"That's a make-up!" Or The day I got to practice at Headquarters for free

Here we are (the hooligans from week 6 who had to do a make up class at Headquarters on Saturday):




Even though it was my 12th class in 6 days, the make up class was quite nice. It felt good to practice in a real studio with less people. I could actually see myself in the mirror. And, I got to visit the elusive Bikram Yoga International Headquarters.
Bikram's wall of fame:

Week 6... Or the "bad week"

At teacher training it's common knowledge that everyone has a "bad week". For some people it's the first week because they're getting used to everything. For some people it's week 4 or 5 because it's the half way point. For some it's the last week because they're at the end. For me, it was week 6. Now, before I explain why, let me just say: it wasn't that bad. I didn't have a mental breakdown. No throwing up, or freaking out, or major injury. I'm very thankful for that.
Honestly, I'm just tired. I caught a cold early in the week, which had me coughing and snotting like an elementary school student. We had several late nights which meant little sleep, leaving my body fatigued from fighting the cold. And to top it all off I have to do a make up class on my day off this weekend because I forgot to sign in to one of our lectures this week.

Don't you just want to play a very sad song for me on a very tiny violin?

With all that said, things are still going really well overall. I feel like coming to teacher training was SO the right decision and at SO the right time. I can think back to the past few years and point out little milestones that led me here. Amazing.


Hollywood. Eh, not very impressed. Mostly just gross big city. Could be a city anywhere:



Malibu is much more my style:


I love my roomie:


Pretty beach:


Yoga pics on the beach:





Love the beach here:


A little care package from Chloe:


My group for posture clinic (where we practice our dialogue and poses):



The make up list:


I ate this and it was delicious:

And yet another fun weekend

I'm beginning to get very attached to LA. I love it!
The weather is fantastic.
There's so much exploring to do.
I get to see Bekah on the weekends.
What more does one really need? (Well, a husband and dogs...but other than that, nothing!)

Thank goodness I have my car, otherwise I'd be waiting around for the Bikram van

So happy I get to see my Bekah every weekend!

We do this a lot. Trying on clothes and taking pictures of ourselves

Cafe Demitasse in Santa Monica

Quite a cute little spot

Fresh young coconut...took me back to Thailand. This was the most delicious thing I have put to my lips in years!

Kat and I went to Santa Monica to do some laundry. Yes, there are laundromats all over the place. Why would we go to Santa Monica to do laundry? Why not?

And another delicious thing I ate today: Candied Bacon Ice Cream Sandwiched between Maple Pancake cookies. Good thing I've got double yoga classes all week.

Ups and Downs

It's amazing how amazing I feel. And that's amazing.

I had a pretty bad yoga class on Thursday night. I was dehydrated, cramping, over-heating and psychologically driving myself nuts with fear and anxiety about all of the bad things I was feeling.  Friday morning I dragged myself out of bed and begrudgingly went to class only to have an amazing class both Friday morning and Friday night. Today, I feel great. I feel more awake and alive than I have felt in a long time.

That's the wonderful thing about this yoga: even though it's the same 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises taught with the same dialogue, every class is different. Every day is different. There are ups and downs, twists and turns, gains and losses but in the end it's yoga (or your life) and it's an amazing thing.

*And, yes, at this point I have most definitely drank the Kool-Aid. It tastes pretty good.

Halfway there!

Whew! It's been a busy couple of weeks. I haven't had much time to post, nor much to say about things. I've gotten into a decent routine so nothing really seems too out of the ordinary, extreme, or "teacher training-y" anymore. Although to the outsider, I'm sure many things we do here would seem...well, interesting.

I live in a hotel.
I line up outside of a hot room in a pack of hundreds of scantily clad yogis twice a day.
I drink enough electrolytes to sink a ship.
I study "dialogue".
I listen to an Indian man scream at me in a hot room and I enjoy it (most of the time).
I don't watch TV.
I don't think about anything except yoga (and I love that).

This past Wednesday marked the halfway point of my time here. It's amazing how fast and slow it seems to be going. That seems to be a common theme here. Time has the ability to twist and stretch and pull and contract. Kind of like your body!


Shots from my run in Santa Monica last weekend (yes, I finally got out and ran and it felt great):



City beach run scenery, love it!



Love that view, city, palm trees, sand, cliff.


Did I mention that I love it here?



A post yoga class selfie (another thing that now seems totally normal- looking like a wet rat):



Flowers from a secret admirer (Thanks, Jason! These really made my day):

The yoga room

We are SO not allowed to take pictures in the yoga room, but someone broke the rules and took this, then posted it on the Facebook page. So I stole it and here it is. Hopefully, I won't get in trouble for trafficking illegal photos.

Here's where we practice twice a day:




It's a hotel ballroom converted into a hot room. About 350 people practice in there at a time. See that big orange chair on the podium? That's where Bikram stands/sits.

Words of Wisdom from Bikram yogis

I like this.

Sleep Laughing

My roomie told me I was laughing in my sleep last night. I suppose there could be worse things a person could do such as sleep walking, sleep crying, or sleeping screaming. Must be all of the yoga...