Our last week

Sunday Feb 15

I woke us rested but still sore. I grabbed an apple, banana and soy drink from Beam and hiked u to the Shala. 

The morning peer presentation on Nali Kria breathing. Everyone's teaching is getting better. I find that the presentations where people be themselves are much better than presentations where they are trying to be something they are not. Good lesson to learn from that.

Primary series yoga practice was average. I'm still super sore. Ready for a few days off to recover.

After lunch we talked alignment and tested our new skills with group alignment exercises. It's actually very difficult but they say it will become easy with time. Like everything else in this class time will bring wisdom and clarity.

Practice teaching again for parts of the MPS. I'm getting very confident but I need to stay humble. Always something to improve on.

My MPS practice was strong and I'm feeling more confident with each time I hit the mat. Its amazing how I can self check myself with alignment know. My practice is getting so much better. Knowing what moves are coming next is great. Not having to think so much about it really helps calm the mind; which is the whole point.

I had dinner at the Sanctuary after class. I'm getting sick of being at Beam all the time. It feels like campus cafeteria now.

Everyone in the morning before class presentations

Monday Feb 16

Presentation on pranayama and meditation. Both students did well.

Primary series again. This one was a little stronger than yesterday and flew by quickly. I know most of the begginer modifications now so I can fold deeper into each pose with props or positions.

Lunch break was uneventful. I started my homework so I didn't have to do it later this week and stress about it.

Learning more sitting moves in MPS. Half hour teaching sessions to small groups. These our less stressful than in front of the entire class. It's amazing the difference in our teaching style from the first couple days to now. Confidence does wonders.  

MPS practice was our last day with the position sheets. After this its all memory practices. I only looked once to double check what move was next but I know it by heart for the most part. They do a great job prepping us. You blink and you know the knowledge you thought was unattainable in the beginning.

Dinner at Beam was good. I was so hungry I just kept ordering food. I'm glad the kitchen closed at 9pm because I would have kept ordering. My appetite here is super strong. It's a combination of great food mixed with burning lots of calories during the day.

Meditation time

Tuesday Feb 17

Laughing meditation and sutras education. The laughing meditation was so much fun. It was by far the best class we've been taught by our peers. Loz from Australia taught it and it was hilarious listening to everyone's fake laughs turn into real laughs. We did laugh noises, knee slapping laughing, ho ha he laugh, evil scientist laugh, and a finishing laugh circle. It was great. 

Primary series was intense today. I really pushed it hard and it felt great. I'll be sore tomorrow for sure if that's possible to be even more sore than I am now.

Lunch back at the Beam was full of smiles and laughter. Everyone was buzzing about the presentation from the morning. I'm really starting to connect with my group. We are all getting closer by the day. Up until this point I've been keeping to myself for the most part. It's been great learning with such a diverse group of people.

More sitting moves training on MPS. The last parts are semi technical to get when adding breathing to it but I'm sure it will come with more practice.

No sheet MPS today. I did very well and only had to peak at my neighbor toward the end for one move.

Dinner at Whynam beach right after class. They have super healthy salads but the service is lacking. Incredible view. I felt like I had the whole place to myself. I felt thankful for my life walking back to the Beam that night. Everything just seemed so beautiful. Inner yogi is content.

Morning view from Shala

Marcella our teacher meditating to the morning sunshine 

Whynam for dinner. Whole place pretty much to myself.

Wed Feb 18

Sutra by Patricia older lady from Germany. Loved it. She's been asking semi flaky sounding questions throughout the training but today here intelligence really shined. I wished it was a little longer than 15 minutes it was that good. Also the Sutra I picked out of the box at the end of the presentation happened to be my favorite one from the Sutras book we read before class. Then eyes meditation with partner. Lots of snickers from people trying to be serious but very cool. The girl from Sweden teaching was being super funny and didn't realize it.

Rocket with David was great. I'm really pushing my limits this week physically. Its something about seeing the end so close that I want to go out knowing I gave it my all. No more pacing.

Lunch at Whynam beach was ok. Service was lacking again but you can't beat the view.

Class on the platform studio at Whynam beach was very cool. It was tough teaching over the sound of the ocean but with a view like that no one was complaining.

