Sunday, April 22, 2012

Difficult to stay awake...

Spring Teacher Training is under way. Week 1 done. The trainees will be waking up for their first full day off today. I've heard from my friend who is loving the experience so far despite the excruciating heat. There is a record 500+ trainees this session. I can not imagine how intimate the yoga room is!

I had my TT lecture note book out last weekend. I've decided this book will not only be my TT notebook but my teacher's notebook. Any further education I take from now on will go in there. Whilst we were waiting for the Q& A with Craig to get under way I flicked through my pages. I came across this page which I remember well. I actually fell asleep in a lecture whilst writing a note. 

Falling asleep whilst writing

 I am so ashamed, I won't say who was speaking but they are great. There I was eagerly taking notes until the sleep deprivation kicked in. I fell asleep mid word!!! As you can see the notes I'd written don't make sense, my hand writing is awful. Oh the joys of teacher training...the memories, how I do not miss the gawd awful lecture room chairs and the freezing air con. 

 

Transformation Wrap

My washing machine is seriously in my bad books. It went through a stage of trashing my clothes, only my clothes mind & usually the one's I really like. They'd come out stained or patchy with marks that were not there before they went it. It's latest trick is fabric softener stains. My clothes are coming out tie died. The fabric softener pouch was cleaned out, as was the machine. I stopped using fabric softener all together & it still did it. Mystery. 

Anyway the point to this story is that my favourite, trusty black cotton long wrap got trashed. I scrubbed, sprayed, soaked and re washed but alas it can not longer be worn outside the house. The grey/white stains look dodgy. It survived 9 weeks of teacher training but died at the hands of my crappy washing machine!!! (which isn't actually all that crappy it's a good brand).

Good excuse to find a replacement. Here it is. The Lululemon Transformation Wrap.




This is an investment item as it was a lot more than the Cotton On wrap it replaced. My R & D discount eased the pain and I'm still holding on to the fact anything from Lulu will be tax deductible through my teaching job. It is so worth it. Lovely soft Marino wool, three ways to wear it and it's reversible! It also sports my favourite thumbs holes too. Very cosy & perfect for this trans seasonal weather, too hot for a jacket but a little chilly in the mornings for just a single layer. After reading other reviews, I will take great caution to wash this, hand wash & lie flat to dry. It will not fall foul of my machine!

Yoga - a martial art


Friday, April 20, 2012

She's gone bonkers!

This is what the students in my 7pm Tuesday class were probably thinking. I was wired. My brain was chock full with inspiring ideas from the past weekends workshop that I was desperate to put into practice. The shear look of terror that swept through the studio when I asked "who attended Craig's workshop on Saturday, oh only two of you, hahahaha, Awkward pose." Those who did not attend were probably thinking - 'what went down in Awkward pose?' 

I shouldn't have joked about this posture as I struggled so, so badly with it. It seems unfair to torture the students in a pose I find challenging with myself. You should never ask people to do anything your not willing to do yourself. In fairness I am willing, I always get straight into it, I might fall out but I try. I'll let you in on something. Craig gave me some advice on teaching this posture (he's notorious for holding it a very long time) which I did put into my class on Tuesday. You know what, everyone was FANTASTIC. Probably as they didn't think I was doing or saying anything different, I still said it verbatim but I did do as I was advised & it worked. Beautiful postures!

My energy was super high and so was the class group energy. The five newbies did great. I connected with them, helped them a little (indirectly without making a big deal or calling their names) and smiled at them a lot (without being creepy) when they stared at me for reassurance. I have no idea where this burst of energy came from, passion & enthusiasm perhaps?

Everyone tried so hard. Small adjustments I talked about in savasana made such a difference, they were listening to me (!!!) & it showed it their postures. The room could have flown off into  the sunset in Full Locust after I explained about stretching their arms to the side walls first, tighter means lighter! I do believe I said "we love this yoga" a few too many times. (people stopped laughing after the 2nd time)

I really enjoyed the nutty roller coaster I was on, maybe I'll keep riding it for a while longer. It sure did make a job I love even easier. Might need to find some new jokes, can't keep saying "third set of Camel!" every class.

