I'm pretty sure that is how much I consumed today when I returned from school. Four very large water bottles now sit empty in my room and I've only peed once. It's defintely hotter today than it has been. I'm not uncomfortable, but I do change my clothing a few times a day. I also have spent some good down time washing my tank tops in the bathroom sink every night just so I have cleanish clothing for the next day.
Friday ended my first week of school. I love my classmates and my teacher. I really feel fortunate to have such a great group of people to work with. And we do WORK all day. Not crazy "must keep going" hard, but we give one another genuine feedback and keep practicing until the postures feel right.
Thai massage, like Chinese Medicine is an art I will spend the rest of my life learning to be better at. Very little is recorded in writing from the Masters so you just have to keep coming back to learn more and grow. I wouldn't mind making a pilgrimage here once a year to keep learning. I feel very at home with the people I have met who are studying Thai Massage. I'm in a bit of heaven actually because I finally have fellow Ashtanga lovers around.
Although I'm only a foe Ashtanga person at this point. I went to a Master teacher the other morning after not doing this practice for at least a year and it was HARD. It was not only hard because I'm so inflexible, but hard because it's the type of yoga that forces your mind to be with your breath and your body the entire time. I'm not so good at that in general, and even when I was practicing 4 times a week years ago I still wasn't very good at it.
The teacher, William led three of us through two hours of asanas. Thank god it's so fucking humid and hot here or else my body could not have survived the posture corrections. At one point William, a 6' and built guy, laid over my body in downward dog--feet to head. He didn't hold back either using his weight. He put his hands on my achilles to push my feet flat one the floor. I think on a good day of yoga my heels brush the floor!
I haven't gone back. I'm too scared, and it's also too difficult to leave there at 8:30am (starting at 6:30am) and get to class at 9am on the other side of the city--aside from then spending 8 hours working my body more in difficult positions. I will say this though, Thai Massage is going to force me to go to yoga because I will not be able to do half of the things I'm learning unless I am flexible.
Tomorrow Ahm, my class teacher is going to spend the day teaching a few of us how to make Medicine balls and compresses. I am so excited!