Break at 3:00 today. I went over to Blue Beach to swim and float around. It felt like I had all day. I had an appetizer at Bamboo afterwards.

Dinner at sanctuary with a few people from class I ran into. I had a lentil burger no pun extra salad. It was incredible. It's a little more expensive to eat there but it's worth it for the ambiance and decent service. There's no such thing as good service in Thailand.

Listening to our instructors at the studio platform Whynam Beach

Vari speaks to the class

Nice place for a class. It was loud which explains why this is the only time we do this here.

Chai and I busting out our moves

After class group photos. Well part of the group :)

New moon candle light meditation one way back to the Beam after dinner

Thurs Feb 19

Dancing meditation with Emiline was great. Meditation through movement. No judgement just motion. It was very fun. Chelse did a presentation on pranayama and incorporated her medical background into it. Both of the girls did great and i continue to be honored to be with such a great group.

Modified Rocket Vinyasa with Marcela was great. She has such an amazing presence and finds ways to get us to push ourselves without feeling like we have to. I went hard again and was exhausted when we finished.

Lunch was tasty and I wolfed down my fried basil leaves with chicken. I had two coconuts as well. I love drinking the fresh electrolytes and juice down, then eating the inside after I'm done.

Class was easy with group teaching again then Mysore MPS.

Study time for my test tomorrow on the sitting poses of Primary Series. I have the modified primary series down pack but the primary is a whole other beast.

Everyone kept asking if I was going to do the open mic night again but I had to study. I wish I would have done it in retrospect. I had this skid I heard about I wanted to do about the power of yes and no. You ask questions and the crowd answers just one way per story ie after every question everyone says yes and you improv what happens next. I hope I'll do it someday.

Crashed out early.

The funny things you see walking around

Mini fish ponds everywhere 

Fri Feb 20

Last presentations by Carly and Jolene. Jolene did a presentation on ujjayi breathing that was based on her massage practitioner background. Carly did an eating meditation with bananas. It was fun but lots of snickers from the crowd again when we were asked to put it to our lips without eating it. Afterwards there was lots of clapping and congratulations to everyone for completing our final self taugh class and a feeling of accomplishment was shared across the class.

Mysore MPS practice was great. I nailed every move and completed my time perfectly. It felt strong and confident. I knew the entire thing without having to think much. I just did.

I passed my Primary series positions test. 4 incorrect but I think I would have done better if it was laid out better. David is great but his organization on the tests needs improvement. They are a little confusing but I think he sees where to improve and other classes hopefully will have a better layout.

Lunch was full of laughter and joy now that our last written test was over. It's surreal acknowledging we are almost done soon.

Ethics of yoga studios class was funny and informative. Honestly I would have rather done one on one training then switching teacher to student role so we have two days practice with each lesson. Currently you teach one partner one day then they teach you the next day. I did very well but got distracted when I looked at other peoples progress. I have to remain focused for my test but I felt great and nailed the breathing for my partner Chelse. She said she wanted to tell the teachers right there they should just pass me.

Break before the beach was just long enough to grab pad thai at Bamboo restaurant.

Friday Funday on beach was animal walking. It was funny but ended quickly because we didn't start until 4:15pm.

Beers on beach afterwards was super tasty and well earned. I still can't believe we are almost done. I am slightly sad but excited. It's been a long but short couple weeks. Stepping out into the world in a teacher/student role will be life changing for me. I will always know I have this teacher ability in me and always remember that I am also a student. It's an incredible duality being a yogi. 

Dinner at Bamboo in gazebo was fun and delicious. There were great stories shared and many laughs.

Crashed out happy it was a successful week.

Lunch at Beam after our test. Friday Funday!

Second day off

Sat Feb 14

I slept in. I woke up a few times last night from the party noise at Guys Bar so I had a semi restless night. I dropped off laundry and went over to the Sanctuary for breakfast- fruit plate, banana pancakes (their like crepes here), and iced coffee. It tasted even better than normal knowing I didn't have to rush it. 

The day was perfect and I was ready to implement my plan of having no plan. I caught up on much needed emails, FaceTime back home, and my blog. I've been so busy with class all these small little things seem difficult to manage. 

It was amazing sitting there at that tiki table, under a hanging tree, toes in the sand, looking out over the ocean waves. Blue sky, palm trees and salty air. I could have wrote a poem about the moment and I was just writing emails. 

