Saturday, June 7, 2008

the END

Yo!
Havent been blogging for a while as ive been so busy with the final weeks of training.
The yoga classes have all been good. For the final class i was front and centre! One row back from the absolute front - right in front of Bikram. He taught a great class and i didnt get yelled at so i guess i did good.
The closing ceremony was boring. Couldnt wait to get my certificate and go EAT!
That night was a gong show. Never seen so many completely drunk retards before! They must have had fun ;-)
Just waiting to get home now. Cant bloody wait to figure shit out when i get back to ETown.
This is the last blog about TT Spring 2008
PEACE OUT!!!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Semanes 6 y 7

Yeah, sorry that i havent been updating regularly. You know: busy, busy, busy.....
Weeks 6 and 7 were basically the same.
Staying up til 2 in the morning every night to study. Followed by kick ass dialogues and good classes.
No more troubles for Ol J Dawg!
Class is great. Even the tough ones are totally do-able for me. The dialogues just keep getting better and better! Like REALLY good. Not all in my head, either. Im getting compliments from teachers and trainers alike. My personality is coming out and im feeling more and more confident.
Mexico is still beautiful! Love it here. I must return. I gotta keep up with the Espagnol!
Week 8 tomorrow! WOOOOOOOO!
Hasta la vista mi amigos!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Semane Cinqo

Week 5!

Best week so far! By far!
Class is great. No more head spins or buzzing. Looks like i got out all those toxins last week.
My dialogue for standing seperate leg stretching head to knee pose was AWESOME!
I got congrats all around and then was told to come to the Abbotsford studio to teach! What a compliment that was. I wish i had it on video. Best so far.

Bikram caught me being lazy in class, but i choose to call it being smart. Gotta pace my energy or ill die out early. Whateva.
Maybe im tired cause ive been up til 2 most mornings, studying dialogue.
Been forced to watch the Bollywood production of "The Mahabrata." til 2, 3, and then 4 in the morning. I would be more interested in the movie if it wasnt so late. Its actually quite the endless, epic tale - despite its horrible production.
Friday night we stayed up til 4 and then did class at 8. I thought i would die but it turned out to be the best class of the week! Well, maybe 2nd best. Hard to say cause most classes this week have been strong and flexible. The epytome of the definition of ASANA: perfect stillness, breathing normal!

Namaste!

Semane Cuatro

Week 4

Yeah what a week!
My cold is starting to leave my head and lungs so the classes are getting easier. Apart from the fact that the headspins and electro-feeling is every class, all class long. It Starts with Eagle pose and continues all class. Seriously debilitating. Tunnel vision, echoes in my head, buzzing in my teeth and extremities. Class is really taking it's toll, but im all good.

ALL my dialogues are rocking out! They seem to improve with every one i do.
Still tough mentally but at least this week i've been able to sleep and eat.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Week 3 Days 2 -6

Woke up this morning feeling like i didnt want to do class but that is nothing new.....Dragged myself there to see Lisa from Las Vegas was teaching, which is cool because she is Judes buddy. What a tough class it was. Great dialogue, but for some reason I was absolutely tired. I could barley make it through any of the postures. The Yoga Truck sure is tiring. So i made it somehow all the way to the end and what an end it was. During first set of final breathing exrecise I all of a sudden felt really emotional.

Hmmmm..... Second set, more emotion, and then with the last breathe, I collapsed on the floor in tears, crying like a hysterical, hyperventilating baby. It was totally out of left field; didnt expect it at all. I was comforted by Laura (thank you) and it seemed to help. I lay on my back, but the tears kept coming. What a release. I was the last one to leave the room. You would think that the release would help my dialogue, but no. It was a disappointment. I have some pretty hardcore stagefright. Muddled my way through that day.Next days practice was good. No surprise there.

My dialogue delivery was the worst to date. Totally drew a blank. Fuck! I know my dialogue but just cant get it out. Class is getting weird; starting to feel buzzing in my arms, hands, and teeth!Fucked up dialogue again, so they made me re-do. Thank God this time was not so terrible. Class is still causing me to buzz with intense energy. Feels like im being electrocuted!Next few days are tough. Class is killing me. Visiting teachers are behaving like sadists.

Still feel weak and electrocuted.Thank God for Friday! Sat through boring posture clinic after posture clinic. I wanted to deliver my dialogue but im not about to fight people to get to the front. Class was amazing and tough on Friday eve. Sarah taught, she is quite good. She delivered the best news of the week to the Beatles song, All You Need Is Love.

The news was: no more posture clinic! YES! All sorts of people were crying with overjoy, including me.Saturday was sooooo nice! Beautiful day; got my Eagle Pose down pat and went to Costco. Bikram Yoga BBQ from 7 til 10!!!!!! What a feast!

