Lots to update on. I have been really busy. I have about 5-10 minutes of free time a day, not much time for writing.
Teaching my dialogue in posture clinics has improved immensely. So much that my group has chosen me to teach Spine Twist the final posture in front of Bikram and the rest of 320 or so people. I can't believe it. It is an honor to be chosen. Only 16 will teach and receive Bikrams feedback. I hear he offers jobs to ones that teach well from this opportunity. Bikram is opening hundreds of studios all over the world. Teaching this posture in front of him is a huge honor!
I have been practicing like a fiend. I think this will happen tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.
I was offered a job this past weekend via email to coach at a university in Kentucky. Which I will not be taking, as I have found a career here for myself. I am a teacher that is one thing I am sure of. I have helped so many students here learn the dialogue and somehow even during yoga classes. Just today one person in my group came to tell me she put her mat next to me for my energy and to let me know she is struggling physically and wants me to be there if she needs anything. Crazy! I'm learning a lot about my strengths and weaknesses - which i'll get to in a bit.
Back to teaching. I absolutely love it. I love helping people learn their dialogue. In the future I want to mentor future Bikram teachers. Coaching is also my love. Can't wait to get back to my 16U team and all my pitchers. Planning to merge some yoga postures into their warm up for pitching (I wish I had it in my career to improve my body and mind). There is so much to do!
These past two weekends I've been surfing all day on Sundays. There is a group of us that head to a beach down the road that is pure Mexico. Raw. We chill in hammocks under banana thatched cabanas, eat fresh fish tacos, study dialogue and surf all day. I am a water junkie. It completely re energizes me for the next week.
Bikram was back today and his class kicked my ass. The spine strengthening floor series I could still feel the surfboard on my hips and stomach. My arms burned with soreness from paddling. I felt like I had been pitching or throwing all day yesterday. Though, overall I feel amazing. Yoga makes me feel 20.
The cliff divers are my buddies now. The cliff divers of Acapulco, that is. Next saturday I'm jumping! Yes! Somehow, I've convinced them to let me jump. Jumping (dont' think I'll be diving) 5 meters off the cliffs of Acapulco. Just me and the crew:) 5 Meters - 15 feet. haha.
I have to jump in the ocean from the tourist side with the divers and swim to the other side, climb the cliffs and jump! Pretty cool. I'm pretty excited about it. The cliff divers have been diving for 75 years through family generations. Add Chmielewski to the list of last names in the fam.
Okay now to some serious stuff. We have been learning so much here. I don't talk much about what we learn because there is so much for me to learn and I'd rather discuss it in person if someone asks. It's some heavy fascinating stuff.
Tonight I feel like writing a bit personal because I have learned some interesting things about myself.
We have had many lectures and discussions with Bikram leading up to the topic of the mind. I will give the basics. It applies to all my training in sports as well and it sums up what the hell I've been doing as an athlete and as a coach, leading me here. The Mind part makes so much sense to me. As an athlete and as a coach I've studied quite a bit of sports psychology.
I'm not going to describe - only list. These topics are a lifetime of studying. I'll let you interpret for yourself. Or, eventually, in the future, maybe I'll talk a small, wee, bit about one piece during a final savasana when my dialogue is spectacular in a few years.
Mind, Body and Soul.
Spiritualism - Creating a bridge between body and mind to reach the soul
"take care of your spirit (soul), first through your body then your mind"
Roughly listing what needs to be clean and healthy to lead to next in each: (again a lifetime of info ROUGHLY)
- Body - 3 things > Strength, Flexibilty, Balance > 5 systems > Skeletal, Muscular, Neurological, Visceral, Glandular > Strengthens> Immune system
- Mind - 5 things > Faith, Morals, Determination, Concentration, Patience
- Soul - Spirit
a thought to think about:
If you have all three things, you have enlightenment - the soul will recognize you
Ok, now that a few concepts have been introduced. Lets just talk about the mind for a sec.
Below is me interpreting similarities in spiritualism and sports psychology, sports psychology and spiritualism.
Having one of these concepts below leads to the next, to be great you can't have one without the other. A strong athlete has most and is always working on all 5 below, which can be termed in many different ways. Teams tend to focus on these as well, when goal setting.
- Faith - In yourself, (in Hindu you are a god and your body a temple), God, Soul
- Morals - Self Control, Discipline
- Determination - Will Power
- Concentration - Meditation (focusing on one thing)
- Patience - You'll never get there without it
Analyzing myself, there is one glaring trait of my mind I lack. It's pretty exciting to know it and now to focus on it in my life.
Thats about it for now.
Good night. Take care of yourself!
1 comment:
I think it is so fitting that they leave the mind as the last part you learn. I would think that if they taught it earlier, it would be hard to focus on the body part of yoga. The correlation to sport is very interesting to me, because if there is a way to teach the mental part of sports success will follow. As an athlete I'm sure you know the state of mind you need to get to, but how to you teach others to get there?? Looking forward to having you back!
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