In moments like these I send light to those I care about so that they too might discover the beauty that is in the world outside their comfort level. 

Really what I was doing was beyond description. It changes your perception of wealth- money, gold, fancy things do very little to really enhance your inner light. Fresh air, clear sky's, sunshine, healthy food, good company, beautiful environment; these are things of wealth in which everyone should be entitled.

I got halfway through the day just responding to emails and doing the blog before I lost complete interest in being "logged in".

I headed off for Haad Yuan to set up my hammock and enjoy an afternoon siesta. I swam in the ocean. Slept peacefully. I relaxed most of all.

Later that afternoon I headed up to Bamboo for some food and drinks. I ordered a mojitio spelled majito and a margarita pizza. Of course being in Thailand means my pizza was just cheese, sauce and basil sprig. I asked where the tomatoes were and their response was "tomato sauce". A side of sliced tomatoes later our cultural differences of what a margarita pizza is was solved.

The view was stunning. Later people from my program joined me and made for nice company. We called it early and headed back to our perspective areas. It was a simple but great day to be alive.

Dropped off laundry and saw this sign that points back to my resort.

The Sanctuary for breakfast 

Trunk up means good luck

Pretty much sums up how the siesta went

View from Bamboo. The camera didn't pick up on the vivid colors shooting into the sun but you have an idea.

Selfie stick with yoga buddies 

Back on the mat

Sunday Feb 8

After a much needed day off I was apprehensive yet excited to return to class. It's been a mentally and physically draining experience but I feel my strength growing with each day. I was up early after a long nights rest. After an apple and some coconut milk snack I sat down on my mat and listened to the morning instruction. Meditation outside. Awesome!!

Today we talked about teaching what we learned to each other thus far each morning with 2-3 students leading the opening of class. We all had different categories and I of course got a boring one- Yamas (ethical observations).

Rocket practice was a different practice than normal but fun. It definitely was exhausting but nice to switch it up a bit.

Lunch break seemed quick. Everyone was out of it after our day off.

Ram discussed the 5 Yamas and the 5 Niyamas in more detail- I was grateful for this because I was going to teach it later this week. We then went into Sanskrit 101. Interesting to know how the language was built. It's considered by many scholars to be a perfect language. After listening to the lesson I would have to agree. English is a tough language even when it's your mother language.

We went deeper into our next positions in our MPS. This proved to be very difficult for everyone in the class, myself included. After being humbled by a terrible lesson we stepped back on the mat for our MPS practice. This felt great. Savasana felt well earned when it was over.

Meditation outside the Shala. I'm in the very left hand corner of the pic with my shirt off

Monday Feb 9

Studies continue. The pace is definitely picking up. It feels like nothing but yoga and studies all day but I'm liking the journey. I keep getting asked back home how the beach is or the weather or what I'm doing. In all honesty it's just all study and physical work. I spend all day indoors although it feels like outside because there's open windows or no walls most places we have class or break.

Ram talked about the chakras then we went into a hour meditation that was incredible. We focused on each chakra on the journey up to the highest crown chakra. Weve done meditation like this before but never this long (usually 10-20mins). I thought I would be a fighting aches from siting so long but I channeled into the meditation and felt lifted on a energetic level. When it was over we had a half hour break. When I was walking back to my bungalow I felt like colors were a little brighter and the smells of the island a little sweeter. It was a heightened version of myself and I look forward to buying his cd that was playing during the meditation to experience this even further. I will definitely share it with friends and family. It was such an honor to experience it.

Back in class we covered more of the standing series and taught it to each other. It's complicated learning all the little moves with breath but I look forward to teaching what I know so far.

Our afternoon practice of MPS was good but tiring. Physically I'm getting stronger but I'm sore in the craziest places.

Meatless Monday's for me while I'm here. Fruit plate and yogurt with honey, peanuts, and coconut.

Tuesday Feb 10

Today was the first class taught by our peers. Everyday from here until the end of our training our peers will teach us one aspect of what we have learned so far (I'm on Thursday). It's usually 2-3 students covering breath techniques, meditation, one of the limbs of yoga, etc.

