Well, somehow I ended up in Acapulco, Mexico… AGAIN! The Fall 2018 Bikram Yoga Teacher Training was going on and my friend Andrew, who went home during week 1 of my training but who I stayed in touch with and became great friends with, was attending and graduating. I had debated visiting, weighing pros and cons and making it overly complicated before I finally booked tickets. I had friends from my training there and figured I had nothing to lose. A good resort/yoga vacation sounded wonderful.
This was my 3rd time in Acapulco and each time, going with a different perspective: once as a guest, once as a student, and once as a visiting teacher. The city, especially the resort, felt like home by now.
Wednesday, November 28
I finished packing early in the morning then made my way to Dad’s house to drop Elliott off. I will forever be grateful to not have to pack contact solution anymore!
Elliott ran around my Dad’s house looking for him, my stepmom, and/or my stepsister but no one was home. I snuggled him goodbye and drove myself to the airport. My Dad usually took me in the past but he suggested I become a real adult and drive myself and park in a lot. Plus, that is cheaper than an Uber. I signed up with FastPark and shuttled over to the airport.
If you are a regular reader of my blogs, you know that I ALWAYS print my boarding pass. I will check-in online/on my phone but still print the boarding pass when I get to the airport. I feel more comfortable having a printed version than I do having it on my phone. Call me old fashioned? Anyway, I never use a mobile boarding pass but for some reason, I did this time. Not surprisingly, IT. DID. NOT. WORK. I was the only person in the security line (so much for TSA Pre-Check) and had to turn around and go to the gate to print my boarding pass. Sigh. That is what I get for trying to be modern.
Aeromexico did not have a kiosk so I had to check in at the counter. The lady made me check my carry-on bag, claiming it was too heavy. Apparently, the limit was 22lbs and mine was 32lbs. I really did not want to check my bag because I did not want it to get lost in Mexico City when I changed planes; I do not trust airports! There was no other option though so I obliged and moved on with my life.
No one was at the airport. It was only 11am but the international gate was empty. I video chatted with Lidia for a quick minute (she graduated with me from training last year and was already in Mexico!) and exchanged my USD to pesos. I continued my Law & Order SVU binge on HULU until it was time to board and texted with Steven. I definitely got there too early and had a long wait but I would rather that than be rushed around or stressed out.
I fell asleep almost the second I sat down in my seat on the plane. There was no one else in my row so I made myself quite comfortable and was out like a light. I missed the snacks, drinks, everything. The 2.5 hour flight obviously went by fast!
The Mexico City airport is a nightmare but I was so used to it by then that I navigated it like a professional. I recalled my first time being there and feeling panicked that I could not find anything or read the signs. I hate feeling lost. Not anymore, though! I had not eaten since breakfast but opted to wait on getting a snack; it was a short layover and I knew I was going to grab dinner with the group when I arrived in Acapulco.
The flight to Acapulco ended up being slightly delayed but we eventually boarded. It is such a nightmare to fly to Acapulco because you have to ‘board the bus’ that drives you to the plane and then board the plane from there. It is always a hassle. Luckily, my seat on the plane was near where they load the luggage and I saw my bag on the conveyor belt so I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. The flight to Acapulco is a little less than an hour so I passed the time by reading a book and was sure to be awake for snacks and drinks!
The Acapulco airport looked AMAZING. It was so different from a year ago; completely remodeled and modern. I had to re-learn where the baggage claim and taxi area were but the place is small so it was not difficult at all. The resort is very close to the airport so the taxi ride was short and cheap. I was SO excited when he turned onto the long driveway leading up to the lobby.
My plan was to mooch off of Lidia and her friend and stay in their room until they left Friday night and then move to Andrew’s room for the last 2 nights. That way, I would not have to spend money on a hotel room. A few nights before I left though, I had a nightmare about getting murdered or something ridiculous happening to me and no one at the hotel having record of me staying there. Plus, I was making it complicated and difficult in my head about having to change rooms and everything so I ended up booking my own room at the very last minute. The room was 40% off so it was not too terrible of a price. Anyway, I tell you that part of the story because when the taxi pulled up to the gate, the gate guy looked up my reservation! Had I not had my own reservation, would they have let me in?! Whew.
