This experience has not come without challenges. They have crept in continuously and have not been easy, but there is no where else I'd rather be facing challenges. I have never experienced such presence in my day to day life—so I have seen myself honsetly in every step of the journey.

There was the whole lice fiasco (still finding nits in my hair -_-), and general soreness all over my body from the asanas, then I got scammed by an ear cleaner man, I somehow pulled the intercostal muscles in my ribs so it hurts when I breathe deep or use my upper body muscles (=all yoga practices), and then the virus from hell struck down upon us all.

It started one morning when my roommate said she had been up all night with indigestion and ached everywhere. I went upstairs for pranayamas and saw that at least ten others from our group were out with the same mix of high fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, and overall aches and pains. We thought maybe it was something in the food, but soon more and more of us kept catching it until there were almost 20 of us hit with it, including myself.

I was feeling feverish the night after Emma got sick, and I layed in bed with all my clothes on and three blankets, just wide awake and shivering until around midnight when the bathroom runs began. I even thought I was going to have it coming out of both ends at one point. I eventually did throw up.. everything.. the next morning. I could barely move but somehow dragged myself to the bathroom what felt like every 5 minutes for that first 12 hours. Then it slowed a bit, but I felt so deathly ill. I wouldn't have wished this virus upon my worst enemy.. I was absolutely miserable.

Needless to say that it really threw off the course for myself and the others. We have all been slowly coming back to life, attending more and more classes each day, but never straying far from a toilet. It hit simultaneously with a challenging time in the course, where we are expected to have all the information mastered and have preparation done to begin teaching classes. There's so much more to teaching yoga than I had anticipated... knowing how to start and end the class, which asanas are best for the students in front of you, the modifications for each pose, where to display for each one, the different adjustments based on the student's level, keeping track of the breaths and what the upcoming positions are, etc. etc. etc.

With all of this bearing down, I really started getting down on myself, feeling disconnected and homesick and had an overall negative demeanor. Which was a total 180 from the start of this journey... but the reason I say there's no where else I'd rather face these things than here is because only here am I able to be so deeply in touch with myself and the growth I'm experiencing. I have a support system of knowledge and peacefulness from everyone around me and it inspires me to push through the challenges and observe the process with a deeper awareness. Now I'm feeling more optimistic than ever towards my upcoming experiences, and I know that with the right mindset I'll be able to overcome anything that's thrown my way.