Week Six- In the Mix

We keep hearing things like "you're in the blender right now, just wait until it's over to figure it all out" and that is how it feels these days. We are defnitely in the rabbit hole of this Teacher Training, but we're coasting towards the finish and as the end draws more near, the more we don't want it to end. Even the movies :)

It is truly amazing what happens when you let go of expectations and judgment. After my epiphany last week, I've really given myself over to "the process" and things are becoming clearer and clearer as we go. Every time I have a bit of resistance and face it head on I get to another level of understanding. This training is very "wax on, wax off". The cranky old Mr. Miagi keeps telling us to paint the fence, when we want to learn Karate to kick that blonde jerk's ass. Come on Mr. Miagi, teach me Karate! I don't want to wax your car, I want you to teach me how to whoop some ass! Just like in the movie, we ARE being taught here via simple things that seem unrelated and unnecessary and downright stupid. It's all beginning to shift into shape, slowly but surely. I am amazed and in awe of it.

This week we had some lectures with Rajashree's teacher, Dr. P.S. Das. He came to speak on Yoga Therapy and was very sweet and has a VERY thick accent. I was following most of what he was saying, but sometimes had a tough time (I heard, "the whole world comes from lettuce", when, in fact, he was saying "the whole world comes from ladies"- meaning the female principle, LOL). He also took a lecture on Urology and ended up talking about God. I dunno, but he did have some excellent information for us for the most part. He always seemed to wrap up his lectures with a spiritual message, and that was really nice.

We also kicked into high gear this week with Posture Clinic, sometimes doing 6+ hours a day between both the afternoon and evening lecture slots. This means that we have finished the Standing Series! I delivered 6 postures this week (Standing Seperate Leg Stretching, Triangle, Standing Seperate Leg Head to Knee, Tree, Toe Stand, Wind Removing and Cobra- Phew!) and all went pretty good. I definitely got better and better as the week progressed and I ended on a really high note yesterday with Cobra. Last weekend I got 4 postures ahead and this weekend I'll need to at least finish the Spine Strengthening Series to feel prepared for the week ahead. Apparently we were "behind" with the dialogue, so they needed to kick it into gear this week, but honestly, I think this is just what they do with every group. The first few weeks you are doing a posture every other day because you are only have PC in the afternoon, or after a lecture or at night for a few hours. If they really needed us to get it done by a certain day they could start PC earlier, or schedule the lectures for later in the TT, but this whole experience is about testing us, seeing where our breaking point is and how we handle it. The only way we can be rebuilt is by dismantling us and that is the goal of this training.

My PC group is an absolutely blast, though and I love all of them. You have never seen such a rambunctious group of people in your life. We have had some hilarious stuff go down this week, bloopers, drama, refusals, laughter, hilarity, etc. We have one member of our group who consistently cracks us all up and comes up with some stuff that has us all rolling on the floor, grasping at our stomachs. Ultimately though we are all really supportive of eachother and are just trying to have a great time. We are extremely punchy from lack of sleep and loopy from hours of yoga and lectures and sitting. This makes for some moments that are so funny you laugh until your side hurts, even when you realize it really isn't all that funny. Make sense? No? It will when/if you have ever been to TT.

So, as a result of how busy we are, I decided that Sadie is going to come out at the end with Max. Honestly, it's better for everyone. I get to dedicate all my time to memorizing the dialogue, Sadie gets to stay in familiar surroundings and I get a huge treat at the end when I get to see them BOTH when we are done with dialogue and might have a moment to spend with them.

I'm starting to get this feeling every week around Thursday or Friday, a little twinge of sadness that this is going to end. I already feel like an entirely different person than when I came here 6 weeks ago. I can't put my finger on how or why or when it happened, but I feel forever changed by this experience and even though I know it has to end, I'm still sad about it. My plan is to stay present for every last moment of it, to soak all of it in, to go beyond the boundary line and to let all of what I am learning here settle in more and more over time.

Week 7, here I come!