Numerology

I'm a bit slow on the up take of this but I recently discovered Numerology. It's not very 'living in the moment' to have an insight of what is in store for you for the year but it is nice to have some guidance. Obviously I had no idea about this till now so when I looked back on what my lasts year's personal year, which was 4, I was presently surprised. Here is a summary:

  • It is a practical year of seeings things through
  • A cycle of being organised, starting a budget, build homes and set goals in order to set solid foundations for my future.
  • I will be more cautious & doubtful
  • A hard working year overloaded with responsibilities you can not escape.
  • The theme is work
  • I'll be busy but with a sense of achievement
Wow, rings true to what happened with me. I had to budget BIG for TT. I worked so, so hard at studying, my practice (60 Day killer Challenge), my home life & day work. I was busy, very. I built foundations for sure. I achieved so much!!

This year is Year 5.
  • Theme is changes
  • I will receive some surprises that will enable me to break free of unwanted burdens.
  • Travel, exercise, extra curricular activities are in my favor.
  •  Mentally & physically very alert
  • My sex appeal will be at its peak. (oww laa laa!)
  • I will learn to get out of my daily routine and have the mind of an adventurer, explore new places, ideas and meet interesting people.
  • The last two months of the year I must be positive, looking within to see patterns that are blocking me to release negative energy to stay balanced.
  • Avoid over indulging in food and drink.
How exciting is that? Before I even read this I was planning an adventure, for December no less. The last point I have a whole new post of that. Had a weird shift in energy regarding food & drink. This year seems very me. I get bogged down so easily in the daily grind, I get resentful. That is why I did what I did last year, keep things interesting. I'm always looking for somewhere exciting and new to go, I love to travel. I wasn't planning on any international trips this year but the end of the year might be fun!  So much liking that travel, exercise and extra curricular activities are high on the agenda. Let's see where Year 5 takes me....

Source: http://violetsun.hubpages.com/hub/Numerology---What-Does-Your-Number-Predict-for-2008

A great weekend in the learning pool of knowledge

Perth was very blessed this past weekend and extremely happy to host Bikram senior instructor Craig Villani. Craig first visited us last March for an epic one day seminar and class. It was a long, long day and class was not in the heated room, making things a little less authentic. This year each of the four studios were hosting their own 2 hour comprehensive master class. Open to all levels of students of course.


Luckily I managed not to get myself in the same state of sickness as last year, ie. migraine brought on by sheer over excitement & bad hydration. I was a lot more centred but very eager for the event in hand.

This year I was so honored to be part of the teacher's workshop & question/answer session that was held the day before the workshop. This man has so much experience & knowledge of Bikram yoga I was ready to tap into it. I'd pulled a crazy again, teaching the 7:30pm Thursday and then the 5:45am Friday. Slight fatigue might have helped calm me down but lead to a not so good practice. 


We were killed. In a happy, smiling way of course & I actually am hugely thankful for the ass kicking, I needed it. Half Moon lasted about 5 minutes each side or so it felt like. I think I went through every emotion in that two plus something hours. I was quite grateful for my dysfunctional tear ducts at one point, as I quite possibly could have shed a few, especially after my abysmal Awkward Part 2 for which I was called out for, had corrections directed at but then failed completely. I felt I was letting down all my students and I was no way in possession of a strong enough practice to be calling myself a teacher.


I got over it, kind of, once we were in the change rooms slugging Powerade & all looking wrecked. Relief it wasn't just me holding my heart in my sweaty hand. Especially as I know deep down & I tell the students this, it is a PRACTICE not a PERFECT. I managed to redeem myself in the Q & A by asking some posture questions that I needed clarifying. Kicking myself now for not actually preparing for this session by writing them down before hand. I have so many questions & of course when put on the spot one's mind goes blank.

The student workshop on Saturday morning at BYJ was great also. I hid in the back row in a great spot near the air vent (well not really hiding, Craig could still see us all). Nice packed room of 50 something teachers & students. It was steamy, humid and highly energised. Loved it! Every muscle was burning from the previous day's class. I tried my best but still failed at Awkward, I now have a blockage on that posture I need to let go of. I could blame the calcified sesamoid bone in my right foot but it's an old injury that doesn't flair up that often, even though it can cause me pain in this posture.

