Week 1

I have decided to keep a blog to write down my experiences of being part of the Spring 2008 Bikram Teacher Training in Acapulco.

One week has passed by, probably the most challenging week of my life (even the 2 juice fast retreats I have done in the past are a piece of cake in comparison to this experience!). I have been keeping a daily journal which we have been encouraged to do. So this is just a little insight of what has been going on in my life last week. I arrived safely in Mexico Friday week ago, smooth flight and and baggage arrived as well (apparently many other students missed connection flights and luggage got lost). It was not easy to say good-bye to my dearest husband Armond, who took me to the airport but we both remained strong, positive and happy about the challenge we were both about to face, being apart for 8 weeks. Luckily, Armond is going to come to Acapulco at the end of week 8 and will stay here for graduation and then we will have a couple of days together before flying back to the UK.

Before I continue I would like to thank all my family and friends for their support, encouraging words and positive attitude towards me taking on this rather crazy challenge!!

My hotel room is very nice and comfortable, with a balcony and stunning sea view. Most people are sharing rooms so this is a real privilege to have my own room.

Last Sunday was orientation day which lasted about 3 hours and was a gentle introduction into the 9 weeks ahead of us and quite a bit of house-keeping. Then we were invited to dinner, the first of many many buffets meals at the hotel.

We are about 290 students on the course. Monday morning we met Bikram!!! This was quite a touching and emotional moment to finally meet the man who's Yoga I have been practising for the past 3 years!

Monday afternoon at 4pm was our first Yoga Class, The studio has been purpose built and is pretty amazing (used to be indoor Tennis courts). I was nervous, anxious and a little panicky. The feeling of being in a room with 290 people practising yoga is unique and there is such an energy present.

My first weeks Yoga classes:
Well, I wont go into too much detail but will say that they were really challenging classes for me, there was quite a bit of fear there, insecurity and many more emotions.....this is all normal I hear and no reason to panic, as MANY MANY students go through similar emotions.

Bikram said that this 1st week we were all experiencing a huge imbalance as the way we have been living our life previously has totally changed,but by next week nothing will bother us...and again we should trust the process.

Apart from the 2 classes per day (90 mins each in a hot and very humid room). We have had all 290 students present the Half Moon Pose dialogue to Bikram. All the lectures are held in a auditorium here at the hotel, with a stage and seats, so quite different to when Armond did his training in LA. We still have about 60 people to go on stage so this has taken up most of week 1.

I presented my posture on Wednesday and was pleased that it went well, Bikram's comments were: "very sweet, very convincing, good....a couple of small things that I will now not comment on but will get fixed once you start the posture clinic training".

I have already met many lovely people, every day at least somebody new. But 2 people I got to know really well this week and how have been a tremendous support to me were Robyn and Simone. Simone is from London and Robyn from Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a real blessing to spend time with them and get their support. There is a big Wal-Mart close by which is good and we've been shopping there already twice.

I drink about 4-5 litres of water a day and eat a lot! Basically Craig said we should eat double then we normally do! The food at the hotel is very good and we get a free buffet every day.

It's now Sunday morning close to 10am and I will shortly go down for some Breakfast. Realised that the weekends will be when I miss Armond, my friends, my family and my home the most. But have to keep myself distracted and keep my goal alive of becoming a Bikram Yoga Teacher!!
There are beautiful swimming pools here and a stunning sea (which we have been going to after Yoga classes, straight in with our Yoga clothes on! That is a great and so refreshing!)

It is all a process and we have to trust the process. That is what they keep saying and I do believe it.

There is so much more to tell but at least you now have an idea of how things are going down here in sunny Acapulco!

My next blog entry will be shorter and hopefully more frequent! I've only just set it up after Robyn told me about her blog and I thought it was a great idea to communicate to the outside world.

It is such a privilege to be here and experience this, and despite my fear at times I am overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people here on the course and the support we are getting from Bikram, Craig and the senior teachers.

Lots of love,
Katherine