Stretch and Stretch and Stretch

We turn not older with years, but new every day" – Emily Dickinson

Aloha and Happy Monday!!
What a different life it is here on Mondays. When I have to go to work in an office I'm like ickkkk. But here I don't mind it. I don't think I have dreaded a yoga class yet. Another week to work hard at yoga and prove to myself I can do better in posture clinic. Yaeeee and I did just that today! I feel so great! Getting more confident and stronger with each dialogue. I gave a kick ass Standing Bow Pulling Pose at this afternoons posture clinic! I mean theirs many things, many, I need to work on still - stronger voice and energy in my voice, faster commands, etc. But I am kicking it up and showing myself I can do it with each posture I give. I am hoping the way I studied this wknd is the way that is gonna work best for me and thats why I did so well. Yaeee! Now on to Balancing Stick. Maybe I will give that tonight if we have posture clinic again. Rojashree is in town so she might be lecturing tonight.

Also, if you get a chance look at the photos in my very last journal entry. Mad kudos to my bestest friend here (besides myself - aw) my roomate Jess. She is working so hard and her body shows it. She looks soooooo incredible! And she also motivates me to keep giving my all in training. She is like one of those people who make it all look so easy and effortless. I cant wait to take her classes when we get back to town! You should too!

This wknd was a whole lot of studying and a little time at the beach, pool, and Ala Moana Park. A bunch of people went to the North Shore and hiking at Diamond Head. My foot has been bothering me the smallest bit so one reason I wasnt up for anything crazy, the other is just wanting to focus and get my study habits down so I gain more confidence in Posture Clinic. Maybe this wknd I can convince Jess to take a road trip to the North Shore if we feel like we are at a good point memorizing our postures. I hear its beautiful and very rural. Jen - yeah we are about 20 mins away from Diamond Head. Def. a place on my list I wanna check out while I am here if I find the time for it all! Also Pearl Harbor, Turtle watching, a Lua, Movies on the beach, the zoo here......

Me and Jess made some animal friends! Jess is an early bird and wakes up early to have some 'me' time in the mornings before things get started. She lefts a couple Cheerios behind on our balcony for a bird she befriended sooo ok boredom orrrr an easy distraction while we are studying on Sunday in our room...I decide to fill a cereal bowl with cheerios and also a bowl with water, hey if a bird has a snack wont he next want a bath? Haha. Has anyone read the book 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?' what a great read. Anyhoo we have little birdies flying in to say hello on our balcony throughout the day. One bowl of cheerios lasts quite a long time too! You should try it sometime. Ha.

So Sunday here was the oddest thing. Their was this wet stuff coming out of the sky off and on all day! What is that stuff called?? Oh I think you all back in NJ call it rain. Haha. It was the first time it truly rained here in Hawaii while we have been here! Of course while it down poured for a whole maybe 4-5 minutes the sun was out and it was blue skies. Hawaii is the most unusual place.

So I looked back in my journal and forgive me bcs I notice I am repeating myself several times on similar topics and day events. Um just remember my life here is not so exciting. It revolves around yoga, lectures, studying, and no sleep. So my mind might not be as sharp as the butter knife it once was. Ha. Yes making bird friends on my balcony and going to Jamba Juice for lunch are def some key topics in my life at the moment.

Hmm what else can I share with you? I have cried several times since I have been here. Once in yoga class bcs I couldnt breath and was getting caught up and anxious with the way my body was feeling and I felt like I couldnt control it or calm myself, made myself over anxious and than worried on top of it bcs I was sitting out and was having a shitty class. Things like that happen all the time in our classes. You hear people cry bcs they have break throughs or frustration, they run out bcs they are going to throw up or people get cramps. A lot of people wonder about this yoga. It sounds kind of dangerous or crazy bcs the heat is so high and your putting yourself through so much. Why? If you stay hydrated, focus on your breathing, listen to your body, and do the postures correctly just as instructed you wont have a problem. Sure its not a piece of cake but thats why your there. Kill yourself and push through the pain and focus your mind on nothing but the postures. You will be amazed how you feel at the end. Your mind will be clear and you will see how far you can take your body when you just keep going! Where was I going with this? Crying. So this past wknd I had another cry. Hmm exhaustion, brain overload, and so many new changes going on while at training. I guess I needed a good release. Def. felt better afterward.

