Day 1: Orientation

Today orientation started at 3 p.m. Christian and I were both up around 7 a.m., just naturally. Daylight savings time ended here as of today, so we are now 2 hours ahead of Seattle time. We practiced dialogue for a bit after studying and laptoping a little. Next was a jump in the ocean, and then we showered, had a little down time, and headed to orientation!

To start, everyone gathered in the lobby of the hotel. We headed to a nearby building and checked in, receiving our "Bikram 2008 Teacher Training - Acapulco" goodie bag - a side loading backpack, with a small blue water bottle and hand towel, all with the logo. They are really nice! They also housed our training manual/binder.

First up was Rajashree, Bikram's wife, who is always described as "lovely" and "sweet" and "kind" - and indeed, held up to that description. Her energy is just so...."up" - she is so positive and really lights up a room, though soft-spoken. She talked a lot about the spirit of training, the goals we should have for ourselves, which wrapped up into these:

Overcome Your Fear
Care About & Share With Others - This is a Community
Leave The Past Behind - Start From Today: Be Here Now
Find Your Happiness
Trust the Process

Next was Craig, who is the director of education, and the training. He was great - he just seems like a nice, normal, chiseled California-looking guy - but he has a calm, deep presence. He talked about how it was his "privilege to challenge us for the next 9 weeks" and that he takes that responsibility seriously; pushing us to be our best is his job, while also supporting the work of Bikram. He introduced the 3 senior staff members, and then the remaining handful of staffers whom we could go to with issues.

The hotel did a little presentation to tell us where to go to eat, how our included meals worked, and about a variety of discounts (including the spa, which was a relief to me!), and some rules/regulations (one of which is no appliances in the room...oops).

Teacher Training logistics were then covered - baseline logistics - you could tell they weren't going to overwhelm us just yet. :) We learned that the room we were in would be where lectures would be held. Now this may not seem a big deal to you, but we have chairs!!! One of the big complaints of past years was the sitting on the sweat-soaked carpet, trying desperately to avoid the 'wet spots' because lectures were held in the practice room about an hour after class. Bikram, however, apparently looked at the room and said, "good, people won't be able to go to sleep!" We also were told that the smaller group posture clinics are to be held in corner suites that have been outfitted for our needs with carpet, and that each have their own restroom. The bottom line is, in comparison to past trainings, we have got it good! And they keep reminding this of that, and I keep being thankful for it. Funny though, nothing was said about the practice room....we're all itching to see it.

Tomorrow, we get to meet Bikram. He was next to my chair today in the lobby, talking to people. It's not my goal to impress him (seems there are enough people trying to do that) so I've made no effort to meet him (or, er, call myself out to him ;). Anyhow, tomorrow we begin with formal rules: Class etiquette, attendance policy, any remaining dress-code rules, etc. Then, we have lunch buffet from 12:30 - 1:00 (normally, we'll be having 'brunch' daily with the buffet open from 10 a.m. - 12:00, with call-time being at 12:15 to resume, so class will be around 9 I expect daily). However, tomorrow is fluid - so it's...

10:00 Rules/Etiquette
Bikram's Intro
12:30ish Lunch
2:00 Posture Clinic - we start reciting Half Moon for Bikram - this takes all week to get through the whole class...
A little change break
Sometime between 5p.m. - 6 p.m., PRACTICE!!!!!!!!

We're all itching to have a class, of course, once we're into this for a while, we'll be begging for a day off from class :) Ah well, now, most people haven't practiced for 2 or 3 days at least, and that is a long time for so many here who had a daily practice getting ready for it.

There was a big group welcome dinner, which was lovely, but already, I realize, I need to be hyper vigilant about my food intake. They had virgin pina coladas (er, I had one at the seminar, and one at dinner - holy sugar!), and there's just a lot of saucy, lap-band friendly buffet food. So, after today, I am going to say no sugar, other than like I do at home - 1/2 a small square of chocolate (which I brought) here and there. Caffeine, alcohol - I can just ditch those habits anytime. But damn the sugar!!!

