Alice Istanbul - Blog

The demo team

2011-11-17T18:43:00.001-05:00

My final week of teacher training has been hijacked. But I'm not complaining.

Let's take a step back.

One of the traditions of Bikram's teacher training graduation ceremony is a choreographed performance of the 26 postures demonstrated by 25-30 hand selected teacher trainees (aka the "demo team"). Lasting about 15 minutes, the sequence of postures is performed on stage in perfect unison, set to music, and narrated by Rajashree (Bikram's wife).

Last week those of us who felt we have a strong yoga practice were called upon to volunteer to audition. Lots of people showed up. After several fierce rounds of auditions in front of Bikram and other in-charge people, there were many eliminations, and I'm happy to say that I made the final cut.

I am so, so excited, and very honored to be on the demo team, to represent my fellow teacher trainees on stage and to perform in front of Bikram, Rajashree, Emmy, my friends, and everybody else at graduation this Saturday. Saturday also happens to be my birthday. What a gift, right?!

All week long, after each yoga class the demo team stays late to practice and rehearse the choreography, timing, and transitions for the presentation. This means that now instead of doing 3 hours of yoga a day, the demo team is doing 5 hours of yoga a day. We've kissed any semblance of our free time goodbye in this final week. Our muscles are stiff and tight. We're operating on overdrive. But our spirits are high, and the vibe has been mostly positive and happy. Personally, even though I'm exhausted, and my hamstrings are about to snap like over stretched rubber bands, I am loving the physical challenge of working through the fatigue. And this unexpected extra experience of bonding with new friends has been really nice.

I think the performance is going to be very beautiful. I hope I can get a good quality video to post to my blog afterward.

In rehearsal this morning.

My only worry right right now is that I have ZERO time to work on my dialogue. Zero. I teach my first real yoga class in 4 days. I'm concerned about how in the world I'm going to recite 90 minutes of a dialogue I've barely looked at in 2 weeks.

Things always have a way of coming together at the end. I'll study hard on the 5 hour flight home on Sunday. I know it will be okay.

Week 9 - already.

2011-11-13T11:54:00.001-05:00

I have had SO much to share with you,

but time is so precious these days that blogging

keeps falling by the wayside.

Week 9 is here.

I can't believe this is our last week.

I've never had such a dichotomy in my feelings before.

Looking forward for something to end,

and yet desperately wanting it to never end at the same time.

This final week my energy will be focused on

enjoying every. single. second that remains of my time here in the bubble.

I told myself I would not shed a tear until Friday.

It's too late, I've already had a good cry and it's not even 8:20am.

Some of the things I will miss the most:

The energy of doing yoga with 400 people

These girls :)

Beautiful, gorgeous California.

Practicing advanced postures with Shaun and Rachel after class.

The support and love of new but lifelong friends.

The lights of LAX.

There's so much more of course.

I'll try my best to keep posting regularly this week,

even if just quick posts with pictures.

From Headstand to Tiger

2011-11-11T02:01:00.001-05:00

When you give 110% every time you try something,

you get incremental but unmistakable progress

with every single effort.

6 months ago I couldn't even do a headstand against the wall.

4 months ago I could get in and out of a headstand without the wall,

but I would have to slowly kick into it, bent knees.

3.5 weeks ago I learned how to pike (straight legs) in and out of a headstand

with control, and then I demonstrated a full and proper headstand in competition on Sunday.

Up until last week I couldn't imagine lifting my head off the ground in headstand.

Yesterday, with the wall to support me (baby steps),

I was able to do what you see in the picture below, several times,

no problem.

The beginning of Tiger pose...

...which is actually the beginning of Scorpion in Tiger pose,

what I think is one of the most challenging strength and balancing postures

in the series of the 84 classic asanas.

Flexibility is not my strong suit.

Strength comes naturally, but flexibility takes daily effort.

To eventually someday get into Scorpion

and get my toes to my forehead

I need to seriously work on my back flexibility.

This is Afton Carraway, Florida Champion and 2011 US Champion

demonstrating Scorpion in Tiger. She is awe inspiring.

In order to get there

I have a tremendous amount of work to do

on the flexibility of my spine.

I'm on it!

"Believe you can and you're halfway there"

~ Theadore Roosevelt

What yoga asana competition means to me

2011-11-08T15:20:00.000-05:00

This is a big topic. A long discussion. One that we could sit and talk about for hours. Hard to summarize in one short blog post, but I'll try.

When people hear about yoga competition for the first time, there's usually an eyebrow that goes up in reaction. I had a skeptical response when I first heard about it myself a year and a half ago: "How do you judge yoga? Is it about who achieves the most meditative state on stage?" Ha :) The fact is that yoga asana competitions are new to us here in the West, but they've been happening in India for ages.

The idea of yoga asana competition can be controversial. My personal opinion is that a lot of the controversy comes from a misperception of what it actually is. I'll try to break it down the way I see it. These are just my opinions from my own understanding of what the words Yoga Asana Competition mean.

Yoga - Let's start with the first word, yoga. According to Patanjali's Yoga Sutras - the ancient texts that make up the whole foundation of yoga, yoga is an 8-fold path. Without getting too complicated, Asana is one of those 8 branches. You can google and find tons of information and books on the other 7. Good stuff to read up on if you want a deeper understanding of yogic philosophy.

Asana means posture. It's a crucial word in this equation and discussion. According to Jim Kallet, one of Bikram yoga's senior teachers, "posture" is actually just one sixth of the the definition of the word, the complete definition being "posture holding still breathing always normal". When the athlete is performing the asanas on stage they are demonstrating the technique of the posture with calmness/joy, achieving stillness at the maximum point, while maintaining ease of breath.

Competition. Yes you are on a stage competing with other athletes for first or second place, but truly it is a competition with yourself. And actually, the way I see it, more than a competition it's a demonstration. There's really nothing competitive or cut-throat about it. There may be one or two in the bunch who approach it with the wrong attitude, but those who lead with their egos never get very far. In my experience training with competitors, in the true spirit of yoga competing athletes help each other: I want you to achieve your best, to bring your maximum potential to reality, because when you are at your best, you inspire others. I want that for you. And I know you want that for me. And that's what's so beautiful about the whole experience.

The yoga athlete has 3 minutes to demonstrate 7 postures. The first 5 are compulsory, and everyone performs them in the same order: Standing Head to Knee, Standing Bow, Bow, Rabbit, and Stretching. The first 2 postures are balancing postures that demonstrate your mental strength and ability to stay focused. The next 3 demonstrate your spinal flexibility in a backbend, forward bend, and horizontal stretch. The final 2 are optionals chosen from the classic 84 posture series and show what the athlete is capable of doing and what they've accomplished in their time practicing yoga. You are also judged on grace, which I define as composure, confidence, calmness, and overall stage presence.

With all that said, here's a video clip of my 3 minute demonstration at the Regional Championships on Sunday. People ask me how it felt. I can only describe it as amazing. I felt calm, happy, and at peace. I went up there knowing I'd be showing the best of my abilities and I had no expectations for any kind of outcome. I felt present in the moment. I truly felt like I was doing yoga on stage - union of mind, body, spirit.

With so much gratitude

2011-11-07T14:30:00.001-05:00

This weekend I left teacher training in Los Angeles and flew to Florida to participate in my very first yoga competition, representing Georgia in the Southeast Regional Yoga Asana Championships.

Training for my first competition in the middle of the most physically/emotionally/mentally intense 9 weeks of my life and then getting on a plane and flying to the exact opposite side of the country = a little bit crazy.

Peoples' reaction leading up to the event was generally one of disbelief and wow. I got a lot of incredible support, love, encouragement, and help along the way.

Would you believe me if I told you that the craziness of this whole idea didn't even occur to me until I was physically on the plane and in the air on Friday?

That was the first time I said to myself, "I can't believe I'm actually about to do this".

Total travel time: 16 hours. Total hours spent in Florida: less than 29. Total number hours of actual sleep between Friday night to Monday morning: about 9. Duration of yoga routine on stage: 3 minutes.

Right now I'm flying somewhere over New Mexico.

When I land in LA in a couple hours, I will hit the ground running and jump right back into the schedule. Physical exhaustion notwithstanding. Today is the start of Week Eight!

Oh, a very important thing to mention.

I placed First in the Georgia Women's division!!

Gold medal.

Beyyyyyond my wildest dreams.

Tomorrow or Wednesday I will post a video of my routine on stage along with what yoga asana competition means to me.

But for this blog post, I really would like to dedicate it to thanking the people who helped make it possible.

Being at teacher training, I've had the huge fortune of having access to visiting teachers who are former/current champions, coaches to champions, and people who are generally very supportive of yoga competition.

Although I didn't have an official coach, what I did have were dozens of mini coaching sessions with some of the most experienced people in this circle. To everyone who took the time to watch my routine and give me valuable feedback and posture tips: Ida Ripley, Erik Persson, Suzanne Elliott, Paulina Bianchi, Stefania Garcia, Nicole Duke, Rob Manosca, Rebecca Rumpf. Thank you!

