Teaching has been very fun! I love it so much!!!

Teaching is a continuous learning process. To teach and to also keep up with my practice can be difficult at times due to time conflict. However, it is the most fulfilling and loving job that I have ever done in life. I'm blessed!!

Besides learning to teach better for my students, I'm also learning to balance between family and teaching as I find myself not spending enough time with my kids and husband. Sometime I can be out all day to teach and practice. It's hard but it's ok for now since they are on summer vacation.

All is good!
Namaste :)

First class taught! 6/23/12 at 11am in S. Pasadena

Total of 32 students. Included in the 32, there were 5 teachers, 3 fellow graduates, my husband who was his first time taking Bikram Yoga, and my 2 children, and people who I practiced with before I went to training and have become friends at the studio...

With all the love and support that I got, I was still very nervous!!! Standing on the podium was really a wonderful and scary feeling at the same time, it was nerve wrecking! I did not have the energy that I wished I had to give to my students. I felt really tense! My body almost felt like a block of ice...

I finished the class at around 85 mins.

My studio owner and fellow teachers all were very kind and encouraging!!! All said I did great for my first class. And gave me helpful corrections to be better and improve my teaching. I'm so thankful to be surrounded by all of these wonderful people!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Namaste

The real journey begins after teacher training...

I am feeling a bit lost after training... I love being in the yoga bubble! Life in it was so simple and everyone was so supportive and caring towards each other!!

Now, the learning begins for how to become a good teacher for my students. To become that, lots of practice is required. As a new graduate, it is a bit tough to get many classes to teach...

Keep learning, keep practicing & keep trying... Life will be better if you don't give up and have hope :)

Namaste

Conculsion of TT, sorry for being M.I.A.

Sorry for not updating my post for a while... and yes! I made it! Graduated on 6/16/12 :)

Below is a summary of week 4 to week 9:
Week 4-we were busy with anatomy and posture clinic for the most part. Everyone was a bit worn down due to muscle fatigue and just simply being exhausted! Some had doubts and some really missed home and family! But at the end, we all pulled thru.

Week 5-anatomy was done! Now onto more lectures with different speakers from Rajashree's teacher to doctors, etc. Most of us were stressing out about posture clinic, and walking I'm the hotel like zombies trying to memorize the dialogue...other than that, we had so much fun :)

Week 6-pretty much about the same as week 5...

Week 7-we had a situation where the hot room was closed for some correction work being done! Some of us went out to nearby studios and did yoga!! I went with others and did a couple of classes during the hot room at the hotel was closed. Some took the time to rest and sleep :) & just when we expect to have the weekend off, we were told that we need to do yoga for both sat & sun😭 so this was the only weekend that I stayed at the hotel instead of going home to my family...

Week 8-about the same as week 7 and for posture clinic, it's done! We had it 2 times this week, but it's more of a practice to say multiple postures at once to see how well we can get the dialogue out. It's strange to say, but I'm actually feeling sad that training is coming to an end...

Week 9-last week of teacher training! Last yoga class was Friday night, and we get Saturday morning to prepare ourselves for graduation which happened at 3pm on Saturday. Everyone seemed to really treasure our last week together!! And enjoyed every class we got together!! The energy of 400 plus people doing yoga in the hit room is beyond words!! Just simply amazing!!!

I missed my yoga bubble and everyone in it!!!! We had wonderful staff, visiting teachers, and of course! Our only and one guru, Bikram!!!!

Love & namaste, J

3 weeks down, 6 more to go!! :)

Past 2 weeks have been good, with some days feeling very tired! However, the experience so far has been amazing! 2 yoga classes per day with posture clinics where each one of us delivers our dialogue for the day and anatomy at night, busy!!
Studying with other students have been a part of my daily life, and it helps so much with the dialogue!

Love & peace,
Namaste

BYTT: week one done, eight more weeks to go!!