It was brilliant to be a teacher at this workshop. To be fair I wasn't 100% focused on my practice as I was paying close at to the corrections the students were receiving. I was thinking 'great that's really helping Jane, I needed to know how to help her get to the next stage in that posture, will look out for this next time I teach her.' The way Craig dealt with small issues like hands on hips or racing ahead of the instructions was great, something I will try & adopt. I know I'll be reviewing my notes from this weekend most often!

The students had a ball. No one was disappointed. We sold a lot of Coconut water after class. I learned so, so much. The students learned so, so much. I feel so blessed to be part of an amazing local community of yogis as well as an International one. Excellent weekend all round!

Here's some photos....

Lee-Ann star student completing her 60 Day Challenge that class...
with a broken right toe no less!
747's taking off, BYJ's best posture!
How to execute a correct Triangle
Instructor love!
 
Oh I had to get a fan photo...



No hiding now

This morning was quite exciting I picked up my birthday present from my dear Man. Here's what I received....




No hiding now, here I come!

My first ever personalised number plates for my car. I've always thought PP's were a bit cheesy and I didn't like the idea of people knowing that's me driving (badly!). But what the heck, I got some anyway. We are lucky here in WA you can pretty much pick whatever you like, as long as it's not offensive. Unlike the UK where the format is different & you can't just make one up like this. I selected black instead of the array of bright, shiny colours, as these are for life and black will go with any colour car pretty much. My insurance company rep asked if I was a yoga teacher when I called to update my file. I joked with her that now the students will know I'm teaching & keep driving!!


I did my Karma Yoga for the day too. I donated my car park ticket to another driver as I was leaving. I only had a $2 coin on me so that paid for 2 and a half hours when I only used 45 minutes (yes I was at the licensing centre 15 mins before it opened but so were 30 other people = long lines). The bloke was stoked and thanked me greatly, he too said he passes on tickets that still have time on. Good citizens at work!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Photos!

Here's what Yogi's get up to on public holidays. A brief photo shoot! One of BYJ's very dedicated students Eva is an Editor for a very high end fashion magazine in her home country of Lithuania. There is no Bikram Yoga there (yet!) so she wanted to write a piece to send the message home of all the healing benefits of the practice. A group of instructors chipped in to have our photos taken after class. Was slightly chilly trying to bust some moves outside the room but we aired some caution so not to bust any muscles!!





Monday, April 9, 2012

Byron Bay Skin Tea

My latest purchase from the Byron Bay T Company is the Skin Tea. It's described as a 'zesty blend of Lemongrass and Ginger, complemented by a purifying punch of Peppermint.' It also contains Echinacea, Gotu Kola, nettles, licorice & rose buds. (nearly all organic) It smells so fragrant and looks a little like potpourri, yet it is very refreshing and light. Nice evening drink. The receptionist at Bodhi J day spa where I bought it told me she adds raw honey to it for some extra sweetness. 


After yoga herbal tea

Spring trainees Bon Voyage!

Time is flying by, this time next week 400+ (Maybe more, maybe less) eager Bikram Yoga teacher trainees will be excitingly sitting on their mats ready to start their first class of teacher training. It's been over six months now since I took that first class at TT. Half a year already?! I look back with fond memories of my experience. I loved it :-) I know I had some anger, hurt and resentment when I came home but that was totally personal, not professional. I was lucky to have not hated on the actual yoga. Those wounds have healed, I have let go & moved on. All in all I relished the experience to do yoga for nine whole weeks and be close (sort of, well in the same room at least) to Bikram himself.

This time round no one is attending from my home studio BYJ. Happy though we have Bahar going from BYSB. I worked a little with her early on with dialogue. I wish my schedule had allowed me more time but it was not to be. Another student arranged a lovely surprise send off last weekend for Bah so we all got chance to say goodbye and dish out our words of advice. 

