Thanksgiving Jam Session
Greg (rommate), Sean (neighbor), Me
Mahabharat
Practicing Trikanasana for graduation
Me, Joe, and Melanie before group dinner
Full Locust!!!
You can mess with the gods, but you can't mess with your knees or Minali
Mike Winter, Misha Soltis, and Lynn Whitlow (life savers, all three of them)
Group 9!!!! WooHoo!!! The fire truck is a prop for the group that is fire proof =)
Practicing for graduation. Standing Head to Knee.
Camel Pose for graduation. I'm next to Eric, the guy in the tiger shorts.
Big Dom!!!
Bikram and his Coca Cola 
Wicked photo of the class doing awkward pose with boss!I have no idea where Week 8 went. It’s like it never even existed. I don’t have much to write. Thankfully Bennie Shapiro (fellow teacher trainee and yearbook photographer) posted some awesome pictures and so I am putting some of them up here. He has over 3,000 pictures, I can’t wait to see them all. Big ups to Bennie!
I got a wonderful surprise Monday afternoon when I got a message from my studio owners Troy and Aiko saying they were in Vegas! They couldn’t have come at a better time and I was so happy, elated, ecstatic, overwhelmed with joy to see them. Everyone I ran into told me how awesome they think they are. I couldn’t agree more. I’m lucky to have them as mentors when I get home. I didn’t have them for posture clinic, but I was able to say spine twist for them. I’m happy to say the final delivery in posture clinic blew away my practice runs. Someone recorded it, and I have it, but I’d rather not post it. The cameraman turned it sideways and I’m horizontally vertical for most of the posture. It was great to practice with Troy and Aiko and pig out at the buffet. I also got to see Mochie who is from my studio in NYC, but has been out here in Vegas performing in The Lion King. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to see any shows or do any sightseeing. I wanted to see both The Lion King and Jersey Boys.
Posture clinic finished this week. It was interesting. Some of us were given distractions and we had to give corrections. It takes your mind off the dialogue, but you still need to know the dialogue to keep moving. We have some pretty creative people in our groups when they give distractions. When I was a distraction I would just do the postures like I did when I first started. Sometimes I would get a bit crazy if I knew the person. For instance, in rabbit, when they say to lift your hips all the way up, well…I lifted them all the way up. That meant I had to stand on my tippy toes to do that though =) Karma is a bitch. I got a taste of my own medicine in Head to Knee and Stretching pose. They added about five more bodies, people were doing the posture the wrong way, falling over, one group member kept complaining about the heat, people were talking to each other. Hahahahahaha, it was pretty entertaining and from what I understand not too far off from a real class. The lesson I learned was how to pick and choose battles. One thing that made me feel good is I helped someone get their grip for head to knee pose. I worked with them for a few seconds and without realizing it, I said “good”. It was one of my kudos during feedback. Apparently I was also moving around the podium a bit and fell off a few times. We use towels for a podium and I must have stepped off the towels. We have a tiny podium at my studio, so I need to be aware of that. It was the only time I’ve been told that, so I’m guessing all the distractions were a little overwhelming, I just didn’t realize it.
We enjoyed lots of Mahabharat this week until the wee hours of the morning. I still haven’t learned to accept sleep deprivation. Bikram lost his voice on Tuesday, but he was able to teach class on Wednesday. He didn’t like the class he taught, I thought it was great. We had a great lecture from Lynn Whitlow about being a teacher and all the things we might experience in class. I know she didn’t get to everything, but I think she got most of them. I didn’t stop taking notes the entire time. She is a wealth of knowledge and can communicate it in a way that keeps your attention and makes sense. There are a lot of people here who want to mentor with her. Only a few lucky people will be chosen. The best class this week was Dom’s class. Dom is on staff and we have all been waiting for him to teach. He took Bikram’s slot Friday night. He rocked the house. It was the best class I’ve had, I killed myself and I liked it. We had an interesting lecture Friday night with the staff and they all told their story of how they found Bikram Yoga. All the stories were interesting and inspiring. Dom had an interesting side story. He used to play in different bands back in England. He was always playing with the same two or three people. Eventually he was in a band and they started playing more and more venues, bigger venues. At some point he left. The band changed their name later. They’re now known as Coldplay. Dom rocked it out on the harmonica and piano Thanksgiving night. Bikram had a wonderful banquet for all of us. The spread was awesome, the food was delicious. We were told we weren’t going to have a talent show because of something that happened during the talent show in the previous training. We were spared and had an impromptu show that provided entertainment for the evening. Dom stole the show along with fellow teacher trainee Mike who is a bar musician. He performed on the radio once and signed up for a raffle they were having. One of the prizes was a week of free Bikram Yoga. He took that as the prize and ta daaaaa, now he’s at teacher training. Pretty cool stuff. He’s also a killer musician and can make up a rap off the top of his head. We had a lot of people singing and playing instruments. Speaking of good karma, there just so happened to have a baby grand in the ballroom, which allowed for an impromptu jam at the end of dinner. It was a good time. Bikram and Rajashree both called to wish us happy Thanksgiving.