I'm guessing you'll see shorter/fewer posts from here on out; though this also acts as my journal, so I'm not sure what you'll see. But I know from here, the exhaustion will be here in no time and the stress of memorization, practicing 2x/day, and the minutiae of it all will be unavoidable. That said, I'm gonna try! First big day tomorrow!

Day 1: Photos, April 6

A pic of me in the open-air lobby where I blog from (and it can be windy!!!!!); 3 p.m. Gathering in the lobby; orientation in our "lecture hall"; Rajashree; Craig; Map of the Grounds (part of the presentation); Dinner!

Day 0: Photos, April 5

Bikram's arrival; hotel lobby; the view from our floor (sadly though, not our room); flamingos; Christian; and being serenaded at our nicer Mexican dinner we opted for on our last night of 'freedom' (no wine though!).

Arrival

There are buckets of Bikram people here. My travels were uneventful, Christian (ck) and I arrived virtually simultaneously and getting situated at the hotel was relatively flawless. Outside of no ocean view (as if!) the room is amazingly perfect. First, it's HUGE, second, it has a great big walk-in closet for changing, storing unused stuff, and allowing us to keep the room tidy. There are loads of drawers, an area of my little 'kitchen pantry', 2 fridges (as promised) and two sinks - one in the bathroom with the shower/tub, toilet; and one outside. Logistically for two non-coupled people, this is a boon! They are double beds, nice for 1 person. We have a view of the palm-tree littered golf course, which is lovely - no complaints, really, we were both just relieved and delighted by the room. The open-air huge lobby is where we access our free wi-fi, and it's a nice place to go and hang out outside the room as well.

The hotel itself is amazing too - my gawd - to be left here for 9 weeks is not the worst thing that could happen! Wonderful beach - we swam yesterday and it was warm, but with a nice gentle current that just made the water feel alive - the pools (many) are great, there are flamingos and peacocks wandering around the grounds. It's nice, but not so chi-chi that you feel annoyed or uncomfortable. It's the perfect level of goodness.

There is a convenience store, boutique (clothes, etc.), deli (with lattes!!! but $5 each so those will be a treat), game room (air hockey!), spa...really it's just great. The Wal-Mart is about a 20-30 minute walk, but it's just across from the entrance on the other side of the golf course.

Bikram was on Christian's flight, and arrived at the hotel to a big pomp-and-circumstance with a Chef greeting in the lobby. We were in line to check in, and snapped a photo! Below are some pics, when I'm beat, you may get more pix than words.... Tomorrow orientation is at 3 p.m., no practice though. We are working on dialogue, and it's going well. More soon! I'm just so happy to be here finally!!!

It's time!

I'm on a plane to Acapulco and wanted to post before the whirlwind begins!

First off, what am I doing??? I can hardly believe I'm really doing Bikram Teacher Training. Wtf??? Me?? And the last few weeks have been so consumed with preparing, working, studying dialogue, practicing, and trying to pay some attention to myself and the people in my life. The logistics - especially in the past week and a half - just totally took over and I've been feeling a significant distance from the spirit of this whole endeavor. With that, I wanted to post some of what I think it's about for me, and then we can compare notes at the end.

If you know me, you know I tend to be a goal-setter, 'driver,' and that I'm always focused on some project, goal or task. When I look at this training, I see components (I've bolded the gist of each one for your skim-readers):

1) Physical: In this area, I think it is fair to have some expectations. I'm not going to be specific though - my expectation is that my body will come out of this training better than when it went in. I expect to be stronger, better at some postures, and maybe weighing a little less (I mean really, did you think I would leave that out??) or else, at a minimum, lose some inches. In terms of hopes - I hope for no injuries, no illness, easy periods, and the stamina and strength of a clydesdale!

2) Emotional: Oy. Now this is a place where I am super excited and anxious all at once. I am wide open. I have no expectations, other than that of myself to be emotionally open, open, and more open to whatever comes up for me. (However, I secretly hope for some grand epiphany unlocking all of my psyche's mysteries - not expectation, I said hope, people. :)

3) Spiritual: Again, here, I expect some movement - some movement in my ability to find my own quiet, focus, peace and connection to myself, and my body. Again, nothing specific, I imagine something will happen, and going through teacher training will teach me something about myself at a spiritual level, and hopefully in a way that let's me live my life a little bit more in the way I want to.