My husband Jonathan is the greatest supporter and believer in my dreams. He surprised me by being there at the last minute, saying he could never miss my first competition. Thank you! Love you!

To Esak Garcia, and Jedi Fight Club, the whole foundation of my training. Thank you!

My teacher and friend Kirsten Johnson who came all the way from the other side of the country just to be there and support me. Thank you!

My friend and fellow competitor Brittany who pushed me to do the competition in spite of my doubts of being able to do it during teacher training. Thank you :)

My fellow teacher trainees in Los Angeles, so many among the 400 of them, who were never short on excitement, encouragement, and kind words of support these past couple of weeks. Especially my closest friends and dialogue study buddies Nicola, Tiffany, and Kat, always willing to get me caught up on the studying I'd missed because of staying in the hot room after class to train. Thank you! And Rachel, thank you!

Shaun Kerr - Rhode Island champion, fellow teacher trainee, and awesome friend, who stayed so many times with me after class to work with me on my routine. Thank you!

Did I forget anyone? I'm so sure I did. If I accidentally omitted your name, know that I thank you, too.

When I return to Atlanta in less than 2 weeks to start my new and exciting career as a Bikram Yoga teacher, I also look so forward to training with my amazing fellow Georgia competitor and winner, Rebecca Causey. I can't wait for us to train together for the Nationals in March!

Namaste, everyone, with so much gratitude.

Love, love, love.

Week Seven aka "wtf week"

2011-11-03T03:03:00.000-04:00

This week is totally absurd so far. My friends have suitably labeled it "wtf week".

Peoples' emotions have gone haywire (seems every time I turn a corner someone's having a personal meltdown).

A lot of grumpiness, negativity, aggression even.

Outside of my close circle of friends, I'm staying out of peoples' drama.

We're one posture away from being done with posture clinics. HOOORRAAYYY!

Except that the dialogue for Spine Twisting, our final posture, is the most complicated yet.

Trying to memorize these words is like learning a new language.

Last night instead of lecture or posture clinic we got to watch old TV footage of Bikram from the 1970s, his appearances on the Late Show, The Dinah Shore Show, That's Incredible, etc. It was pretty cool to see him in his younger, mellower days. Except for less hair up top, he still looks exactly the same. Exact same physique. Bodywise, the man has barely aged (he's almost 66 now) - a real testament to the yoga. All that aside, the most notable thing is that 40 years later his message about the yoga has not changed one bit.

That's a good thing.

Right now, this week, I'm really thankful for our two yoga classes a day.

It's what I look forward to and enjoy most (that and socializing of course).

Just like in real life, it's what keeps me sane.

Those 90 minutes in the hot room make everything else go away.

I don't know...

There's more stuff going on, but probably best

not to put it out here on a public blog.

My study pals and me.

We're checked out. "Done" with studying. Unable to concentrate any longer.

The flash on my iPhone camera makes your eyes look like a raccoon's.

That's how we feel tonight, a little bit like caged wild animals.

A little bit rabid.

A little bit like wtf.

A yogi Halloween

2011-11-01T17:52:00.001-04:00

Last night Bikram and the amazing staff here threw us a Halloween party.

We got the night off after our evening yoga class.

There was pizza, dance music, a disco ball,

and 400 energetic yogis dressed up and ready to boogie down.

Here are some pics:

Me and Lisa.

See what 6 weeks of yoga can do for your body? ;)

Misty, I mean Wonder Woman, in Triangle pose.

Frankenstein and bride.

Par-tay!!!

Bridget, me, Eddie, and Tiffany

Dance! Dance!! Dance!!!

Danny as a Bengal Tiger, me, and Lauren as Rainbow Brite.

It was definitely one of the highlights of Teacher Training.

So grateful to Boss and the staff for organizing such a fun night for us.

Thank you!!

Hope you all had a fun Halloween, too.

Week 6 in review

2011-10-30T23:49:00.000-04:00

Week Six is behind us now. In hindsight it seems to have been even more hell-like than Week Five. Rumors have it that Week Seven won't be any easier.

Truly, the only challenge I'm really having with Teacher Training is the forced late nights. It's the only thing that gives me a frowny face. When I can sleep my requisite uninterrupted 7 hours a night, I can do anything. Deprive me of sleep, and I'm a mess.

Just about every night last week we were made to stay up past 1am because of that dratted Mahabarata series that Bikram really wants us to watch. On Thursday night he had us up until 2:30am. Defeated, I just curled up on the floor with my little airplane pillow and slept there for an hour and a half using my scarf as a blanket. The ground was cold and hard and my back was killing me, but I was desperate to just close my eyes and be horizontal. Not fun. It really put a damper on the 8:30am yoga class the next morning. Thank goodness for Epsom salt baths (but that's another blog post, coming soon).

Posture clinics should be winding down to a close this week, I think. We're on Half-Tortoise, posture 21 out of 26, so at least an end is in sight for all this dialogue memorization. What I love most about posture clinics is hanging out with these amazing people.

Posture Clinic Group Nine - best group ever!!!

Sooooo.... I'm competing in a regional Yoga Asana competition next weekend.

I'm flying to Florida next Saturday, competing as an athlete representing

Georgia on Sunday, and flying back to LA at 5:30am Monday morning.

Whirlwind.

This will be my first time demonstrating my postures on stage. I'm a little nervous because I feel unprepared. But I am SO excited for the opportunity, and the experience it's going to give me. After yoga class I try to stay on in the hot room and stretch and work on my routine for an additional 20-30 minutes twice a day.

Playing around with advanced Standing Head to Knee. No hands.

I can hold my leg up for several seconds, but ideally my forehead needs to remain glued to my knee.

Okay, enough about that.

Here's how I spent my weekend.

The weekends here are like a gift from the heavens.

Always so excited to be able to be outside for the first time in 5 days, and just get away from the hotel.

Saturday night we celebrated our friend Kalee's birthday.

Me and my TT Besties, Nicola and Tiffany.

Love these girls.

This whole experience wouldn't be the same without them.

Such a fun night! Happy Birthday, Kalee :)

Sunday:

Mahnattan Beach pier this beautiful Sunday morning.

I headed back to Cafe Gratitude for lunch on Sunday afternoon.

I miss eating well.

And we don't have restaurants quite as

freakin' amazing as this one in Atlanta.

The view from my seat outside.

Hollywood baybee!

I ordered an I Am Worthy and I Am Pure.

Raw. Nutritious.

Delicious!

I can't remember what this was called,

but it was GOOD.

So with Week Seven upon us, I am suddenly acutely aware of how fast time is passing.

I won't be here next weekend, and that leaves only one final full weekend before graduation and my flight back to Atlanta.

I miss my husband and child so much. I miss my friends back home.

But I am in pure bliss here in this yoga bubble, sleep deprivation and all. These past 6 weeks have been like none other in my whole life. Only 3 more to go. I must remind myself to just remain in the present moment, every moment. Don't waste time thinking about the past. Don't lose time thinking about the future. Just enjoy right now.

Week Seven. Let's do it!

DIY hotel room dinner - Salmon and rice salad

2011-10-26T19:19:00.000-04:00

If you should happen to find yourself living out of a hotel room for whatever reason in the future, here's something that's easy and healthy to make. It's really yummy and will give you sustained energy. And the leftovers keep well, you can eat it cold the next day.

One can of wild caught Alaskan salmon

One pouch of Trader Joe's brown rice medley

Broccoli florets and carrots, place in boiling water for just 30 seconds

Torn kale leaves (spinach and/or chard works well, too)

Light drizzle olive oil

Juice of a whole lemon

Sea salt and fresh cracked lemon pepper

This is what the box of Trader Joe's rice looks like.

You can find it in the freezer section

Follow the cooking instructions for the rice (microwave for 3 minutes).

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Eat half for dinner, and save the other half for lunch the next day.

Bon appétit!

Over the Rainbow

2011-10-25T19:07:00.000-04:00

They played this beautiful song for us in final savasana this morning.

I wanted to share it with you.

The dreams that you dare to dream,

dreams really do come true.

And I think to myself,

what

wonderful

world

♥ ♥ ♥

Family weekend. Love, love, love.

2011-10-25T01:12:00.000-04:00

In my last blog post I mentioned something about

Week Five of teacher training being called Hell Week.

Guess what. By Friday, I can attest that Hell Week

was not a misnomer after all.

But more on that another time.

Today I want to share some pictures of the beautiful family weekend I had.

It's Monday today, and my SweetPea and Jonathan have left,

but boy oh boy,

what a fun weekend we had!

Saturday at the Santa Monica Pier.

It was a foggy, chilly day,

but we hardly noticed.

A special visit to the candy shop.

Lollypops are a scarce treat, but that's what

vacations are for!

Toes in the Pacific Ocean.

On Saturday night, we had an impromptu date night near Hollywood.

SweetPea, crashed hard by 6pm because of the time change.

So she slept in the car (parked right next to us while we were seated outside), while we enjoyed an absolutely HEAVENLY vegan dinner at the one and only Cafe Gratitude.

Sunday.

DISNEYLAND!!!!

A surprise trip for the girl.

Who knew that at 36 I'd be this excited about Disney.

