End of week 5

So, week 5 will henceforth officially be known as the week I did not have diarrhea.  It has been much easier to keep my electrolytes in check without that complication.  Ironically there is a downside.  I am not kidding!  Because I don't have to pay extra special attention to my water intake due to the added complication (diarrhea is a complication right?), I have been less than diligent.  Headaches have ensued as a reminder that 3 to 4 liters of water will not suffice.  Every cloud has to have its silver lining even the shit ones... (OMG that was a bad pun... I am so sorry!)

Last night in the hot tub I realized something very important about drive.  Not desire, but drive.  In the hot tub was a partially paralyzed Canadian.  He received a spinal injury many years ago whilst doing some extreme motocross mid-air flip.  After 6 weeks in hospital and months of 6 hour a day rehab sessions he was officially as good as he was going to get?  So what did he do?  He got into wheelchair racing (marathon length).  He has sponsorship, and is working on getting more.  His aim is to get into motor racing once he has enough backing.  After speaking to him I am pretty sure this will become a reality.  Alistair gets himself to all of his sponsorship meetings in his big truck (bakkie for you south africans).  In order to defray his costs he tows a large trailer which he uses to haul stuff for a fee between his destinations.  Additionally he works as a public speaker (again with sponsorship, this time to remove the speakers fee which is typically a hinderance to entry.  This drives up overall demand for his services, due to the price of entry being better for the schools.)  Some people simply CHOSE to have the drive to do what it is that they wish for.  For them it is a matter of reaching out and grasping what it is that they want, not hoping their desires get fulfilled. For those desiring to be a yoga teacher... the same applies... if you want it, you can make it happen.   More than 1 person here did not come up with the money to be here all by themselves.

So, onto crying.  Some people cry every day.  Others not at all.  Every journey is different.  I have had a couple of occasions when I cried.  Sometimes it's nothing more than reverting to my primal inner child when I am so sleep deprived my conscious mind has checked out, and my poor inner child gets overwhelmed by some of the goings on.  I have cried over being bullied by one person here at TT, and then moved on to learning to be more assertive.  I have cried for the pain, and now I am learning how to block it from my mind.  I have cried as I released the fears buried deep inside.  Surrender...

5 is alive

Holy crud!  5 weeks over.  It is hard to believe.  On the one hand I feel like i just got here, and on the other I feel like I have been here forever. We have 4 weeks left to go... I'm guessing that means 20 postures in 15 days (come on, there is like totally not going to be any dialogue in week 9! Get real, they will make us do it all by the end of week 8 for sure.)  The perceptions of dialog delivery are in and of themselves interesting.  I have found people whose dialogue is good, and their delivery (energy, passion, etc) to be exceptional, beating themselves up feeling like they are not doing that well.  I have also seen people recite the dialogue without any energy, inflection, or attention to the bodies, think that they are the shiznick.  I'm not sure which is worse.  I am sure though, that as we progress we will all be aided by the posture clinics to be better at whatever it is that we need to improve.  Ultimately we will all be offered the tools we need to succeed. It is merely up to us to accept and use them.

This past week we had Emmy teaching most mornings and Bikram teaching most nights.  I think if I didn't do another class I would still hurt for a month!  As Emmy and Diane both said... I need more intensity.  So, I now kill myself in every class.  Some days that means I'm like an animal... in others I have much much less to give.  The results are pretty profound.  I'm getting ripped.  Seriously, even I can notice it.  People are commenting on it a lot. Another benefit is that I have learnt to focus, concentrate and mediate even through searing, stabbing or exploding pain.  Did I mention I booked myself for a much deserved and needed massage tomorrow?  I'm worth it! =D

We had Jon Burras guest lecturing this week.  I like Jon.  I like Jon's lecture.  I especially like the way some people got worked up into a froth over his lecture.  ;)  Emmy also lectured.  I think her review of our triangles may very well have been the most productive thing that Emmy brought to us.  Why do I say that?  In a nutshell, folks who thought they had triangle nailed discovered they did not.  We all learnt how to correct different body types and limitations.  This knowledge is invaluable as a practitioner and as a teacher.  Next week we have Doctor week.  Dr Das will be presenting, as will Rajashree (assisted by the head of some medical centre (I'm too lazy to check my notes now - If i remember, i will do it later)).  I also had at least one Di-piphany (Di-piphany (noun) - when one suddenly "gets" a pose because of getting some insight from Diane Ducharme) this week, which was pretty cool.  Now, would it be too much to ask to get back to locking my knees in padahastasana and seeing my toes camel?  (without giving up my current height in full locust or low butt in the 1st part of awkward mind you!)  The body... it doeth whatevereth it pleaseth...