When we turned in, I was so overcome with feelings and emotions and memories. I wanted to cry! I immediately connected to the WiFi and messaged Lidia and Andrew that I was there. It was 7pm and they were just getting out of the evening yoga class. Everyone was walking through the lobby in their yoga clothes and hotel robes while I waited to check-in and I eventually saw Lidia and her teacher friend, Alex (Alexandra), from back home in New York. I saw other people from my graduation class, too: Marilu, Angie, and Tom. Manali recognized me. I embraced everyone’s gross, sweaty hugs (and y’all know I am not a hugger so that is just how happy I was!).
Lidia said we were going to eat dinner at Tavola (what we called ‘the Italian place’ during my training; Lidia, Maryla, and I ate there just about every Saturday night) at 8pm so once I was checked in, I headed over to my tower to my room. The bellhop tried to take my bag and help me but I politely informed I was overly familiar with the place and knew exactly where I was going. I passed the awesome swings, the flamingo, the swans, and Chula Vista as I made my way to the elevator. There, I ran into Andrew! Good timing.
I settled into my room and got changed/cleaned up for dinner. Lidia, Alex, Tom, Marilu, and I had dinner together and it was so wonderful. The trainees usually ate in Chula Vista (the hotel buffet) but were treated with the fancier Tavola that night but we did not want their food and we opted for a private table with a waiter. The waitress recognized Lidia and I from last year! She was our waitress every week and she welcomed us back. Some things never change.
The 5 of us ate WAY too much food but I had not eaten since breakfast so I was starved. We chatted and caught up for a couple of hours and reminisced about our time there last year. As the trainees all trickled out for their evening lecture at 10pm, we enjoyed our dessert and the fact that as visiting teachers, we did not have to go with them! It was so nice to be ‘on the other side’ of things! I loved catching up with everyone but before we knew it, it was nearly 11pm so we said our goodnights and headed to our rooms.
It was weird being in my room without Leah, my roommate from training. I texted her to tell her how much I missed her! The room was quiet so I read myself to sleep and anticipated the next day’s classes and lectures.
Thursday, November 29
The morning yoga class started at 8:30am so I woke up with plenty of time to get ready and walk down there. The weather was cold and rainy and I was a little disappointed that my room did not have a robe for me to wear down to the hot room like I did every day last year. Bougie! When I got there, Tom was already there stretching. He told me not to bother to sign-in (whoo hoo) and to grab any extra mat for class. He warned me about some mats being “too short” so I went on a hunt. I found one and claimed my spot in the hot room on one of the front lines. I did not WANT to be in the front but for some reason, they made week 9 of training the re-certification week so all teachers had to be in the front. Oh well. Tom came to put his mat next to mine and you know what? I had grabbed a short mat! Exactly what he told me NOT to do. I found a NEW mat and got settled in, ready for class with my friends! It was great to hear Manali and her classic catchphrases again.
Anurag taught. It was my first yoga class in a week and a half (I had been sick) so it was a slight struggle but I felt good. The room was fairly cold which was a shock because it was never that cold during our training. Apparently, some of the morning classes had been like that throughout their 9 weeks this time. Ignoring the temperature, it was really comfortable and energizing to be taking class with 100 other yogis! I loved getting to practice with my friends and the trainees. Anurag remembered my name and corrected one of my postures which caught me off guard. Not that he corrected me (I am not perfect) but that someone knew my name. I was never a ‘stand out’ at my training so I never feel ‘memorable.’ I sometimes have self esteem issues, lol.
After class, I ran into Manali again and she officially welcomed me. She told Lidia and I that we needed to go to lecture in the afternoon to introduce ourselves. I was hoping I would avoid having to do that but when Manali says do something, you just do it.
Lidia, Alex, and I decided to go to the Beach Club to get a burger. We cleaned up and met in the lobby but apparently they did not open until noon. Because I did not book my visit through the ‘Bikram package,’ I did not get food vouchers for Chula Vista. That place is expensive so I told Lidia and Alex to go ahead and use their vouchers to eat and I happily went back to my warm room. I was not very hungry anyway so I ate a protein bar, read my book, and took a short nap before lecture.
At noon, we all headed over to the lecture hall. Memories! It was overwhelming enough to be back in the hot room earlier in the morning but to be in the lecture room again was oddly nice. I busted Lidia for wearing green (no green!); a rule we had all completely forgotten about. Luckily it was just her sweater and she could take it off or I bet Manali would have made her change clothes before Bikram arrived.
Me and a few other visiting teachers all took turns introducing ourselves in front of the trainees; our name, where we are from, when we graduated, some advice, etc. I was not as nervous as I thought I would be – I guess teaching on a podium every week managed to cure my stage freight a little?