I got to the hotel on Sunday, 4/15/12, & orientation started at around 3pm that afternoon. Before then, I was able to register & received my course material & also checked into my room. That was Sunday :)

Monday we had Bikram's orientation at 10:30am & then first yoga class at 5pm which was taught by Bikram himself!!

From Tursday & on, 421 of us started to go up on the podium and deliver our half moon dialogue for Bikram. I did it on wednesday which was nerve wrecking!! His comment to me: 'dialogue is good, but need to relax and add in personality.'
As soon as everyone is done with half moon, then we are going to do it in groups for the rest of the postures with teacher(s). schedule which contains am & pm yoga & am & pm lecture & posture clinic.

Namaste

Tomorrow is it!! Let the TT begin!!

Packing is done. My 7 days cleanse is done as well. Now onto the next, most anticipated training!! Bikram Yoga Teacher Training it is!!

From now on, I will try and update my blog as often as I can when I have time during the training.

Now that it's here, I feel sad to leave my husband and children behind...

Namaste

Packing for teacher training

I am packing only what I need and try to bring as little as possible. I will be going home weekly to see my family so it makes it easier.

Items I'm bringing with me:
Yoga mat
Skincare products
Personal hygiene stuff
Yoga clothes
Tank tops
Hoodies
A thick jacket
A neck pillow
Flip flops
All of the above will be packed in my lululemon bag (picture below)
Food & fruit
Water & coconut water

Namaste :)

Day 5 & 5 more days until TT!

Today is day 5 of my cleanse, nothing difference. I wasn't able to sleep last night, didn't fall asleep until about 4am, & woke up at 7:05am. However, I actually don't feel that tired. Before the cleanse, I probably would be in bed now.

Now onto teaching training, 5 more days! Yes 5 more days to go!!!

Packing has been started, hopefully, I will have a post up by this Saturday to show u what I bring :)

Have a happy day!

Day 4 on the cleanse! + yoga

Feeling great & energy level is up tremendously!! I don't sleep as much.

I'm not on the cleanse totally without food. I modified it to include a bit of miso soup with tofu :)

It works well as I know what doesn't work for me & I just try to stay away from them!

So if you are doing some type of cleansing & if it gets too hard for you, maybe it won't hurt to add in something healthy that your body loves.

My children are back in school now after the spring break vacation.

I went to morning yoga class and felt okay. A little weak at the end though, I'm thinking that it might be due to the cleanse.

Love & peace :)

Day 3

Today, I almost gave in & ruined my cleanse! Fortunately, the cleanse is still on :)
I did have some tofu miso soup for dinner though, hehe...

We took the kids out today, originally for a fishing trip. However, the kids didn't like the place, and the plan was canceled. We then took them to another lake, one which they did like! One with ducks swimming around! We ended up hanging out there for a bit & they enjoyed feeding the ducks!

That was fun for the kids & very peaceful for us, the adults.

It turned out that we didn't do much for the spring break vacation, but it was quality time that we got to spend together. :) Time we had to really pay attention to our children in doing what they love & what is fun & relaxing to them! School days are always very headache-worthy, along with all the after school activities that my children have to do...
So I'm happy that they get a break here & there.

Hope your spring break vacation is fun and loving as well!

:)

Day 2 on my cleanse

Doing good so far :)
I did have some orange & grapes though!
However, I already feel my energy level going up!! More to follow...

We did squeeze in some family biking this evening around the neighborhood with the kids :) fun after dinner!

Have a great weekend!!

Day 1 - master cleanse

I'm supposed to be in my best shape and ready for teacher training, but instead, I have been eating too much bad stuff that doesn't work well with my body!!

Refined carbs and sweets are just not my friend!! I feel tired all the time!!

Wish me luck while I try to get rid of them from my body :)

I'm planning to cleanse for one week. I did it before, and usually I see my energy level increase by day 3. I will keep check of the progress and post it here on my blog.

Until then, stay safe & healthy.

Namaste~~

Fun day with my kids :)

Today, my children woke up in the morning and wanted to go to little Tokyo! So here we go...