I'd put together a small gift for her, something useful to take along to LA. A couple of notebooks with matching pens. It's nice to have cute stationery and the notes you take are for life. A reference point. Even if you don't understand what you are writing at the time, someday down the line they will make sense. I also gave her a book of inspirational quotes.There will be times all trainees feel homesick and down, when I saw the book I knew it would be perfect. Open it up and see what the universe presents in it pages. Some wise words of wisdom to get you through. 

Bon Voyage to my lovely friend, come back a flower petal in full bloom! Good luck to the North Perth students Helen, Jason & Maja who are also attending. I've heard they are so, so ready for it. (Mock classes completed already!) Even though we have not met I wish you well on your journeys and look forward to taking your classes on return.

See you all on the other side.....

Gotta have nice stationery!

Inspiration in one handy book!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

To sit out

I've only just discovered this amazing blog from a Yogini in Virgina, USA, "Just here, Just now," so I thought I would share. 

The latest post is all about sitting out of postures. Beautifully written and true to the point. Many people feel ashamed to sit out of a posture. It is okay to take a knee. Be honest with yourself, if you need a few moments to rest, get your breath back that is fine. It is recommended not to sit out of both set's of postures and at least have a go at one of them. Most of the time getting back in makes the crazy feelings pass. 

I especially love the last paragraph in this piece. If you are going to sit out, do so nicely. Flapping & thrashing about, drinking water & generally exerting more energy than you would doing the posture is counter productive. (& cause you neighbors to start grumbling!) If you have enough left in you to do the above, why not give the posture a crack or sit quietly and allow your body to recover and gain some energy for the next set.

Down South

With four Bikram studios in Perth all within an hour or less drive away from my house I don't really have an excuse not to have visited them all. It's taken a while but I finally fulfilled this task. Yesterday I took a trip down to the Bikram Yoga South Perth studio based in Myaree. It's a modern, light & airy studio, with a massive reception and inspirational quotes on the yoga room ceiling. 

My TT buddy Kana was teaching, good excuse for a coffee & catch up after class. After all the studio is an hour drive for me so I scheduled my spa treatment before class and socialising after to get the most out of my journey South. I obviously didn't know a single student there so was nice to just hang out & be anonymous. Just be, just practice, student again. 

I had a lovely class despite being slathered in moisturizing lotion from my spa treatment at Bodhi J Spa. I had a divine Sodashi Purifying Body boost with dry brushing. Major detox session for me! I know it seems a bit backwards going to the spa then yoga, should be the other way round but I figured after this treatment a session in the hot room would be a compliment. It was an added challenge with a very slippy grip and slimy sweat for sure! I had to make sure I drank a lot of water afterwards. The double detox would only work if I flushed it out with plenty of the wet stuff. 

A great way to spend day two of the long weekend. 

Large, airy reception space at BY Perth South.
   

New adventures

To grow personally & professionally sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone & experience something/somewhere new. One of our much loved local instructors is doing just that. The lovely Kira waved goodbye to all four Bikram studios this week to start a new adventure. A yoga based one of course!! Kira will be staff at the up coming BYTT Spring training. Where this takes her next is an open book. What we do know is she is not planning on coming back to Perth full time (hopefully for visits tho!) & returning to her home shore of Tasmania. 

42 students & staff arrived for the Monday 6pm class to cheer Kira on in what would be her last class at BYJ. What a great class. The energy was a little crazy, it was HOT, it was HUMID, we all had to squeeze in close, the sweat was flying and by the end so were the tears. Apart from me, so wanted to cry but still my tear ducts have forgotten how to work. How can I not cry when Kira sealed her class with this beautiful poem;
“You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring you. Nothing seemed right.
What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean.
Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient.
It's no good giving you my heart and my soul, because you already have these.
So I've brought you a mirror.
Look at yourself and remember me” (~Rumi)
We all wish Kira the best of luck on her new journey. I am so sure her light will be shining brighter than ever. I'll miss you but I know our paths will cross again. 

Namaste x

How can we keep this to ourselves, share the love!
 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Happy Easter

To celebrate the lovely long weekend ahead Bikram Yoga Leicester have enforced some new rules....



Might seem a bit harsh to some but actually it's not that difficult to avoid all the above if you let go of the thought it will be too hard. Mind over matter! All proceeds to charity of course. 

