Monday, September 29, 2008

Things Are Gonna Change (I Can Feel It)!

Today was really good! I had a great weekend, even though I was feeling a bit sick on Saturday night it was good to just chill out and relax. I had some nice hot chocolate from the cafe (I know, weird in Mexico) and then watched part of a movie but mostly studied some of the dialogue for the poses.

Sunday I lay by the pool trying to study but ended up sleeping for most of the day. It was so nice to be able to recharge and just relax in the hot sun but unfortunately my face got a bit red because while I was sleeping the sun moved from behind my palm tree...

This morning when I woke up at 6 I actually felt like a human being for the first time since I have gotten here. I drank my compulsory protein shake (which I am sure I will be sick of in 6 more weeks) and we left for class at 8am. The morning class was taught by Diane, who is a senior teacher visiting from Boston. A lot of teachers come back over and over to the teacher training. They come just for a week or so and they pay their own way, just to be part of the experience. I was talking to one of them the other day and asking her why they did it and she explained that it's like having your finger stuck in a socket for a week, you get an instant jolt of energy and your teaching greatly improves because of it. We are studying with the best teachers in the world so I can see why people want to come in, get their butt kicked in class and be part of the student's experience and energy. I have a feeling that if I come back I will be able to take a lot more in because I won't be so stressed out, it will be kind of fun to see the new teacher trainees and remember the time when I was in their shoes!

But before I get too far ahead of myself, this morning's class was really good, I actually had enough energy to do every single pose and I put effort into it. I felt a bit stiff and a lot of my muscles were protesting and sore at being woken up but I did the best I could and was happy with the results. No lying on the mat, no crazy breathing episodes and no running out of energy halfway through the class. The teacher was trying to lighten the mood, telling us she was the bus driver and we can't be left behind (being lazy) or run over (trying to jump into the postures before she got to them). It was actually a great stress-relieving class because I was feeling a bit nervous about our upcoming anatomy lecture. By the end of the class I was feeling so strong and mellow that I was prepared to do my best and be happy with whatever the outcome was.

I went for a nice swim in the saltwater pool, which is just like a lagoon including rocks and waterfalls. It felt so nice to go in there after class and just float and let the water hold me up.

We're not supposed to swim in the ocean as much anymore because it's rainy season in Acapulco and when it rains it creates runoff into the ocean which attracts the big fish, meaning sharks and barracudas! It hasn't been raining for the past few days though so I'm sure it's ok and there are tons of surfers out at the breaks so I think they would probably get eaten first anyways ;)

We had a nice lunch in Chula Vista, the buffet but it wasn't as relaxing because my roommate & I were studying for anatomy. We got to lecture at 12pm and the test was handed out, it was actually pretty easy once I turned it over and started filling it out and I got 45/50. The only problem is that all my friends did better than me! Oh well, I really didn't put that much effort into it and I am just glad I passed! We still have another one next Monday so hopefully I will do better then.

We had more anatomy after that on the respiratory system, then a visiting teacher got up on the stage and told us that tonight we will be starting Posture Clinic!!! This is really putting the fear into me because it means more memorization, of every posture, then standing up and teaching it in front of 40 people while you get critiqued! I don't have too much of a problem with the memorization, but it is hard to recall it when you're up there and having to lead 4 people through the pose, while trying to think of the correct way to deliver it and also wondering what everyone is thinking of how you're doing!!! I am feeling very nervous but it's something everyone has to do and I am just looking at it as a great public speaking exercise.

At 5pm we had another evening class, led by Jim and again I actually had a great class, managing to do the strongest class I think I have ever done. He told us lots of inspirational stories to keep the energy going and it helped a lot. I was really proud of myself and I hope this trend of 2 hard weeks, one strong week continues. We have 9 weeks in all and it would be so good to end on a high note. But it's teacher training and you are never sure what to expect!

I just got back from posture clinic and it was held in one of the hotel rooms. 40 of us all squished into the room and 3 people acted out the posture while one person got up at a time to 'teach' it to them. You always have a different teacher leading each posture clinic and today our teacher was Lynne, who happens to be the head of the posture clinic program! I expected her to be really strict but she was incredibly nice and even if people forgot the dialogue she had positive feedback. I didn't get a chance to go up as everyone was really jumping up.

It's actually really competitive here, with many strong people who excel physically in the classes and also with the dialogue. There were only 1 or 2 out of 20 who missed some of the words. I'm not scared of a little competition though so I will go tomorrow and do my best and bottom line is that I'm here to learn to be a teacher so I'm sure whatever I am able to come out with will be decent and I'll learn something either way. I have to say it's a lot less intimidating than in front of Bikram and the 300 people so I just have to go for it. I have to go study more now since we're going to get through 2 postures this week then hopefully I can go to bed early - at midnight!

Hope everyone is fine and thanks for all your messages! I hope to have more time this weekend to write to you so I'll talk to you soon.

x Ju

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