Monday, May 14, 2012

Feet together at the line

So here I am, days away from hitting the halfway point of Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. It's a Sunday afternoon and I'm plonked on my hotel bed taking a little breather between learning the dialogue for Tree pose and Toe Stand.

We started posture clinics two weeks ago - the bit where you stand up and recite the dialogue for the postures while fellow trainees do the pose in front of you - and they're going well. I'll be honest, my heart does start beating pretty quickly when I jump up to take my turn, and there have been a couple of times where bits of the dialogue have escaped me, but when that happens I've just done my best to plough on regardless and I'm pleased to report that the feedback I've had so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Hooray for me!

Elsewhere we've had anatomy lectures with the brilliant and hilarious Dr. P (a man I could listen to endlessly, which is just as well bearing in mind that some of his lectures went on well past midnight), and one anatomy test (which I scored 28/30 on, so I'm going to say rather modestly: NAILED IT).

Two classes every day are taking their toll a bit; my back's been a bit sore and one of my ankles has been grumbling a bit, but on the whole I think I'm coping pretty well. That said, the detoxification of my body has led to an outbreak of zits the likes of which I've not experienced since the age of 14. On the plus side unlike when I was 14 at least I'm not fat; far from it, in fact - just today I nudged done a hole on my belt which leads me to the terrifying realisation that by the end of training I might need to start making my own holes in it or face the prospect of my trousers falling down to my ankles at the most inopportune time.

On the plus side, my serratus anterior muscles are really quite defined now (and that's a boast not only of how training has changed my body, but also of my newfound anatomical knowledge).

All in all then, this training thing is going pretty well. I'm sure there are still plenty of potentially horrific surprises ahead of us, but I'm glad I'm here and I'm glad I'm doing this, which is just as well bearing in mind how much it's costing.

Anyway, here's me in triangle on Venice Beach. Note my lovely new hat - isn't it nice?

3 comments:

Inexplicable DeVice said...

Well, I hope you don't think this is an horrific surprise?

I can't imagine what drew me here? Was it the new hat? The defined serratus anterior muscles? Or just the Topless Tim?

Anyhoo, It seems you're having a smashing time so don't let me spoil it.

* lurks in the sand dunes *

Oh, P.S. Don't bother putting new holes in your belt - You'll only ruin it.

Mwah hah hah hah haa!

Tim said...

Oh, IDV, where *have* you been?

Tara said...

Well hey there, yoga teacher extraordinaire! I was catching up on my blog friends and didn't realize you had updated! I love that photo; especially the fact that you're wearing a hat. :)