Wow Time goes fast

As I look back at my posts I realise that I have had this blog for 12 months and that I have not posted for 6 months.

As this is my first foray into blogging I am learning about what it takes to create and maintain a blog and also the discipline it takes to post regularly.

I think about my blog often...but action doesn't happen.

Many of my thoughts and themes come to me during and after yoga (apologies to all my regular yoga teachers - Benn, Maddy, Jenelle, Svetlana, Chrissy, Craig, Kylie, Rowena, Dale, Hal, Sherry, Rachel, Jeanne, Casey...)

Some of these things are for me quite deep and meaningful but somehow get left behind in the wake of activity after class.

Some learnings from the last 12 months:

1. Being present is challenging.
For me it has meant learning (still trying to learn) that it also includes what you are going through at the time physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. All of these aspects have some influence on who and what we are at any given moment.
They influence my practice and where I am today.
At the same time my practice does have an influence on them

2. Progress requires change and risk.
One significant change for me has been the loss of weight that has in turn contributed to changes and improvements in my practice.
Part of the reason for the weight loss was that after 4 years I stopped hiding behind a singlet that I work during class and confronted myself in the mirrors. That meant I have had to confront body image issues (yes, even males have body image issues).
Also, it was about this time that I also started changing what I eat. It felt like a natural part of my evolution as a yogi. It was scary, because I had tried most food plans with not much result. However, subtle changes meant that I wasn't going to starve to death and slowly the changes have been made.
The combination of these factors meant that I had to make changes and take risks that for me meant practicing without a shirt and being seen and observed.

3, Recognition is both humbling and encouraging
As people have noticed changes in my practice and body shape some have made comments to me directly, others have come through my wife or teachers.
It means that I can no longer 'hide' in a class.
I am humbled when someone says something or on occasions when I have been asked to demonstrate a posture or have achieved a new step in a posture.
Its also encouraging to know that after almost 5 years that my practice has not stagnated and I realise how much more I have to improve.

4. Sometimes there is no obvious reason or a bad class or bad season.
Whenever possible I just have to turn up and do the best I can.

5. Smoothies are great - this will be the subject of a whole post on its own

6. You've got to take care of your hydration and electrolytes - again the subject of a post on its own.

Anyway, it's late and I need to sleep...yoga in the morning.....

Be the change

Mahatma Ghandi  once said 

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." 

Its been a while since I last posted and quite a lot has happened in and around my work and practice.


Work is very challenging at the moment as we go through a period of significant organisational change with people losing their jobs, careers, livelihoods.


I have been determined to make sure that I keep up my regular practice (4-5 days per week) as I am sure that this is the main thing that has allowed me to deal with the stress and pressure of trying to lead a team that supports managers and staff through the changes.


So many of my colleagues are stressing and dealing with that stress in differing ways...I look forward to getting into the yoga room, being able to have to focus on the dialogue and the postures and not on the issues in the workplace.


It has been tough and at times it has taken me nearly all class to get my head into a place where I can focus on my breathing, being present with the dialogue and the postures. 

There are whole movements that have been built up around this famous quote.

But for me and at the individual level it means that if I want to see change then I have to be prepared to act on something to make the changes happen.

So, as I posted previously, in my practice I took the step, after 4 years, of practicing without a shirt or singlet and confronting what there is in front of me.

That has had a flow on effect with my eating...and while I have eaten 'healthy' for quite a while now I am even more diligent and committed to my nutrition and as a result I am losing fat and changing shape.

I have started to practice more backbends after class to try to get more 'bendy'.

Someone else once said "If it is to be...it's up to me"

Our yoga teachers often say "If you can, you must".

I am learning that if I want to further develop and progress in my practice, I have to take some action to make things happen.

That also means being open to new challenges - do I go up to the front or second row from now on, will I go to teacher training one day, will I compete in the local yoga championships next year....all pretty scary for me....

But who knows where these challenges and changes will lead to next?

Namaste

Progress

For some people what I am about to share is not a big thing but I recently made a change in my practice that has taken me a long time, 4 years to achieve.

As a male, most people do not think that we have 'body issues'.

As my blog suggests, I am not your stereotypical yogi.

I have always been self conscious about my weight and body shape and size.

