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!

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!

 

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 ;-)

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