Groundhog day

The days are starting to bleed together sort of like the movie Groundhog Day. We were told that it would seem exactly like that because of the same scheduling for most events. One gal forgot it was her husband’s birthday today. She said she had no idea what day it was. I only new it as Thursday and had the class count down to 3 remaining for the week, two on Friday and one on Saturday morning. Thursday evening’s class was the first that Bikram did not teach himself. He said he was wearing out his throat and one of the gals who helped put me back together last week named Julia taught the class. Bikram leaves tomorrow and will be gone apparently until May 5th. Hey, that’s Cinco de Mayo! I wonder if it’s as big a holiday here as it has become in the states? I guess it really doesn’t matter since drinking & smoking are strictly forbidden here. I think several people may have gotten busted with one, the other or both and Bikram reminded everyone that we all signed a clause stating that we agreed to be sent home immediately, at Bikram’s discretion, for either of these infractions. Anyway, Bikram said he would be returning and would spend the entire last month of training with us “whipping us into shape”. It’s great to have so much access to him during this session of teacher training.

Here’s an odd sensation, not shaving as much as I’m used to. I actually went all week last week without shaving my head. That has to be the first time in 15 years that I went longer than 3 days. I normally shave my head every other day, but due to time constraints I’ve just let it go a bit longer. In addition to time there is also the “freshly shaven skin irritation” factor that goes along with doing so many classes in a single day. I was surprised at just how gray I have become. I haven’t seen hair on my head in quite some time! Oh my!

Mary looks great by the way. I’d like for her to tell her own story, but oddly enough I was looking at her on Thursday and at the same time I was about to tell her that I thought she was losing some weight, she said the exact same thing about me. The smile that has always adorned her face seems to have returned and it pleased me to no end to see the “twinkle” back in her eye. I think she was struggling for a bit, as were we all, but she seems to be on an up cycle and it’s great to witness! She gave me a knuckle bump before this morning’s class. Go Mary, Go Mary, Go Mary!

Anatomy tests & dialogue review starts on Monday and people seem to be on edge. I did well in front of Bikram but we have 22 more to perform and apparently they start coming at us pretty fast. Put your crash helmet on and tighten your seat belt! Everyone’s walking around mumbling dialogue or huddled in a corner working together. This weekend will be full of studying, especially for me, as I am not as familiar with anatomy as some others here. The thigh bone’s connected to the knee bone, right? We were given a heads up as to what sort of questions would be asked, but you still have to remember the correct answers. The shin bone’s connected to the ankle bone, right? Mary and Carla, as well as my roommate, all seemed to be at relative ease with the terminology. We’ll see how I do next week.

Flu like symptoms struck this morning (Friday). It felt like someone tried to put a cigarette out on the back of my throat. Now, after this evenings class, I’m a bit achy and stuffed up. I took some alka-seltzer tonight from the gift shop and plan on making that trip to the market tomorrow and getting some additional supplies to beat it down. Vitamin C does not seen to be enough. I talked to several others who have been afflicted by the same symptoms. I’m glad it comes at the weekend so I have a bit of time to recover and rest up for next week. Speaking of next week, the end of the week will be the 1/3 mark in our training. Seems like it’s taking forever, yet at the same time flying by at a record pace! Quite a bit of it is still a blur and I’ve been advised that it will seem like that for a while after the training has come to a conclusion.

Saturday’s class went well. I can see where people would not like Craig and his teaching methods due to the fact that he is a disciplinarian. Everyone move together, keep your arms up, put the water down and get back into the posture. Someone told me that people were getting together at a restaurant tonight to have a bitch session and I was invited. I don’t want to have anything to do with it! As a matter of fact, I wish Craig would stand right next to me and bark at everything that did not conform to the proper execution of the postures. Much of this crap is all in your mind and if you can break habits or patterns that are holding you back, you open up a whole new dynamic. Of course at some point during the intensity, I may attempt to rip one of his ears off, but if I followed his instructions, I think I will be better off in the long run. Killer Awkward pose! Get back in the posture; get back in the posture, arms up, arms up. You, tattoos, third row, get back in the posture! Arms up! I’m waiting for everyone to get back into the posture, then and only then, I’ll count everyone out together. It’s almost like a punishment for those of us doing it properly. You have to stay in it longer and wait for all of the wandering minds to refocus again. Have you ever seen the movie “Raging Bull” where Jake Lamotta (DiNiro) tells Sugar Ray Robinson “you never put me down Ray, I never went down” after taking a particularly brutal beating at the close of their last fight? You never got me down Craig, I never went down! He seems to relate everything to movies. As I was walking away from the practice area the first week after dealing with the cramps I had a little hitch in my gitty up. I heard him tell somebody over my shoulder, now that guy’s right out of Roller ball! It was the only thing that made me smile that evening. I vow to set down some of my crutches and attempt to notice some of my patterns that may be holding me back regardless of how uncomfortable it may make me. I guess I don’t have to set them all down at one time, but I start working towards that this very moment. Care to follow suit?