It was definitely weird to be on the other side. I had 62 faces of all ages, ethnicity, backgrounds, etc. staring at me as if I could somehow say something magical to them that would make their lives be better. I remember BEING them though, and not that long ago. It was their LAST week of training, their second to LAST day before graduation – they were finished! It might have looked like they were listening but if there is one thing you get very good at during training… it is looking like you are listening but actually being asleep! I totally relate, guys. I had some things I wanted to say but panicked and do not even remember what came out of my mouth. I probably rambled. I survived and found my seat in the back row.
Tom escaped lecture rather quickly but somehow Lidia, Alex, and I got stuck. Bikram arrived in true Bikram fashion (late and blinged out) and we felt trapped, like we could not leave without someone saying something to us. So, we sat and listened to lecture. I could not believe I was listening to Bikram again in that room. The 3 of us laughed at some of the crazy things he said I texted Leah the whole time. We sneaked out about 2 hours into lecture during the commotion as they transitioned to posture clinic. See ya!
We sat outside at Starbucks in the lobby, talked, and split a giant bag of potato chips until it was time to get ready for the evening yoga class. I went to my room to change and oh. my gosh. my face was RED. RED. I had no idea why it was so red and why I was breaking out so badly. When I got to the hot room, I asked Lidia and Alex why they did not tell me my face was so red! Lidia said she did not notice (a lie, but I appreciate her effort) and Alex said she did not know me well enough to know if that was just how my face always was (incredibly fair point). GRR!
The mat I used in the morning was garbage. It was thick foam and made it super difficult to balance in the balancing postures. My foot had cramped up so many times. There was no way I was using that mat again so I found a bag of new mats still in their packaging that looked like the flat ones we had at my training and I opened one. I probably was not SUPPOSED to do that but that is what happened so…. yeah. Lidia and Alex busted me but then followed my footsteps and got ones for themselves, too. We tried to be sneaky but Tom caught on to what we had done the chances of someone else noticing too were fairly high, but no one else said anything. Oh well.
Lidia and I took the chance to do one of our famous photo shoots before class. Duh.
The evening class was with Bikram and the teachers were all in the front again. I was 100% sure he did not know my name but was hoping not to get picked on by him anyway. He catches everything and who knows how he will judge your practice! Luckily, he left me alone (and the room was nice and toasty). Class was very difficult and I was instantly sore. I forgot how tough his classes were! I was not trying to show off but there is something about being in his class that makes you WANT to work harder and hold the posture longer and push yourself. Class was long, as usual when he teaches. I forgot how much I missed his class, though. It might be tough and he might yell or whatever but he is still compassionate and it is nice to be pushed that hard. He played one of his songs during the final savasana and he sang along with it. The man is an oddball but boy do I love being in final savasana listening to him sing along to his music.
Lidia and Alex had an extra dinner voucher for Chula Vista so after class, I cleaned up and joined them downstairs. It felt like it had warmed up a little bit so I wore shorts but that was a HUGE mistake because the mosquitoes were a nightmare. It was, however, nice eating in Chula Vista again. Later in the evening, Tom joined us and we skipped the evening lecture and stayed up late talking. We closed Chula Vista down (they were cleaning around us!). I feel like I got to know Tom a lot more and it was nice getting to know Alex, too. We talked about our careers, lives, relationships, families, everything. For some reason, things started to click with me during our chat and I felt a new wave of acceptance of how my year had played out. For the first time in months I actually believed I was going to be okay again and excited for the opportunities and changes that are coming up.
It was a rainy, chill day and my body was tired from doing two classes. I read my book until I fell asleep.
Friday, November 30
I woke up feeling SOOOO sore. I 100% did NOT want to go to the morning class but I managed to pull myself together by reminding myself, “you did this for 9 weeks, you can do it for 2 days.” Oy. I started to get my yoga clothes on and realized… I was wearing green! Oops. Luckily, I am a girl who over packed and had another option. Manali and the staff would have really given me hell for that.
The weather was still cold and rainy so I hurried to the hot room to get warm. We lined up on the front row again and prepared for class. My body ached, I was exhausted. Bikram Yoga is very ‘mental’ sometimes so I made up my mind to shake it off and power through.
We were stretching and simultaneously all looked up and realized something at the same time: Jim was teaching. Jim! I have a very love/hate relationship with the guy. I love what he has to say. He is impressively knowledgeable and has great advice for us (once you get past some of the pseudo science). I wish I could record what he says and write down the little nuggets of information later so I can remember always. Love that. However… I hate holding postures for 5 minutes while he shares that information. He holds postures for so long. SO. LONG. It was exhausting. My legs and arms were shaking the whole class. I struggled a lot through class but managed. Did I mention my body hurt?!
