Sink or Swim

As I mentioned in my last blog, the yoga training has been a major challenge and not in the ways one would think; long hours, early start, hours of yoga practice, the heat, lots of homework but NOT being reprimanded nearly everyday like teenagers for things like leaving the door slightly cracked, leaving books on the floor, being one minute late…or more like one “OM” late, talking/laughing/having fun and basically for “not living yoga”. What the hell! I believe that all of us in the group are living yoga….in our own way. Sure, we are all in different places in our journey but we all have a strong desire to have yoga be a part of our lives, otherwise why would we be here? Sure, it’s a beautiful place to experience a training such as this but if we had wanted to spend precious time and money with no cockroaches, spiders, ants etc. AND even have hot water showers, we could have stayed numerous places with at least a 4 star rating and just hang out on the beach with a good book…BUT we chose to be here in Koh Phangan in the extreme heat trying to focus on what normally should be such an amazing experience.

So, we get that meditation is a big part-but only a part-of yoga but throwing one into hours of cross-legged torture to become enlightened isn’t what we signed up for. Yes, yoga is so much more then the postures and is not just another form of “aerobics or pilates” and that’s why we’re here….to learn more. To understand why yoga has pulled us in, why it normally makes one feel so blissful and opens your heart; to share this fabulous practice with others while finding that peace within. I know in my heart and soul that through the teachings of this ancient practice of yoga all this and more can be accomplished but we as individuals must do this in our own time and in our own way.

Okay, so if one teacher has so much knowledge and teachings to share with us then why would she not even speak about the meaning of “OM” and elaborate on the “limbs of yoga” like the yamas and niyamas(which is like not teaching a Christian “The Golden Rules) or the yoga sutras….one does NOT learn these teachings by just reading information plagiarized and compiled into a huge teachers training manual.

But….that all said we do have a choice. Sink or swim? Do we let the lack of one persons dis-empowerment get the best of us and sink OR take in the experience for what it does have to offer and swim with it; knowing that this is only the beginning or a stepping stone and can only get better from here. To swim the tide of life and let the currents take you to amazing places along your journey.


I wrote this about 3 weeks into the training as a bit of a vent but also wanted to find the humor in it all. I am now finished and relaxing on the shores of Koh Samui… reflecting and recovering…on the past month. I have to say that I do feel I gained a number of things from the experience even if it was to learn what not to do. Our teacher did know how to teach a good yoga class with good alignment principles and she had a strong background in meditation and pranayama(breath work) which she brought to the table but her ego, lack of teaching skills, and compassion made for a very interesting month. For me I realize it was a lot about a sense of completion and now with that all said and done…..time to move forward with it all! I continue to believe in and love yoga and my heart is open…always 
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