They did awful but it was the first one taught so good to see how to adjust mine. We commented on the class. Everyone was giving sunshine and rainbows reviews and I stepped in with a real answer. They appreciated the feedback and thoughts for improvement. The teachers did too especially after they ripped them apart. Glad I'm not first :)

Morning practice was full primary. I barely made it through. Physically coming to the end of the line. I'm so sore and I feel like I'm not resetting when I sleep. When savasana came around I was saying thank god in my mind. Lunch was good but I have to start preparing my notes for Thursday class and fill in our homework books which are due Friday. Feeling slightly overwhelmed by everything but I like the challenge.

Back in class we listened to Ram talk about various yoga topics. Basically wrapping up his lessons from the last week as this was our last day with him. It was truly an honor to experience such a great teacher and learn so much! I look forward to following his talks further on YouTube and I'll definitely buy his book when it comes out.

After he was done we moved on with Emily our new anatomy teacher. This class session is meant to teach us what's physically happening to our bodies during yoga. It's very insightful and I can see it helping with my poses. 

After class we had a quick 15 min break before more training on the standing series and one of one trainings. Our afternoon MPS practice was self taugh (Mysore). I'm doing good figuring out the next pose without looking at my sheet and naming the pose in my head while I go along. Others got super nervous and went super fast. I feel like I'm on the right track for sure but ended a little early.

The last up dog (urdva mukhra svanasana) I could barely push myself up. I offically hit a wall. I walked out feeling a little defeated and hoped I would get a good nights sleep tonight. That morning practice knocked me out and the second of the day was the punch when I was already down.

Dinner was quick in the Beam because we had a spiritual naming ceremony with Ram that night. It was in the Shala and it was great hearing the names everyone was choosing for themselves. I picked Bodhi of course. It was nice to have that name get bonded to me on an energetic level moving forward in my life. I crashed out a little nervous about tomorrow's practice. I'm so sore and tired. I don't know how I'm going to recover but if there's a will there's a way.

Lots of symbolism going on. Fun to watch and chant along.

My name in Sanskrit being written in rice

After our naming ceremony 

Wed Feb 11

The morning started off with another peer teacher class ending in complete failure. My classmates aren't seeming to grasp this concept and I'm looking forward to seeing how I do tomorrow. I feel confident but at the rate people are dropping the ball I need to step up my studies.

We discussed various topics then jumped into our morning 2 hr yoga class. I don't recall what kind it was but I was definitely still feeling that wall.

Lunch I just spent catching up on homework and meeting with my mantra partners for Friday Funday class. We are in a full push now with studies. Time is flying by. Our mantra meeting was very unproductive and we gave up after 15mins.

After lunch we were back with Emily again for anatomy class. We learned about the spine and proper positioning. It was interesting but I felt so tired it was hard to pay attention. I should have had some coffee at lunch. I could barely pay attention.

After anatomy class and our 30 min break we were back in the Shala to learn the final sequences of the standing series and to teach one on one with a partner. I did much better this time.

Moving into our MPS Mysore class (self taught) I really wanted to nail the 1/hr timing. When we did self taught MPS yesterday; everyone finished 20-30 mins to early. I was 17 mins from the one hour mark (savasana should be in last 8-5mins of class).

I slowed my practice way down and focused on slow steady breaths. Halfway thru I felt fantastic. I was sweating the good kind of sweat. My breath was even. The moves felt powerful and done with purpose. When I lied down for savasana I was at 52mins in and I was buzzing with renewed vigor.

Walking out of class I felt I jumped that wall yesterday in one bound today. I wasn't sore. I wasn't tired. I felt so alive. I realized a very valuable lesson from that practice- so many hurdles in our lives are mental. It was one of the best practices I ever experienced!!

Morning peer teachers doing meditation 

Thursday Feb 12

I woke up super energized ready to teach my class. I was up at the Shala 20 mins early to set up. I got the white board and wrote the 5 Yamas across the top with their definitions below. I then drew a horizontal line below the Yamas to make two rows with 5 columns. 

When everyone arrived I introduced myself using my spiritual name Bodhi and Ava introduced herself as Leela. I had this idea the night before to start with a power Om to wake everyone up. I had them stand in a circle almost shoulder to shoulder. I told them this was an infinite Om, meaning they keep repeating it. To make sure they didn't go in waves I told them to start when we touched their shoulders. This actually proved to be a really cool variation to start it with. I had also told them to imagine a sun in the middle of the circle fueled by the sound of the Om. It was really cool and everyone loved it.