Experiencing magic through your child's eyes is the best part of being a parent.

Nothing can make your heart melt

like watching your 4 year old's dreams come true.

Her food dreams came true, too,

when I let her eat a hotdog for lunch.

Alice and her favorite cat.

I miss them so much already.

Perfect timing for a family visit.

Just the boost I needed as we push on through past the halfway mark.

Week Six of Nine is here.

It's as hard as ever.

Still loving it. Every single minute.

xoxo

Namaste

Week Five and we're halfway there

2011-10-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

Today marks the official halfway point in teacher training!! Day 32/63 and we just did yoga class 48/99.

Aptly timed that we completed Triangle pose in posture clinic today.

Triangle's known as the pinnacle of the standing series.

Bikram came back this week. He was away on and off for the past two weeks. I missed him while he was gone, but having him here always means guaranteed late nights. Monday ended at 12:45am, last night at 1:30am. There are some ugly rumors going around that one of these nights he'll be keeping us up until the sun rises. We've started watching the epic Mahabarat series, a mandatory part of the curriculum. It has something like 94 episodes, each 45 minutes in length. We start watching them at 11:30pm, and go until Boss says we can go to bed. The rules are: no pillows, no blankets, no lying down. The "Sleep Police" come around every half hour or so with flashlights to prod us awake.

Week Five is legendarily known as "hell week". So far, I cannot speak to that. I haven't experienced anything near hellish about teacher training....yet. Ask me again the day after our no-sleep-til-sunrise night, and I'll tell you what I think then ;)

My teacher Rebecca arrived from Atlanta today. She'll be here for a week. I'm so excited to have a familiar face here.

Countdown is T minus 2 days until my family arrives. YAY!!

I've literally got to run. We've got our second posture clinic of the day in less than 1.5 hours. I need to deliver 2 postures tonight which I haven't learned yet. Some people will have delivered a total of FOUR postures in one day by the end of today. It's crazy.

Hope you're all doing well :)

Loving California, and a weekend update

2011-10-16T21:52:00.002-04:00

Another weekend has come and gone.

The weekends are just not long enough here

with so much fun stuff to do in the short 36 hours we have off.

Friday ended with a hugely spontaneous celebration in the hot room.

They announced to us in the 5pm yoga class that we would be having

a surprise Friday night off.

There was a lot of jumping up and down, hugging, and cheering.

Followed by a really great class with Ashley Hooper.

30 seconds into our final Savasana, lights are off as usual,

and then over the loud speakers come the disco beats of

Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".

More cheering, hooting, hollering, followed by a conga line.

A great way to end the week.

This weekend I did a voluntary double class on Saturday,

which was awesome. There were only 20 of us in the enormous hot room, mostly people who had to do a "make up" class for forgetting to sign in sometime during the week.

It was a totally different vibe in there than when 400 of us are crammed in next to each other. Let's just say there were barn animal noises and lots of laughter during the spine strengthening series. Totally different vibe.

Saturday afternoon, rented a car. Got my brows threaded in Redondo Beach.

Took my friends grocery shopping.

Stayed up until 1 am having a very insightful conversation with a friend upstairs.

Sunday, grabbed brunch by the beach and

forced myself to take the day off from yoga.

It took a lot of willpower for me to not go into the Manhattan Beach studio today.

I gave my body a break.

And I got a pedicure.

It's Sunday night, and I'm studying for tomorrow's anatomy final exam,

and the dialogue, of course.

This week we finish the standing series and move onto the floor series.

It was another fabulous weekend.

But not as wonderful as NEXT weekend will be,

which is when my Jonathan and SweetPea come to visit.

I can't wait to see them!

There will be a surprise day trip to DisneyLand that will make

a certain 4.5 year old verrrrrrrry happy.

...

Here's what I'm loving about California:

Beaches AND mountains

So, so, so beautiful.

And I'm not even a beach person.

The strong yoga presence.

Perfect weather: sunny skies, apparently every single day.

No humidity, no bugs, no mosquitos (no way to escape these 3 in Hotlanta).

Lots of veg/vegan/organic/raw restaurant options.

Peet's coffee.

Did I mention the weather?

I heart Cali

What I don't love about California:

Everything is so much more expensive.

Still,

I want to move here.

Transitioning back to life in suburban Atlanta

after 9 weeks in gorgeous California is going to be interesting...

That's what's happening.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too.

Have a great week, everyone.

Week Four

2011-10-13T23:46:00.001-04:00

Just a little blog post to update you on how it's going here in sunny Los Angeles.

We're as busy as ever. Right in the thick of it. During our two 2 hour breaks each day, people are pretty much scrambling to shower, eat, memorize more dialogue and/or tweak their dialogue delivery based on the previous days' posture clinic feedback. If you're really savvy with your time, you might be able to sneak in a 15 minute power nap once in a while. But that's rare.

Yoga-wise, the two classes a day are what I look forward to the most in the schedule. Whereas a couple weeks ago I was frustrated and felt my practice was slipping, I'm back to giving it my all in every class.

I had started to pick up some bad habits in the hot room here - letting myself get lazy (sitting out postures, or doing them half-assed, using my water as a crutch), but since last week I've set the intention of dialing it in and getting back to being disciplined for the entire 90 minutes. It has made a huge difference in how I feel after class. I'm much happier. The harder you work, the greater the benefits. For real.

Evening anatomy classes have been good. One of these days I'll try to blog about that.

Posture clinics are a bit of a drag. It's hard to sit in a small room, on the floor for 4 hours. But it's really an important part of the training, so it is what it is. What I do like about posture clinics is the camaraderie. We're invested in each others success. Seeing our teammates going beyond their comfort zone (which is what the lead teachers make us do), and overcome their obstacles is great. We cheer each other on for our small personal triumphs day to day, and it's a nice feeling.

Well, that's about all I've got time for today. The wifi connection at this hotel is horrible. I can hardly ever connect, so in what little time I have to blog, most of the time I can't even get online.

Off to another anatomy lecture. I'm looking forward to the socializing part that comes before the lecture starts.

Hope you're all doing well.

Here's a picture of my crazy nails. Just because :)

Weekend number Three and zero days off from yoga

2011-10-10T15:08:00.000-04:00

Sundays are our official days off here. No yoga, no lectures, no classes, no posture clinics, no nothing.

It's your time to rest, relax, go to the beach, grocery shop, do laundry, sleep, study up for the week ahead.

On Friday night our yoga class was taught by Brandy Lyn,

the 2010 Yoga Asana World Champion.

It was the best class I've ever had in my life,

right up there with Mary Jarvis' class.

Electrifying, inspirational, somehow life altering, if that makes sense.

On Saturday I found out that Brandy was going to be leading

an Advanced class at Bikram Yoga Manhattan Beach.

Holy crap. How could I pass up an opportunity like that?

It would mean 13 consecutive days of yoga (10 of them doubles) with no break.

When you do an advanced class, you have to do a 90 minute

beginner class first to warm up.

5 hours of yoga on my day off.

I checked in with myself. Body feeling strong. Mind feeling strong. Let's do it!

Me and 4 other teacher trainees were there,

along with a room full of certified teachers,

and advanced students.

It was an incredible way to spend a Sunday.

Me with Kim, Nicola, and Erica.

Taking a picture of ourselves in the front mirror before the beginner class.

Brandy's mom Liz taught the beginner class. What a duo.

This is Brandy, getting into a full wheel backbend.

Making it look as effortless as scratching her nose.

She is amazing.

Me doing a headstand. Inversions feel so good.

Me in Pigeon. My first time brining my elbows together.

Yay!

Happy yogis at the end of the day in a yoga afterglow.

...

and

Dinner.

(yep)

Today is Monday. The start of Week Four.

Feeling great. Still loving every single minute of being here.

Have a fantastic week, everyone.

xox

A love note from my daughter

2011-10-08T18:27:00.000-04:00

Jonathan sent me an email this morning that made me cry.

While he was busy with a phone call, SweetPea was coloring in her Hello Kitty notebook. When he hung up she said "Daddy, what did I write?" She's 4.5, all she really knows how to write is her first name (but apparently also a word that looks pretty damn close to Mother).

When he told her he was going to send me a picture of it, she insisted on adding the heart...

She and I speak almost daily, and we FaceTime all weekend long. She's been doing really, really well with my absence. Such a brave, strong girl, I tell her every day how proud I am of her strength. That this distance is so hard for me, too, that I miss her so much, just like she's missing me. She knows what I'm doing here is such important work, and that it's worth this short amount of discomfort that we have to endure. So mature for 4.5, such an old soul.

Teacher training is very hard. It's physically demanding. Mentally exhausting. Emotionally taxing. It really tests all your limits, pushing you right to your very edge. (It's fun as hell, too, which is what makes doing it possible).

For me, the hardest part is not the two 90-minute yoga classes a day, or the endless pressure to study, memorize, perform, and perfect my dialogue. It's not dealing with the jerk-ass yoga staff here, some of whom really treat us like animals (that's a whole other blog post). It's not the mandatory late nights and sleep deprivation. For me the hardest part is being separated from my child for 2 months. And my husband. But there's a greater cause. I'm not on a 9 week vacation. I'm here to work and learn. To make myself the best person I can be. I'm helping myself right now, so that I can in turn help others - be their best, take charge of their health, access their own potential.