4) Logistical: I want to never leave the room. I want to never leave the room. I want to never leave the room. Did I mention, I have a goal of NEVER LEAVING THE ROOM.

We'll see how I do; I will allow myself exceptions if something, er, inappropriate would occur if I did not (think: intestinal distress, etc.). I just don't want to leave for emotional overwhelmedness; for anxiety; or for fear. In those moments, I remind myself, "It's ALWAYS better to stay in the room." I half want to set a more hardcore goal - like, never missing a posture; like, never laying down...but I'm not here to be a hero. I'm here to practice physically (and emotionally) doing the right thing for myself in any situation, which means pushing myself as hard as I can, while knowing when enough is enough - when it is the right thing to allow myself to rest (guilt-free) in any given posture, set, series or class.

My goal is to be good at reciting my dialogue, delivering it with some level of inspiration, gusto and genuineness. I would like to not sound nervous or unsure, but rather confident and firm (by the end of it all) :)

5) Socially: There are so many different kinds of people here and I want to meet and learn something from them! Well, truth be told, it's more like some of them. Waiting to get on this plane, I met 5 people going - so different all of them! (Ok, that sentence sounded a little Yoda-speak...in other words, they were all very different). None of them struck me as people that were going to resonate deeply for me in any way....

Then when I got on the plane, swapped my aisle seat for a middle to let an older couple sit together, and ended up next to a really cool woman also going to training - my age, on the bigger side, etc. - and it was nice to realize "oh, indeed, some of these people are going to be 'my people'."

I realize some connections we make in our lifetime are purely logistical - that amazing person you talk to on a plane never to encounter again, for example; and I expect to meet some people here who resonate for me in this setting in a big way that may not carry over to regular life. Additionally, I figure on meeting a person or two who will be the "lifelong friends" that everyone tells you that you will meet at training. Having lived in the same city for nearly 15 years, my little extroverted self expects to be a dry sponge being dropped into the center of a giant lake. It'll be cool to encounter people from all over the world in a semi-intimate setting, where you can actually know them a bit. The nutshell is, I hope to meet and connect with some cool people, a few of whom maybe I will keep in touch with after training.

And that all said, I want to practice not putting sooooooo much energy into others, that is, knowing them and helping them in ways that may not serve me (like, I'm beat, I know my dialogue, but you need help....so I'll stay up to late for you. No Jenn. NO! Because the follow-up is, "then tomorrow I will resent you and be furious with myself for making a bad choice..." No one wins here! I know this, I just need to practice it!).

When it happens this way, I want to be able to say "this person is not for me; I don't need to stay here and work to 'make it so' when it's just not. Let them go, move on, take care of yourself." I've been known to just try to get someone to like me, when maybe I didn't even like them so much - I just didn't like the fact that they didn't seem to like me. Now there's a batch of energy I don't need to expend in this setting. I want to practice a level of discernment in terms of who I put energy into outside of myself.

6) Afterwards: Who can say what after all this will be like? I suppose in 9 weeks I will. But for now, I want to teach right away (Saiko has generously offered up her Monday 4:30 class for me the DAY AFTER I get home! And I said yes! Those of you in Seattle, mark your calendar: June 9th at 4:30 in Laurelhurst!!! Jenn's 1st Class). Ongoing, I want find opportunities to teach at least 3x/week, and of course, practice at least 5-6x/week. And after a few months, assuming I like it, figure out what might be next.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you who read this blog, my friends, family, fellow yogis and my teachers. I would not be embarking on this crazy, amazing endeavor without all of your encouragement, love & support!!!

Tomorrow is the day!