My presentation started with a corny joke; 'Yamas' not a food served at thanksgiving dinner. Everyone laughed...at least anyone with knowledge of Turkey Day. Later Vari commented that it got him engaged in the presentation.

I immediately involved the class by asking them questions about each Yama. What type of person is violent?. Which type of person was non-violent?. I proceeded to ask the good and bad for each Yama. At the end I had them look at the list. I showed the positive row had traits of heroes and the bottom row traits of villains. It went over really well. Leela did her her meditation class to the soundtrack from Forrest Gump. While it was playing and we were suppose to be clearing our minds I just keep seeing Forrest run. No one else picked up on where the music came from. Too bad I was smiling the whole 15 mins of meditation.

Our reviews went extremely well. We were the first group to get all positive reviews even from the teachers. As Vari put it we set the bar. Pat on the back time :)

Our morning practice was a super intense Vinyasa class. It was advanced and took up the complete 2 hours before we got into savasana. It was tiring, challenging, and all on awesome!

At lunch I scrambled to finish my homework and prepare for tonight's open mic night I was doing at The Sanctuary. This was outside of class and I just wanted to do it for the experience of it.

Back in class we had a long anatomy class and there was only time for circle teaching- sun salutations A-C twice. I was tired and out of it. When class finished I was glad to get out. I had a lot to prep for. I showered and changed real quick. I ate a fast dinner and jumped into homework. I walked over to the Sanctuary about 8pm for open mic night. I was going to get up and do a few jokes. I wish I had more time to prep and practice the jokes but I guess that's why it's called improv. Every other skit was poetry readings, dancing, singing to a guitar, and other random acts.

I was the 5th one up around 9:50. I was nervous but it was fun. I opened by introducing myself as Bodhi then asking everyone to roar at me like a lion whenever I roared at them. It was actually my favorite part. The jokes went well and I had fun. Everyone from class said they loved it and I got lots of head nods from other people. The owner of the Sanctuary said he had a version of one of the jokes I told and wanted to email it to me. I have it on video :)

I went home feeling like it was a great day to be alive!

**no pics from my performance but I do have a video

Fri Feb 13

I woke up tired but rested. I'm sore so I'm glad this morning I get to do alignments during the morning MPS (teachers from the day or day before get to learn alignments on students while people practice). The morning teachers both bombed and I was used as an of example of what you want to do in a teacher class. Ego boost time.

It was a great alignment course from Vari while everyone practiced we fixed their postures. It's actually really difficult but I loved it. After lunch break we turned in our homework. I was relieved to have that behind me. Emily did her last anatomy course and did a few quick drills. Half hour break later we were on Haad Yuan (Blue Beach) for Friday Funday. I swam when I got there. Not much beach time the last two weeks and it felt great to get wet.

My mantra group was super unprepared and we said F it lets just wing it improv style on the way over. It's not that we were lazy it was just to busy of a week to prepare for it. There was 4 groups. The first two groups definitely knew their mantras. Our groups however did not. We had decided on the walk over to just say one line each and we would just repeat that persons line when it was said.

Our mantra was mixed in with a Fresh Prince of Bellaire melody. Needless to say we thought we would botch it but it ended up being the best one by far. The Marta was Sahana-Vavatu Shanti.

We worked on handstands in the sand and took a bunch of group pictures. It was fun and in the end the teachers asked us to redo our preformance from before so they can get it on video. We Fd up the second time but had fun. Still it was funny because they said the competition was a 4 way tie but we got asked to do it again. Yep, no winners but really we knocked it out of the park. 

I had my first drink of the week at Blue Bar with some people then walked up to Bamboo for dinner. It was an amazing dinner. I splurged with a steamed sea bass and vegetables dish. So good. We laughed and it was a good day again. I crashed about 11pm feeling a little sad our second week was over. 

Group one doing their mantra

Group two had a prop

Our group killing it 

Group 4 skit

My hand stands are getting better 

Bamboo at night. Too bad you can't see the ocean. It gorgeous to behold live!