Not everybody was 100% supportive in my coming here. The important people were: Jonathan, my parents, my siblings and family, my teachers and fellow yogis at my studio, and most of my friends. It doesn't matter what the rest think, because they don't matter.

By my decision to do this, I am a role model to my daughter. She is the most important person in my life. I have the responsibility to inspire her. I am teaching her the importance of standing in your truth. Sometimes life demands that you put 5 years of your life on hold by placing your family's needs ahead of your own. Sometimes the universe opens up a clear and wide path for you to say "okay, family, it's my turn now, to put myself first for just a few weeks. I promise with all my heart that it will be SO. WORTH. IT"

Thank you, again, to Jonathan for making this whole thing possible for me. Ever supportive, always believing in my dreams. Thank you for keeping things going at home while I'm away. Thank you, SweetPea, for being such a tough little cookie. You make your Mama proud.

~ Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. Dr. Seuss (thank you for this, Rosanna :)

Week Three - The Dialogue

2011-10-04T23:16:00.001-04:00

Things are getting a little intense around here this week. Monday we broke out into groups of 20, and we're now doing daily posture clinics every afternoon from 12-4 in small rooms. 4 hours of listening to each other deliver memorized dialogue and getting feedback from a panel of experienced teachers. Now that we're in our smaller groups we're moving at a rate of having to memorize and recite one posture per day. The pressure is officially on.

Everyone is working in earnest trying to stay one step ahead. It's not uncommon to see people walking around the hotel talking to themselves (practicing the dialogue). We're at the point where every free moment now is being dedicated to memorization.

Getting feedback on the delivery of the dialogue

The dialogue is the heart and soul of Bikram yoga and it's the cornerstone of the teacher training program. As a teacher, it's your anchor when you're on the podium in the hot room. As a student, it's your mantra for meditation. It brings your body and mind in a state of union by giving your mind something to focus its attention on. It's really important for me to learn it properly and deliver it to the best of my ability so I can take the feedback and make it even better.

In my next blog post I'll tell you all about the anatomy classes we started this week. Right now I need to get back to learning Eagle posture. I've got 20 minutes before I need to sign in for anatomy.

Hope you're all having a good week. Thanks for reading :)

TGIF - the end of Week Two

2011-10-01T00:14:00.000-04:00

Week two of teacher training draws to a close, and I'm happy to report that we are still alive :)

This is what the room looks like 3 minutes before class begins.

The week started off pretty rough because of the unexpected hell-like temperatures in the yoga room. We had a late movie night midweek, which didn't help our energy levels. But after hump day, things gradually started to look up.

I feel like week one was about acclimating, and week two was about establishing a routine. I've gotten comfortable with the rhythm of the schedule now.

Today is Friday, and it's been a fantastic day for me. Two really good, strong yoga classes today because they eased up on the heat. It's amazing what kind of yoga you can do when it's not 140 degrees in the room.

They surprised us tonight by giving us the night off after our 5pm yoga class ended. My neighbor and I decided to get crazy and have a couple kombuchas at the hotel bar downstairs. That's a yogis version of a wild night out ;)

The real end to the week will be after tomorrow morning's 8am yoga class. Your weekend here officially begins at 9:30am on Saturdays.

Sadly for me, I forgot to sign into one of my classes on Tuesday. The "punishment" for forgetting to sign in (regardless of whether you're present in class, which I was) is doing a mandatory make up class on Saturday. So I will join about 40 other forgetful people in a second 90-minute yoga class, tomorrow at 11am. I'm actually looking forward to getting another double in tomorrow. And my weekend will begin at 12:30.

Plans include renting a car to get away from the hotel, getting some food shopping done, studying dialogue at the beach with friends, and dinner out tomorrow night.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Lunch - egg salad sandwich

2011-09-29T16:34:00.000-04:00

2 hardboiled eggs
slice of red onion
1/4 avocado
big handful of baby spinach
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp dijon mustard
pinch Himalayan pink salt
pinch garam masala
2 slices Ezekiel complete protein bread

Chop it all up, mix it together, put it between the bread and eat.

That's all the energy I can muster for a blog post today. We were up until 2:45 last night being made to watch a 3.5 hr Bollywood movie. This morning's yoga class was punishing.

But hey, tomorrow is Friday and we'll be one day closer to the weekend. Sleep, shopping, beach, restaurants, fun (oh, and dialogue memorization, too) ;)

The going gets tough...

2011-09-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

A tiny bit of my enthusiasm and exuberance from Week One have begun to wane as we navigate the increasingly choppier waters of Week Two. It's to be expected. It's only going to get harder (and harder).

We still haven't had a truly 'late' night. I'm averaging 6-7 hours/night of good sleep. So we haven't even reached the sleep deprivation part of this roller coaster yet.

We also still haven't finished listening to the 400 deliveries of the Half Moon dialogue, so the real work of daily memorization, dialogue performance, anatomy classes and quizzes hasn't begun yet either.

What has happened this week, however, is that the heat has been ramped up to agonizing, blistering extremes in the yoga room. Starting with Monday morning's class and for each subsequent class, they have jacked up the heat so freakin high (125 degrees, probably more even?), it is physically impossible to do the postures to your normal capability.

Yesterday it got so hot that I went from sweating and burning, to shivering and goosebumps. My body and brain were so confused in a desperate attempt to keep my core temperature down. I think wires were being crossed. It felt like I might be going into shock. I got up and left the room for a few minutes -something I never do.

Barely alive in final Savasana

The purpose of the intense heat here, we're told, is to remind us of what it's like for the average person walking into the average Bikram studio for the first time. It's meant to teach us compassion and humility.

I get it.

Bikram yoga isn't just physical yoga. It's mental yoga too.

The struggle I'm having right now is watching my personal practice suffer. Instead of getting bendier with 2 classes a day, I feel I'm losing flexibility. Why? It's too hot to go deep into the postures, to do them properly. In class the voice in my head says 'it's humanly impossible in these temperatures to hold a 60 second standing bow while kicking into the standing splits with your shoulder to your chin, and your arm, zhooom!, charging toward the mirror'. And then I look around me, and my mind's message is confirmed for me when I see the champion yogis among us who are down for the count, or leaving the room, halfway through the class. It seems like going through the motions and pretending to do the postures is your best bet if you want to make it through to the end.

And so right now my goal is to arrive to each class with no expectation and no anticipation. That super impossible class that I almost just died in? It's over. It's in the past. I survived it and I need to tell myself I'm stronger for it.

But there's another class coming up in a few hours again, and the only right way to approach it is with non-judgement and zero anticipation. Negative thoughts stop you from going forward.

All you have is this moment.

The whole point of yoga is achieving self-realization, only then can you know what you're truly capable of. In the words of Emmy Cleaves: "You don't even know what your best is".

The Invitation by Oriah

2011-09-27T14:03:00.000-04:00

Rajashree read this to us while we were lying in final Savasana today.

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me

how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

By Oriah Mountain Dreaming

The first weekend

2011-09-26T14:43:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning started with an 8am yoga class. A great class with a super inspirational and energetic visiting teacher. In final savasana she led us through a group mantra meditation which was positively electrifying. 400 people chanting in Sanskrit in unison. I felt my whole body vibrate with the room's energy, from the hair follicles on my head right out the tips of my toes. It was a perfect way to end the week's training.

The rest of Saturday and Sunday were low key. I rented a car, drove to Santa Monica, and had lunch at Urth Caffe (at a friend's recommendation. She was right, it was amazing). Studied my dialogue, walked along the beach a bit and thought about how this was the setting of my favorite TV show growing up - Three's Company. I tried to imagine which of the apartment buildings along the beach might have been Jack's, Janet's, and Chrissy's :) Then I headed back to the hotel, picked up my friend, and drove to Manhanttan Beach to have dinner with other trainees.

Manhattan Beach

Sunday, woke up, drove back to Manhattan Beach to Peet's for a morning coffee while studying the dialogue. Had a massage, one of the best I've ever had. I didn't realize how sore my back was until she put her hands on me. Got a pedicure. Did some grocery shopping. Dropped the rental car off. Studied the dialogue with my awesome neighbor/friends until bed time.

We're into Week Two now. So far, so good. I expect that I'm probably not going to be able to keep up with daily blogs at some point soon, but I'll do the best I can. Thank you guys for reading!

Bollywood night #1

2011-09-23T18:02:00.000-04:00

No Bikram yoga teacher training would be complete without the legendary late night lectures and Hindi movies. It's an integral part of the whole experience (even though we curse being made to stay up past midnight). It's all part of the ride.

Last night we got our first Bollywood treat with the movie "Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai" which translates to "Say...You Love Me".
173 minutes of catchy songs, dance numbers, romance, melodrama, heartache, corruption, betrayal, vindication, and of course the happily-ever-after ending.

"Say it" (...tell me you love me!)

Ahhh, together at last.

