It still feels as though Steve & I have only just returned from Bikram Yoga Teacher Training this past spring, but preparations for the fall session are already well under way with less than a month to go! I remember planning to blog while we were in training, but there was just too much to experience beyond the glow of my computer screen. However, I did keep in regular contact with family, friends, and studio owners – so here’s a glimpse into my time in Thailand through correspondences and social media…
WEEK ZERO: Preparing To Fly!
APRIL 14 – MOM & POP
Yesterday we went to yoga and the owner made me teach the first posture! It all went well. After class, one of the students complimented me on my dialogue. He’s saving up to go to training someday. [This owner] and another studio owner, who’s been helping us out, have both offered us classes to teach when we get back, so it’s nice to have those lined up.
Ok, have to finish packing now… considering we might not move back here after Thailand!
APRIL 17 – MOM & POP
We’re heading to the [departure] gate soon!!
APRIL 18 – MOM & POP
We did have an empty seat next to us [on the plane]! We’re at the resort now :)
Morning stretch on a balcony in Thailand… There’s a balcony!!
WEEK ONE: Settling In…
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APRIL 22 – THE LUI FAMILY
I’m eating a giant coconut for breakfast!
So far, we’ve done three yoga classes in two days. Plus a couple of lectures… that are very hard to stay awake during. I’ve been napping in between classes! We’re gonna head to our next yoga class soon, then start doing our yoga dialogue in front of Bikram. He’s pretty eccentric and a little nuts. He swears a lot and reminds me of South Park – he offends everyone equally! We’re all taking it with a grain of salt. And when you sift through all the self-aggrandizing anecdotes, he does have some pearls of wisdom. And his wife is pretty awesome so far. And Steve thinks their daughter is a little hottie, haha!
There were half a dozen of us who all arrived on the same flight, so we’ve been hanging out with them. Plus, we met a guy from Brantford Ontario. His roommate only speaks Chinese, so they communicate via Facebook messenger, which translates for them – pretty cool! There are a handful who don’t speak English very well and several more who speak it as a second language. It’s pretty amazing! We’ve also met three people from Vancouver Island, and one girl from the prairies – I don’t really know whether I’m Canadian or Australian here – I guess both!
Ok, bye now (:
FYI in Thailand, limes are called lemons and lemons are called YELLOW lemons. #themoreyouknow
— Aɴᴅʀᴇᴀ Jᴀᴍᴇs Lᴜɪ (@MsAJL) April 22, 2015
APRIL 25 – BY LYNBROOK
We’ve both done half moon now – I tried to do it on the first night, but Bikram talked for ages so we ran out of time… He’s nuts, haha! But we both just made it into first batch on the following day. Steve went just before me, so I missed his feedback because I was chatting to the instructor from Sunshine Coast, who was preparing each of us to go onstage. I have a feeling that Steve didn’t get any feedback though – he got a story about a time when Bikram was in Melbourne…! When I went up, he made a point of me being Chinese before Canadian… and I don’t even know if he caught that I live in Melbourne or am married to Steve – but everyone else seems highly amused by it. We’re the only couple here! My dialogue went well – he said I was the only one to do it word for word and now time to add some decoration to it. He’s focused a lot on revealing your personality through the dialogue and really communicating, particularly with new students. I’ve found his feedback to be quite astute and surprisingly gracious! I think everyone thought he was just gonna tear us all a new one… but he’s a lot like the acting teachers we’ve have in the past – right down to self-aggrandizing stories of his heyday… but I find him entertaining!
We’re loving his classes – they just fly by! We’ve had Rajashree every morning and him every evening except for one, which their daughter taught. We’re suspecting that he’s pretty tired from having a cold or something and his voice is crackly from a throat surgery he had recently, so we see him fade fairly quickly during lectures and stuff. So far just under half of us have done our dialogue for him. I’m glad we got in early because everyone else keeps showing up ready for it and we haven’t done any in the last few days – Thursday we watched a movie and last night he gave us off. He said it’s a first week Friday tradition to have the night off… but from the look of confusion on the instructors, I’d surmise maybe it’s not? But we had a nice early sleep… and a power surge through dinner!
The resort is amazing. Fruit is so good. Beach or pool after each class. Tons of food. We’re taking the bus to Khao Lak this afternoon. Only one more class til we’re done for the week!!
APRIL 26 – THE LUI FAMILY
All the toilets here have hoses next to them! Saves a bit on toilet paper… The resort is beautiful. Everyone is super friendly and I’m learning Thai! So far, I can say hello to men or women, thank you, see you later, and everything (for when I order my omelettes in the morning – everything is mushrooms, onions, ham, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese). We get a massive buffet twice a day. For the first few days, I was eating like a pig just for fun. The next few days, I was force feeding myself just to make sure I had enough energy for the yoga classes… and now I think I’m levelling off. But I still eat extra desserts just for fun. And shots of watermelon juice. Also, they bring fresh coconuts to the yoga studio, so we can drink them straight after classes. They’re 60 baht… which is like $2.50 each.
Yesterday, Steve & I took the free shuttle to Khao Lak (the town about 20 minutes away). We each got one-hour Thai massages for 300 baht each, which is less than $15. Crazy cheap. We’re getting more massages today by the beach! I had a hankering for potato chips yesterday, which we bought for 120 baht each… so basically, we spent $12 on potato chips – nearly as much as the massages!
There’s 176 people in our class, which is the smallest group they’ve had in like a decade or so. Last fall, there were 333 people. They’re saying it’s because they were more selective this time – clever – but we’re pretty sure it’s because they’ve had a heap of negative press lately. It’s better for us though because we get way more time and attention. We’ve also had a bit of extra time off because each of us has to do yoga dialogue in front of Bikram (half of us have already gone, me & Steve included), but we’re getting through everyone way faster than previous groups. It’s lots of fun so far! We’re off to the beach now to do more memorizing…
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