My first day off

After 6 amazing but physically and mentally draining days I had a whole Saturday free to get off Haad Tien Bay. I enjoyed breakfast with some people from class at The Sanctuary. The salmon and spinach benedict was excellent. The iced coffee was some of the strongest I've ever had.

The seas were calmer today compared to the last few days and 300/Baht later I was in Haad Rin beach. I departed my friends and discovered my ATM cash withdrawals amount cannot exceed $500 US dollars a day. Unfortunately I needed double that to make it to the end of the trip.

After downloading Skype and loading $5 I called the collect number on my debit card and I was back in business. Paper in hand I rented a scooter and made off for the Northwest side of the island. I got a much needed massage at Haad Saalad beach and swam in the calm waters.

After a couple hours I was off to grab some more shirts and another pair of board shorts. I stopped and my favorite restaurant on the island, Mama Pooh's. Authentic, tasty and inexpensive eats always welcomed.

After a scrumptious meal I made my way back to Haad Rin. I met up with a bunch of people from class to share a water taxi back to our little bay. Actually it was very relieving seeing my home when we rounded the bend. It's such a peaceful place. Shanti indeed.

Beach massage at Saalad Beach

The two islands get connected by a sandbar during low tide

Mama Pooh's- most authentic Thai food on the island 

Pad Thai with coconut shake and soda

One of my favorite views of the drive back

Our practice deepens

Please note this post is from last week and Thursday & Friday blogs were lost

Wednesday Feb 4

I woke up to my alarm today. That's a first since I've been in Thailand. Although I got a full 8/hrs of sleep I felt tired. With a banana and apple in me I headed up up to the Shala. Our main teacher Avi wasn't with us today so David and Marisca were leading the charge.

We dipped into more of the Nauli Kriya breathing technique attempting the mountain pose modification. I wasn't able to do this variation but on my last attempt I got my stomach to suck in and ribs to expand so I felt excited. 

We tired a new meditation technique were you pace in super slow mo clearing your mind of nothing but the movements. I didn't find this to be effective for me but many people liked it. After more review of poses we dipped into Yin yoga practice. This was a nice change from Ashtanga Primary series. Yin holds poses between 3-5 minutes with 1-2 mins of savasana in-between. It was still difficult but nice to really stretch out our bodies. I kept singing along to the music (normally we don't listen to music during practice and thinking about friends and family back home). I think it was my way of blocking out the focused pain that came with the practice.

We broke for two hours and I was able to post my blog and check a few emails. It's a two hour break but it never seems long enough to get anything accomplished.

After lunch we heard more from our guest speaker Ram Vakkalanka. We discussed morality and righteousness through an ancient story that took place 6,000 years ago. It was a long story but helped to define Karma and how each life strives for divinity. It's actually very easy to believe the context based on certain truths in our current world. Energy is constant and just changes its vehicle as it moves through the cosmos. I'm obviously skimming very briefly on what we actually learned. It would take me all day to put it into this format.

After our lecture we broke for 30mins and I caught up on some reading. Back in class we taught each other more MPS series and I killed it. I nailed every position first time with proper pronunciations. Feeling much more confident and excited to learn more. The beginning of our MPS practice we did by ourselves and I felt very connected to my breath. The rest of the class was the rest of our practice and it wasn't as painful as the first three days. It's nice to finally start to feel more in shape and less physical strain. We broke and tonight was my turn to do yoga Karma, meaning myself and another were in charge of cleaning up the Shala. It was a beautiful sunset and the first time I've come back to my bungalow not exhausted. 

Showered I wrote in this blog more and passed out for a nap face down. Guess I was tired. When I awoke I made my way to The Beam for dinner. After dinner our guest speaker Ram joined us for after dinner conversation. It was nice to talk philosophy and history with him. The rest of the group left to go to bed and Ram and I stayed talking about various subjects. The conversation was a mix of subjects and was filled with one of us talking about this and that. I wish I had recorded it because we went into some very facinating topics.

There is so much more to yoga I look forward to learning about. I am definitely a student and I have just begun. We departed ways later that evening and I had trouble sleeping. Guess that nap through me off.

So I lost my Thursday and Friday post because of loading issues between my iPad and iPhone. I did load some photos however. I honestly can't remember now what we did those days. It's all a blur. Sera sera.