Monday, April 21, 2008

semane tres

week 3, day 1

Yoga was good today. Still havent sat out yet, but i was feeling pretty tired all day. Probably because i didnt go to sleep until 3 this morn.
I was up all night studying my anatomy shit. Anything to avoid dialogue. I am really struggling with it. It goes in one ear and out the other. Damn it to heck for all the times that i checked my brain at the yoga door.
So the anatomy test this morning was easy. I would have got 50 out of 50, except that Dr. T decided to play a trick on question number 49. Which is ironically the score that i got on the test. Ive let it go and have dealt with the result. Too bad my dialogue isnt so easy for me. It is really stressing me out to watch all the people hammer out their back bending posture dialogue without any difficulty. I am about an inch away from having a bit of a meltdown. Who knows how big.
I didnt realise just how messed up i really am. The frustraion is bringing up all the other shit from my childhood and even shit from the army and my relationships. I dont want to meltdown because nobody really cares to experience it. Although the teacher trainers say that they are here for us, i already know that is bs.
Nobody likes to see a man cry. Even the granola-munching, armpit-haired, tree-hugging, new age ladies here, in reality, dont want to see me cry. I feel like i am alone and that everyone is against me - story of my life.
Im not able to concentrate on dialogue and im not one to issue excuses regarding why it appears that i havent studied and therefore dont give a shit.
Not the case. I just dont feel like explaining myself. What good would that do. Like i said: nobody really cares. Words of well-wishing are so easy to say.
Oddly enough, im not too emotional during class. Just a wee bit of anger. Okay, a lot. Anyways, its after class that i feel like i would like to hit my head against a wall in order to pass out, and not feel what im feeling. Frustration, sadness, whatever.
Whateva
Stay tuned, i have a hunch that i might lose it this week.

semane dos

week 2.
sorry i havent been blogging as of late. so much going on really. still hammering out the yoga. got dr.t's anatomy class all week with a test on monday of wk3.
I went to class on Sunday, in support of a buddy who got issued a class for being late. it turned out that Christian was teaching and it was the best class of the entire week! so i was pretty pleased all around.
word out!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Dia Cinqo

Dia Cinqo
Day Five

Class started out well and ended well. I haven’t felt this good since my 30-day Challenge. I’m kicking ass in all my postures and i’ve never felt more strong OR flexible. I’m barely even breathing heavy. Just sweating a wee bit. Wow, my standing and floor series are getting awesome!
.....Never believe this: at lunch I remarked to Angie how I felt sorry for Spider Man (attention seeker) so I was gonna go over to talk with him. Ange reminded me about the societal rule of ‘guilty by association.’ She is right, so fuck that then.
Boy was she ever clever to advise me of that one. Today during posture clinic was unbelievable. I blinked my eyes or averted my attention somehow, only to get an elbow from an utterly disgusted Angie. She pointed out a scary sight! Spider Man was on his knees in front of Bikram, massaging his thigh/knee/leg/foot/whatever! Fact remains the same no matter what body part: Spider Man is quite the biatch. With a smile on his face, he prostrated himself in front of about 300 people. Hmmmm.....
I can’t wait to see the photo in our yearbook.

Okay. Posture clinic tonight was more of the same tricks. Bikram is really making Spider Man rethink his whole i love Bikram routine.
Rather embarrassing really. Pissing me off too. The class is pretty much just unruly because everyone is laughing and taking photos of Spider Man/Bikram.
Starting to think my blog is just a story about Spider Man, so no more about that shit. This is J’s blog about my yoga experience. Nuff said.

Dia Quatro

Dia Quatro
Day Four
Finally got to deliver my dialogue and it went well. I only required three prompts, not because I didn’t remember. Trust me, i know it verbatim. Stage fright got the better of me. Anyways, it went well and Bikram said to me: “you are a sweet man. Very nice man.”
Oh yeah. Forgot to mention that he also said to me during class earlier that evening “Boss! You! You have the perfect triangle, just like me!”
Awesome. Sweet!

