Week two, day five.

Oh my goodness. One more 90 minute session and then its the weekend!

Got let out last night at a fairly decent hour. Bikram said goodbye to us last night, as he is leaving soon for Japan. Jim Kallett lectured last night, breaking down the concepts of Bikram and Hatha yoga to us and telling us his own personal Bikram story. It was quite insightful and incredibly interesting viewing this practice from a more scientific and intellectual perspective. It made me understand how these 9 weeks are really just the beginning of our education in this field. That this training is merely setting the foundation of our knowledge and beliefs. That I have barely penetrated the concept of yoga and that there is just so much more out there to read, to be taught, and to absorb.

Jim left us a lot of incredibly thought-provoking lines. Here are a couple that have really stuck:

"It never gets easier. It just becomes more possible."

"Determination without patience is recklessness. Patience without determination is laziness. Together, you're powerful. Use both, and there's nothing in this life you can't do."

"Renunciation does not mean running away, but facing one's problems squarely."

"Humility leads to progress."

This morning's class was taught by Lynn Whitlow. It was hot, of course. But I managed to stay in the room. I'm starting to get used to the idea that my practice here isn't going to be as solid as what it is under normal circumstances. Its difficult, but I'm slowly beginning to accept that its ok that my practice is changing due to these extremely different circumstances we have found ourselves in.

Afternoon class was taught by one of the staff members. Patrice from Costa Mesa visited again and practiced in the back. I'm convinced she is my lucky charm because for the first time, despite the insane heat in the room, I was actually able to do all of the postures. Either that, or perhaps the good news of having the rest of the night off, gave me that extra push to keep going.

Its interesting that no matter how many ups and downs (and I had some serious downs) I had this week, at this moment in time, I'm still alright and feeling like I'm doing the right thing. I'm over worrying about how brutal it has been. Whatever happened happened and rather than wallowing in my own self pity, and I've been able to let go. One, two, three, Savasana. And that is one of the greatest gifts this training has given me thus far, the ability to move on.

Looking forward to this weekend. A well deserved massage is certainly in order. Excellent food is on the horizon. And just to top it off, I get to see a certain someone this Sunday before doing this all over again! Life is good. Life is very good.