Today is Tuesday, August 25th, 2015. We are in the second week of a Third Series Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training with Tim Miller. Here is a brief recap of today’s events.    6:00am Pranayama ~ Seriously challenging! At the Bhastrika, Surya Bhedana and Chandra Bhedana segment the breath holds were clocking in around 45 seconds. I figured this out because I could hear the second hand ticking away. I started to wonder why I was having so much challenge today. I stated to count the ticks as the clock went around and realized, yes, Tim seems to be pushing the edge a bit further out.

  
7:00am Led Primary Assist ~ I had the opportunity to help assist in the Led Primary class that Tim taught this morning. I really enjoyed working with the students from the training and I am learning so much by watching the assists the other trainees are using. 
8:30am Hanuman Chalisa ~ Today we had Tim on Harmonium and guest musicians on, drums, guitar, acoustic bass and I played the ukulele. The choir was enormous and it was absolutely amazing. At the end Tim said, “We should have recorded this one. That was epic!” It truly was so much fun and a complete inspiration.
9:00am Mysore Practice ~ I felt really good today. The energy in the room kicked up a notch and it felt like the students were pushing the limits a bit. I had this feeling like we were all encouraging each other to put more effort into our focus and that Tim was orchestrating something quite wonderful. I feel like I am working harder than ever but in a relaxed way. Hard to explain. It just feels comfortable in the room.

  
12:00pm to 5:00pm Teacher Training ~ I am so sore right now I can hardly lift my arms up. Every muscle is worked to the nth degree. We covered the poses, Viparita Dandasana, Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana, Viparita Salabhasana, Ganda Bherundasana, Hanumanasana, and Supta Trivikramasana. If trying to read those words feels like a foreign experience, all I can say is doing them out of the sequence of the mysore practice is like an exotic escapade. It is an adventure in to the far reaches inner terrain. I am trying to be funny because I feel giddy right now from working my body and mind so intensely. You get so sore that you forget that you can hardly move and you just keep moving. It actually feels quite liberating. It is a very sweet soreness. We got to sing another Hanuman Chalisa after the break. This somehow neutralizes the intensity of the experience.
6:00pm Sunset Surf Session ~ This is not a part of the curriculum but I decided to add it in. It is the best way for me to absorb all of the info and experiences of the day. When I got to the beach it looked smaller than yesterday. I went out and had so much fun catching some baby waves. The swell began to build though and the sun set on the horizon and it was magic.
Today Tim read a quote from the book called Hanuman by Vanamali which said, “We cannot choose our life but we can choose how we live it.” Everything about this quote speaks to me of truth. It leaves the door wide open for us to decide how we would like to view our present reality. We can make excuses and blame others or we can take responsibility and rise to the challenge. This quote encourages us to accept the past and to choose how we would like to interpret the reality of this moment. The beauty is that is a choice that is up to us.