So for me, wearing a singlet and only occasionally taking it off during the floor series, when my next breath was likely to be my last (probably 3-4 times in 3 years) has been part of how I practice. There has been no pressure on me to take it off in class - we are all at various stages in our yoga journey.

I have made a more concerted effort in the last few months, along with my wife to eat cleaner and reduce my reliance on sugar.

I don't want to get into any debates on the pros and cons of sugar, no sugar, artificial sweeteners and the like. I have found a process that works for me and I seem to have dropped a little more fat from my frame.

Recently when we went to Wollongong I had been toying with the idea that I felt more comfortable with my body and weight. My wife suggested that as no one in Wollongong would probably know me, if I was ready I could practice 'topless'.

The first class was a shocker, I felt hot, nauseous and sat out quite a few postures - singlet still on.

Next class, I decided just before class to try a class with my shirt off...and I survived.

My name is Peter and it has now been 8 classes since I wore a singlet.....

It has been confronting to see myself and Bikram and his teachers are right...there is no where to hide...the truth stares back at me from the mirror....

But it also makes me now try harder - especially to suck my stomach in - and I see a new aspect to my practice. It is quite humbling, because my singlet could smooth over some of the flaws in my practice...but a middle aged man in just lycra yoga shorts equals no where to hide...the truth is there in front of me.

Progress...I wonder where this will take me next

Everybody has a story...

Recently at Bikram Yoga Woolloongabba Benn Lees the teacher was telling us about some of the health breakthroughs that some of the students had experienced.

He then said something like "...everybody has a story..."

I have thought somewhat about what my story might be.

I can't lay claim to have had any healing miracles. My journey often appears to be one of progress, plateaus, setbacks and then more progress and so on.

I often do not see any progress and some days, honestly, it feels like I am starting all over again and the body feels like I am made out of concrete and, yes, I sometimes get sore after I practice.

So, I have been thinking a little about my story, because of a few things that have happened recently.

My wife and I went back to Wollongong, a city in New South Wales, where we both grew up as my father is unwell.

We had the opportunity to practice at Bikram Yoga Wollongong and catch up with two teachers Marc and Christina who had taught us for a period of time at Bikram Yoga Capalaba. Louise made the comment that they would see big changes in my practice, that I poo-pooed, because I felt like I was going backwards. She told me that she wasn't making up stories and that they would see it for themselves.

Also, recently another teacher complimented me on my postures and said that she would like to get me to  demonstrate Half-Moon one day, and before I could think I already heard myself say "Thanks, but please don't today...."

Another teacher recently, gently, suggested I should stop hiding towards the back of the class and practice in the first two rows because as a more experienced student I should be towards the front assisting newer students by them observing the more experienced students.

I have had the opportunity to explain to family, friends and colleagues why I willingly go into a room heated to 40C for 90 minutes several times a week...

So my story is that:
Over the last four years I have willingly participated in hundreds of Bikram Yoga classes in various countries. It is something that my wife and I enjoy doing together. We have met some wonderful, dedicated teachers and students who have become friends.

I have progressed physically over the last four years and my postures are steadily improving as I try to stay more present and put the dialogue into practice.

I have been able to deal with the stresses and strains of my work and life in general a lot better.

I am much more flexible than I was when I started. I am still progressing, and learning to overcome my mind and my personal challenges and obstacles.

Being more aware of my body means that I am more committed to my health and this has flowed on what what I eat and how I nourish my body.

It amazes me that after 4 years, I still go to Bikram Yoga yet I don't like the sub tropical summer heat and humidity of Brisbane, although I do deal with it a lot better thanks to Bikram Yoga.

If I can do it...anyone can.

Lesson - Never pull faces at the teacher

I should have known better.

Mid week Bikram Yoga class, I am four rows back - not feeling the best  - cold and flu season in Brisbane and a pressurised time at work at the moment. Perfect reason to get in the hot room.

The teachers often say that half the battle is getting in to the room, and I've made it there. Good on me.

One of our teachers, who my wife and I like and get on with quite well is teaching and when she comes into the room I give her a cheeky look that says "oh no not you!!!" She smiles back....I Immediately regret being cheeky...