I loved it. 2.5 hours into it I could barely keep my eyes open and was crouched on the floor with my head on the chair trying to sleep...but I loved it nonetheless.

And so ends week one. I'm enjoying every minute of being here. Trying to be as present as possible, in the moment. Not thinking of what I'll be doing when I leave. Not thinking of what happened before I came. Just making the most of every experience and feeling very, very grateful for the opportunity. We're living, eating, sleeping, breathing yoga here. This is my heaven.

Wednesday September 21 - Day 3

2011-09-22T11:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday started off well.

7am - woke up, listened to Howard on Sirius while I got ready. Light pre-yoga breakfast.

8:30 - class with Rajashree was gentle and nice. I practiced with Nicola at the front of the room. Had a strong class.

10:30 - back in my room, shower, eat, eat, eat. Rehearse Half-moon dialogue.

12:30 - down to the lecture hall.

3pm- deliver my dialogue to Bikram (thank God this is the only time we have to do this). His feedback: "good...verrry good". Phew.

5pm - yoga with Bikram. He killed me. I think all the adrenaline from earlier in the day caught up with me. I had eaten well, drank enough, taken my supplements, and was well rested from the night before, but 10 minutes into class I felt like I was operating at a deficit.

The room was hot (of course, what else would it be). He was holding the postures 2-3 times longer than what we're used to.

Pranayama went on forever. My deltoids were on fire. Burning.

At Standing Bow I was feeling dizzy.

Triangle (which is my posture) was the most half-assed triangle I've ever done.

From Standing Separate Leg Stretching all the way until the end of class I was blacking out whenever I was upright.

I didn't push through it, though. Nor did I lie down or leave the room. I just went through the motions, hoping Bikram wouldn't call me out. I'm sure he must have seen me. He sees everyone. I was performing at maybe 5% of my normal capability, yet I was giving it all I had. Aren't I an endurance athlete? This is not normal.

7pm - it was over. Sometimes class feels like it may never end, but it always does, doesn't it.

7:15 - back in my room, I had some electrolytes, and felt well again, just like that. An epsom salt bath with peppermint essential oil felt good on my sore hamstrings. Talked to Jonathan about the experience and we decided that it was probably the day's adrenaline that did me in, and possibly also an inadequate diet. He reminded me that Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day when he trains. So, dinner was lasagna from the buffet downstairs, which I devoured. Meat lasagna. Yes. Because my body was screaming for something that wasn't a green leaf or a grain, and I'm listening to my body.

8:30 - 20 minute power nap, then down to the lecture hall.

11:30 - we got lucky again tonight. He was in a fabulous mood and let us go to bed early.

It was only day three. Day three of 63. But a great day all in all.

I decided that if I need to eat animal protein to keep myself from getting depleted from the rigors of this training, then that is what I'll do. This weekend I plan on stocking up on canned sardines and salmon at Whole Foods. Maybe some eggs, too. They told us on day one that vegetarians might need to reconsider their diet. It didn't take me long to figure out that they are right.

Post morning-yoga protein smoothie

2011-09-21T14:16:00.003-04:00

Trying to write a blog post from my phone for the first time. Let's see how this turns out.

My après-yoga energy boost: almond milk, banana, Vega Sport protein powder, baby spinach, blueberries, raw cacao powder, and coconut oil.

(I didn't like the flavor of the Vega protein very much. It tasted artificial. When I was at Whole Foods stocking up on Sunday, I also bought a couple sample pouches of Amazing Grass brand protein powder - organic, raw, vegan and soy free. I'll try that in tonight's post-yoga shake).

Blend and drink.

Cheers!

With each meal I try to make sure I'm getting a good balance of carbs, protein, and healthy fat. All from as natural and as unprocessed sources as possible. It's tough when you're living out of a hotel room, but doable.

Along with the shake I also had a sandwich made with Ezekiel bread, olive tapenade, baby greens, raw hummus, and avocado.

One of my biggest challenges right now is making sure I get enough calories packed into each meal as possible. I do not want to get skinny while I'm here. Building more muscle is great, but I can't afford to lose any fat, so I have to make sure every meal counts.

I'm about to head down and deliver my dialogue of Half-moon pose in front of Bikram and 400 other people. Every trainee has to do it, and then Bikram gives you his raw/honest feedback (judgement) in front of everyone. The anticipation is nerve-wracking. Fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

breakfast

2011-09-20T11:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick post about today's breakfast.

Ezekiel sprouted whole grain cereal with blueberries, 1/4 of a banana, drizzle of raw honey, almond milk.
Huge glass of lemon water.
Black chai tea with almond milk and raw honey.

Most people eat nothing before yoga. I can't do that. I need at least 3 bites of something in my tummy.

Yum yum.

Gotta go sign in for 8:30 class now. Have a great day, everyone!

Day One of teacher training and already a lesson learned

2011-09-20T00:10:00.001-04:00

Note to self: do not drink 2 liters of water right before a 90 minute (in reality more like 2 hour) yoga class with Bikram.

They told us to make sure we were well hydrated. I took that advice a little too literally.

10 minutes into class I knew I was in trouble. We weren't even at eagle pose yet and already I had to pee.

By the time we got to the floor series, it was agony. I had to go to the bathroom so bad that I was silently doing Lamaze breathing to control the discomfort. In savasana, I had my toes crossed (the next best thing to crossing my legs?). "Mind over matter...mind over matter..." was the mantra I repeated in my head.

At home I do class without water. But apparently in teacher training, it's so intense some people bring two or three water bottles in. Some even had small kegs of water (seriously?).

Here I'll have my water cup with me in class. I need to drink enough water throughout the day to be hydrated, but not overload before class to the point that my bladder feels like a water balloon stretched to the max. Lesson learned.

And so ends day one. We had an easy day today (even though that class was far from easy), no evening lecture - we got lucky. I think tomorrow we hit the ground running with what I expect will be our first actual full day.

Wish me luck!

Birthday wishes and Gratitude

2011-09-17T16:56:00.000-04:00

First...

Happy Birthday, Jonathan, the most wonderful husband a girl could ever wish for (and also in SweetPea's words, "the best Daddy ever").

Thank you for believing in my any and every endeavor. You make so many of my dreams a possibility. You stand by me, you lift me up. You truly are the best man I know. How lucky I am to call you mine! I love you.

...

Second...

As I'm busy with last minute errands and packing, I am filled with gratitude. I want to put these thank yous out there into the universe.

Thank you, Mom and Dad. Everytime we talk about my yoga, you're soproud of me for being so into it :) Without your supportive words, Imight not have felt so encouraged to pursue teacher training. So, thankyou so much, Mom and Dad, for cheering me on. I love you guys.

Thank you to Nomi Ross for opening Bikram Yoga Marietta. Without that studio I would have never discovered the yoga that has changed my life. Thank you to all my yoga teachers: Naedra, Rebecca, Christian, Beth, Hope, Cathy. And thank you Eric J. I sure hope I haven't forgotten anyone.

Thank you to my yogi friends at my home studio who have shared in my excitement about teacher training. Even just a kind word in passing in the change room after class...it means so much to me.

Thank you to all the people in my life who have sent positive words of encouragement my way. I remember each and everyone of those comments. Those words are in my heart. I feel like they give me wings. As I'm about to set off on this grand little adventure, the strength of that positive energy carries me. Love you all.

Thank you.

PS - Edited 9/28 to add: Thank you to my teacher Kirsten. And Neil, too. How could I have forgotten them?!

Ring a Day...and lists...and irony

2011-09-15T22:24:00.001-04:00

This is what I call irony: the day I close my Etsy shop, as I prepare to embark on an entirely new life changing path (going to Los Angeles for 2 months for Bikram yoga teacher training), is the day I get a copy of the newest publication by Lark. The Ring a Day book in which my jewelry creations are featured FIVE separate times. Back in my jewelry making days having my work published in a book would have been the ultimate. Yet I quit making jewelry 8 months ago. Still, it is a tremendous honor...I can't believe I'm in a book! I also can't believe the timing.

The book is available on Amazon, and I believe in bookstores everywhere. You can find a copy here.

See my SweetPea's picture in my locket ring on page 90.

...

In the meantime, I leave for LA in less than 3 days. I'll be gone for an entire 9 solid weeks with no trips home in between. Ay ay ay, so much to do. So little time left.

My life these days revolves around lists, and trying to cross as many things off them as possible. Lists of things to pack. Lists of things to take care of before I leave. Lists of things to do when I get there. Lists of things to buy. Lists of lists!

And let's not even talk about that dialogue I'm supposed to be memorizing...

I've been waiting for this day for months, and now I just want time to slow down and wait for me. That's irony, too.

Friday night at the park

2011-09-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

Weekly family picnics are a tradition around here. As we move toward the less oppressive weather of September, there's something appealing about spending a relaxing evening outdoors instead of at the dining room table.

After dinner Jonathan and SweetPea rode bikes around the park while I enjoyed some quiet time by myself on the blanket. Me, my Bikram dialogue, and a very pretty blue sky. Just a little over 2 weeks to go now. Feeling pretty confident about it.

