How I got here

This is the "Before Bikram" me. Very Overweight, very out of shape,very miserable inside and out. I had one of those Ah ha moments one morning about two years ago, when I dropped the soap in the shower, and literally could not bend down to pick it up. I thought to myself, my goodness, if I am this stiff and sore at 51, what will I be like at 70? So after the New Year, two girlfriends and I gave each other the gift of 30/30 --30 days of unlimited yoga at the Bikram Studio in Burlingame, CA. Not that I could complete the entire 90 minutes without having to sit out several times (for several weeks) or that I could do all the postures (some morning practices I still feel that way!), but I knew this was the place for me.

Something beautiful is happening here, the sign says on the studio door, and they are right. We can talk about the physical benefits of the practice -- the 27 lbs. lost, the firming up of long dormant muscles, the regaining of lost flexibility (yes, I am able to pick up the soap in the shower MOST mornings.) but it is so much more, isn't it?

I love how the body always surprises me. I love the discipline of the practice. I love how even the worst day in the yoga room is better than just about any piece of chocolate I can imagine. This coming from a life long choc-o-holic who works for a candy company!

I have been blessed with the love and support of many gifted and generous teachers at my studio. And I greedily soak up all they have to offer. From K,who has taught me to hold it longer than I really want to, and that it doesn't always have to be a struggle. From V, that my practice will be a life long journey, and to accept my body where it is today without judgment; from J, the power of the Now; from L, the Yumminess of it all. From, R, the power of stillness and that it is only energy shifting, From BV, Tough Love, Baby, and it's all there in the Dialogue. From D, my first teacher, with her gentle way and loving spirit, the power of Gratitude in our lives, you just can't be in a bad mood after one of her classes. From B, always learn technique, how to guide my breath into different parts of the body (still gotta work on that one) and that you can have a twisted sense of humor and still be a great yoga teacher!
And so, inspired by those who so generously gave of themselves to teach me, I feel compelled to carry it forward. Not that I am anyone special, with any great wisdom to impart. Just the opposite, I just a regular person, putting one foot in front of the other, day by day, who has benefited tremendously from my Bikram Yoga practice. A testament to the line, "If I can do it ANYBODY can do it", Let's just hope Bishnu Ghosh really knew what he was talking about when he said, "You are never too old to start all over again."

This teacher training will test me to the core on so many levels that I know of (physical, mental, spiritual) and probably many, many more that I have not even ventured to think about yet.
Since my first class two years ago, I have completed more than 650 classes,and I have just completed 75 days of /Bikram in a row, trying to do doubles on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, trying to get ready for what is to come. Not near enough probably to prepare me for this training, but it will just have to be because time is almost here........