I won't say that she picked on me...cos I'm sure that as a yoga teacher she is above all of that....and she did compliment me on some of my postures....but really how can you see that I am not breathing in triangle, when I have a loose singlet on and am trying to control my breathing with low slow breaths. Am I really a millimetre or two out in some postures...and c'mon in toe stand, with my build I am lucky to balance at all let alone suck my stomach in and stretch up.

But you know what...she was right every time...and I do appreciate the compliments and corrections...cos I need them...

Next time I just won't be too cheeky....

The Journey Continues

Since 2009 Bikram Yoga has become an important part of my regular routine.

It remains something and my wife and I do together.

We have met wonderful teachers and fellow students, attended openings of new studios, learnt much from visiting Bikram Yoga senior representatives like Esak Garcia, Lyn Whitlow, Rajashree Choudhury, Craig Villani.

There is a strong and growing Bikram Yoga community in Brisbane and I am privileged to be a member of two studios that allows me the flexibility of practicing at three studios, depending upon my schedule:

Bikram Yoga Capalaba

Bikram Yoga The Gabba

Bikram Yoga North Brisbane

Most weeks I try to practice 4 - 5 times.

Why do I keep going?

It's an interesting question and to be honest the answers vary depending upon whether I am having a good run or 'being run over by the yoga truck'.

Here's what I do know:

1. My body is more flexible
2. My overall fitness is still good
3. I am able to deal with a stressful working environment better
4. I can deal with the Brisbane summer heat and humidity better
5. Each class is different because I am different every day and I get exposed to different teachers and their perceptions of my practice
6. While I might 'die' in the room and sometimes feel stiff and sore, I also feel good afterwards and want to go back
7. I am learning more about my body and my mind and emotions
8. I am better at some postures than others and sometimes when I improve on one posture I might go backwards in another
9. My ego can get in the way
10. 1 still have physical, mental and emotional issues and challenges to face in my practice
11. It is often a practice of millimetres

Namaste

Regular Practice

Late 2008 and 2009 were significant times of change for our family and our practice.

Our son met, fell in love with and married a wonderful young woman from Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Craig Villani came to the Gold Coast for a one day posture clinic and class.

Louise was the first female to complete a 60 day challenge at Bikram Yoga, Capalaba.

We had a wedding ceremony in Brisbane for Aaron and Micah. I was privileged as a civil celebrant to conduct their ceremony.

We then started planning for an overseas trip that we never thought that we would do so that we could celebrate a ceremony in Canada as well as meet up with relatives in the UK.

By this time I was practicing at least twice a week and when we planned our overseas trip we started to book accommodation that was close to a Bikram Yoga studio wherever possible.

Just before we left for our overseas trip, Louise thought up a good challenge for us. We decided we would try to do all four classes in one day at Bikram Yoga, Capalaba. With the assistance of the studio, the studio owner Kylie Watson, her mother Barb Watson and teacher Karen Luckman we did the 5 a.m, 9:30 a.m, 4:30 p.m, and 6:45 p.m. classes.

Around that time we both stopped going to our gym as we were going overseas and would rely on Bikram Yoga and lost of walking while we were away for 10 weeks.

The great thing about Bikram Yoga is that it is the same 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises and the same dialogue worldwide. Hence, we could go into any studio and know what the class would be. We were welcomed onto the local studios and Bikram communities because we are part of a larger worldwide community.

The studios are all on different locations with different heating systems and administrations but we have been privileged to have practiced with like-minded people and teachers who have all been trained by Bikram.

Different teachers have picked up different aspects of our practice and offered correction and encouragement.

I have been constantly surprised how often I will pick something up from a different teacher who says the same words but often has a different way of correcting my practice.

While it is great and comforting to have a home studio or studios, it is also very refreshing at time to go to a new studio, step outside of your comfort zone and be taught by a different teacher with a new set of eyes in a different location,

I want to acknowledge the studios, owner/directors and teachers and thank them for their welcome and teaching at the following studios:

Bikram Yoga, Richmond, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Bikram Yoga, Vancouver

Bikram Yoga Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hot Bikram Yoga - Fulham, London UK

Bikram Yoga, Paris, Grands Boulevards

Bikram Yoga, City Hall, Singapore

Bikram Yoga, Victoria, BC, Canada


Following our return home from overseas I started to practice 3-4 times a week and cycle a couple of other days and it has progressed from there.