Thursday, November 19, 2009

Tiburon means Shark

I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge this morning.  First time in more than six months.  I’ve seen a lot of these United States in that time, but with all due respect to the rest of the nation, there is NO PLACE more beautiful than San Francisco and the North Bay Area.  It just warms my heart to be here.  The hills are green, the sky is sparkly blue and the air is crisp and clean.   Even the freeways are beautiful – I forgot how amazing it is here.  Okay, the state is in a mess, there’s no doubt about that, but wow, it’s just absolutely breathtaking here. 

I got back to Sacramento late on the 10th.  Pulled up to Robyn and Cindi’s house and Higbee was so excited to get out of the car – she bolted right to the front door.  She was so excited to see her little buddies Zoey, Dexter and Emily.  Apparently she was so excited, she went into heat!!  I’ve been running errands since then, trading out summer clothes for winter ones, getting the car serviced, my teeth cleaned and so on.  Seems like being “home” means doing chores!! 

Friday night, though, was our traditional food and wine night – Cindi cooked an awesome dinner and we enjoyed it along with several bottles of wine.  After a relaxing and lovely repast, we sat to watch a movie, but everyone was so beat from a long week (and full bellies), we all crashed.  It was so great to hang with my girlfriends – Robyn referred to me as her sister, and it felt really good.   

Now I’m at Edith and Eckhard’s place in Tiburon.  Secured a wonderful cottage to enjoy with Bill for the month of December.  Also got to watch the opera last night – it was GREAT!!  Here’s the deal:  The Metropolitan Opera in NYC does a simulcast of their operas – and the Mill Valley movie theater shows them first as a live simulcast, and then later in the week, as a repeat.  The live show is on a Saturday afternoon, so last night was the repeat – but who cares?  It was marvelous!  Last night’s performance was Turandot, which was quite dramatic, and it was strange to see people dressed up as Chinese singing in Italian – but the highlight still puts shivers down my spine – “Nessun Dorma” is absolutely spectacular.  So this makes my third opera ever – the first was a long time ago, Hansel and Gretel, and just a few weeks ago I got to see The Elixir of Love with Liana in Houston and now this one – I have to say, I’m kind of getting hooked on opera – who knew? 

I’ve been so crazy with activities, I feel like I haven’t had much time to reflect on this trip and what I’ve learned.  Obviously, the highlight has been Bill – I can’t even begin to describe how blessed I feel to have met him – I am truly the luckiest woman in the world.  But in addition to that, I feel strongly that I’ve learned so much about Bikram Yoga.  I made the absolute right decision to go out and seek examples of the aspects I want to have in my studio – community, successful operations, excellent and efficient design and of course, further understanding of how to teach and how to use the dialogue to help people improve their health.  My studio, wherever it will be, will be spectacular – I know what I want and I know how to create it.  

Thursday, November 12, 2009

On My Last Leg

NOTE:  I'm home, but have to catch up on blogs.  I wrote this last week, but couldn't get internet access in Vegas.  So here it is......more later!!!  

I left Houston several days ago. I was sorry to go, and Higbee, who has become the South Boulevard mascot, was sad to leave all her friends too.  After teaching a total of 41 classes, I packed up my stuff, hugged everyone goodbye for now, and started the long ride home. 

First though, I got to enjoy Liana & Lucy Day!!! We had so much fun together! We started with an 8am class, then did a little tour of our favorite places – went to Anthropologie, Restoration Hardware, and then had an excellent sushi lunch. Our afternoon was even better!! Bought some new jeans at The Gap, then we bought each other “Holocaust Rings” (you have to have seen, “The Hangover” to get it). And then we went to the movies and saw, “Where the Wild Things Are” The only thing that was good about the movie was that it finally ended. HORRIBLE – do not waste your money. It’s dark and depressing and not at all happy in any way shape or form. But I got to sit next to Liana and we both wore our beautiful rings!!!

Then 3 long days of driving ---- 500 miles each day to finally arrive in Las Vegas. I’m here for the last stop on the trip – Fall ’09 teacher training! Strange, this adventure started with training and now it’s ending with training! Very apropos and not even planned, but it’s funny how that works out.

Bikram taught last night’s class and he was in classic form. It was a very energetic class and in his typical Bikram style, he gave us wonderful direction and threw in some irreverent comments about Emmy and Rajashree. He shocks on purpose, I think, but even so, no one can teach a class like Bikram.
This morning, though, we had an equally energetic class! Misha, whom I met in Minneapolis, was able to teach. She has taught make up classes, but this was her first time on the podium with all 300 students in attendance. Misha is a protégée of Diane Ducharme, and even in Minneapolis, she taught a strong class, but on this one, she hit the ball out of the park. She used almost straight dialogue, and she connected so well with the students. She encouraged us, she supported us, and she just rocked the podium. I was really impressed, not just with her ability, but with the power of the dialogue. When you use it, your class is almost guaranteed to be powerful. It’s amazing how you can focus, how you get the information you need in an efficient manner, how you can push beyond what you think you can do when the dialogue is provided properly. Misha did a great job, but she certainly had a leg up because she knew the dialogue inside and out.

I’ll be here for a few days, will help where I can, practice as much as I can, and then I’ll head back to Sacramento. Am ready to be home. Have to get ready!! Bill is coming in December, but before then, I’ll be taking a quick trip back to Houston to see him as soon as he gets back to the US. I am so very excited about the next adventure!!

Sending love to all!