Yogawoman, the movie

2011-08-30T20:56:00.001-04:00

"...yoga helps us to cut through our drama...it gives us access to our heart...it will make you so much more accepting of yourself...it will save your life, it will change your life..."

A typical lunch

2011-08-30T18:34:00.000-04:00

I realize my last blog post was also about a vegetable sandwich.

This one's a little more raw and way faster to prepare.

It's what most of my lunch time meals look like

since I can whip one together in under 3 minutes.

2 slices of bread (usually I'll use Ezekiel sprouted grain bread, but I didn't have any today)

spread with babaghanoush on one side, hummus on the other,

and stuffed with broccoli sprouts,

live watercress,

and sliced avocado.

And hot sauce.

Accompanied by cucumber spears sprinkled with Celtic sea salt,

and fresh garden picked cherry tomatoes (they're so delicious I could eat my fingers).

And a bottle of Pellegrino,

because I really love fizzy drinks.

Mmm-mmm-deeee-licious!

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

2011-08-26T14:05:00.002-04:00

Last night's dinner. Grilled vegetable sandwich. Not raw, but still vegan. And very, very, very delicious.

2 zucchinis

1 eggplant

1/2 red onion

2 red bell peppers

2 cloves of garlic, minced

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

one big fat fresh ripe tomato, sliced thin

whole grain bread (I used Whole Foods "prairie bread")

for the pesto dressing

1.5 cups basil leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic

This will make 3 sandwiches.

~Take the first 3 vegetables on the list and thinly slice them with a mandolin slicer. Marinate in a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for an hour or more. Then grill them on your BBQ for a few minutes on each side, careful not to let them get charred.

~Brush the 2 red bell peppers with olive oil and grill them, turning them with tongs as the skins blacken and blister. When they've cooled enough to touch, peel the skins off, seed, and slice them into wide pieces.

~In the meantime, saute the red onion on low heat with a bit of olive oil. 5 minutes from the end (when the onions are soft and golden), add the garlic.

~Throw all the ingredients for the pesto in a mini food processor and pulse until chunky/smooth.

~Assemble the sandwiches by spreading the pesto on a slice of bread and then topping with a layer of zucchini, followed by tomato, eggplant, roasted red pepper, sauteed onion, and the top slice of bread.

~Brush a grill pan with olive oil and grill the sandwiches for about 2 minute per side. Eat them while they're warm.Yum.

I've discovered that kombucha is a good replacement for beer as far as effervescent, cold refreshments go. So although these sandwiches would go great with a nice cold Fat Tire, I had mine with a chilled bottle of GT's Gingerade, which was satisfying and guilt-free! :)

On a yoga note, I booked my flight to Los Angeles yesterday, yay. I leave the day after Jonathan's birthday, and fly back the day after my birthday. Kind of cool the way the dates worked out.

I haven't gotten much memorization of the dialogue done yet. Must get going on that.

Happy Friday, everyone. Enjoy your weekend. And if you're on the eastern seaboard in Irene's path, please stay safe.

Look what came in the mail today!

2011-08-18T15:45:00.000-04:00

Teacher training starts in exactly 30 days from today.

When I get there, I need to have memorized and be prepared to deliver the dialogue for Half Moon Pose with Hands to Feet Pose (about 2.5 pages), but every teacher I've spoken to says to memorize as much of the 42 pages as possible before I get to LA. They say the more I have memorized, the easier the 9 week training will be.

This is it!

PS - I'll be shutting down my Etsy shop somewhere around Labor Day weekend. I'm not sure whether I'll be opening it back up again after I return late November. It may be a permanent closure where I'll sell my remaining inventory as scrap silver (keeping the nice pieces for myself, of course). If you want some jewelry from me, now might be your last chance to get it.

I picked up the last of my one of a kind pieces from the galleries carrying my work. I have a few really special pieces that I need to make time to list this weekend. Here are just a few:

Keep an eye out for that if you're interested, or message me if you want prices or first dibs.

Well, time to get studying that dialogue :)

Hope you're all having a great day.

Breakfast smoothie

2011-08-12T10:30:00.001-04:00

Today's first breakfast:

A wedge of canteloupe

A handful of blueberries

Some frozen pineapple and mango chunks

Almond milk (homemade)

1/2 an apple

1 tbsp of E3Live

1 scoop of wheatgrass powder

Blended in the Vita-Mix on high for 40 seconds.

I throw in whatever fruits and green vegetables I have on hand. Every day is a different smoothie, but they're always really yummy.

I know some people get turned off by the color green, but my secret to a tasty smoothie is adding pineapple and/or mango. The sweetness and flavor of the fruit will totally disguise the taste of the greens. My 4 year old drinks raw kale and dandelion greens in her smoothies without the slightest clue that they're in there thanks to the tropical fruit.

***

We're taking a little mini weekend road trip to Alabama today for a posture clinic with Ida Ripley at Bikram Yoga Birmingham. It's going to be good!

Have a great weekend, everyone :)

One step closer...

2011-08-11T17:25:00.000-04:00

It's official. My application for Bikram yoga teacher training is in the mail.

In this envelope:

An application form filled out.

A medical consent/waiver signed by my doctor.

A 12 page agreement signed by me.

A letter of recommendation signed by my studio owner.

Proof of ID.

2 passport photos of me.

And a check for $15,000 (the fees are normally $10,900, but I'm paying extra to have my own room).

Countown to LA - 38 days to go to 9 weeks of training.

I am so ready.

Blue green coconut smoothie

2011-08-10T16:32:00.001-04:00

I made this today. It was so delicious that I'm about to head out to find more coconuts so I can make it again.

Blue green coconut smoothie

From Matthew Kenney's "everyday raw" cookbook, which you can find here.

Here's my slightly different version of it:

~ The meat and water of one young coconut

~ 1-2 tsp coconut oil

~ 1 tbsp blue green algae (I use E3Live which you can order here)

~ 6-8 mint leaves

~ 2 tsp agave

~ a splash of vanilla extract

~ a pinch of Celtic sea salt

Throw all the ingredients in a Vita-Mix and blend on high for about 40 seconds.

The blog post about LA

2011-08-09T19:37:00.000-04:00

This post is coming 2 months later than planned, ooops!

Time got away from me. I've been busy raising a puppy. It's like having a new born baby. So much work. Seriously, soooo much work.

Ok, so LA was amazing. I went to watch the International Yoga Asana Championships in June, and then I stayed a week to do advanced training with Bikram.

Here are some pictures of the athletes performing their routines.

One-legged wheel pose.

Crane pose. My friend Liza Schwartzman representing Mexico. Notice she's on her fingertips.

Bow pose. Sarea Hidskes representing the Netherlands.

Om pose. Chaukei Ngai representing China. Third place for women's division.

Transitioning into Om pose. Gloria Suen representing Singapore. She made it look so easy. Second place for women's division.

Cock pose. Paulina Solita Bianchi Valdes representing Chile.

Handstand Scorpion pose. Joseph Encinia representing the USA. International men's champion.

Being in California surrounded by yogis for a week was such a great experience. It was like a fantasy wonderland for me, between the easy availabilty of plant-based and raw food, and yoga, yoga, yoga everywhere you turn. I felt like everybody there spoke my language. It was nice to be around like-minded people.

The lobby bar at the Radisson LAX where we were all staying totally catered to the crowd.

Freshly juiced kale greens? Wheatgrass? Blue green algae? Vegan meal options? They had it all.

The competition ended Sunday, and Monday was the beginning of the advanced seminar with Bikram.

Monday to Friday were daily classes of the 90 minute beginner series immediately followed by 2+ hours of advanced. It was intense, very hot, and really challenging. Bikram doesn't let you take it easy when he teaches.

Three of the days I did doubles of the beginner series at a local yoga studio with my friends. In a place where there's no such thing as too much yoga, I took advantage as much as my body would allow me.

Post yoga lunch in my hotel room. I'm addicted to kombucha.

Me with my friends Frankie and Nicole after class. These girls are hardcore and such an inspiration to me.

And last but not least, me and Bikram. A very exciting moment.

In 40 days I'll be back there again!

Can't wait.

Going for it

2011-07-19T17:39:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here feeling a little overwhelmed and emotional. I just read the blog posts of two good friends of mine. Here is Delilah's (which Andrea links to in her blog). And here is Andrea's.

Go read them, and then come back here and read this:

My life growing up was the opposite. As a child, the adults in my life always told me I was lazy. I was a terrible student, really terrible. As it turns out I had an undiagnosed learning disability. But awareness of such things didn't exist in the 70s. Having it instilled in me from a very young age that I wasn't good at much, I coasted through my childhood and teen years with very few, if any accomplishments.

I was a major under-achiever. It took me a whole extra year to finish high school (with underwhelming grades right to the very end). University was nothing but a fantasy. We won't even get into the low self-esteem part of the story, or the abusive 10-year relationship that further messed me up.