I can't describe to you the amount of sweat that pours down my face these days during yoga class. When we are in any posture that we lean over or upside down in. Aye. Sweat in the eyes and up the nose. So hard to not wipe my face and stay focused! the worst feeling is the sweat going up the nose. Feels like if you are in a swimming pool and inhale water. Ouch. Speaking of swimming. I miss it so much! I have been in the pool here a bunch of times but its not that big and they dont have a lane broken out for swimmers. I just sink my body down to the bottom and up to the top in the deep end playing around. Will have to make it to the good ol town swimming pool this summer to get some laps in! So exciting knowing I will be returning home to summertime there!!

Ahh so posture clinic was tonight. Rajashree will be lecturing us tomorrow and teaching the morning class. Yae! From tomorrow on they have begun to break up the 8 yoga lines in the room. Each group, we have 12 groups, will be give a specific line in the room to practice on so that way everyone has equal rotation in the room. In the beginning of the week you may start in the front and than end in the back by Friday. Of course Saturdays are free game and you can put your mat anywhere to practice. How gracious. Ha. Everything here is very regemented it seems. But they keep saying, theirs a method to the madness....and...trust the process...so no point overthinking these little things.

Posture clinic tonight was fun. Mike was one of the evaluators. He makes things so much fun but still we learn a lot from him. Or I do at least. In Balancing Stick Posture it should be delivered with force and a lot of impact and strength. Something I really need work with at the moment. Mike likes to pick people out of the crowd to deliver their dialogue instead of people volunteering when their ready! Aye. He picked me to go up and deliver. He pushed me into a balancing stick while I was loudly delivering the posture to the 3 volunteers. What a mess. Haha. Towards the end I was so frazzled I was shouting out whatever words I could remember from the dialogue. It was great to get out of my element and try to raise my tone of voice. Def need to work more on that!

In both yoga classes today my foot has def. been showing achy signs. I am nervous about it getting worse. Talked to Antonia about it and she reminded me that during training injuries tend to arrise again to reheal the proper way. So its almost like you have to relive and go through the pain again so the body can heel correctly. Hmm I am just gonna try to 'Trust the Process' on this but really sort of uncertain as my foot injury has been fairly fresh, right before training I was still dealing with this problem. Odd to me though that for a solid month while I was here I had no problems with my foot. I am icing it and wearing my sneakers instead of flip flops and will be aware of it during classes. Will keep you posted. Shoulder seems fine, no achiness there anymore which is great. No new fun clumsy stories to share. Well I walked into the bathroom door handle the other day but that sort of stuff I do all the time anyway.

Oh my room key was demagnetized this wknd. Err. Jess was sleeping and I felt bad knocking and waking her up. So I go all the way downstairs on the shady slow elevators to get the front desk to remagnetize my key. Come backkk up to my room and the key still doesn't work. Find the 17th floors general phone and they send a security guy up. While I wait for him I try my key one more time and it works. Huh. So odd. Who knows. Security guy gives me another key anyway so now I have two swipey cards for my room. Okkkk so its not such an exciting story what do you want from me. Its 12:04am here. I have all this energy but don't really feel like studying the next posture. Hmm wondering if I can get away one day with not studying since Raj is gonna lecture tomorrow and we havent finished everyones Balancing Stick either. Ha. Slacker that I am tonight!

I'm gonna close up shop on this entry bcs it's really way to long and I am wasting so much of all your precious time writing about birds and sweat. *sarah