Yoga Teacher Training: Week 1

[NOTE: If you are on my email list, this is a copy of the email I just sent. Let me know if you want to be on my email list, too! Sorry to be repetitive, but I don't have time and energy today to write more than one thingy... hopefully some originally content for you Marmot readers later in the week. Peace!]

It's a rainy, wet, thundery (but still warm!) day in Fort Lauderdale.
Sunday is our day off so I have some time to regroup, do laundry, study!,
and let you know how it's all going.

My first week has been so challenging. I would say until Friday, each yoga
class was _hard_ for me. There are several poses I'm not very familiar
with in the Barkan series, particularly chaturanga, part of sun
salutation, which we do at the beginning of each class, just after
Pranayama breathing. Chaturanga is sort of like a pushup, but with your
elbows in to your ribcage, standing on your toes and hands (palms,) and
you (ideally) touch your chest and chin to the floor. I really don't have
the upper body strength for it, and even struggle in the modified version,
where I'm on my knees rather than my toes. So this has been a wonderful
opportunity for me to confront my ego. In plain English, it's been very
frustrating, but I'm working with it and hopefully my triceps will develop
quickly. :) When I'm feeling frustrated or negative, I think of my
teachers who took so much time and energy to teach me, everyone I practice
with at HYL, and of my future students, and endeavor to do my best with
them in mind.

We've had several classes led by Lisa--she is our other main teacher
besides Jimmy. She is so amazing--she focuses on your mind and spirit and
reminds us constantly that YOGA IS SUPPOSED TO FEEL **GOOD**! In her class
on Thursday, she asked us to observe our thoughts during our practice, to
see which ones we could label "useful" and which ones "not useful." Boy,
did I ever have a bunch of crap in my mind! So that made me feel like I
can do much better in my own practice if I can just get out of my own way.
If that makes any sense. Anyway, Lisa has a very peaceful, nurturing
energy, and I always leave her class feeling refreshed, energized, and
positive.

Other graduates of Jimmy's program have taught us, as well, and they've
been EXCELLENT, each with their own individual style. This makes me think
even more highly of the program--Jimmy's not trying to make everyone teach
his way. And he emphasizes this himself, that his job is to facilitate
discovery of our own voice as a teacher. In our technical breakdowns of
each pose, there's even sometimes room for personal interpretation.

My fellow teachers-in-training are a joy, each one. I was walking toward
the ballroom where we practice and do clinics one day this week, and
passed four of them in the hallway. From each one, I got a 400W flat-out
grin. There's so much positive energy in the group; it's great. When we
introduced ourselves the first day, there were lots of stories of
incredible healing from yoga, including from a woman with muscular
dystrophy who has seen incredible improvement in her symptoms and movement
abilities from her hot yoga practice. Very inspiring.

Hydration and nutrition are challenging, too, but I think I'm getting the
hang of it. I'm tending toward whole foods--dairy, nuts, nut butters, some
veggies but most importantly--FRUIT FRUIT FRUIT! especially fresh cut
pineapple. I am also drinking bottle after bottle of electrolyte-enhanced
water. I had the thought at one point this week, as I was falling asleep
during one of my breaks: "Ah, I'll take a nap, I'm so sleepy. No! Must
stay awake so I can keep drinking water..." It's not a dilemma I've faced
before. I think I'm getting enough sleep, although I'm rarely sleepy at
bedtime! Something about the ZING of energy from the late-afternoon yoga
class. My brain is processing lots of information, too, Sanskrit and
history and philosophy of yoga. Hopefully I'll have some sort of a handle
on that information before we dive into anatomy this Wednesday, with an MD
who teaches anatomy to medical students. She's also a graduate of this
teacher training program. I can't wait!!