Andrew and I were both wearing animal print so I snagged a photo, even though my face was still bright red. Also, I look like a very lush potato next to Andrew. He is not human.
Since our presence was not requested at the afternoon lecture, we took our time getting ready after class. I was suddenly very grateful to have my own room and get ready at my own leisure. Lidia, Alex, and I met at the Beach Club at 12:30pm to try to get burgers once again. It was chilly outside but comfortable. I was convinced the menu was different but they still had their delicious chips and salsa (they really have the BEST pico and their chips are heavenly) and burgers. I was pretty hungry and chowed down.
After lunch, we met Tom at Starbucks and hung out and passed the time. Andrew came by to talk to us for a little but which was nice since I had not seen or talked to him much since I had arrived. I had expected that when I booked my tickets (I remember what it was like to be on our last day before graduation and be so busy) but he felt bad and had spent a lot of time apologizing. If anyone could understand how he was feeling, it was me! You spend 9 weeks with these people and they become your world; I was not about to ask him to put them on the back burner to spend more time with me. It was not a problem but I was thankful that Lidia, Alex, and Tom were visiting also so I would have at least some company. Lidia and Alex were unfortunately leaving in the afternoon so we just tried to enjoy our last few hours together. We talked all-things yoga and I loved it, of course. Get any group of yogis together and there is always an instant bond and conversation topic!
Eventually, I had to succumb to my exhaustion. I needed to rest for a few minutes before the evening class (the FINAL class of their teacher training). We parted ways and I napped in my room. I met them back in the lobby before the evening class and we said our goodbyes! It was so nice to meet Alex and get to know her and I always love seeing Lidia and hate saying goodbye to her. We hugged forever, of course. They had gotten to Acapulco a few days before I did and I wished I had decided earlier to go and spent the whole week with them instead of just a few days. Sad! I will miss my Bikram Bestie.
Tom and I got to the hot room at 4:30pm, ready for the 5pm class. The trainees started showing up and taking pictures in their all-black outfits to celebrate their FINAL class of the 9 weeks. Tom and I sat back and watched them enjoy their moment. We tried to put our mats in the back row so the students could be in the front but the staff forced us to stay in the front because it was still technically “recert week.” Boo. We tried, though! We watched them hug it out and reminisced about our last class.
Eventually, everyone was photoed-out and ready for class but Bikram did not show up until close to 6pm! That means by the time class started, some of us had already been in the heat for 90 minutes. Tom and I were drenched. In true Bikram fashion, he surprised us all with something unexpected and started a dance party BEFORE class. He put on a song I cannot remember right now (but you can watch them dancing and hear it here) and started dancing with different people one by one. Eventually, the whole class was dancing. Tom grabbed me and we danced until everyone circled up (what you see in the video). A lot of the recert teachers and visiting teachers stood back and simply watched them soak up their moment. Tom and I are hiding in the linked video but we are back there!
Bikram finally got on the podium and made a casual comment about it potentially being the last teacher training for awhile so he wanted to celebrate before class, too. WHAT? How could he drop a bomb like that before class? With no additional information? Who knows if he was serious or not, though. Eventually class started and as you could imagine, it was a long one. We celebrated with the ‘last class Coke’ at the first party time. Tom brought me a can and despite not drinking soda, I took a sip anyway and actually drank probably half of it by the time class was over. Damn, it was a good Coke.
There were a lot of pauses and breaks for demos and we all survived. My group had played a few “tricks” on Bikram during class by singing and doing crazy things during class and this group had a lot of the planned. Some of them landed, some of them did not as much but it was a fun attempt! When class was over, the room went wild. They were pounding on the ground (as is tradition) and it was exciting! Bikram talked for a little bit but when he was finished, everyone started hugging and celebrating. People were crying. Flashbacks!! Again, Tom and I sat back and watched them. We were so proud of them! It felt like we had just graduated and brought us back to how we felt during our last class. When all was said and done, we had been in the hot room for just over 3.5 hours so as you can imagine, there were a lot of sweaty hugs.
