Week Nine- Feeling Fine (Sort of)

It will be tough to re-cap Week 9 in retrospect, but I'm going to try to do my best. I've seen so many TT blogs that end at Week 8, and now I know why. The 9th Week goes quickly and then you're home with all your responsibilities, getting ready to teach your first class, etc. So, here it goes.

The week was TOUGH. They initially told us "not to worry about the last week" that it would be a "party week", which was complete and utter nonsense, of course. It was brutal. Bikram was in town all week, Craig Villani came to teach a slew of classes and give lectures and there were many late nights. As in every single night was a late night. One of them went until 5:45 am. Yes, you heard me, 5:45am. I'm sure you know the reason, right? You guessed it, Mahabharata. The poorly dubbed, dreadfully special effected mess- the Mahabharata. During one lecture, Bikram mentioned that he'd spoken to George Lucas about remaking it. I wish to God he would. To say this film is poorly made is the understatement of the millennium. It's a joke. A terrible, miserable, cruel and unfair joke. Basically, TT ended essentially the way it started- with hard classes by Senior Teachers (Emmy, Raj, Craig, Bikram and our poor little, tired, weary bodies were all but busted by then) and late night movies. Party ON!

The bright spot in the week for me was that my family had arrived the Saturday of Week 8. With my family there, nothing could really hurt me anymore. Having Sadie and Max here was amazing. Max took two classes with Bikram, including our last class on Friday night. What an emotional class that was. The energy was amazing. People were crying, laughing, bouncing off the walls and really grasping that this was our last class together. The last time these 320 people would struggle a little harder together. Bikram delivered us an amazing, high-energy class that left many of us missing him already when he walked out of that room. Some might call it the Stockholm Syndrome, but although throughout our 9 Weeks we may have questioned him from time to time, at that moment- we knew it was all for a reason, even if we didn't know fully realize what that reason was yet. How we knew, I can't tell you, but I know that from my hair to my toes I knew, I believed, and I trusted this process.

Friday night we had our talent show and it was incredible. Perhaps it was that our sole entertainment for 9 weeks was Indian films, but I would have sworn to you that this talent show was the most entertaining thing I'd seen in years. Everything from the acts to the Emcees were just wonderful. The finale was a Bollywood dance number. We were all on our feet. The Singing, Dancing, Poetry, Comedy Sketches, Heart Dances...all of it completely and totally mesmerizing.

The next day was an optional 8am yoga class (I opted NOT to go) followed by primping and prepping for graduation. As the day got closer to 2:30, I really started to get it- this thing was over, Spring TT 2009 was OVER and we had done it! The graduation ceremony was excruciatingly long and there was no group dinner as planned , but we were all radiant that night. Our families there to support us and see us collect that certificate from Bikram, take pictures and tell us how proud they were of us. It was an amazing moment. I had to laugh when Max kept looking at me and saying "this is LONG"- yeah? You think this is long? This is every lecture we've had, every movie we've sat through, every posture clinic we've endured. Graduation was a perfect looking glass into the exercise in patience that is Teacher Training.

That night, Sadie, Max and I went out to dinner together. No more yogis, no more posture clinic or lecture to rush back to. I felt out of place. What will I do with all this new found freedom? Apparently, I will go to Olive Garden with my family :)

Sunday, we packed up the Condo and headed to L.A. It was blazing hot. I was ready to leave, but was feeling so strange. This was where I lived for 2 months. Many times, I felt like I would be there forever, but just like a mirage in the desert, Teacher Training was vanishing on the horizon. I still feel like it was a dream, the only proof I have that I was there are the friends that I made, the dialogue that I learned and the change that happened within me. It's hard to put a finger on it, but this experience has changed something inside me.

They told us over and over how much we would miss this experience. And I do. I miss it. I'm happy to be home with my family, but TT is something that lives in a certain time and space forever. The experience never leaves you, it just never ever manifests on the physical plane again. Never again will you be with those same people in that same room working towards the same goal. You just have to look at your pictures and remind yourself that yes, this transformational experience did happen to you, you are forever changed...and you would do it again in a heartbeat.

For all of you who plan to go to Teacher Training eventually (or in the future), enjoy every minute. It will never happen again.

Namaste.