So we’re onto the final week, week 9. I’ve decided to audition (I guess you could call it that) for the demonstration during graduation. Bikram will pick which of the volunteers he wants to demonstrate, but I decided to give it a go since they need more guys. We go through it for about 15 minutes after class. The pace is fast and it’s pretty intense. It reminds me of advanced class. I like it. He’ll pick the finalists Monday night after class. Lock the knee! Lock the knee! Lock the knee! Touch your thumbs to your forehead! Touch your thumbs to your forehead! Touch your thumbs to your forehead!
The weekend was pretty good too I must say. Saturday night was another group dinner. We had a blast! Today I finally had a massage. Eight whole weeks and every weekend I said I was going to get a massage. And every weekend I never found the time. Finally, at long last, I had a one hour deep tissue massage. I’ve had massages in the past, just to relax. This one was different. I can feel things opening and moving. It’s not just to feel relaxed, trust me I do, going forward it’s to maintain a healthy body with my Bikram Yoga practice. I made some good friends and will miss them. I’ll miss the training too, I know I will. There are some parts I don’t think I would do over, at least not where I am now, but I think eventually, in the future, once my skeletal system (the bone joints) has improved I will think differently =)
We’re being called teachers now. We’re no longer students or trainees. We’re now going to be examples for students. That’s an honor and also a big responsibility. I can’t wait to teach. Sure, I’m scared shitless, but I’m also excited at the amount of growth I will see all around me. I’m really interested to see if I will automatically regurgitate all 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. I went through most of the standing series today from memory and only had to go over a couple postures. Here at training, we only memorize one side, one set. In a real class, you have to say both sides and have two sets. I know I’ll do fine and will improve, because I care, but the initial fear of that first class is unavoidable. I keep thinking about what one of the visiting teachers said. She had a hard time with dialogue and at the end of training she was talking to Craig Villani saying she didn’t think teaching was for her and she didn’t think she could do it. Craig asked her to promise him she would just teach one class. She did. Now she owns a studio. The first class is what it is. We start from scratch and go from there.
Thanks to everyone who has posted comments throughout training. I’m sorry I haven’t responded to you. Things are crazy on the weekends and I usually share my internet connection with other people.
Peace until next week. I will leave you with a quote a teacher shared with us in class. She wasn’t doing so hot and Bikram told her she looked like shit. She said “thanks boss” and he responded with this, “The lotus flower floats in shit. Then it blossoms.” Laugh, it’s funny, but it’s true too. The man knows how to get his point across.
I got a wonderful surprise Monday afternoon when I got a message from my studio owners Troy and Aiko saying they were in Vegas! They couldn’t have come at a better time and I was so happy, elated, ecstatic, overwhelmed with joy to see them. Everyone I ran into told me how awesome they think they are. I couldn’t agree more. I’m lucky to have them as mentors when I get home. I didn’t have them for posture clinic, but I was able to say spine twist for them. I’m happy to say the final delivery in posture clinic blew away my practice runs. Someone recorded it, and I have it, but I’d rather not post it. The cameraman turned it sideways and I’m horizontally vertical for most of the posture. It was great to practice with Troy and Aiko and pig out at the buffet. I also got to see Mochie who is from my studio in NYC, but has been out here in Vegas performing in The Lion King. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to see any shows or do any sightseeing. I wanted to see both The Lion King and Jersey Boys.
Posture clinic finished this week. It was interesting. Some of us were given distractions and we had to give corrections. It takes your mind off the dialogue, but you still need to know the dialogue to keep moving. We have some pretty creative people in our groups when they give distractions. When I was a distraction I would just do the postures like I did when I first started. Sometimes I would get a bit crazy if I knew the person. For instance, in rabbit, when they say to lift your hips all the way up, well…I lifted them all the way up. That meant I had to stand on my tippy toes to do that though =) Karma is a bitch. I got a taste of my own medicine in Head to Knee and Stretching pose. They added about five more bodies, people were doing the posture the wrong way, falling over, one group member kept complaining about the heat, people were talking to each other. Hahahahahaha, it was pretty entertaining and from what I understand not too far off from a real class. The lesson I learned was how to pick and choose battles. One thing that made me feel good is I helped someone get their grip for head to knee pose. I worked with them for a few seconds and without realizing it, I said “good”. It was one of my kudos during feedback. Apparently I was also moving around the podium a bit and fell off a few times. We use towels for a podium and I must have stepped off the towels. We have a tiny podium at my studio, so I need to be aware of that. It was the only time I’ve been told that, so I’m guessing all the distractions were a little overwhelming, I just didn’t realize it.
