April 22, 2012

April 22, 2012 Week One THE SHORT VERSION: I am writing a short version for those of you somewhat interested in my training but not exactly into yoga or just don't want to read my lengthy account of my week from a more stream of thoughts no editing style. IEven the short version will be probably a little lengthy cause it lays out what life in the bubble is like. I suspect week to week it will be shorter. Strangely enough I have found the very most challenging part so far to be the actual physical yoga. For someone that has done a pretty full range of physically challenging stuff, like marathons, ironman, riding across Canada on my bike, backpacking for weeks on end in the mountains, it's funny that this is what I struggle with. We start the day awith a class at 8:00. I've been getting up around 5:00 to talk to Dan while he was at a different time zone and then go for a 40 minute run at 6:00. While I'm very used to and love the 90 minute intense yoga at 105 degrees, doing intense yoga for over 120 minutes in 120 degrees is a totally different experience. Doing this 2x a day while trying to figure out what and when to eat and hydrate (cause believe me you kind of don't feel like eating or even drinking much) as nothing tasted the same or settles in your stomach like usual. Just being water and dizzy during class is fine, but it is not fun to be nauseous. Even piled up once in my towel cause you know once you have to puke you can't very well get up and then maybe do it all over people. But it is fine. After morning class we get about an hour break to eat, shower and then we go to lecture for 3-4 hours. Well the first week "lecture" is listening to each one of us deliver as if we were teaching the first posture to Bikram himself. It takes about that long to go through. 50 people so it gets pretty boring after about the 3rd day. It is very good though, Bikram instructs us by how each delivers and the subtleties are very apparent. What makes it even more interesting is when his opinion of a studen'ts delivery is different than my first thoughts. Trying to figure out why. Anyway after the afternoon lecture we go back to another brutal class from 5:00-7:00 and then get a little over an hour for dinner before we go back for more lecture. Those can last anywhere from midnight (the more usual) to 2-4 in the morning. While they started us off with several of the really tough long and extra hot classes, toward the end of the week they eased off a little and we had a couple of the normal 90 minute 105 degree. Even most of those have been tough for me but I think it is cause I have not quite figured out my eating and drinking but this weekend I have made some adjustments in stuff am optimistic that the nausea will go away. As a no meat or fishers vegetarian (but one for only about a year) and a no red meat for much longer, I decided and have craved more protein so this weekend I stocked my refrigerator with meat and fish. Last thing, on the short version, speaking of food...we have a little refrigerator but since we are living out of a hotel room and no time, there is no cooked food during the week. I found myself craving anything with liquid like lettuce and fruit and anything protein. I don't eat bread but normally my diet is carb filled with rice, rice cakes and oatmeal. Uggh, did not want to even put them near my mouth. So that has been kind of fun figuring it all out. Oh one last thing, 400 people from all over the world, all ages, professions, life's stories. That has been the most fun, getting to know so many. THE LONG VERSION Wow, first of all, for everyone offering so many words of encouragement and thoughts towards Mark and I...thank you. I'm sure 'I'll be tapping into it as time goes on. I've learned so much about myself and about others and teaching to others in just one week I can't wait to see what else is in store. First of all, you know this yoga like most things physical has never been mentally hard for me, oh sure it has it's challenges to work hard and get better, just like racing always did and I don't mean to minimize that because it has it's hard moments you know when you feel like your guts are coming out and you can't hardly breathe in the last half mile of a race or climbing the last bit up a long steep mountain on your bike, but the everyday training was a joy, a gift, something I loved to do in running, cycling, and yoga. The little tough challenges any given day, well OK, it was always from a place of strength. So when I went to class this week, I got it...I totally related with everyone I see at the yoga room that have to take break, that talk about being nauseous, that sit against the wall in the locker room for 15 minutes, trying to get enough energy to go home. You are the real warriors. you know, I always knew that in my brain and with my intellect, but now to actually experience it makes it reality something I know, not just a thought construct. So already I feel I will be a better teacher because of it. I am sitting here thinking, how many things would be better to experience than just to kind of know it in your brain...kind of like prejudice...of course I know people of various groups experience this all the time and I know it in my head, but I also know I don't really know it from the reality of the experience, I wish I could. Anyway I digress. So being on the edge just about every class is totally different. Usually in class, the time flies by, I just zone out and work as hard as I can and flash, the class is over. Here, I'm in my head at least through all the standing postures, "how hard should I push early...oh starting to get light headed...should I take a half posture off etc etc" Other than one day when I was down from triangle through savasana I've managed