It's yoga camp, folks

so much to write about!

i'll talk class first. then my dialogue. then bikram. then mojo!

so jim from san diego one of the senior teachers taught class last night. it was such a great class. he is a great teacher. he was patient yet very persistent. i learned a lot from him as well.
my bow pulling pose has never been better, it was amazing. he gave me strength by talking about the shoulder and really extending it out before you start the posture getting it close to my face, then extending it even more out of the body as i bend my body forward. i remember a teacher of mine talking about it before, i think i was too weak to even hold my arm, or not being honest with myself at the time, but with jim, i was touching the mirror (that i can't see yet - class is so crowded) with my hand, kicking up and holding the pose forever. good feeling.

he also explained that in all forward bends really flex your stomach as it will support all your forward bends. in all back bends squeeze your butt, legs and thighs to support all back bends. i applied it to all my bends last night in class. of course i don't do justice in explaining what he said. hopefully the point is there.

bikram had us stay up till 2am last night watching a bollywood movie, which i'll explain a bit later. getting up at 7am this morning for 8:30 class was a bit brutal. Ulysses from mexico city taught class today, half in english, half in spanish. it was very nice. i still have not had any urges to lie down! thank you body!!
but i'm not going to lie, my body is tired, i felt like lead today, during the seated poses, my body felt like a heavy heavy wet towel, i had to pick myself up and flop around, dead weight, into savasana. i was heavy! during the breathing exercise at the end of class one guy was puking so loud i was wincing and trying to focus on my breath at the same time. i have never heard puking that intense before. ps. grossness meter, the room is starting to smell like onions when i walk into it first thing. . after one minute i don't notice it anymore. gross though!

i did my half moon dialogue on stage yesterday. my german friend nelli went before me, then i went up on stage, it was a blur. bikram was on the phone for a sec so i had to wait on stage with the mic, i tried to go over it one more time, lost my place in my head, then bikram said, ok go, i was thinking, shit.
i started great, my 4 students on stage were great, half way through i forgot the next line, the crowd gave me the words, i thanked them, went along and finished the pose without missing a beat. i would describe myself as totally calm, in control, but jacked up the dialogue. bikram said "100% is the best, i give you 110%, you the best now, i like it, good job!" i think i then said, really?!! which he replied "yeah yeah i like it, you give everything, very good" cause i was upset i jacked up the dialogue. but thats not the point. he knows i know it, my personality came through and i was confident and calm. i'm still bummed because 9 out of 10 times i have the dialogue perfect. oh well. it was fun.

i've received really good feedback from random people. i appreciated the comment from my korean friend, she said you my favorite, i'm glad you my friend too:) that was very nice. makes me smile.


ps for up and coming TT's. . memorize the dialogue as much as you can,half-moon is the most important first- only right side is done on stage - no back bend or hands to feet. you will watch 300 people perform it, you will get it. what bikram is looking for, your personality. let that come out. don't perform flat, or just recite it. go on stage, have a good time, connect with your students, stay relaxed and easy. he knows you will know the dialogue, don't change it, but do your best and have a good time with it.

after dialogue bikram was so excited so show us a bollywood film. it was the funniest shit i have ever ever seen! its like elvis, greece, disney, and maybe a slapstick comedy all in one. there is singing, dancing, love, war, rambo, everything in one long ass movie. the actors are about as cheesy at is gets. its so cheesy i'm still laughing about it. the male lead is nice to look at too:)

now lets talk mojo. . it's changing.
people are starting to loose it.
last night, people were so pissed we had to watch the movie. i couldn't believe it. the girl next to me was saying i'm too old for this shit, i'm tired blah blah. GO HOME! it's simple.
either you are in or you are out.
we are here, we have to be here, might as well give 100%, or you will just be miserable.

this morning people were still complaining before class. one woman today was complaining about the movie to me and saying "i wanted to just sleep" she wanted me to agree and bitch back, i said to her "thats just it, its not about what you want" " we are here to do what bikram says, that is the whole point" "he is trying to push our limits". i don't think she was happy because i disagreed with her. i don't want to complain, i feel good, i like it here. fighting anything is a waste of energy.

one girl in class yesterday tried to cut in line for dialogue. my friend nelli was along the wall in line and i was in the chairs (the line was split), the girl first sat next to nelli (cutting in front of me) and said, oh its okay he (staff) said i could be here (which was not true), nelli said, no my friend is next, so the girl went next to me and said oh you are supposed to move now, so she could get in line. couldn't' believe it! didn't work out so well because there is a process in the line and she obviously didn't know we had to wait for instructions to move once we got in line. i just can't believe it, aren't yogi's supposed to be all happy and smiley? And HONEST!

one woman told the lecture today while she was in the back puking during class, someone drank all her water in class, so when she got back to her mat, her water was all gone!

it's gonna get worse, not looking forward to the crazys.

i have to go to lecture. cheers

class with bikram was good tonight. he did a 89 minute class. his last two classes were each 2 hours. off to watch more half moons.