Fast forward to my 20s. I gradually realized I wasn't stupid at all. I went to community college for 2 years, graduated with honors, and got myself into university with those grades. Turns out all I had to do was study 3-4 times as hard as everyone else, and put myself in complete isolation when I studied. No noise, no distractions. And that's what I did. All the way through my Bachelor's degree in French, my Bachelor's degree in Education. And my Master's degree in French. Determined to succeed, I got As and Bs in everything. It was a lot of hard work. I never gave up.

In my 20s I learned that I can do ANYTHING. I've run 4 international marathons, lots of half-marathons, and 10k races. At 23 I backpacked across Europe for 2 months, all by myself, on my own dime. I've put myself through school. I learned Spanish in less than 9 weeks (my 6th language). I've lived in France twice, on my own merit, without my parents' financial help. I've been a teacher at the most elite private schools in the US and France.

In my early 30s I shifted gears completely and learned to be a silversmith. Mostly self taught in my craft, I ran a business from home so I could be a stay at home mom to my only child. Now that she's about to start school, I'm happily on a new path, thrilled to take a leap in a whole new direction.

I have found my life's passion in yoga and am about to embark on a very exciting journey to being a certified Bikram yoga instructor. Naomi Ross' studio, where I practice every day, changed my life. Without getting into dirty details, I believe it saved my life. I am eternally grateful to her. Some day within 5 years from now, I hope to open a kick-ass Bikram studio of my own. If I can do for other people what Nomi did for me, there could be no greater achievement in my life.

For the first half of my life I was a complete failure. For the second half and beyond, I live my life from goal to accomplishment. And I love it. I love this life of mine.

Whenever people tell me that I inspire them, it makes my heart feel so overwhelmed with gratitude. I am so humbled by the idea that I might inspire somebody.

This blog post is not about tooting my own horn, or bragging about my accomplishments. It's to show you where I came from and where I've ended up. And that anyone can accomplish anything, as long as they believe they can, and are willing to take the leap, and do the work.

I am not special in any way. I have drive and focus, and I know what makes me happy, and that is all. I also have a truly fantastic and supportive husband who lifts me up, probably more than he realizes.

When I read my friends' blog posts today, I became so sad. We had such different upbringings, and yet we were all crippled by what we were told as kids.

And we've all overcome it in our own way.

This is a picture from yesterday. If you’re friends with me on facebook, you saw me post it on my wall. I’m so excited with how far I’ve come in this difficult posture – almost doing the splits in the air! I work on it every single day giving it 100% with every attempt. Every day, I get closer and closer to achieving the full expression of the posture.

Yoga is a metaphor for life and this picture sums it up perfectly.

Whatever it is you want to do, find your focus, believe you can do it, and reach, reach, reach for it.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~Marianne Williamson

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T10:38:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July
from Jonathan and SweetPea

and from Goldie, too :)

We're off to celebrate at a pool party with friends.

Have a fun and safe day, everyone!

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T09:06:00.000-04:00

We fly our flags here only 2 days out of the year:

On July 1st, the Maple Leaf.

On July 4th, the Stars and Stripes.

From the 1.5 Canadians living in our home,

Happy Canada Day

to all of you in the True North Strong and Free!

PS, I have a blog post to share about my trip to LA last week...

...coming soon...

Father's Day

2011-06-19T11:00:00.001-04:00

Hooray for awesome family portraits

painted by uber-talented 4-year olds!

Happy Father's Day, Jonathan.

We love you SO much.

LA, here I come!

2011-06-17T21:52:00.000-04:00

My carry-on bag is packed.

Packed full of yoga clothes, my yoga mat, a couple toiletries, some jeans,

shorts, t-shirts, and my Nikon D5000.

In the morning I'll be headed for LA. On Saturday and Sunday I will be there to watch the 8th annual Bishnu Charan Ghosh International Yoga Asana Championship live and in person. Ready to be blown away by yoga champions from around the world (several of which I had the amazing fortune of training alongside in Charleston last month).

We are talking Olympic caliber, world class athletes who've prepared for this event by training 6+ hours a day for months.

Discipline and dedication.

Strength and flexibility.

Balance and grace.

Focus and determination.

Inspirational.

You can watch it from home,

streaming live from ghoshcup.com

starting at 10am pacific on Saturday and Sunday.

When the competition is over, I'll be staying on in LA for a week of advanced yoga training. Daily classes taught by Bikram himself. I'll be learning the complete series of 84 postures.

This is the next step in taking my personal practice to a deeper level.

I can't wait. I am so excited!!

And I promise I'll have some awe-inspiring pictures to show you when I get back.

Evolution

2011-06-14T20:44:00.000-04:00

Things are changing around here. And here's a picture of my cookbook shelf to give you a clue.

In December I quit my jewelry business (I never did officially make the announcement, did I?). Well as it turns out that would end up being the first of many big changes in my life. In a quick nutshell, I'm in a super-happy place. My life is right on track and I'm feeling hopeful for the potential that's ahead. This fall I will be bound for LA for 9 weeks of Bikram yoga teacher training. I am feeling very healthy, whole, unstressed, and present. I'm excited about what lies ahead.

I wanted to share some of the changes that have brought it all about. The way I eat (and also the daily exercise) has had a tremendous impact on my overall feeling of wellness. Gradually I've been weeding out animal products from my diet. In January I gave up chicken, in March red meat, by April eggs and dairy were gone. And now fish, too. My diet is 99% plant-based when I'm at home, although I do admit to being flexible when I'm out with friends.

The catalyst was this book: The China Study, and I owe huge thanks to my friend Abby who first told me about it. Click on the link to read a description and reviews. I think everybody needs to read this book. Jonathan, who's probably the single most skeptical person I have ever known, read only 20 pages before he told me he was fully on board with changing our diet.

One of the main lessons you'll take away from this book is the study's indisputable connection between animal protein and cancer. There are too many people in my life right now, young people, who are battling cancer, specifically breast cancer, and it scares me to death. Cancer these days seems completely indiscriminate, hitting people in their 20s even! But I intend to do whatever it takes to keep it away from me and my family. I'm in charge of the food that comes into this house, and the food that goes on the table. This continues to be my most important job, regardless of my recent occupational changes.

So, as things change around here, so too will the content of my blog posts. A few years ago this blog started as a marketing tool for my jewelry business, and it's changing (evolving like I am). I think I'll be doing a lot of posts on plant-based and raw recipes, as well as yoga, of course. I'm experimenting with new and different foods, ingredient combinations, and food prep techniques. So far I am really surprised at how super yummy these meals can be and I just want to share all my discoveries with you! Hopefully I can inspire you to try new things :)

A Destin weekend getaway

2011-06-06T17:43:00.002-04:00

In over four years of being a family of 3, we finally took our first destination family trip this past weekend (to a place that was not Toronto)!

We had an absolute blast in Destin, Florida.
I myself am a self-proclaimed beach hater... I get bored. And I don't like the sun.
But this trip apparently changed all that.

Gorgeous beach, perfect weather,
fantastic hotel, good food, and above all, happy family.
Having our dear friends there with us made it even more special.

With Destin being only a half-day's drive from Atlanta,

we've decided that we're making it an annual thing, but staying longer next time.
3 days and 2 nights is hardly enough.

Here are some pictures of the great memories.

and I'm already looking forward to next time.

Back deck yoga

2011-05-30T17:51:00.002-04:00

The temptation of enjoying homemade waffles with my family on this sunny Memorial Day morning won out against the temptation of going to the yoga studio.

But a couple hours after a delicious breakfast of vegan banana walnut waffles I went out back to make up for what I missed out on.

86 degrees outside with 55% humidity.

Not exactly hot enough for Bikram yoga, but better than nothing!

With my ez-up tent to shield me from the sun,

and my reflection in the French doors to help me with my alignment,

I was set.

Standing Bow pose

Standing Head to Knee pose

Hands to Feet pose

Backbending

Working my way to full camel

I touched my toes back there for the first time today!!

Seeing pictures of myself in these postures shows me how far I've come

and also what I need to keep working on.

Yoga is like life...it's all a work in progress.

Have a great week, everyone.

xoxo,

Alice :)

Cheers!

2011-02-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

My very first juicing machine arrived on my doorstep this afternoon.

I've never used a juicer,

but I have wanted to for a long time now.

Organic produce

SweetPea delights in the carrot apple juice she helped concoct.

Mmm mmm. Trying to get every last drop.

This is me, recovering from the flu that's had me down since Saturday.

A glass of carrots, beets, ginger, kale, and apples should send it packing.

(photo credit: SweetPea)

To your health!

At the halfway mark

2010-12-03T18:11:00.000-05:00

Hello there!

I'm exactly midway through my 60-day yoga challenge,
60 consecutive days of Bikram Yoga

and getting stronger and more flexible with every class.

In the last 30 days, I have practiced through:

a head cold

a relentless chest cold

a recently pulled trapezius muscle
(which is what happens when you carry your 35 lb child
through parking lots on a freezing day)

In the coming 30 days, I will have to practice through:

a trip to Toronto for my cousin's wedding

the busiest season of my jewelry business
back-to-back parties

the upcoming week-long holiday visit of 7 family members

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day

This choice of timing is both a curse and a blessing.
It's the craziest most frenzied time of the year,
but in a way it's kind of the best time for daily practice, isn't it?
90 minutes of me-time. Calming, centering.
And then there's the benefit of being able to eat
exactly anything I want this holiday season, and not
worrying about extra pounds. Super bonus.

