach on the podium - its so high she says she feels like she is going to get a nose bleed up there. lol And she doesn't say the dialogue in the way we are to learn it, which keeps you really present as you can't predict when to go in and out of postures.
She said that when teaching a class she feels like a conductor leading an orchestra and the energy from all of us in the room dictates how to lead us. A nice thought, except we were all SO tired from the late night before I would imagine the energy we were giving off would not have made for very nice music at all..........yawn.......sigh..........
Some notes from this afternoon's class, that is class # 18 (Thursday) which Jim taught and I really enjoyed:
Eagle - to keep you hands / palms together and pull the elbows down BEFORE you interlock the fingers if you need to. This makes you use your shoulders to pull the elbows down rather than your hands. Also, which ever leg is on top after you've "twisted like ropes" that, that is the direction to twist your legs towards to get everything in one line. e.g. If your left leg is on top then you would twist your knees to the left.
Standing head to knee: That you have to bend forward even a few inches rather than just standing straight up and holding the knee (if you can't bend all the way forward). Its a forward bending posture and you have to get your body to start doing it to gain any improvement.
The same for camel, you have to keep your knees together at the start of the posture and go into it that way so that you don't create a habit of spreading the knees always thinking you are unable to do it.
He stressed that it is very important that we don't modify the postures to suit the body and any injuries / inflexibilities we might have. That we have to change our body to be able to do the posture. Therefore even if you can't do the posture fully you have to go as far as you can even if thats just going a few inches in the right direction.
Apparently if you took a dead body you would be able to put it into any yoga posture regardless of how inflexbile that person might have thought they were. This just shows how much of it is mind over matter and how our mind holds us back. Interesting eh? Not that I want to be doing yoga with dead bodies to prove it!
Well I think thats it for today. I'm having to come down to the lobby for wi-fi access so need to get back up to my room and organised for tonight's lecture. Lets hope its not a late one. Hmmm I think that may be my new mantra as I say it at at the end of every post!
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