Thursday, June 09, 2005
Big Things Come in the Small Package
Bikramism: A saying used by Bikram Choudhury. I am short, 5'6". Bikram is slightly shorter. BUT BOY, does he have a presence. When he walks into a room, you would think a giant was among us. He usually kids with those of us that are shorter by telling us something to the effect of, "The big thing comes in the small package. You know what I am talking about." Boosting our confidence and making us smile. This man is such a wealth of knowledge. Not just about yoga, or better yet, about all of yoga and life is yoga.
I went to the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in the Spring of 2003 and was certified. The teacher training is held in Beverly Hills, or just outside I believe it is actually Los Angeles. 9 weeks of intense yoga classes, yoga philosophies, lectures, anatomy, learning the poses, the benefits of the poses, how to teach, voice lessons, presence in the room, posture clinics, most times the days went in excess of 15 hours. It was boot camp. The concept: if you want to change something like iron, you have to place it in the fire and let it heat up, then pull it put and pound it. In the end you have a beautiful, shiny piece. That is what I felt like when I finished the training.
Last night, as I was driving back from new Orleans, I received many phone calls from friends regarding the segment on 60 Minutes about Bikram and Bikram Yoga. When I got home I had several emails with links to some video clips. The show, 60 Minutes was pushed back to 1:30 am in our time zone, or rather in Houston, due to some movie airing in that time slot. hmmm. Only in Houston would a news show be pushed back for a made for TV movie sponsored by Billy Graham. I was able to set my DVR and record it. I watched this morning with so much enthusiasm. I love watching him and hearing his voice. During the training, his classes with go in excess of 2 hours. At the end of class, when I was a big, pool of sweat on my mat, I would lay down, close my eyes and listen. He would sing to us. A song his Guru sang to him. And it was peaceful and calm and to be really honest I felt so safe. I have been to LA to see him several times since my training. It is always good to see him. Always learning more from the master.
There are many Bikramisms. My favorite, obviously, Let No One Steal Your Peace. He would look at you and know exactly what buttons to push. Sometimes it seemed kind of harsh. And people would cry. Feelings would get hurt. People would literally run out of the room. And he would make them come back and keep pushing the buttons. And his point: NO matter what, It does not matter who. So long as you know the truth, both the good truth and the bad truth, what people say or do will not affect you. THAT is practicing yoga. Same as in a yoga posture. Nothing can disturb your balance, steadiness or strength. By good truth and bad truth I mean the following. Example: I have a droopy eye lid. I have always been very self conscience about it. When people ask if there is something wrong with my eye, I usually get nervous and makes it worse. I used to get mad if you even hinted toward that. Ignoring it did not make it better. The truth is I have a droopy eye lid. Ignoring it does not change that. By acknowledging this, the power this had over me and the power others had over me though this was diminished. That button was uninstalled. This is what I mean by bad truth...stuff we dont want to acknoweldge or that we find embarrassing, etc. Good truth: the stuff we know we like or excel at or even facts that we can easily acknowledge because they make us happy. Having an honest approach to ourselves seems to dissipate any power others would have over us. Letting no one steal our peace.
Other Bikramisms:
Kiss their ass they piss in your face; Kick their ass, they kiss your face.
99% right is 100% Wrong!
I don't sell cheescake, I sell pain.
Think of it.
The best food is no food.
Any ways. I have rambled on and on about Bikram, which by the way means "WINNER". I am a huge advocate of Bikram Yoga and its powerful benefits. I would highly reccommend you try a class if there is s studio in your city. And go in with an open mind. This yoga really will transform your life. It changed mine enough to take 3 months off from work to be certified and teach. I want to share what I have been given so that others can have their own transformations.
I went to the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in the Spring of 2003 and was certified. The teacher training is held in Beverly Hills, or just outside I believe it is actually Los Angeles. 9 weeks of intense yoga classes, yoga philosophies, lectures, anatomy, learning the poses, the benefits of the poses, how to teach, voice lessons, presence in the room, posture clinics, most times the days went in excess of 15 hours. It was boot camp. The concept: if you want to change something like iron, you have to place it in the fire and let it heat up, then pull it put and pound it. In the end you have a beautiful, shiny piece. That is what I felt like when I finished the training.
Last night, as I was driving back from new Orleans, I received many phone calls from friends regarding the segment on 60 Minutes about Bikram and Bikram Yoga. When I got home I had several emails with links to some video clips. The show, 60 Minutes was pushed back to 1:30 am in our time zone, or rather in Houston, due to some movie airing in that time slot. hmmm. Only in Houston would a news show be pushed back for a made for TV movie sponsored by Billy Graham. I was able to set my DVR and record it. I watched this morning with so much enthusiasm. I love watching him and hearing his voice. During the training, his classes with go in excess of 2 hours. At the end of class, when I was a big, pool of sweat on my mat, I would lay down, close my eyes and listen. He would sing to us. A song his Guru sang to him. And it was peaceful and calm and to be really honest I felt so safe. I have been to LA to see him several times since my training. It is always good to see him. Always learning more from the master.
There are many Bikramisms. My favorite, obviously, Let No One Steal Your Peace. He would look at you and know exactly what buttons to push. Sometimes it seemed kind of harsh. And people would cry. Feelings would get hurt. People would literally run out of the room. And he would make them come back and keep pushing the buttons. And his point: NO matter what, It does not matter who. So long as you know the truth, both the good truth and the bad truth, what people say or do will not affect you. THAT is practicing yoga. Same as in a yoga posture. Nothing can disturb your balance, steadiness or strength. By good truth and bad truth I mean the following. Example: I have a droopy eye lid. I have always been very self conscience about it. When people ask if there is something wrong with my eye, I usually get nervous and makes it worse. I used to get mad if you even hinted toward that. Ignoring it did not make it better. The truth is I have a droopy eye lid. Ignoring it does not change that. By acknowledging this, the power this had over me and the power others had over me though this was diminished. That button was uninstalled. This is what I mean by bad truth...stuff we dont want to acknoweldge or that we find embarrassing, etc. Good truth: the stuff we know we like or excel at or even facts that we can easily acknowledge because they make us happy. Having an honest approach to ourselves seems to dissipate any power others would have over us. Letting no one steal our peace.
Other Bikramisms:
Kiss their ass they piss in your face; Kick their ass, they kiss your face.
99% right is 100% Wrong!
I don't sell cheescake, I sell pain.
Think of it.
The best food is no food.
Any ways. I have rambled on and on about Bikram, which by the way means "WINNER". I am a huge advocate of Bikram Yoga and its powerful benefits. I would highly reccommend you try a class if there is s studio in your city. And go in with an open mind. This yoga really will transform your life. It changed mine enough to take 3 months off from work to be certified and teach. I want to share what I have been given so that others can have their own transformations.
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Cisco, the hymn Jyota se Jyota is by Hari Om Sharan and was written to honor Baba Muktananda. I have it in the English transliteration and in the original language, which is in the marathi language, I think. It follows the text hymn Shri Guru Gita. If you would like a copy I can burn one for you. Just let me know.
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