Standing on the shoulders of giants, amplifying the work

This triple Tuesday was fantabulastic. The 8am started with a taped dialog given by the previous owner of the studio who has since passed away. His name was Chris, I met him outside of Bikram, and most of what I remember of him was that he was a giant and told a story of some kind of really strange training thing he went to (sounded more like a cult) where some guy stood on his shoulders. I remember thinking that this guy was probably wackadoo, but he was a very nice guy so hey, to each his own. Now I know this was teacher training and it was Bikram standing on his back as he touched his forehead to his toes and yes, wackadoo would be one way to describe it. During his dialog he talked about maintaining stillness and called it amplifying the work. Everyone has at least one thing they say in their dialogue that sticks with you, this was his for me. The 10and 6pm went well, and after the 6 ended there was a torrential downpour. It was a wonderful feeling to walk out into the cool rain and just stand in an alley, barefoot in a puddle, arms upraised, and amplify the work.

Jealousy

I should know by now never to answer the phone on the way to yoga. I have a friend from Maryland who I haven't seen in 10 years, but who I talk to regularly who called me this morning at 7 am to discuss the current girl her boyfriend is allegedly spending time with and how much she hates her.
I tried to explain that at some point almost everyone has to learn that there is no point in being jealous of other people, especially other girls in the same situation as you. I told her to think of it as they are all waiting at different stops for a bus for which none of them can decipher the schedule, if anything this is reason for empathy, not hostility.
Needless to say, she didn't think my analogy was a good one, and being that girl fights are the national pastime on Kent Island, I'm sure she is somewhere, as I type these words, shedding blood.
Jealousy is a scary thing, and hard to get out of once you get cocooned in it. I haven't been able to entirely eliminate it from my scope of emotions yet, but these days it has shifted from other people to other people's yoga outfits, or yoga accessories, and back bend ability, and today The Queen of Yoga was not at class, so I was the girl with the coolest LULU LEMON outfit on, BIG GOLD STAR FOR ME!!!! However, the instructor to my right in the first class, (who I affectionately call Gumby due to his flexiawesomeness) had the full allotment of today's jealousy supply, during all of the back bends.
The worse part was I didn't even have to look, I could feel his exemplary back bend energy vibes radiating out, flowing onto my mat, snickering and whispering "You really can tell she hasn't been coming enough lately". This is how my brain works, its not Gumby I am jealous of, its the damn cool kid back bend energy vibes who come over to the edge of my mat and whisper and snicker and point their finger at my self conscious, wimpy back bend energy.
Now ladies and gentlemen, there is a new flavor of jealousy/insanity/insecurity about displays of spine strength I bet you never heard of before.
Oh well, I guess its better than waking up early on a Saturday morning and stealing the farm pickup to go over and beat up Jeanie Ann...

The Shoe Fairy, Thank You Gifts, Friends

Today I got two pairs of beautiful amazing shoes from a lady in my class who I will call The Shoe Fairy (she is more like a bad ass/diva/new yorker/yogi/ with amazing taste and humility, but that dosnt exactly roll off the tongue). I am not usually really excited about shoes but these are amazing, and they fit perfectly, and now, I have to find many excuses to go out and wear them. I suddenly realized I have many many people to thank these days, in the last few months I have received so much support and goodwill and gifts and encouragement and praise and on and on, that I am frankly overwhelmed and a little embarrassed. I spent all class thinking of ways to thank people, like giving them cards, disco tickets, any children I may ever have, swearing to never stand them up again, but really, there are a few people to whom a card or a gift will never convey the extent of my gratitude.

I was talking to my friend today about moving to Panama after I finish my masters, and I realized, when I originally came up with the plan to go there, I was going to get away from here, or what I thought was here. I hated Sarasota and all the fake people and all the hypocrisy, and now I realize I was leaving to get away from my own unhappiness(and some of the people). Now, when I leave, I will miss Sarasota and many, many people in it, so while I'm here, I am going to enjoy every moment of it and every one of my friends. Part of me is even looking for a reason to stay.