Day 1 with Ram. We got a real projector screen by Friday. This was taken Wednesday 

Taking group photos on Thursday. This was my camera so it was taken from the side by Ram

Sunrise at Whynam Beach on Thursday 

My favorite water refill station on the island (Whynam beach) 5 mins from our Shala heading north

Rooster I saw walking to the beach Friday afternoon for our Friday Funday at the Haad Yuan (Blue Beach)

Waiting for our teachers

Headstand practice 

Well deserved beer at our first Friday Funday and end of our first week.

Dinner at Bamboo that night 

First Days of Training

Sunday Feb 1

I woke up at 4:45am wide awake. I felt refreshed and excited about my first day of yoga training. After reading for a bit I showered and changed for class. We met at the lounge at The Beam resort. Everyone was early except for a few stragglers. We made our way up to the Shala (studio) where our classes will be. The view is spectacular!! You can see the ocean and the jungle below. So breathtaking! My excitement grew even more.

Our first lesson was on ujjayi breathing. The vital life energy, prana, is controlled by the breath. Prana literally means "breathing forth" the universal life force. The purpose of ujjayi breathing is to generate heat and purify the body through the sweat. The sound of the breath keeps the mind focused and is an indicator of the quality of our practice. Ujjayi breathing should be smooth and relaxed throughout of practice. 

We did a few lessons on how to listen to our breath and how to do it properly. We broke for a 5 minute break and set up for our first full Ashtanga primary series practice.

The practice started like any other class focusing on breathing and bringing the mind present. I was fine during the sun salutations A & B but then the standing moves brought the power up. The flows grew in intensity and complexity. I'll spare you the grueling details but it was kicking my ass. My thoughts kept saying I was way out of my league. At parts I questioned if I can do this at all. The people in the front row where I was at were very good and I couldn't hold a candle next to them.

I really wondered if I could do this. When that voice popped in my head I just breathed through it and did my best. The last few sets I definitely had to rock beginners poses. I had this funny thought from Kung Fu Panda about being at level 0. 

When savasana came around I was thankful our 2 hour practice was over. It was so intense and I have no doubt I have a long journey ahead. I felt humbled and thankful it was over for now. Physically and mentally I was not prepared.

We broke for a 2 hour lunch break. I wolfed my food down. Gotta keep my strength up! We headed back up to the Shala to start our instruction. After introductions we properly marked our mats so we know where to place our hands and feet for certain movements. I had no idea I was misaligned all these years in some of the most basic moves. It really helped my postions feel stronger and better equipped to move forward in this series.

After our mats were marked we started analyzing our sun salutations (Surya Namaskara- A & B). Ashtanga Yoga is based upon the dynamic flow of Surya (means sun) and Namaskara (greeting of honor & respect to the divinity present in each of us). This sets the rhythm and mood for each session of yoga. After learning how to look at proper positioning we split into teams of two and practiced teaching each other the first part of the series. Teaching was difficult remembering the Sanskrit names and sequence order but I can already tell with time it will come to me.

We broke with an Om chant and everyone felt excited about finishing their first day. I immediately made for dinner. I was so hungry. I loaded up on spegetti bolongnse. I felt the need to carb load for tomorrow. I headed back to my bungalow to shower and do my homework. It's about 9pm now and all I can think about it crashing out. I think I might do that.

Monday Feb 2

Up at 5:30am with a bit more sleep last night. I felt refreshed but shockingly sore from yesterday's practice. I went over to the Beam to grab a banana and apple before class. I was up at the Shala by 7:15am ready to take on the new day. 

Our first lesson of the day was on meditation. Our ujjayi breathing was talked about in further detail and we learned about harnessing the bandhas in our body to attain differtent effects. Bandhas are physical locks, dams which redirect prana through blood and lymph. There purpose physically is to create alignment and support. Energetically they direct prana which effects Sushumna, Ida and Pingala (nadis & chakras). More to come on this subject.

After our meditation lesson we jumped into our 2 hour practice. Traditionally the full Ashtanga series takes about 1.5/hrs to complete but our teachers extend our practice to add as much detail as possible. I felt much better about today's series but it still kicked my butt.

We took a two hour lunch break and I loaded up on food again. I walked over to Whynam Beach to refill my water bottles and enjoyed running into other travelers outside of class.