This was me today
doing the poses I find the most challenging.
They are a work in progress, but are coming along nicely.

Standing head to knee

Standing bow-pulling pose

Rabbit (with a pulled trapezius)

Camel (with a pulled trapezius)
This is my favorite of all the postures.

I hope you're able to find something that keeps you
grounded and centered during the hustle and bustle
of this fun time of year.

I'll see you back here in a few days.

xoxo,
Alice :)

PS. The deadline to get your holiday orders in

is this Monday, December 6th!

And what a Happy Day it is!

2010-11-19T17:08:00.002-05:00

Hello friends.

It's November 19th

and Happy Birthday to Me :)

Just a quick blog post to update you on some news and general goings-on.

Yesterday I went in to see my super cool orthodontist, Dr. Yurfest.

It was meant to be routine adjustment,

but he gave me the best early birthday present EVER

by removing my braces sooner than I expected.

I can now smile a big, huge smile in pictures.

I can both eat and carry a conversation at a dinner party.

And I can floss my teeth in under 20 minutes again!

Do you know how joyful that last one makes me?

So my birthday celebrations usually span a good 3-4 day period.

Last night we got decked out for the release
of the Beaujolais Nouveau

at a cocktail party in town.

Tonight is family birthday dinner night out.

Tomorrow is a Girls' Night Out
(I have the best girlfriends ever).

Sunday will be a fancy date night with me and my love.

Will you take me to Canoe, Jonathan? ;)

My birthday present to myself was a double yoga class today.

God, do I feel great after that!

Workwise, jewelry production is on hold until Monday.

I've got a new line of inspirational jewelry I'm working on.

I think it's going to be really, really great.

I'm aiming for a mid-week unveiling.

And that's what's been going on.

So it's Friday, which means you all have something to celebrate, too!

Happy Friday, friends.

Have a beautiful, beautiful weekend.

Love,

Alice :)

A Crystal Ball and a Rose

2010-11-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hey friends,

I know. I've been a naughty girl, skimping on blog posts lately.

What can I say, I've been down with my second cold in 3 weeks.

Don't even ask me how annoyed I am by being slowed down.

While it hasn't kept me from my daily yoga challenge

(today was day 14/60), it has been forcing me to take it easy.

Happily, I was able to finish up 2 new things for you today.

Crystal Ball ring

sterling silver, 14k gold, and clear quartz

Click here to see it in my Etsy shop, along with a full description, etc.

A Rose is a Rose ring

original art etched in sterling silver

Find it here

I've got 2 more new things (etched pendants - an owl and a butterfly).

They're halfway finished on my workbench.

If all goes well, you'll see them tomorrow.

Hope you're all having a nice week so far.

Wish me luck that I might kick this cold before it travels down to my chest.

xo,

Alice :)

Yoga jewelry

2010-11-11T18:41:00.000-05:00

Bikram Yoga 4th Annual Women's Retreat - redux

2010-11-10T20:45:00.003-05:00

I'm back from my yoga weekend in sunny Orlando.

Here are some pics of the fun times:

Pranayama breathing

Awkward pose
that's me in the purple top, front row

Eagle pose

The retreat consisted of four 2.5 hour classes,
plus sunrise meditations, posture clinics,
and a Q & A session with an esteemed panel of experts.

At night we got spiffed up for dinner.

Me and Emmy Cleaves.
Such a tremendous honor to meet and learn from her.
Her official age is a secret, but we guess it's in the neighborhood of 87.
She has the flexibility of someone born in 1987. You should see the legs on her.
She is an inspiration!

Me and Rajashree (Bikram's wife).
Double-honor. She is one of the warmest people you could meet.
I loved her energy.

After the retreat ended on Sunday afternoon,
I stuck around to watch my friend Julie compete in the
Regional Yoga Asana Championships.

She won first place for Georgia. Go, Julie!!! :)

Julie doing Standing Head to Knee pose

Julie doing Guillotine pose

Afton doing Bow pose

Rabbit pose

Crane pose

Scorpion pose

Crazy, right?

Pretty amazing flexibility and strength.

I stayed for the championships to watch my friend compete,

and I left knowing that I'd be on that stage next year.

Doing this retreat was an incredible experience.

In the span of a weekend I got to know some of the most fascinating

and inspiring women I've ever met.

I had the privilege of learning

from the 2 most pre-eminent ladies of Bikram yoga.

I gained a wealth of knowledge that has deepened my practice

and confirmed that this is the yoga for me.

I've committed to doing a Bikram Yoga 60-day Challenge.

60 consecutive days of 90-minute classes.

Today was day 8 of 60,

and with every day so far I've had my best class yet.

Practicing daily makes all the difference in the world.

Turns out there's no way to really understand that until you actually do it.

There's so much more to say, but I'll leave it at that for now.

I'll be blogging more about my yoga,
so stay tuned.

:)

Yoga weekend, here I come

2010-11-05T11:05:00.001-04:00

This weekend I will join 150 women from

all over the US and the world at the

Bikram Yoga 4th Annual Women's Retreat

in Orlando, Florida.

I'm looking forward to learning yoga
from Bikram's wife herself, Rajashree Choudhury.

So Excited

Off to catch my flight!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone.

I'll see you back here next week.

Namaste,

Alice :)

Wordless Wednesday - kitten love

2010-10-27T19:44:00.004-04:00

Camping out

2010-10-22T21:40:00.015-04:00

Tonight my SweetPea and Jonathan are

having a backyard adventure.

A little daddy-daughter camp out.

I joined them for the first part.

Setting up

Dinner: organic grilled cheese sandwiches on honey wheat bread,
with mugs of organic cream of tomato soup,
beer for us, apple juice for her

Jump starting the flames

Mesmerized

Mmmmmmmarshmallows...
my only favorite thing about camping

SweetPea had half of a marshmallow.
I had half of an entire bag.

Exploring the dark forest with her flashlight hat

Tonight's full moon over our backyard

Thank goodness she's got an amazing dad like Jonathan.

Lucky, lucky girl.

They will have a great time tonight.
I love that they're out there experiencing this together.

And I (too chic for dirt)
love that I get to sit this one out.

:)

Made to order

2010-10-22T11:04:00.000-04:00

It's Friday already, and zippity do!

Just a quickie post today to show you

a couple of recent specially made pieces

Custom designed and hand drawn
Personalized Lotus Flower wax seal stamp

Etched in brass and mounted on wooden handle

Custom made pendant

Coat of Arms of Finland

Hand drawn and etched in sterling silver

Custom orders are welcome,

just send me an Etsy convo or an email

Work in Progress Wednesday - Seahorse ring

2010-10-20T20:11:00.000-04:00

I made another Seahorse ring today.

You can scroll down to last week's post
to see the one from last Tuesday.

Here's a Work in Progress post showing you

a few of the step-by-steps...

Hold Fast

ring in sterling silver and prehnite

featuring original hand drawn art

You'll find it in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for visiting :)

One kick-ass ring

2010-10-19T20:11:00.000-04:00

I squealed (out loud and literally) when I opened my mailbox yesterday.
My package from Kerin Rose had arrived!

She and I spent 2 hours chatting on the phone on Friday.
PS. I love how the internet brings together people
who would otherwise never have crossed paths.
Some of the most amazing friends I have today are
via Etsy and blogland.

Our conversation so warmed my heart, that after we hung up,
I was like, okay that's it, I need to own a piece of something she's made.

And 2 days later, here it is.

I can't stop looking at and touching this ring.

If ever a band of metal could exude and emmanate
warmth and strength, love and bravery,
this is it.

Gorgeous, weighty, sooo comfortable to wear
and

more impressive yet is her creative process.

So get this:
She hand carves her pieces out of the beeswax from
her sister's apiary up in Vermont.
!!!
Add to that the ancient technique of lost-wax casting,
plus her use of eco-friendly, recycled silver,
and you've got a precious object, a true talisman,
that's permeated with beautiful, creative energy.

*sighs*

LOVE my new ring.

Find yours right here.

~*~*~

Tomorrow I'll show you the second
"Hold Fast" Seahorse ring I'm working on
for a Work in Progress Wednesday post.

See you then!

Now go get yourself a ring!
:)

Wisdom worth sharing

2010-10-18T10:50:00.000-04:00

I love Yogi tea.

In this morning's double dose of Echinacea Immune Support:

"When ego is lost, limit is lost. You become infinite, kind, beautiful"

Now that's a mantra that bears repeating.

I've spent the last 3 days successfully fighting the onset of a cold

with all my might.

My Jonathan, hands down the best husband on this planet,

took care of SweetPea 100% of the weekend,

letting me stay in bed and re-energize.

I love you, Jonathan.

Happy Monday, friends.

Wishing you a sunny, healthy start to the week.

xoxo,

Alice :)

PS - In case you didn't know it,

I try to send a little pouch of Yogi tea out with every Etsy package I ship within the US.

As I have been for the past 2 years...