to hang in, but not easily. I tried drinking during class and it does not work for me. I bring in my bottle and wet my lips at various times, but the water gets so hot that it just does not sit well. oh, to give you some idea as to how hot it is, I had to change the glasses I wear, cause the metal ones, would burn my arms when I touched them. Well enough about my physical challenges. Let me give you a sense of Bikram, well I can't really. First of all he is the most entertaining person to listen to, and you have to stay quite alert because amongst all his BS and outrageous diatribe is an incredible amount of wisdom. I'm telling you, I occasionally might stop and hear a comedian on comedy central like say Chris Rock, Eddy Murphy in the day, Tracie Morgan etc etc and Bikram could go Mano a Mano in style and outrageousness. I don't think I'll ever know how much of what he says and does is totally planned with a purpose or how much is innate or how much is just is madness, but let me offer a little something that really kind of freaked me out. People say that Bikram is a master at reading people and part of our trip up to do dialogue in front odd him is so he can know you and give you what you need, sometimes he would be ohhh so kind to the people struggling the most and sometimes a little mean to people that did really really well. So after the first day a little Japanese girl came up to talk to me cause Bikram had talked to me the most of all the 50 people that delivered our dialogue that day, about how perfect it was, and how I spoke it like a teacher communicating and we talked about Cape Cdod, that I ran a lot, that I was married with grandkids etc. the first day I thought oh oh I've been noticed but luckily after now going through 250 more people, not worried at all that I would be singled out ever. phrases. Relief. Anyway, she came up to me because she had just found out 2 days before she came that she was pregnant and asked me what she should do. Well I told her that people practice Bikram pregnant but this is pretty stressful and she should tell the nurse immediately and she would know. Anyway, she is going home, talked to Bikram and is very relieved. So I wanted to make sure I said goodbye and went to see her. I asked her if she had gotten a chance to do dialogue in front of Bikram and she reminded me which one she was and said do you remember Bikram told me I did like dialogue like a woman 9months pregnant. Now how freaky is that? This was way before she had told anyone. So it got me to thinking. Bikram spoke to me that first day for a reason. I will write my thoughts on that in my own personal journal cause I don't know if I am right...but all I can say is that as I sit here, I will try my hardest to fulfill the challenge he has presented for me. Now strangely enough the part I was mist worried about, being a social recluse and not making many friends has been exactly the opposite, how strange is that, the physical the most challenging and the social the easiest. I have met the most fabulous people and have developed bonds with so many. All ranges, There is this beautiful couple from Cambridge England. He is just finishing his phd in biotechnology-schizoprenia and she runs the MBA Program at Cambridge. He used to be a professional cyclist from Greece. To many Spanish, Japanese, students, young, old. Some trying to find meaning in their life's, others with good careers. And you can't tell from just meeting them. I'd say it is about 50/50 foreign to American, although many of the foreign now live in the US. It is also about 40-60 men women. Not sure exactly but certainly does not stand out as being all women like our classes. Just the diverse group of personalities is amazing. I've worked hard at trying to make connections with people that for whatever reason turn me off initially instead of just avoiding them and so far it has really worked and I end up liking them. Luckily, several of the people I had a connection with however slight before I came have already become so very very special to me that I am sure they will be my rocks when I falter. Connections which are inexplicable and clearly mutual. It is my greatest hope that these only get stronger during the 9 weeks and I don't do something to mess with them. Today is Sunday, the whole day with nothing to do, kind of feel like I already rested enough having all yesterday afternoon off. Will give me time to start figuring out my routine and working on dialogue dialogue. oh by the way, forgot to tell you about my first Bollywood movie. It was a ton better than I expected. There is something to be said for low expectations. Other than the fact it went 4 hours with such outrageous plot turns to keep it going just when you thought it was over, it was kind if fun and the actor and actress were both very beautiful and the dancing was quite fun. oh and I forgot to tell you the night about 12:30 after Bikram had been talking for about 3 hours he was going to let us go and then he had them play some Indian Disco song and danced for 5 minutes on the stage, like Bollywood disco dancing. What amazing energy for 65 years old, for any age really. He was quite good and incredibly charming when he wants to turn it on. Other times when he berates his staff you don't like him so much. But he also loves his staff and you can tell they love him so I guess they are used to it. The we listened to Perry Como and some song he recorded. He knows all the celebrities back from my era. I'm sure many of the people don't recognize the names but I recognize them all so it is quite fun. My back hurts from sitting here writing so long. For this of you that made it to the end, boy you have some stamina. It is fun chronicling my thoughts regardless if anyone reads it or not