Losing touch....

A month since my last post. A little more than that since the studio was abruptly closed. I have since learned that the studio was actually sold to one of our newer instructors. She is currently renovating the studio -- or, finishing  the renovations that were started by the previous owners. She is keeping us posted via Facebook (photos included). Currently, the hope is that the studio will resume operations in early January, with a full Grand Opening in February. No word yet on whether we get to stay on work-study, but I am hopeful.

While the wait goes on, I have found myself slipping more and more into old habits. While I have had only four cigarettes in the last 12 days (Very Good), I am once again eating everything in sight. Doesn't matter whether or not I am actually hungry or not, I just eat. And eat. And eat. I bet I've gained almost 10 pounds. This with the holiday season nigh upon us. Worse, I wonder more and more about whether or not I really want to continue my practice.

Almost two weeks ago, I made the drive out to the studio in Arlington. I was happy to run into some of the regulars from Ft. Worth -- including one of our instructors. The Arlington studio is very nice indeed, as are the staff. They have been very helpful to those of us who have no home at the moment. Anyhow, the longer class went on, the more I felt like I didn't belong. Not just that I didn't belong in that room, but that I had no business being there, doing yoga, at all. The yoga felt very foreign to me -- not just because I was extremely stiff and had no sort of strength or balance. I felt really weird just being there trying to do the postures -- worse even than during my very first class. I was completely uncomfortable and unnerved. As I lay on the floor, sitting out most of the floor series, I kept asking myself, "Why did I even come here? I'm just kidding myself... I'm really not cut out for this stuff. I could easily stop practicing and few if any would notice my departure. Why not just give this up? Face it, I could do this for the rest of my days and I doubt that I will ever really improve. I mean, really, two years of this and I still can't do Triangle? I still sit out postures? Why bother? I tried, and I failed. Move on."

As I type tonight, I feel pretty much the same way.

 On a happier note, the latest Teacher Training concluded yesterday. I would like to say "Congratulations!!" to all who made it through, but especially to the following people who blogged about their adventure:

Kat -- A Sweaty Adventure

Tiffany -- The Hot Yoga Girl

Shavon -- bikram or bust

Alice Istanbul

Miss Copsey -- peace under pressure

Extra props to Ms. Istanbul -- in the midst of Training, she hopped a jet back to Florida to compete in the Southeast Regional Asana Championships -- and place FIRST in the Georgia Women's Division!!!

To all of you: it was really fun to follow your adventures. I wish all of you the best as you embark on your teaching careers.

Peace.

Lazy Sunday

May Day in Texas. Usually, that means sunny skies and warm temperatures. Not so, this year, however. Gray, rainy skies with thunderstorms in the vicinity, and it's in the 40's!!! This made for a very lazy, quiet day in our home. Sleeping in was very easy with the dark gray clouds. Yoga was considered for the briefest of moments. Instead, sleeping, napping, movies, and sports have been the order of the day. With our hectic schedules, classes have been once again few and far between. However, there have been a couple of triumphs.

First was the fact that my sweetie got back into the room after that nasty fall on the stairs. She was welcomed back by a number of people at the studio, which I think shocked her a bit. She has had to take it slowly but she is doing well. I AM SO PROUD OF HER!!!!

Secondly, I was actually able to string 5 classes together the week before last. (Only two this past week, however...) Anyway during last Tuesday's class, two things happened. In Hands-to-Feet (first set). as I was pulling on my heels, my spine popped. It felt like a new vertebrae had appeared from nowhere and popped into place. It seemed so loud that I was sure everyone else in the room heard it. It made my a bit dizzy, so that I lost that all important grip on my heels -- I almost catapulted myself off my mat.

The second surprise came in Triangle -- one of the most difficult poses for me. I actually made it through BOTH SETS!! I didn't fall out and I didn't sit out -- they weren't pretty but they were triangles!! After that, I breezed through the rest of class. I did sit out a couple of times but I didn't berate myself for it -- I simply tried to enjoy it. I should have gone back in today, but sometimes rest is best. Plus, my allergies are driving me insane -- breathing would have been really hard. Planning on getting back in tomorrow.

So, my count now stands at 39 classes for the year. With my goal set at 200, that means I need to attend 161 more classes in 244 days. I am nowhere near giving up on my goal but I just hope life slows down a tick or two so I can really put some classes together. It may take doing my own 30 or 45 day challenge to get me to my goal. There is still time....

Speaking of challenges, there is a newspaper reporter in San Antonio, Dennis Ayotte, Jr.,  who has taken up a 60 day Bikram Challenge and is writing about it. Follow Dennis' journey here.

Along with that, it is now Week Three of Teacher Training in Los Angeles. Those 400+ people are almost a third of the way home already. I have found several cool blogs to keep up with:


From The Hot Room.

onceuponayogi.

The Grateful Yogini.