Cult of personality

(Written after two weeks of Yoga death camp in Sept. 2007)

"Are you sure you’re not joining a cult" my mom asks just days before I am to leave for Bikram’s yoga teacher training in September. She wasn’t the only one, people I loved and cared about looked concerned for me; they didn’t like Bikram for one reason or another. They didn’t like the heat, the consistency of the postures, the man’s overwhelming extravagance and demeanor that seems condescending towards women and people in general.
Stupid idiots!
I had some of the same fears. Yes, I love the yoga and I never feel better than when I’m doing it, but beyond that I really had very little idea what I was getting into. But, I went and I had a positive attitude and I told everyone who doubted what I was doing to support me in the decision I had made.
So it turns out I did join a cult. But they call it a "family" and all the members are so amazingly beautiful and flexible and healthy and vibrant and fun. So far I have not been asked to sign or pledge to anything, or drink any liquids except electrolyte replacements.
No Kool Aid.
So my cult is fairly positive and inspiring and the mission of the devoted followers is to go around the world and "lock the knee. Lock the knee, lock the knee!"
Realistically the goal seems to be to connect people throughout the universe with a common thread of self-realization through the physical body, practicing the yoga, the spirit, focusing on the self, and the mind.
Mind control is probably the biggest lesson I’m learning in the cult. My guru (self) and the others here talk constantly about mind over the matter. And believe me, when you’ve done 20 yoga classes in half as many days in a room heated to about 115 degrees and you’ve been up until 2 a.m. listening to lectures and then up again at 6:30 to get ready for the a.m. class, there is a definite need for mind control. First, convince the mind to convince the body to get out of bed. Convince the mind to send positive signals to the body about the upcoming experience. Convince mind to shut up, when you feel like you are a pot roast on a low setting leaching vital juices out of your skin. Shut up the mind that tells you to sit out a posture, or fall asleep in the lectures -because you really need it and you paid for it!
Shut up the mind that tells you, "I can’t lock my knee. I can’t kick my leg out. I can’t extend any further…" So, yes, mind control is a big one.
We are 300 people sitting in a large room night after night in the lobby of the Illikai hotel in Waikiki. Elvis stayed here in the 1960s, Bikram says. He knows everyone and he doesn't take any shit. I like him. He has a personality. He is alive and on a mission to promote Bikram yoga throughout the world, and this teacher training shows that he is very successful. There are people from so many different reaches of the world. I am traveling and learning about other cultures, but just staying in one place. Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany, Norway, Canada, Chili, Peru and so many from all parts of the U.S. We are all here because we believe we can help spread the word. Hallelujah and praise the (locked) knee!