Today I spent finishing up the last tasks - a few last items, pedicure, visit to my 90-year-old friend/neighbor Shirley (who a few weeks ago on the phone said, "You better come and see me. At my age, you never know...) And then, I took my last class at my 'home studio' in Fremont. I invited a slew of people to come, but most couldn't do the time, or are too afraid of the heat (someday I would love to have a way to relieve that fear for people, or help them see it ends!). However, Jill, of course, and also Julie and Mikey (my sister, and my longtime-college-friend) came to class, Saiko was teaching. It was a good class for me! In fact, this week, I only practiced Sun, Mon, Wed, and Fri. It was so great! I thought, "This is what normal people do! Just a reasonable batch of exercise each week..." vs. my compulsive, daily practice peppered with guilt-ridden occasional days off. Anyhow, class was great - after, we all went to our house, ordered up food from Paseo (the best Caribbean food in the state, just 3 blocks' walk from my house) and hung out. It was a nice last night for me, and a nice last practice too.

I embarrassingly have three - that's t-h-r-e-e - bags to check. I am feeling lame, but also feeling comfortably prepared. Yeah, I brought a few silly things, but most of them are things that I feel better having than not. I will have to pay for some of them, but whatever. I've already plunked down so much money to do this, it seems silly to skimp on this.

So, just about ready to hit the hay, at the-way-to-late time of 11:30 p.m. (having to get up at 3:15 a.m. for my 5 a.m. flight...), I can't find my dialogue. Christian and I took Saiko's advice and took our dialogue to Kinko's, had it reduced, laminated and bound. So at 11:30, I can't find my dialogue. Awesome. I search, no luck. I call Mikey, whom I gave my car to while I'm away, to check the trunk. He checks and checks, no luck. Finally, I look under the couches, and then finally, under the bed - and there is my cat Heatbutt, sitting right on top of my dialogue. Phew. Not the best timing to have minor panic attack, but it worked out :)

Welcome letter from Acapulco from Bikram Training

Today we received this letter from the (infamous) Craig, who is the operational director (director of education) of training. I love the flavor of it - basically "we're going to do our best, don't be a big bunch of entitled, whiny baby pee-pants people who complain about everything..." Fair request, I suppose - but I'm sure the first point I run into something that seems out of line, I'll be thinking of the giant check I wrote, the time I'm giving, and will do my best to get all yogic on my own self and keep my big trap shut. ;)

--

Congratulations on your acceptance into the Bikram Yoga College of India’s Intensive Teacher Training Program, Class of Spring, 2008 in Acapulco, Mexico. I’m writing this from the property, and it is truly beautiful.

After meeting with the Fairmont management earlier today, I thought it appropriate to mention an important and time-sensitive consideration for your stay. If you have not already done so, please open the page for https://www.fairmont.com/fpc/FPCEnroll.htm and enroll in the president’s club for the Fairmont Properties. Enrollment is free and self-explanatory, and will, according to the management, enable you to access the internet for free while on-site. Once you receive your President’s Club membership number, you will have gained access. You will need that number for access, so please record it for future use.

The process of enrolling in the President’s club is exclusive to the Fairmont properties, so please refrain from all inquiries to our Headquarters in Los Angeles, as they remain blissfully unattached. Please note: you will need to enroll at least one day before you arrive for check-in to receive this complimentary service. If you do not enroll early, you will be required to pay for all internet services. Again, you will not be permitted to enroll effectively within 24 hours before your arrival, so please log onto the site as soon as possible to be eligible to receive the benefits.

Bikram and the Fairmont Acapulco Princess management and staff have gone to great lengths to ensure that this class will see a new evolution for our yoga, opening the door for unlimited potential. Bikram sees it as a new beginning. All we require is your presence, and a passionate commitment to your own transformation within the next nine weeks. Please enter into our new home with open eyes, open heart and open mind. You have chosen the path of service that leads to the promise of Self-realization, and for this you have my respect. Let yours be the hand that heals and helps, and let your expectations, as unwanted burdens, fall behind as you enter through the door.

Please have your Teaching Dialogue prepared and memorized in full before you arrive. Your responsible preparation will empower you to maximize your own unique potential within this course, and to graduate in nine short weeks fully prepared to teach Bikram Method Hatha Yoga to those in need. I look forward to working with you in Acapulco. Be well, and welcome aboard.

Craig Villani

Director of Education