*updated 7/19/10*
You want to know more about me?! Hmm. Okay, then.
Here's the quick history of me and Bikram. I was a ballet dancer for many years and I had taken many other types of yoga classes before I stumbled on Bikram. I took my first Bikram yoga class during the summer of 2004 when there weren't any ballet classes nearby and I was looking for some "extra exercise." I went to classes off and on for the next few years (in my very limited spare time) until I quit ballet in August 2007. I did my first 30-day challenge (30 classes in 30 days) that September, at Bikram Yoga Boston/Harvard Square, and the rest was history. I couldn't stop going! My studio owners somehow convinced me to compete in the New England Regional Asana Championship that November, and that turned out to be an incredibly positive experience. I spent every free minute at Bikram Yoga Boston, Harvard Square and West Roxbury (on Tuesdays).
One of my friends from work went to the teacher training program that Fall, and I pored over her emails and pictures from Hawaii. I KNEW that I wanted to do that. It was only a question of WHEN?!
Instead of going to the next teacher training course, I ended applying to grad schools and moving out to California for an engineering program. (I got my undergraduate degree from MIT in Materials Science and Engineering.) I enrolled in a Ph.D. program working on semiconductor engineering, did that for a couple years, didn't love it. To make a long story short very short, I hate lab work. I was bored out of my mind and the yoga was calling my name. Very, very loudly. I was driving 200-mile round trips to LA on a regular basis just to take a class or two with Bikram or Emmy. I was having dreams about becoming a teacher. There was no choice!
I finally dropped the Ph.D. program and finished a Master's degree in January 2010. I went to teacher training from April - June, 2010, in Las Vegas. Bikram told me once that he thought he deserved an honorary Ph.D. (of course), but that all of his teachers were his Ph.D's. I told him that I'd just gotten MY Ph.D. in Dialogue. He liked that.
I am now teaching Bikram yoga full time - living the dream, baby! - and my only goal is to teach, teach, teach, travel, teach, practice, travel, teach, and KEEP LEARNING. There's so much to learn, still. I will keep using these pages to share my stories and ideas, so buckle up and join me for the ride!
You can view my blogger profile here, which includes a massive list of blogs, most of them related to yoga and/or teacher training.
Feel free to email me at lockthekneeblog@gmail.com!
