Day 1

I'm sitting on the floor in the hallway outside my room (no internet access in the rooms!)trying to piece together what's happening here. It's kind of hard to do because it all seems to run together. OK, we woke up around 7:00 I think and I went down to the cafe for coffee and whatever I could find while Sheila stayed in the room to write in her journal (so much more romantic than blogging, but I don't get to let friends and family know what's going on unless I do it electronically!)

We went into the auditorium at 10:00 for lectures by Jim, Rajashree and, drum roll please, Bikram himself.

Bikram made a rock star entrance down the center aisle wearing white from head to toe and looking like a man of around 35 or 40. Considering he's 63, that's a considerable accomplishment. He then proceeded to talk, non-stop, for 90 minutes. He has shall we say, the gift of gab and said a lot of things that were profound and made really good sense. Of course, a lot of what he says is very un-PC and well, a little off the wall. I took the gems and let the other stuff go. I must say though, that he is a talented "stand up comic" kind of speaker. His timing is great and he is really, really funny. I was laughing out loud half the time!

After his orientation speech, we had another of those fantastic buffets. We were told to come back to the auditorium at 3:00 for the beginning of posture clinic with Bikram. That's where we have to stand up on the stage and recite Half Moon dialogue in front of everyone, including Bikram.

Sheila, my roomie, and I went back to the room to practice Half Moon with each other. She had never done it with another person, only in the mirror with herself! Luckily, Tricia, Michael and Kate at my studio had allowed me to practice on them. I didn't do it much, but I think just doing it a little was good. Anyway, when we got back to the auditorium they announced that posture clinic with Bikram starts tomorrow. Just their way of keeping us guessing.

The next hour or two consisted of meeting the staff. They all stood up and told us a little about themselves and what they would be doing at training. It was entertaining and good to know who everyone was and where they came from. The only one I knew was "Yellow" who came to the Bend studio for a while.

When that was over, we went back to the room to prepare for class at 5:00. Let me tell you, THAT was an experience!

We stood in line to get into the yoga room (there are 310 people here). The room is HUGE and rather intimidating. Mats are 6 inches apart. Lots of bodies. Bikram taught the class and it was a good one because he said he was going to be very easy on us this first time. He was easy, for him, I've taken a class from him before. Still...........it was really hard. I think just the anticipation of the possibility of getting sick or fainting or whatever really bad, embarrassing things could happen. Oh, and there's always the possibility of Bikram picking on you and making you an example of "what not to do" in front of 300 people! Lots of people were lying down for most of the class. I managed to make it through without blacking out or throwing up, so I feel lucky. It was really hot and humid. I was sweating in the initial breathing posture.

OK. it's Friday evening and I am just getting back to my blog. This is the most unbelievable experience I have ever been through in my ENTIRE LIFE!!!

I can't possibly tell you everything that has happened. The physical and emotional roller coaster ride that I have been on for the last 5 days has been almost surreal. As I type this, my roomie, Sheila is down at el doctor being given an IV for extreme dehydration. She has been throwing up since noon. The two 90 minute (mostly 2 hour) classes a day in 105+ degrees with 70 per cent humidity is, believe it or not, almost the easiest part of this whole experience. First of all, the dialogue. We have to go on stage in front of over 300 people and Bikram himself and say the right side of Half Moon posture. It was the most nerve wracking experience I've had since......well, I don't know when I've had such an experience. You are a nervous wreck as you sit in a line waiting to "go before the firing squad." Not only are you nervous about giving a 2 minutes memorized dialogue, but you are always in fear that Bikram will shoot you down. After each performance he gives his feedback. Believe me, he can be very brutal! I was shaking, palms sweating, heart palpitating........I couldn't believe how nervous I was. I have a fear of public speaking which is part of the reason I wanted to do this. Anyway, when my turn was next, I walked up on the stage, took the microphone and for some unknown reason got a lot more relaxed. I introduced myself saying that I was from Bend, Michael Harris' studio. Bikram said, "He is coming". I said "Yes, I know" and that was it. He said "Start please". There are 4 people on the stage with you that are your "students". They follow what you say. When I started talking, it just came out naturally and it ended up being kind of fun. Whew! I was glad to get it over with though. Oh, and his feedback to me was "excellent, no corrections." WHAT A RELIEF!! Sooooo, Tuesday night Bikram announced that we were going to join him watching a Bollywood movie. Let me tell you, I have seen some cheesy, bad movies in my life, but THAT one took the grand prize. It lasted until 2:00 AM and when it was FINALLY over, we all zombied out to catch the elevator to our rooms. We have an 8:30 AM class. That meant 4 hours of sleep because we have to get up at 6:00 to make the class. There is all the preparation. Water.....you just don't know how much water you need. Electrolytes....again, it's a crap shoot. When to eat, when not to eat, etc., etc...
After class, we had 2 hours of free time (!) until posture clinic. All 310 people have to stand up and do their dialogue. That takes the first week. Of course, you get Bikram's rantings to entertain you before posture clinic starts. He is truly one of the funniest humans I have ever known. At the same time, he is remarkably wise and seems to know everything about each person that stands before him to do their dialogue. He just nails you, that's all. It's a gift.
At any rate the past week has been a blur of classes, posture clinics, Bikram's lectures, grabbing food whenever possible and trying to stock up and refrigerate water in a country where you aren't supposed to even drink the water! I have a Brita water pitcher and I have been buying bottled water.
The yoga room is the hottest, most humid room I've ever practiced in, and when you add the 300+ bodies to the mix, it's almost unbearable. People are throwing up, writhing with horrible cramps, passing out and being carried away, sobbing and crying. Unreal!! (Yes, I paid for this.)I have been trying to really pace myself. I am thinking of it like running a marathon. I mean starting extremely conservatively and hoping that I'll be able to sprint later. The only problem I had was yesterday when I mixed Pedialyte into my water. I was on the verge of throwing up during the whole class. That stuff tastes like crap. I hate the smell of it, the taste, the color, everything about it. I'll never drink it again. Lesson learned. Today, I stuck to plain old water and I was fine. By the end of each class, I'm usually lightheaded and have to move very slowly, but at least I'm still among the survivors!
It's 9:30 PM and we have the NIGHT OFF!!! I plan to go sleep as long as I can until tomorrow morning's 8:00 AM class ~ class #10.
I wanted to write more detail, but I just don't seem to have anytime to myself. We have Saturday after class and Sunday off so maybe I can tell some more stories then. I'm am so exhausted, I really have to go to sleep now.
Meanwhile, buenos noches amigos!