Go Where the Good Training Is

Sometimes I make things way more complicated than they need be....

I have two main practices....kettlebells and Bikrams yoga....anything else is a bonus. Yes, I walk at least 30-45 min+ twice a week and I also have on my schedule an Iyengar yoga class twice a week, which is a new addition (Mon & Fri), but my main training is spent on the first two practices. In the three days of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I total at least 6 hours of kettlebell ballistics. Sun, Mon., Wed. Thurs. and Fri., I practice Bikrams yoga, sometimes double sessions (I only take Bikrams off Sat. and Tues).

Recently I've had a love/hate relationship with Bikrams yoga, but that's another story.... This story is about how I overcame a stupid obsession about saving a buck $.

I live close to at least 5-7 yoga studios that offer Bikrams yoga classes....high quality problem! Which studio should I have my practice at? One offers this, one offers that.....location, price, convenience, consistency, heat, etc.... How could I spend my money in the best way? How could I save the most amount of money? If I'm only thinking about money $ then I must be out of my mind.....

The average monthly UNLIMITED CLASS memberships are around $100 bucks a MONTH (give or take a few $$), and considering I charge $90 for 1 hour PT then what the hell could I complain about? Good God! Sure, I'm not getting one-on-one personal attention, but I am getting 90 minutes of someone else's time, someone else paying for heat and humidity, someone else paying for the water, soap and shampoo I use after class, and someone else paying somebody else to clean it all up! High quality problem! With great relief I decided to own as many unlimited memberships at as many studios that I wanted! Small price to pay for piece of mind.

so now I have a choice of 4 studios....owning some kind of membership to all....

Without a doubt one studio particularly has consistent teaching (leading), consistent heat (freakin' important), and convenient schedule.....but it's location is twice as far. Twice as far means 15 minutes further away and therefore further back home....again, am I crazy?

Many of my regular students drive 20+ minutes to get to Palo Alto where Girya is....do I appreciate it? You bet I do! Bottom line? Go where the good training is, because let me tell you, good training is few and far between! I appreciate the time and effort some of my regulars put into showing up every week, sometimes twice, three times a week to train with me...seriously guys THANK YOU! Once I realized that I could afford not trying to save a buck my life became that much easier. If you think about all the crap you spend....no waste money on...let's get real here.... I often compare it to a large pizza! $20+ bucks for one freakin' pizza that does you no good, but yet you never blink an eye at the cost. Within one months time how much $$ money do most people spend on convenient foods?

I decided my main Bikrams yoga membership will be at Bikram Yoga Mountain View. Newly opened by owner Cynthia Wehr. I chose this location and studio for my main practice even though its further away, 30 minutes total time there and back, because of the studios consistent teaching and consistent heated environment. The new showers, locker rooms, and Brita water filters are a bonus. I do own 3 additional supplemental Studio memberships but it's a small price to pay in reality to what I value most.

What do you value? What price would afford you piece of mind and consistent health?

picture above: Bikram's "floor bow" alongside Mountain View Bikram Yoga Studio owner Cynthia Wehr. I chose to ask Cynthia to demonstrate alongside of me for this pose because it was Cynthia's example of "floor bow" that I recognized what I was lacking.....

One day in class as I was kicking up in this pose I couldn't figure out why it seemed as if my feet were so far out of my vision. I could see in the mirror that I was kicking as high as some of the more advanced practitioners but I still couldn't see my toes. It was at this time in class, by chance, I looked over and and noticed Cynthia's floor bow.....her neck extention was so much greater than mine.....ah-ha! The neck extension! Not the leg extention! I started to focus more on stretching through my chest (ribcage) extending all the way to my neck (chin). Within a couple of months I saw my toes, and that was over one year ago...next? My entire two feet!

Learn from what the best do naturally! Oh, and go where the good training is...small price to pay.