Nancy - Rishikesh India
I have successfully completed week one of Yoga Teacher training, only three more to go! It is "intense" to say the least. I usually wake at 4 or 5am (which isn't hard since I'm in bed by 7:30 or 8pm every night) and head upstairs to the yoga studio for a 6am sunrise yoga practice which is a nice long 2 hour class. This practice is usually lead by Yogi V and involves a lot of breathing techniques, meditation and light stretching. It's actually a really enjoyable way to start the day. After morning class we have breakfast (in silence might I add) This was a hard concept to grasp at first but now I love it. It helps me to taste my food more thoroughly and experience the morning with more consciousness.
Classes start at 9am with Philosophy which I find overwhelming. Not only is it information overload but all the Sanskrit terms are foriegn to me as well so it's hard to learn the concepts when you can't even remember or make sense of the words. This is beginning to frustrate me and making it hard to open up to the learning process. I'm struggling with being open to all that is uncomfortable about this. I find myself battling with negative thoughts then feeling guilty because the whole teaching of Yoga lifestyle is about being positive and supportive. Maybe this is part of the process. It is only week one after all.
After Philosophy we have Techniques class where we discuss issues that arose in the morning practice and Yogi Vishva teaches us how to perform and assist certain postures. This is my favorite class because it's hands on and actual experience teaching and guiding with words.
Twelve o'clock is lunch then we have an hour break to shower, do laundry, read, email etc.
Then back to class for the afternoon which involves methodology, anatomy, lifestyle and then we have another session of Techniques with Yogi V. Directly after class is dinner at 6pm, then I'm in bed by by 7 or 8. On Tuesday and Thursdays we have after dinner exercises as well, such as Kiirtan or Group sharing exercises. INTENSE.. but I guess that's how you get 200 training hours into a month.
Although I understand and appreciate the process of completely immersing us in Yogic living and aspects of the teachings, I'm finding it hard to enjoy the experience and soak in all that Rishikesh has to offer. I find myself aggravated by the lack of personal time. So today I skipped the walk and picnic and decided to get a much needed Ayurvedic massage, blog, phone Dean and spend some time journaling and reflecting.
Bathroom talk has become a common topic of conversation. Yogi Vishva has a funny way of approaching it, " Who is excited in the bathroom today? who is bored?" and then offers natural remedies for both. My personal favorite is the "pocket doctor" a liquid concoction of herbs that apparently cures anything from achy joints to headaches to diarrhea. It doesn't taste too bad either as it has a bit of a menthol taste.
There is a tonne of other thoughts I can write about but I need to get to my massage appointment. so I have to sign off now. I've managed to post some picts! So check out the blogs below for some visuals of India.
I have successfully completed week one of Yoga Teacher training, only three more to go! It is "intense" to say the least. I usually wake at 4 or 5am (which isn't hard since I'm in bed by 7:30 or 8pm every night) and head upstairs to the yoga studio for a 6am sunrise yoga practice which is a nice long 2 hour class. This practice is usually lead by Yogi V and involves a lot of breathing techniques, meditation and light stretching. It's actually a really enjoyable way to start the day. After morning class we have breakfast (in silence might I add) This was a hard concept to grasp at first but now I love it. It helps me to taste my food more thoroughly and experience the morning with more consciousness.
Classes start at 9am with Philosophy which I find overwhelming. Not only is it information overload but all the Sanskrit terms are foriegn to me as well so it's hard to learn the concepts when you can't even remember or make sense of the words. This is beginning to frustrate me and making it hard to open up to the learning process. I'm struggling with being open to all that is uncomfortable about this. I find myself battling with negative thoughts then feeling guilty because the whole teaching of Yoga lifestyle is about being positive and supportive. Maybe this is part of the process. It is only week one after all.
After Philosophy we have Techniques class where we discuss issues that arose in the morning practice and Yogi Vishva teaches us how to perform and assist certain postures. This is my favorite class because it's hands on and actual experience teaching and guiding with words.
Twelve o'clock is lunch then we have an hour break to shower, do laundry, read, email etc.
Then back to class for the afternoon which involves methodology, anatomy, lifestyle and then we have another session of Techniques with Yogi V. Directly after class is dinner at 6pm, then I'm in bed by by 7 or 8. On Tuesday and Thursdays we have after dinner exercises as well, such as Kiirtan or Group sharing exercises. INTENSE.. but I guess that's how you get 200 training hours into a month.
Although I understand and appreciate the process of completely immersing us in Yogic living and aspects of the teachings, I'm finding it hard to enjoy the experience and soak in all that Rishikesh has to offer. I find myself aggravated by the lack of personal time. So today I skipped the walk and picnic and decided to get a much needed Ayurvedic massage, blog, phone Dean and spend some time journaling and reflecting.
Bathroom talk has become a common topic of conversation. Yogi Vishva has a funny way of approaching it, " Who is excited in the bathroom today? who is bored?" and then offers natural remedies for both. My personal favorite is the "pocket doctor" a liquid concoction of herbs that apparently cures anything from achy joints to headaches to diarrhea. It doesn't taste too bad either as it has a bit of a menthol taste.
There is a tonne of other thoughts I can write about but I need to get to my massage appointment. so I have to sign off now. I've managed to post some picts! So check out the blogs below for some visuals of India.
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