1/3

Almost….1/3….of the way there!  By this weekend, we’ll have done 33 classes in three 21 days!  That’s an intense 30 day challenge with a few bonus classes!

This morning, I accidentally slept through the floor series again.  Opps :) The yogi next to me did the same, so I didn’t feel so bad, but definitely not my everyday plan.  Fighting this cold has been really challenging out here, I can’t wait to fully get rid of it. 

This afternoon I presented Eagle Pose!  I almost have my voice back fully.  Groups 18 + 20 were mixed so I was with Adrienne!  She went first then I followed.  Adrienne rocked it!  I did too!  I liked my feedback, I had good presence, I was sweet, but I still killed them!  Stealth Killer was the word!  That’s what I’m going for with my teaching style so I was really happy with that.  They also said it’s evident I love being up in front of the students.  I did get a little sing-songy at one point that the teachers cautioned me about not doing.  I hadn’t heard or thought that before so I’m going to pay more attention.  My homework is (because I’m strong with the dialogue and being up in front of people) is to play with the words and go the extreme to really kill the class during the next posture – standing head to knee.  Adrienne and I are going to work it tonight!

Tonight’s class I decided to punish myself for sleeping through half the morning class.  I set up directly in front of the podium, name on mat, everyone behind you, and lead by example.  In this spot, it's easy to get picked on or yelled at since the teachers eyes are directly on you.  You really have to kill yourself.  It ended up being one of my best classes!  For the first time out here, I was 100% able to do standing head to knee pose, head on the knee, and came out perfectly and gracefully, and AND just about locked out my kicking leg in standing bow!  It felt amazing!  Maybe I’ll sleep through all the morning classes!  ;)  Even though it’s not really about overly improving our practice here, it’s about learning to be the best teacher, tonight felt really really good.

One last thing - a lot of people ask me how I have time to write in my blog when extra time is so rare around here.  For me, I do well with a lot on my plate, so the more I have to do, the more I get done.  The less I have to do, the less I get done.  You follow me?  (Bikram speak!).  Our plates are maxed out here - learning dialogue/anatomy/class is absolutely my primary focus.  It’s funny actually, everywhere I go I’m saying it in my head.  In the bathroom, walking down the hallway, in the shower, it works!  Also, I type fast, I want to remember all of this, and love love love sharing this experience!  (15 minutes on this post – it’s that simple!)  

I can’t believe we’ve knocked out three postures, potentially four, in one week!  Killing us!  I wasn't expecting it to be at that fast pace.  A lot of yogis are struggling and breaking down with the workload, but I’m doing my best to stay positive and stay on top.  On day at a time, one posture at a time, and just breathe.  My weekend plan is to continue to get ahead on dialogue, review what we’ve done so far (so I don’t forget it) and cram for our Anatomy test on Monday.

“Stress is not real, it’s a reaction to a force, based upon your perception.  Change your perception, change your mind” JC - one of our teachers :)