Lidia and Alex had given me their last few Chula Vista dinner vouchers so I cleaned up and went downstairs for dinner. I sat with a few students and got to know them. They asked me questions about teaching and it was cool to be able to have those types of conversations with them. It was the first time I had the opportunity to get to know some of them so it was nice. They had to go to the final lecture though so as they left, the teachers gathered to eat and talk. It was just as nice to get to know some of the other visiting teachers, some of which I had known OF for awhile (or been Facebook friends with even though we had never met in person) so it was good to put names to faces and meet in person. We shared our experiences, studios, and teaching stories. It was fun! Most of them wanted to go to the final lecture though so they took off. Tom and I were the only ones who hung back and we talked for a little bit longer. I was so thankful Tom was there and I had someone to talk to. He had been there for 3 weeks and had gotten to know a lot of the students and visiting teachers as they passed through. I do not think I would be able to do this experience again for a full 3 weeks!
Saturday, December 1
I woke up around 11am after 12 hours of sleep. Yes, 12! It was glorious and I felt like a new person. I showered and since it looked cloudy out still, I put on regular clothes and decided to go grab a sandwich for lunch. As I walked over there, apparently the sun HAD finally decided to show itself in Acapulco so I quickly went back to my room and threw that swimsuit on. I had packed 3, ready to be in the sun all day/every day but it had been cold and rainy every moment so far. I went down the pool and enjoyed my sandwich and read my book while I soaked up as much sun as I could get.
Tom joined me and we chatted about all sorts of things and got about 3 hours of sun. It was so nice to be in the sun and I got a little mini-tan (hooray). I would have been okay by myself for the day but once again, I was grateful that Tom was there and that I had company! I did not visit training to spend time with any certain person or people, I went for myself. Selfishly, I was glad to have the company. He and I had socialized at training but never really got to know each other too well so it was great to have this opportunity. We shared our secrets from training and talked about careers, houses, traveling, everything. I opened up about all the big decisions I had to make in the near future and my long to-do list when I got home and he gave me the exact words of encouragement I needed to hear. He was taking 3 months to travel so after leaving Acapulco, he had big plans to travel around. How fun! I do not think I could go travel for 3 months at a time but I was still a little envious of adventures but super excited for him too. Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for graduation.
As I got ready for my THIRD Bikram Yoga Teacher Training graduation (I still cannot believe I sat through 3 of those), I thought about my graduation and the emotions I had. It still feels unreal that it has been a year already; sometimes it feels like yesterday and sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago. I have had so much happen since graduation… so many ups and downs… what a rollercoaster. My dress had green in it but I did not care and made my way down to graduation.
I messaged Andrew and told him to give me his camera so I could take photos of him during the demo (he made Demo Team!) and whatnot for him. It was still hot outside and I wish I could have spent more time at the pool and I suppose I could have skipped graduation and stayed in the sun but there was no way I was going to miss Andrew’s demo performance and see him get his certificate.
Graduation started late (not shocking – trust the process) and lasted a lifetime and a half. It seemed to go on forever but it was nice to hear their words of wisdom and encouragement and remind myself of all the reasons I wanted to be a teacher and why I love this yoga (even though sometimes I hate it/blame it for the bad things that happened this year). Andrew did AMAZING on the Demo Team and Tom and I cheered him on. I tried to record it from my seat on his camera but I was not sitting in the correct spot so it was tough to see him in it. He also won the Bengal Tiger Strength and got a fancy trophy and bouquet of flowers. What a superstar! I was so proud of him. He overcame so much to get to that moment!
I was Andrew’s personal photographer after the ceremony was complete and forced him to take photos with people. Guys are so bad about getting pictures even though they want pictures and in a moment like that where there is so much going on and so many emotions, there is no way he could remember to get photos. I forced him and he thanked me later!
At one point, Manali called for all of the visiting/recert teachers to get on stage and I did not go initially but then realized, “hey, that’s me!” and ran up on stage!
Tom threw a big party in his room last year and it was so much fun. He was ready for another big party and invited a few people to his room in the main tower (the nicer tower) where he had an AWESOME wrap-around balcony and view from the top floor. I told him 100 times to tell the students but he never did and I was the only one who showed up! More for us. We split a bottle of champagne and enjoyed the view. We finally made our way down to the special graduation dinner. They got hosed because it was at Chula Vista and the same food they had the entire time. Ours was Chula Vista food but at least it was out by the pool with a grill and live music. Theirs was definitely not special.
After dinner, Tom and I went to the bar. During our graduation, there were a LOT of people at the bar but this year’s group was much better than us and their bar was empty. We had 2 rounds of drinks and swapped some fun scandals and stories from our training. What a trip. Tom is amazing at carrying on a conversation and it was just so easy to talk to him! It was nice to be laughing and enjoying myself again, too. I could breathe and felt relaxed; it was nice.
