Week 2- Operation successful, patient is dead, doctor is happy

Week 1 seemed to go by slowly, week2 went by fast. The heat and humidity issue has been fixed. Classes this week were challenging. I found myself saying, “That’s the hardest class I’ve ever had.” on multiple occasions. The heat in the room comes from all directions, not just the forced air above but also from heaters underneath the floor. One teacher had her watch on the floor and burned herself when she picked it up. I am surprised at how quickly things got intense. Many of the people I know who thought it wasn’t hot before agree it’s plenty hot now. In general most of us are struggling more through class. There were a few instances where I thought I was going to puke. A couple times I found myself crying, sometimes due to fear or pain, other times due to accomplishment and happiness. I find that I have to keep pushing myself more because I feel less energy. Usually by the end of class I have nothing left and can barely do stretching pose. (In this posture you bring one leg out to the right, lock it out, bend forward, grab your toes, and touch your forehead to the knee. You repeat with the left side and then again with both feet in front of you.) More people are requiring assistance to leave the room or to throw up. One day in particular was intense. In the morning class a student, out of nowhere, let out a blood curdling scream. It was one of the most horrifying things I’ve heard. It took me a few postures to regain my composure. I know this is normal and it’s a release of negative energy. It just caught me off guard and scared me. Then evening class came…I can’t put it into words. All I can say is I am thankful I made it through class and was able to do each posture, no matter how sloppy and weak they may have been. By the end of Pranayama breathing (the first breathing exercise) my towel was soaked. I struggled harder than I’ve ever struggled in my life. At least that’s how it felt during that class. At one point Bikram stopped and asked if he should give us a 10 minute break to throw up since half the class had left the room. I won’t speculate about the temperature and humidity, but I heard teachers outside talking of Acapulco where the humidity was 96%. I was by a thermometer monitoring temperature/humidity. I’m not going to say what I saw because when I saw it, I was in disbelief and the only logical conclusion I had is that I was hallucinating. There is a method to all this madness. We have classes like this to remind ourselves what new students will feel like when they enter the room. Too often we forget our first class, this is a gentle reminder. There is also an upside to intense heat and humidity – you physically struggle less. Your limbs, joints, tendons, everything are so warmed up that you’re like spaghetti. The downside is pushing through mentally.

I’ve had one encounter with “mat rage” already. There is a series we do standing called stretching series. In this series of postures we take a three to four foot step on either side of the mat, depending on the posture. We’re in pretty close quarters. There are lines that run from one side of the tent to the other to form rows. The rule of thumb is one person is one the line and the other is in front of the line. You are supposed to do the opposite of what the person to your left does. So if the person to the left is on the line, I will step forward. It never fails someone gets confused and doesn’t step in the right direction. Such confusion is only natural since this is the last full series of postures (except for tree pose) of the standing series. It’s one of the most intense parts of class, the top of the mountain. I was having a hard class Monday morning and my foot was slipping like crazy in triangle pose (I’m going to forgo explaining this posture for now, I know it will come back later. I love this posture but find it comes at the most mentally and physically challenging part of the standing series). I was trying to tighten my abs and push my heel into the floor, but it just kept slipping. I had also moved forward and was hitting something with my foot, it felt like a yoga mat. When we changed out of the posture I found I was hitting my neighbor’s foot. Before I could muster an “I’m sorry” she snapped at me with an angry, disgusted face and said, “Move back!” All I could do was move back, get into the next posture, and shake my head. I thought of a quote I heard from another teacher training where a senior teacher said to the class, “Do you want to be perfect or do you want to be a good yoga teacher?” My angry neighbor has a killer strong practice, but the attitude was unnecessary. Thankfully the tension was gone by tree pose and never returned. The next evening I introduced myself and apologized for stepping on her foot. She also apologized and explained how she gets very focused and serious in her practice and sometimes comes off too serious.

This is a good example of Karma Yoga. We’ve been getting into this all week with Bikram in his lectures. This topic is broad and we haven’t even gotten to the iceberg, but here are some interesting things Bikram has taught us about Karma Yoga.

- Even if you can communicate with the worst person in the world they will like you. Change their thoughts, make them forget they are bad people, make everyone like you. More bad people who listen to you and you make them forget, that is the key to success. Prove you know something they don’t, they will depend on you.

- No excuse is a good excuse not to do your job. Try something different to make it work. Doctor never says, “From morning I deal with sick people.” Deal with them and make them hear you. Success is how you deal with people, in your behavior, they will miss you.

- Never lie, hold the mirror in front of their face, see what they are supposed to see, never compromise, always tell the truth even if person doesn’t like it.

- Ultimate destination in life is Karma Yoga. Just do your job, that’s why each person has their own specialty. You cannot take as long as you want to do Karma Yoga, there is a time limit.

One of our peers came up to speak about why she started practicing Bikram Yoga. She was in a car accident and had been pulled from the car seconds before it exploded. She ran down a long list of bones that were broken in her body as well as describing the many areas of her body that had been burned. She found Bikram Yoga and it helped her heal physically and mentally. She is an inspiration and has an unyielding positive attitude. Another person came up to say half moon and Bikram told her, “No breakfast, no lunch, and half a sandwich for dinner.” This is because of her weight. She explained to him she had an eating disorder and Bikram Yoga helped her overcome it and accept herself for who she is. She told him she refused to let him steal her peace. The room erupted in applause and support. This gained his respect for her. He used her as an example in class one day. He put her next to a guy who was rail thin to demonstrate how people who are heavy have naturally flexible bones and people who are skinny can be brittle and inflexible.

