It's Saturday folks! Week 1 Recap

Week One - Teachers Yoga Classes:

Monday
17:00 - Bikram
Tuesday
08:30 - Rajashree
17:00 - Bikram
Wednesday
08:30 - Rajashree
17:00 - Jim - San Diego - Senior Teacher
Thursday
08:30 - Ulises - Mexico City
17:00 - Bikram
Friday
08:30 - Lynn - Senior Teacher - San Francisco
17:00 - Bikram
Saturday
08:00 - Dale - Staff

Typical Groundhog Yoga Day-
07:15 - Wake up, eat yogurt with granola, poop, put on yogi clothes, make water (lime, salt)
08:00 - Head down to 105 degree or more yoga room - sign in (if you forget to sign in you make up a class on saturday)
08:30 - Yoga for 90 minutes - hear people puke, cry, moan
10:00 - Done! Drink water, rehydrate, jump in pool or ocean, shower, wash yoga clothes
10:00-12:00 - Eat at the wonderful buffet and drink juices - wonderful so far in the first week!
12:00 - Check into lecture
12:30 - Lecture - watch half moons on stage, listen and learn from the crazy lovable insightful Bikram
16:00 - Leave lecture, eat a peanut butter/honey sandwich, drink more, prepare for class
16:30 - Head to yoga class, sign in
17:00 - Yoga torture chamber :)
19:30 - Jump in pool or ocean, head to room, shower, wash yoga clothes, refill water and snacks
20:30 - Head to Lecture room for more Bikram learning and a possible bollywood movie
21:00 - Lecture room with Bikram
24:00 - Head to Bed!

Rules:
Don't wear green
Don't sleep or eat in lecture
Don't put your feet on the walls or chairs in lecture
Don't talk during class or in the yoga room after last savasana
Don't use an extra towel for a pillow
Don't fall in love here, only fall in love with yourself
Don't ask questions, just listen and be patient
Practice drinking water a few times during class (if you already practice with no water - consider drinking water during class in the first week here - a lot of no waters went down hard the first week)
Drink water
Sign in for everything
Cover yourself up after class and around the lobby
Take it easy in week one (whatever level you practice at - it will drop about 2-4 notches)
Practice as much as you can before you come here - come in good physical condition
Know Half Moon pose dialogue before you get here
Breathe

I'm getting a lot of puking questions:
Yes people are puking every class. There are little trash cans placed all over the back of the room. I see puking in sport as well. It's a combination of things. Some are releasing toxins in their bodies, this is the first time in their lives they have worked so hard and released so much. I see it with freshman the first two weeks in fall training, they all puke, first time they have ever had to run so hard. For the yogis, first time they have ever worked and had the heart pump so hard. Most people do not breathe properly. Learn to breathe and control your body. There is so much anxiety in the people here, it bunches all up and the only thing their body can do is puke.
It's stress, anxiety, hard work, toxins, dehydration and over hydration and a few just have some good ole Mexican symptoms.

Learn to not be distracting to others in your practice. I know it is my responsibility to not let anything bother me. But the crying and moaning, it's distracting, sit in the back of class please! Besides, it does take energy and energy away to cry and moan. You gain energy from standing still and focusing on your breathe through your nose. Stop moving, twitching, wiping sweat, just breathe.

It's amazing to see during class sick neighborhoods go down. If a few people are down for the count, a whole section goes down. I get nervous before class around those people. I try to give them my strength during class. Another thing, let go of your attachments. I love the right side, I love the 4-6 rows and I love under the heaters (nice breeze). Soon we will have to move around the class to loose our attachments. I see so many attachments, people and their water and ice, towel pillows, stepping on mats for triangle it goes on.

The sick people are starting to move to the back of the room, which helps the focus. [PS. Most of the sick people are thin to begin with and it seems to be a high percentage of men per males. Big girls seem to not go down, haven't seen a big girl dragged out yet (I consider myself a big girl, I'm not petite or thin).] I heard one woman say she practiced in the back and it was so hard for her because of the mojo. One skinny sick guy started class next to me I was worried before class, at one point he was just lying in savasana looking at me, his pain looking at my pain, no good! I pointed to the other side, he said, i'm sick (to move his head!), i said, you can do it. He did, thank god, nothing like someone looking at you while your trying to relax and gain energy for the next pose. Some people are still sitting on their towels watching everyone, not improving. You have to work hard to make it easy! Pain is temporary, quitting is forever!

I'm off to Wal-mart to stock up on food for the week!
Cheers!