We went back to his room and took a shot of tequila. Suddenly, there was a huge fireworks show outside and we definitely had the best seats in the house! It was awesome. We made our way down to the dance party next and danced with the students and other teachers for awhile. Their dance party was so different than ours! It just goes to show that every training is SO different than the one before it (but also so similar).
Once everyone was all danced out, Tom and I went back to the bar. By this point, there were a handful of other teachers/students there so we joined them and had another few rounds. Tom and I were the last ones standing and shut the place down around 2am. Neither of us could believe that we were the last ones standing! Where were all the students?!
Sunday, December 2
I lazily woke up, feeling crummy and tired. I had to get up and get going though as the shuttle to the airport was leaving at 10:30am. I packed, cleaned up, and got ready to go. Andrew came by my room and gave me a sweatshirt he got for me and we said our goodbyes as he walked me down to the lobby. We parted ways and then Tom joined me to say goodbye. It is always sad saying goodbye to people, especially after such a lovely trip.
The shuttle took me to the airport and I definitely got there too early because I had a lot of time to waste. They did not make me check my bag this time which was suspect considering I was forced to on the way there. I read my book and ate a muffin from Starbucks. There were students from training at the airport and I briefly socialized with them in line before boarding.
I read for the short plane ride to Mexico City. In Mexico City, I ran into Marilu and we split a pizza and got to visit during our short layovers. It was good to see her and get to say goodbye to her since I had missed her at the hotel.
I boarded the final flight home (fun fact: they gate-checked my bag!) and sat down next to my seat mate. I got my book out to read (I was really into this book! I had started it Friday after finishing my first one last Thursday night… I love Kindles) and he immediately started talking to me. Sigh. I politely engaged in conversation and every time I thought we were finished, he would keep it going. I shut my Kindle and finally embraced my fate. We actually ended up having an awesome conversation. We talked about all sorts of things but he got me started on yoga and kept asking more questions about Bikram Yoga and why it was the greatest and whatnot. Once I get going on yoga… no stopping! Especially if he was going to keep asking questions and was interested in learning more. We talked about health things and other exercises and before we knew it, we were landing in Houston. We did say our names but it was hard to hear him so I did not catch it. Before everyone “oohs and ahhs” over this – he was definitely way older than me and it was not a flirty meet-cute on a plane. Do not make something out of nothing; I know how y’all are (and while I am at it, I am just friends with Tom and Andrew too). Anyway, I think I talked him into trying out the Bikram studio near him in Meyerland and I hope he followed through and went! He was the nicest guy! I did NOT want to talk to him when I first sat down but it ended up being great. I needed that.
We landed in Houston and I said goodbye to my nameless friend. I grabbed my bag and made my way to the FastPark shuttle to get my car. It was almost 7pm and I was sleepy. My Dad had my flight info wrong and thought I was landing around 3pm so I turned my phone on to him worried about where I was. Oops.
I made my way to his house to reunite with my sweet Elliott and visited with him and my stepmom and stepsister for a little bit. The whole drive home, I talked myself into going straight to bed and NOT unpacking right away (which I always do) but not surprisingly, I ended up unpacking right away and starting laundry. Elliott and I crashed shortly after!
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I debated a long time if I was going to go to Mexico and visit Andrew and everyone but kept hesitating. Finally, I booked the trip and was so happy I did. It was such a great, relaxing, rejuvenating trip and exactly what I needed. I needed to be there at that time and with those people. I needed to be heard by my like-minded yogis and hear their words. They said and did nothing special but for some reason, everything resonated with me so much more although I cannot explain why. I needed to reset. My therapist told me I cannot keep going to Mexico to reset myself buuuuuuuut I respectfully disagreed (just kidding!). Who knows where the next teacher training will be (or if there will be one at all) and who knows if a visit to the new location will make me feel the same was as visiting Acapulco did. I might not always have training in Acapulco to visit but I will always have the yoga and I will always have Acapulco. I feel refreshed after the trip and in the week after being home, I went to yoga 5 times… the most I had gone in a single week in months. It feels great to be connected to the yoga again after feeling angry, empty, and broken for so long. I hope this feeling carries me through the holidays and all the upcoming changes into the new year!
Congratulations to all of the Fall 2018 class! I did not get a chance to talk to all 62 of y’all but I have no doubt you will go out there and be wonderful teachers and make a difference.
Until next time,
Jillian
PS – this was blog post #50!
jillian goes... 