Check check...

Bikram Yoga Teacher Training Checklist

-highlighters, pens- mark the hell out of your dialogue, it really helps!

-clothing rack to dry your clothes on

-a shopping bag on wheels for trips to the store without a car

-hot water maker/boiler, what are those things called?

-hot plate/small grill to cook with

-plates, utensils, paper towels, etc
-knife and cutting board

-tupperware
-extension cord... you might need more sockets to plug your stuff into if you plan on bringing applicances, laptops, phones, etc.
--camera

-snacks for lecture/posture clinics etc.
-eat what you crave while you're there. Random, but a lot of us craved salt and vinegar chips!

-Extra ice chest: get ice from non-TT floors, those usually aren't empty

-Tea/Coffee

-HYDROFLASK(S)

-travel blanket/small pillow- it gets cold during the late night lectures

-ear plugs

-chocolate

-electrolytes: honey/lemon/water, supplements or powders, coconut water, etc.

-"No Sweat"

-something to throw on over your yoga clothes before/after class

-more yoga clothes that you could teach in, for posture clinics

-some brought foam rollers or tennis balls
-comfortable footwear/ flip flops
-epsom salts
-essential oils (my mom swears by these... you can apply them topically to alleviate the soreness, some brands you can digest, helping boost your immune system, amongst many other benefits. something that came in really handy during training)

-some cash to tip the valet for helping you carry your stuff upstairs on day 1. You don't want to be hauling all that stuff and making that many trips up and down, conserve your energy- you'll be needing all of it soon :)

-A warm sweatshirt

-notebook to take notes/doodle/ and write dialogue in

-a journal or blog... reading through my posts from training, though only a couple months have passed, everything is coming back and its crazy how much one forgets because it seems like such a surreal blur

-a mantra, or something that you can remind your self when times get tough

Oh and Good Thai food. We'd call them before the 5pm class and would ask them to deliver at 7.

http://www.ayarathaicuisine.com/#/home 

Week 9, certified!!

Week eight, can you believe it??

We've been in this yoga bubble for so long that I've forgotten about life before teacher training. It's difficult to fathom that this coming Friday, we will officially be certified Bikram teachers. I don't feel like I'm ready to call myself that, to actually step onto the podium and teach a 90 minute class. But then again, I didn't feel  like I was ready to come to teacher training eight weeks ago either, and look where we are today! We surprise ourselves sometimes, both on and off the mat. And often times, it takes not thinking about things and just letting it all happen.

Monday was our last posture clinic. It was also the beginning of the brief moments to come where I would catch myself thinking about how far we've come, about how much we have grown, and about how much I'm going to miss moments that have come to make up our current reality. It is incredible to witness how people in my posture clinic group have found their voices, gained confidence in their teachings, and have come to even enjoy getting up there to share the dialogue we have memorized. I don't have the exact words for it, but I guess its part pride and part happiness for my fellow trainees in witnessing the great strides they have taken. To see people go through this metamorphosis and to have the privilege of sharing this experience with them, that it what has made the sweat, tears, and long nights worth it. And I now understand why so many teachers choose to come back to teacher training on their own dime, as well as where their sense of bittersweet nostalgia comes from. Four weeks ago, I thought they were all crazy. Now, I see that they're human. Perhaps a little crazy still. After all, this is Bikram Yoga.

So four more yoga days until this becomes a memory of the past that will probably creep up in my future presents as my time at teacher training. How strange is that? I'm looking forward to ending this chapter and beginning the next one, as nerve-wracking as it may be.

Some Bikram quotes...

Do you think I am a normal human being? ... Now the question is, how not normal?
I don't like cold food, I don't like cold hearts, and I don't like cold pussy!
But anyway, don't do anything to take away my concentration! I'm going to kill you now.

Bikram last night...

"What's going on in the left side corner? Somebody is doing silent but deadly or something??"

Bikram, this week.

Wow. There's two kinds of drinks. Hot chocolate and honey lemon... which one do I want? Hot chocolate... (takes a sip) Faaaaantastic!
You can't finish class in one hour. Its like high school sex. No good!
Why your heart hate your lungs? Its a horrible marriage. Between an asshole and a bitch.
Hey! Don't throw up on here. Its a new fucking carpet.
Now. The wise man comes. His name is...? BIKRAM!
I'm a combination of English bulldog and Bengal Tiger. Don't mess with me!
Like yesterday, I had to ask you guys 100 times to stop because you kept talking... Ok I exaggerate a little- I'm Indian!
And to the young lady who fell asleep during lecture with her legs uncrossed... Hellooo! I can see your uterus!
Operation successful. Patient is dead. Doctors are proud. Because they get paid by the Blue Cross!
I sell pain! Can you believe it??
Don't you know you can't make a clap with one hand? You need two hands, you idiot.
On Raja Yoga... You're all practicing it right now. When you go home, are you going to rob a bank? Are you going to kill somebody? Are you going to take revenge on your ex-husband? Chop his balls off and play ping pong with it?...maybe...