We enjoyed lots of Mahabharat this week until the wee hours of the morning. I still haven’t learned to accept sleep deprivation. Bikram lost his voice on Tuesday, but he was able to teach class on Wednesday. He didn’t like the class he taught, I thought it was great. We had a great lecture from Lynn Whitlow about being a teacher and all the things we might experience in class. I know she didn’t get to everything, but I think she got most of them. I didn’t stop taking notes the entire time. She is a wealth of knowledge and can communicate it in a way that keeps your attention and makes sense. There are a lot of people here who want to mentor with her. Only a few lucky people will be chosen. The best class this week was Dom’s class. Dom is on staff and we have all been waiting for him to teach. He took Bikram’s slot Friday night. He rocked the house. It was the best class I’ve had, I killed myself and I liked it. We had an interesting lecture Friday night with the staff and they all told their story of how they found Bikram Yoga. All the stories were interesting and inspiring. Dom had an interesting side story. He used to play in different bands back in England. He was always playing with the same two or three people. Eventually he was in a band and they started playing more and more venues, bigger venues. At some point he left. The band changed their name later. They’re now known as Coldplay. Dom rocked it out on the harmonica and piano Thanksgiving night. Bikram had a wonderful banquet for all of us. The spread was awesome, the food was delicious. We were told we weren’t going to have a talent show because of something that happened during the talent show in the previous training. We were spared and had an impromptu show that provided entertainment for the evening. Dom stole the show along with fellow teacher trainee Mike who is a bar musician. He performed on the radio once and signed up for a raffle they were having. One of the prizes was a week of free Bikram Yoga. He took that as the prize and ta daaaaa, now he’s at teacher training. Pretty cool stuff. He’s also a killer musician and can make up a rap off the top of his head. We had a lot of people singing and playing instruments. Speaking of good karma, there just so happened to have a baby grand in the ballroom, which allowed for an impromptu jam at the end of dinner. It was a good time. Bikram and Rajashree both called to wish us happy Thanksgiving.
So we’re onto the final week, week 9. I’ve decided to audition (I guess you could call it that) for the demonstration during graduation. Bikram will pick which of the volunteers he wants to demonstrate, but I decided to give it a go since they need more guys. We go through it for about 15 minutes after class. The pace is fast and it’s pretty intense. It reminds me of advanced class. I like it. He’ll pick the finalists Monday night after class. Lock the knee! Lock the knee! Lock the knee! Touch your thumbs to your forehead! Touch your thumbs to your forehead! Touch your thumbs to your forehead!
The weekend was pretty good too I must say. Saturday night was another group dinner. We had a blast! Today I finally had a massage. Eight whole weeks and every weekend I said I was going to get a massage. And every weekend I never found the time. Finally, at long last, I had a one hour deep tissue massage. I’ve had massages in the past, just to relax. This one was different. I can feel things opening and moving. It’s not just to feel relaxed, trust me I do, going forward it’s to maintain a healthy body with my Bikram Yoga practice. I made some good friends and will miss them. I’ll miss the training too, I know I will. There are some parts I don’t think I would do over, at least not where I am now, but I think eventually, in the future, once my skeletal system (the bone joints) has improved I will think differently =)
We’re being called teachers now. We’re no longer students or trainees. We’re now going to be examples for students. That’s an honor and also a big responsibility. I can’t wait to teach. Sure, I’m scared shitless, but I’m also excited at the amount of growth I will see all around me. I’m really interested to see if I will automatically regurgitate all 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. I went through most of the standing series today from memory and only had to go over a couple postures. Here at training, we only memorize one side, one set. In a real class, you have to say both sides and have two sets. I know I’ll do fine and will improve, because I care, but the initial fear of that first class is unavoidable. I keep thinking about what one of the visiting teachers said. She had a hard time with dialogue and at the end of training she was talking to Craig Villani saying she didn’t think teaching was for her and she didn’t think she could do it. Craig asked her to promise him she would just teach one class. She did. Now she owns a studio. The first class is what it is. We start from scratch and go from there.
Thanks to everyone who has posted comments throughout training. I’m sorry I haven’t responded to you. Things are crazy on the weekends and I usually share my internet connection with other people.
Peace until next week. I will leave you with a quote a teacher shared with us in class. She wasn’t doing so hot and Bikram told her she looked like shit. She said “thanks boss” and he responded with this, “The lotus flower floats in shit. Then it blossoms.” Laugh, it’s funny, but it’s true too. The man knows how to get his point across.
Posts
Congrats on getting to your final week if Training! What a great accomplishment. And from what I read in your posts, you will be an awesome teacher. Enjoy your final week and best of luck with that 1st class! I like Chopra's idea of giving yourself a pep talk "Look in the mirror and say I am immune to criticism, I am beneath no one, I am fearless." CONGRATS!
ReplyDeleteOMG Dominic taught at my studio for a bit here in Vegas I had no idea he was once a member of what is now Coldplay. That is so cool. And yes, Dominic does rock it out when he teaches!
ReplyDeleteWay to go Gibbi !!! Congrats !
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Revolved head to knee pose is great for people with back problems, or those who want to improve their flexibility. Sometimes I need to modify the pose and I watch Leeann Carey’s free yoga video to help me out. I thought you guys might want to check it out: http://planetyoga.com/yoga-blogs/index.php/free-yoga-video-revolved-head-to-knee-pose/
ReplyDelete