Dia Dos

Dia Dos
Day Two
Today was the first day we were lectured by Bikram. Very funny guy J
We also got to meet Kareem Abdul Jabar and hear his story. Then we met another guy, Frank, who narrated quite the heart-wrenching story. Bikram Yoga had really helped to improve a lot of peoples’ lives.
After the speeches were all done, we had a little closing address, and were then ushered away to lunch.
We met back in the auditorium to finish off some more dialogue. THEN CAME THE FIRST CLASS OF T.T.!
Wow! What a huge room! 300-plus students, along with a handful of visiting teachers and all the rest. I’ve never practiced in such a packed room before. Bikram had the room ventilated well, and held the postures for not so long, which was quite nice. Even so, almost half the room was in and out; sitting or kneeling! I hear that the first class is always quite a doozey J Fortunately, I managed to load right up with fluid, so I was feeling pretty good all class long. Apparently, so was this other guy near me. He seemed to almost be heckling Bikram ALL CLASS LONG?!! He even went so far as to admonish another student by saying that she lacked a body-mind connection! It went like this: Bikram said to a girl “why aren’t you listening to me?” and he had the nuts to answer OUT LOUD “because she has no body-mind connection!”
WTF?! This guy is way to cool for school. His new name will be ‘Spider Man,’ for reasons that I might spill later on. You know who you are S.F.M.!
Anyways, the rest of class went well, and I was pleased to complete the whole class without dying!
Tomorrow is another day. Rajistree is teaching the 8.30 (Ocho-media) , which I greatly look forward to.
Dialogue is really getting to me. So far my Espagnol is coming along better L

PS: the carpet is soooooooo slippery! Damn it!

Dia Tres

Dia Tres
Day three
Well class this morning was great. Raj teaches a very compassionate, no-nonsense class.
Today was the first day of doubles! I did very well in both. So far I haven’t sat out or even been in trouble in any of my classes, so i’m pleased. Hehe.... i guess i’ll just have to wait until later to hit the wall. I’m sure it’ll be hard too!!! Angie has recovered from a pounding 3-day headache, and she had a great couple of classes today too J Now we can both ride the wave!
So far, in posture classes, I have been unable to get on stage in front of Bikram to deliver my dialogue. I’m ready, so tonight’s class could be the one. I should get it out of the way because then i’ll be able to get on with the rest of my dialogue. Shit, stage-fright sucks ass!!!
Didn’t get to deliver my dialogue but Spider Man did and it sucked. Bikram told him he had no energy and was monotonous. Spider Man also said “I love you Bikram” over the microphone during his dialogue! Also, when Bikram was talking, blah, blah, blah.... “i’ll stop wasting your time....” Spider Man replied out loud: “listening to you is not a waste of time Bikram.”
Hmmm..... Brown-noser or what?

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Dia Uno

Day One of Teacher Training!
Waking up to the Mexican sunrise is pretty spectacular. Our view out the front of the building leaves a little to be desired, but then it still has it's own particular beauty. I don't mind palm trees.
Breakfast was good ($25USD); even better when followed up with a work-out at the gym($10USD). Don't worry - i'm in El Clubba Del Presidente. Free gym! I love Vicente Fox!Deportivo all the way bebe! Escorchio outside by the pool. 34 degrees already... Shit! I got burned on my legs pretty bad, which should make stretching them pretty interesting :)
We all gathered by the lobby for the intro with Bikram, only for me to actually meet him on the way! I guess i managed to put a big bullseye on my forhead with that one!
The orientation went well and we all got to meet the Teacher Trainers, but not actually Bikram. He will address us tomorrow, apparently.
Now for the best part: FREE BUFFET DINER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess Bikram is going all out, here at the Fairmont. It appears that B.Y. Acapulco is here to stay. Not much left to say. Stay tuned for my blog on Day Dos (the first practice).

Dia Zero

Wow!!!
What a hectic Day Zero!
First of all the flight to Minneapolis was boring. No food, no movie makes J an unhappy little dude. The flight seemed to last forever, which is strange because i've been on many much longer ones. I fell asleep for about 10 mins and woke up feeling like it had been 3 hours or so. I was refreshed but that feeling soon disappeared after i found out that i still had many hours to go until i arrived in Minneapolis. What I should have done is slept through Minneapolis. What a flat, dry looking brown scene that was. I hate to prejudge, but i have never been so disappointed to see another city before. It was like a big brown pool table surrounding a moderate sized city centre. Anyways, the airport was good, i have to say. The way out was even better though. Our flight to Acapulco was awesome. There was about 10 people on board so i got a whole row to myself. The crossword puzzle kept me occupied for a little while, and then i slept until arrival. Don't worry, there was nothing to see outside my window, except for brown hills (yeah!).
Customs was the easiest and friendliest i've ever had the pleasure to experience. The taxi ride was straight outta Crazy Taxi (the videogame). Keep an open mind, i thought. Our hotel is SWEEET! Three giant Aztec-themed pyramidesque buildings; 5 pools; the sand; the surf. What
more could i want?

Friday, April 4, 2008

The day before i leave for TT

what a day...have been running around like a chook with his head cut off trying to get my the final tidbits in order before i leave Edmonton for 2.5 months. You wouldnt believe, but there is so much to do before one has to put his life on hold and embark on a life changing journey such as Bikram Yoga Teacher training...