Week 2 - Over and Done

I'm laughing because I just read some comments from my family that I hadn't seen before. Kirk, what a great analogy ~ Navy Seals! That's exactly how it feels! Also, what I meant by my computer slowly dying was that I would turn it on, the lights would go on but it wouldn't power up (yes I had the power cord plugged in). It did that for a little while but I think it's OK now. At least it turns on whenever I push the on button. I'm hoping it was just a glitch and everything is A. O. K.
And to Lynda, my beautiful, amazing sister, thanks so much for your supportive words! You're the best!
Let me see, where did I leave off?? What a week this has been! Monday was a teeny bit better for me since I'm starting to get the hang of how to eat, when to eat, how many electrolytes to take, how to pace my twice daily practices, etc. The days have all run together, so I can't really describe the daily slog but let me just say that today has been one of the best days of my life!! I say that only because I appreciate how relaxing, comfortable, non-stressful, on and on and on, it has been. Sunday is truly the day that will get me through the week. What I mean is that I will picture it, hold on to it, keep it fresh in my mind as a goal. Sheila and I slept until about 10:00 AM and went to the buffet breakfast ~ absolutely wonderful. Then, we came back to the room and quizzed each other to prepare for our anatomy test tomorrow. We both have it dialed in. No problema. I went to the spa and had a pedicure and a leg wax. Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! I felt like a queen! So, I have the rest of the day to do WHATEVER I want to do!!!! When I finish the blog I'm going down to the beach to buy some of the really cute sarongs they sell. Afterwards, maybe to my room to order room service and go for an early bedtime again. There is no alcohol allowed for these 9 weeks and I'm really glad of it. Otherwise, I might be tempted to go to the beach bar and order a pina colada! The last thing my system needs is alcohol.
The week went something like this: In addition to the 2 classes a day, we attended a daily lecture with Dr. T, a chiropractor with a lot of knowledge about the human anatomy and all the anatomical systems. He would usually lecture for an hour or two. We will have two tests on his lectures, one tomorrow and one next week. Bikram did a couple of his late nighters where he lectured for what seemed an eternity. A couple of nights we got into bed around 12:30AM and one night (his favorite ~ movie night) we didn't get to go to sleep until 2:30AM. That is brutal when you have to wake up at 7:00 and do it all again. Friday night, Emmy, who is 80 something years old, did a posture clinic and it was truly informative and fascinating. She had different people on the stage and was assessing their postures. It was 11:00 PM before I knew it. Emmy is absolutely my idol. She is in her 80s and you would probably say she was in her 60s if you saw her. She teaches (and practices) advanced series and let me tell you, advanced series is HARD. I've done it a few times and it always kicks my butt. Anyway, she is amazingly knowledgeable regarding the yoga and the postures. She says that she is the norm. She is what being in your 80s should be. I love her and I am determined to be in the same shape she is in when I get to be her age.
The other highlight of the week was Lillian Glass, who has a PhD in communication, blah, blah, who knows. Believe me, whatever her advanced degrees are in, it shows. She is an expert on voice projection, communication, stage presence, leadership skills, on and on. She comes into a room like a ball of fire ~ energy bouncing all over the walls. She turns on the crowd in about two seconds and everyone seems jacked up and brimming with electrical current! This is in spite of the fact that we were all exhausted. She had people come up on the stage and introduce themselves and then she would tell them how they come across and what they should work on. She showed us some exercises to improve our voices and pretty much just got us totally excited to teach yoga. I'm going to Google her and order EVERY ONE of her books. I especially like the idea of Toxic People, which is her book instructing you how to detoxify those negative folks that come into your life.
So that was the week in a nutshell. Overall, I feel a trillion times stronger today than I did last Sunday. I feel better equipped to handle whatever gets thrown at us next week ~ well, at least I hope so. We are supposed to have our Anatomy test tomorrow, then break up into our groups for posture clinics. We are going to have about 15-17 groups of people who will all do our dialogue together and perform the postures. Since I have memorized all the way up to Cobra pose, I feel like I have a head start on those who haven't even started memorizing yet.
Sheila is feeling better, by the way. She finally went to class on Saturday and today she has been up, eating and feeling pretty good. She'll be coming back strong because she's a very determined person. We have lost about 6 people so far, but I knew Sheila wouldn't be one of them. Although she is younger than all my kids (28), we have formed a bond of friendship that I hope will last forever. We are like peers in ways but in other ways we can learn from each other. She says my wisdom is a source of strength for her and her youthful enthusiasm and determination are an inspiration for me.
That's it for week two. Onward to #3! Yikes!