I'm not a drinker so I know it's easy not to drink once you get in the mind set. However I always talk my bottle in, just in case. Apart from a few weeks back I actually forgot my water & challenged myself to not take any in at all. I was freaked out a little with 'what happens if I do need a sip' thoughts. I did it, was just like any class but I think it's easier not to stress about water & not drink when you do have some on standby. Must try it again soon, practice detachment.

So watch out my students tonight I think I will follow suit on this one...especially those naughty cows who refuse to STOP TALKING IN CLASS!! Respect your fellow students and SHUT UP!! 99% of people come to yoga for a 90 minute silent escape, they don't want to hear you snickering or chatting. Plus it's me that bares the wrath with many complaints afterward. Hmmm might have to go all school teacher and say "if you talk, you will be asked to leave." Sometimes rules just have to be enforced a little firmer than usual to get the point through. Or perhaps $10 in the Youth Focus charity tin for talking which does NOT buy you the right to keep talking however ;-)

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Chocolate

I've mentioned so many times in this blog that I am a sugar whore. I love it. Sarah Wilson's book stares at me every day. Big Fail here. I've been on week one of the 8 week program for about....8 weeks now. Excuse after excuse. Birthday last week = cake, Easter next week = eggs a million. Maybe after Easter I will give it a proper go...really..I will.

In the mean time I found a slightly better alternative to the supermarket sugar laden crap. Loving Earth chocolate. Made right here in Australia. "It contains no cane sugar or dairy and is suitable for vegans, it is essentially uncooked, unprocessed chocolate in its pure rich essential form sweetened with agave syrup (a natural low GI sweetener)" Kat Eden recommended it here. Usually specialist products made in Melbourne are hard to come by in WA but I sourced a shop in North Beach Road (down the rd from Karringyup Mall), Absolutely Organic that stocks it. (as well as other fantastic organic products & Yogi tea!) Don't be put off by the exterior of the shop, it's shabby, it looks like it isn't actually open but it is...just go through the plastic door. 

I selected the Crunchy Mint dark chocolate and the Coconut Mylk chocolate. Unfortunately I had great expectations for the latter so bought a big block. Don't get me wrong it was nice but not as creamy as normal sugary chocolate. Of course it wouldn't be would it. Had a slight funny after taste too but I only had two squares, maybe I need to have some more to get a 'taste' for it. However the crunchy mint is DIVINE! Amazing. Only need two small squares to get your hit. Shame I only bought the small bar. Added bonus it has quite nice packaging too.

A move in the right direction I think, small, small steps to get me off the white stuff.  

Loving Earth, lovely chocolate

A Year Older

This is a week late but never mind. I turned a whole year older last Saturday. Thirty three - all the threes! I'm not the sort of person to get gloomy about the whole age thing, maybe in a few years ;-) 

Time to reflect though. So far my thirties have been great. Everyone says it is a big turning point. My twenties was the hugest learning curve. I mean you transition from a teenager to an adult, leave home, go to uni perhaps, get your first real job, move cities, move house (a lot), get fat, get thin again & like me travel the world. Make friends, lose friend, fall in love & fall very out of it again. Tears, tantrums, crazy nights, long days, smiles, laughter & major head f***s is what my twenties was all about. I was flying by the seat of my pants most of the time, ready to jump ship at a moments notice. I grew up though, I learned a lot, it made me who I am now. I'm happy look back on the crazy ten years I had of being a twenty something but happy that that faze is done.

The last three years, even the past five years I have been very stable. I laid down roots and finally had a solid base again. Not that I was looking for one, I was quite happy being a drifter. I entered my thirties grounded & resonably happy. 

Today I have extremely grateful for what I have & where I am now. It feels good. I'm where I want to be and happy to be on cruise control for a while. There is still a lot of progress to be made and places to go but for now I'm taking it a day at a time. No major life changing plans have been made, unlike last year. Time to just be.

"Go out in the world and work like money doesn't matter, sing as if no one is listening, love as if you have never been hurt, and dance as if no one is watching." - Alice Walker 

Perfect birthday - cake, champagne & a water side view