I’m really sore. It started in the beginning of the week when one of my back muscles cramped up when I was grocery shopping. I worked that out in Monday morning class, but found stiffness and pain started to slowly creep into other parts of my body. My thighs and quads are the worst. Pada Hastasana has become a most challenging posture for me. In this pose we bend our knees, grab our heels from behind with both hands, wrap our elbows behind our calves, pull and stretch our upper body to the floor, and try to lock both knees. In the end, the goal is to touch your head to your toes with both knees locked.

I spent most of the weekend sleeping. My roommate and I both have a dry cough. There are many other people I’ve heard coughing as well. It also doesn’t help when people bring a box of tissues to class and accumulate a pile of snot rags by the end of class. I always cover myself after class with a sweater and wool cap. I guess getting sick is unavoidable and as they say, “Part of the process.” I know Emmy is going to be here this week, I hope to be strong enough to endure her classes. If not, then it’s my time to learn humility. I’m going to focus on one thing at a time. As Wayne Dyer says, “Think small.” In teacher training this means one breath at a time. Bikram told a great story that illustrates this as well.

In the Bahagavad Gita the hero is Arjun. His charioteer is Lord Krishna. There is a story of Arjun as a child. He is part of a group of 20 other children, all of them with bow and arrows. They are all skilled archers. They can hit a moving bird without even looking. There is a tree one mile away from them with a wooden bird. The target itself is a piece of cake for them to hit. The teacher says they aren’t allowed to shoot until he tells them. One by one he goes down the line and asks each child what they see. They all respond the same, “A bird, a tree, the sky.”

Then he comes to Arjun who says, “A bird.”
“What else?” asks the teacher.
“An eye.”
“What color is the eye?”
“Red.”
“Shoot.”

At the risk of sounding too serious I’ll say this. I’m here to do a job. In my view, from where I’m sitting today, my job is to learn as much as possible about yoga (Bikram’s series in particular), my body, my “self”, and everyone around me. I’m starting to see very clearly some of the challenges a yoga teacher will face. Look at the many things that have happened this week. The story of the woman who was in a car accident, the girl who was teased about her weight, the person who found class unbearable and let out a scream that sent a wave of shock across the room, people vomiting, crying, angry. In order to do our job as a teacher we have to be able to lead and give of ourselves enough to encourage people to believe in themselves and push harder, while remaining calm and in control no matter what happens. In order to do this it comes down to the basic principles of our practice – focus, determination, and our favorite mantra “Lock the knee!” It also means having sympathy and understanding, being compassionate. This translates outside of the yoga room too.

Wait!!! I feel like I’ve been so negative and dramatic. It’s not all bad. There is so much good in all of this. As Bikram says, “When things are good don’t get too happy, because bad times are just around the corner. When things are bad, don’t get too sad because good times are just around the corner. Try to be happy and comfortable in the bad times.” And he delivered in spades on Friday night. The whole class was charged and energized. At the end he played a techno song off his Bikram Lounge CD. After a minute a good bit of the room was on their feet dancing. It was a site to behold. We’ve had so many great classes from other teachers like Ulysses from Mexico City. He is tough, but gentle, and knows the mind well. Lynn Whitlow is a great teacher too. She holds the postures long and makes sure we do them right, the end result is good energy. I always come away feeling refreshed and upbeat after her classes. Apparently not everyone agrees with me. One student wrote that she was Satan on someone’s Facebook wall. She happened to see it and called them out in class. The teachers are starting to plant the seed that we’re no longer students, we’re teachers. So as tough as the process may seem it’s normal and there’s a reason for it. We might not understand it now, but there is a reason, it’s best not to try and think about it or understand it while we’re in it. After two weeks, I understand I have no control over the heat, when I’m supposed to be somewhere, or where I’m supposed to be somewhere. The best thing to do is accept it and just be part of the process, go with the flow as they say.

See you next week. I lost my camera and hopefully will have it back to post pictures. Time to soak in some Epsom salt =) Prayers, good vibes, and positive wishes are always welcome =) Peace.

This week’s quotes from Bikram:

When you blow ashes fire comes out. This is Yoga.

Hollywood, we entertain the world. Bikram enterains Hollywood.

So many successfull people in life behave like they are nobody; so many people who haven't accomplished anything act like a hot shot.

Women have 90%, men have 10%. As soon as they realize men's limitation they can have a successful relationship. If they expect otherwise then good luck, you're in deep shit.

A yogi never goes to a funeral. Before they burn the body, I go in the middle of the night and jump on the body, "LOCK THE KNEE!" Won't let you into heaven if you're limping.

Mind is your slave or your best friend. Body and mind work together, perfect marriage, they can look at the soul.

Don't invite crocodile into your bedroom. It will not make love to you, it will eat you up piece by piece.

I complain and complain, now they're burning your balls and ass.

I almost forgot. Here is a list of the Bollywood movies we've seen so far:

Kahe Naa...Pyar Hai
Kal Ho Naa Ho
Jodhaa Akbar

I'm waiting to see this one =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVuIBpJ6B4E&feature=player_embedded