After 9 weeks, 89 classes, 356 triangle postures, 1,958 savasanas, and 1,068 Bikram sit-ups training is over. Our final class was bittersweet, well mostly sweet . . there were smiles, cheers, tears . . . and lots of sweat. The graduation ceremony was long but bearable as most people left the ballroom once their name was called and they had their picture taken with Bikram. The last week was filled with excitement and anticipation regarding graduation and the thought of heading home to see missed family and friends and, of course, to teach the monumental first class. It was a week filled with lots of loooong lectures from Bikram and consecutive late nights so there was little sleep to be had. However, at that point, everyone was running off of pure adrenaline. I spent as much time as possible with my friends from my beloved group, about which I haven't blogged too much surprisingly since they are the most important thing I will take away with me from my training . . well them and the $11,000 piece of paper authorizing me to teach Bikram Yoga. My group, Group 4, played an integral role in my training experience and I will truly never forget each and every group member. Prior to training I had heard about how important the group bond is throughout training but I never could have imagined how significant a role that bond would play in my own TT experience. Although all groups will say it, ours was definitely the BEST group! LOL. Our group camaraderie was evident from the beginning as friendships formed during the first few posture clinics. We supported each other through each dialogue delivery, through each struggle, blunder and success, through laughter and tears and through some pretty wild homework assignments. We bonded during group outings to Santa Monica for dinner, the beach for dialogue practice and the farmer's market for wholesome food and live entertainment. We hugged and cried after the final spine twisting posture and cheered, well screamed, for each other as our name was called by senior teacher Jim Kallet and we received our certificates from Bikram. We sat together during the post-ceremony reception and many of us enjoyed our first cocktail in 9 weeks together later that night. We documented these events in as many pictures as our cameras would allow and have remained in touch via our Group Four Facebook page . . . I am truly blessed to have ended up in such a wonderful group with such special people . . .As for some other elements of the final TT week, I saw Rory for the first time in 70 days . . he made it to graduation in plenty of time and met up with Katie who took a bus down from Santa Barbara. The three of us shared a room in the Radisson and then rented a car and headed to Santa Barbara for dinner on the water and live reggae music by Soul Majestic. It was a great two days and Rory and I made it back down to LAX to see the end of the U.S./Jamaica Gold Cup soccer game . . sadly, the U.S. won and we were heartbroken for Jamaica. Before we knew it, it was time to board the plane for New York . . and I couldn't have been happier. I took class at Bikram Yoga Grand Central on Monday night from Kyoko who wrote my recommendation letter for training. It was a great class but felt slightly awkward since I had grown accustomed to practicing in the large ballroom with chandeliers and 430 or so other people . . it was the same 26 postures but it felt vastly different . . but it felt good to be back. As far as my first class, I will likely be teaching at BYGC once I return from Germany and Switzerland on July 10 . . I will blog about that experience of course. Now I'm off to study dialogue in the park as this is only the beginning of a long journey and I will be studying dialogue for the remainder of my teaching career . . Namaste Bitches!!!
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