Strolling around in Tokyo town & bought some Japanese snacks
that they love! Nick got a Totoro & it is so adorable!!

Then we stopped by at our favorite Japanese restaurant for lunch :)

Afterward, we were going to go to a museum, but we don't have enough time, as they both have piano lessons later on in the afternoon.

But our day has been fun just doing what the kids want!

Cooking meat for my kids & husband :)

my friends always ask me: "doesn't cooking meat torture you since you're
a vegetarian?" I personally don't very tempted, as I do not have any interest in eating meat.

I cook meat for my family almost on a daily basis and for tonight, i made chicken (picture below).

I make meat and veggie dishes, and I just stick to the vegetable one. Sometimes, it's a trouble when my family decide to go out for dinner to a Korean BBQ restaurant where they serve primarily meat! In those cases, I just eat a salad! Or I stay home :)

Is it difficult when you need to prepare a separate meal for your family when you are a vegetarian or vegan or etc?

I still find it difficult, especially when we go out to eat. But it gets better when you are used to the idea...

1st day of their spring break vacation

Nothing much, just let them sleep in for a bit, woke up at around 10am & ate breakfast.

Then off to the dentist for check up and routine cleaning, both did well!

We then took them to their favorite Japanese market & bought some shabu shabu stuff & sashimi, came home & prepared dinner, ate at around 5pm.

Now they are playing some video game, then we are off to go to the park :)

Studying my dialogue for TT

I have gotten the dialogue for about two weeks now, but the memorizing is going pretty slowly :(

I'm hoping to pick up the speed and get the standing series down by this Saturday!!

So let's get to work!!!!

Baseball game dodgers vs. angels

At Nick's baseball game and all the children are having fun!

Is winning important? I always tell Nicholas that as long as he tries his best, that is all it matters. Participation and experience are more important.

I think we all learn something by being a part of an event or activity. I am learning to be a better parent, a team mom, and much more.

xoxo :)

What Bikram yoga has done for me...

I practiced years ago and stopped. I started again in around 2010 & have recently been practicing on a regular basis. Yoga provides healing power and it hurts, but my teachers call it good pain.

When I try to stretch my body out, I feel pain from pulling and compressing. No shooting nor sharp pain though.

Somedays I feel energized, others weak and lazy. No matter what I feel, everytime after class, I usually feel better.

Regular yoga practice has given me better skin, stress relief, heals aches & pain, and be more pleasant toward life and others and much more!

What do you do as a sport? And what has it done for you? I'd love to hear your story :)

Spring Break :)

Good morning! It is spring break vacation next week for my children & they get a week off! What are you planning to do with your family when there is some free time? We are thinking of taking them to some educational field trips & some yoga...

Have a safe & fun spring break!!

First class at headquarter, love it!

Today, I went to headquarter and took Emmy's class!! Amazing!! The first time ever that I did not anticipate in the 90 minutes practice.


Emmy is so GOOD and very experienced!! The class was full of wonderful yogis and awesome energy. I can't wait to experience it again...


I practiced with some of the best teachers and two from the studio I practice out of daily. Thank you Inga & Sachie!! 

Bikram Yoga Teacher Training Spring 2012

hi, my name is Jacquelyn, I have been married for over fourteen years and have two children, worked in the insurance industry for about ten years, and have always thought that insurance would be it for the rest of my life. That was until about three years ago, when I stopped working and stayed home to take care of my kids. Aside from taking care of my family, I went back and started practicing yoga...


I have always wanted to be able to go to training, and today, when it is actually happening... all I can say is that I am grateful for all I have in life, friends and family and...


16 more days!!! I will then begin teacher training, very nervous and at the same time, NERVOUS!!

I believe this is going to be a life changing experience. With the help and support of my yoga mentors and family, my dream is actually coming true. Thank you and I love you all!!!

The training lasts for 9 weeks. I am lucky since this time's location is local, so I get to go home and see my family on weekends. 

More posts on my training life to come... being new to blogging, please do let me know if you have any ideas or comments that can help me better my blog, thanks!