We talked about the history of yoga briefly. It's fancinating to learn about evolution of the art. Almost all of the history was passed verbally until a man or series of people pulled together the first of the sutras. It's referred to as Patajali- the father of yoga. No one really knows when he existed but they do know the collective works was the first time all the verbal history and sutras were brought into one context.

Back in the Shala we went into more teaching variations of the sun series B and reviewed our lessons from yesterday. More history and explanation of yoga. It's not religion but spirituality. Seeking answers in the universe around us. 

After about two hours of class we broke for a half hour. More yogurt, coconut, peanuts and honey snack. It helps keep my energy up. We learned more modifications on sun salutation B then did our primary modified series which will be our final exam. I need to get used to two practices a day from here on out. It was tough but I felt good afterward. Tired but happy. Dinner at the Beam again and homework. Nothing fancy.

Tuesday Feb 3

Up early again this morning. I headed up early to the Shala to stretch and meditate. Marcella (one of our instructors from Brazil) was already there meditating. I grabbed a mat quietly and joined the peace in the rising sun. It was the first time in my life I intentionally meditated. The sound of the ocean. The soft warm breeze on the skin. The early morning birds singing. It was peace indeed. I felt connected.

Class in the morning was a review of the night before and to go over a new breathing technique. It's called "Naulis Kriya". You bend over breathing all your air out while placing your hands inward on your knees. When every breath of air is out of your lungs you suck in at your stomach and push up on the knees with your arms. This creates a vacuum effect. Known as belly-churning, nauli kriya is a cleansing technique traditional in hatha yoga practice. It is best done early in the morning, before eating or drinking and asana practice. This technique keeps the indigestive system balanced and improves indigestion or poor blood circulation.

This breath has a positive and a negative effect depending on your health. Positively it's good for digestion and energy levels. Actually there was a whole host of things but I don't recall them right now. Negatively it's not good for high blood pressure, woman's cycles, being pregnant and any abdominal surgeries. Once again this is a skill that comes with practice and time.

Our two hour practice started right afterward. This one was tough again but moves were getting easier when I knew what to expect and how to set them up. Slowly but surely I'm learning what to do. I have Suryanmaskara (sun salutations A & B) memorized but butcher the Sanskrit laungange- howdy y'all I'm American!

I was so happy when savasana came around. I felt triumphant that I completed my third full primary series and I can already feel moves opening up for me. I still have a very long way to go but my confidence is gaining.

Another two hour lunch break well earned. Everyday I've been showering between practices to feel fresh but to also be present of smells being in such close proximity to everyone else. I wish a few others would take note 😳

After a break lunch break we headed back up to the Shala. I was last one in the room and our guest speaker was already there (I was early but appearently everyone was excited to listen). His name was Ram Vakkalanka. He was born in India but resides in Canada now. He's a scholar that travels the world giving speeches and researching the orgins of yoga. I could write for days about what I heard but it blew my mind. It was like hearing the real history of the world without bias and influence. It was like hearing truth and it seemed so easy to listen to. The whole talk was two hours but time flew by. I was very impressed and I look forward to hearing more from this teacher the rest of the week.

**he'll be having a book coming out next year that I will definitely buy!!

We broke for 30mins and I made my way to Whynam Beach for a snack and to fill my water bottles. I'm drinking water like crazy. Our afternoon session was our MPS (modified primary series) and it felt great. The moves seem to flow better for me with my understanding of proper position. After our practice I left the Shala feeling strong and alive.

I showered and met a couple people from our program to eat at another restaurant, Bamboo. I hadn't been yet. It was located toward Haad Yuan beach and was a bit of the a hike. The Pad Thai is famous and after dinner I could see why. We talked about evolution of the mind and society overlooking the bay below. It was great company. I feel honored to be attending this study with such enlightened people.

On the way back to my bungalow I saw 'the maze' was lit up tonight with people in a huge circle surrounding it for the full moon. The maze is a big circle like Stonehenge made of white stones from the beach in circular patterns. I was very tired and didn't have it in me to meditate for 40mins under the stars. The circle was cool though covered in hundreds of candles. It looked very pagan. I wish I had my camera on me but out of respect it was probably better I didn't.

I crashed out almost instantly.