“Half the spiritual life consists in remembering what we are up against and where we are going.”
-Ayya Khema, “When the Iron Eagle Flies”
When to begin yoga practice?
December 18, 2007 at 11:52 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: health, start practice, when, yoga
I’ve completed the in-class portion of my certification, and am taking time to complete the practical portion. Meanwhile, I’ve heard many people who told me that they aren’t ready for yoga. It really frustrates me to hear that and just today, I read a great article that summarized my thoughts and gave me a good idea of how to advice people who think that they aren’t good enough for yoga.
The author wrote:
“The point is that yoga helps us find balance in all areas of our lives; we’re not supposed to arrive in yoga class as a fait accompli. We’re supposed to show up ready to take a journey of transformation, whatever that may be. Everyone comes to the mat with a different imbalance, but everyone is working on something, and it is the act of getting on the mat that points us in the right direction.
A dear friend of mine began practicing yoga at the age of 37. She had always avoided it because she thought she was too stiff and that she didn’t have a “yoga body.” After several months of classes, she made a remark that I have never forgotten. She said that on the days she does yoga, she consistently makes better food choices, and these choices come naturally because she is calmer, more centered, and more fully in the present moment.
To me, this observation is the essence of the impact that yoga can have in all areas of our lives. I encourage you to disregard your friends’ advice and find a class that lets you begin to experience yoga’s extraordinary potential. You may need to experiment a bit to find the class that is just right for you, but I am sure it will be worth it.”
Clamouring for Self Love
September 17, 2007 at 9:58 pm (Uncategorized)
What is this? This is very unusual for me to be down for so long. I tanked my first take at teaching a pose in class yesterday, and my morale is a bit down, but I know that it’s stupid to be affected by something so minor. I was the one who decided to throw myself under the bus because I wanted the experience and feedback, because I’ve never taught any sort of physical workout before. It’s very different from sitting in front of the computer and generating lines and lines of instruction like I do at work. I admit that I did not practice my lines, given the madness of the weeks leading up to yesterday, plus I tried to be radical (maybe too creative??) with my instruction by asking the students to stand in Tadasana and lunge back and pivot the heel down to get into Warrior II. See how easy it is for me to just write the “keywords” of the instruction out here, but when I was up there, I was lost for words.
I told myself that I would accept everything, good and bad with open heart. Although, I should have known that I was emotionally fragile yesterday because I was tempted to just lie in a coccoon in the bed and skip class yesterday due of being depressed and stressed.
Anyway, it’s already Monday and I don’t know what’s bugging me. I am still trying to feel positive about yesterday’s failure. Right now I am feeling a little regretful about being a teacher because, I totally suck at it. I should just stick to writing stuff online. 
Very stressed out
September 17, 2007 at 4:48 pm (Uncategorized)
I’m very mad at myself. Since I’ve been back from my grandmother’s funeral in Malaysia, I had been swamped. I had been trying to catch up with the homeworks due for the RYT program, and since I had been gone all last week for my grandma’s funeral, I had’t had time to finish my readings to complete the homework. Our apartment lease is also coming up, and we’re supposed to be moving across the border when our lease is up, so that I can fulfill my Canadian Permanent Residency requirement. I have spent all my time between homework, work and looking for apartments/houses and scheduling visits all week that I hadn’t had much time dedicated to my asana practice. I had only been to one class on Tuesday, with Elizabeth at Rising Sun per my classmate Jessica’s suggestion. The class was rather slow-paced for me, but not to say that I hadn’t learned from Elizabeth. She is indeed a great teacher and “adjuster”. On Wednesday I went to Bally for a quick run and Powerflex class. On Thurs and Fri I had been scrambling to complete Lesson 5 homework and beat myself up for not having gone to Micha’s classes on both days. It is not Saturday and I was supposed to go to Susanne’s class and I was too exhausted this morning to get up for class. I woke up slightly after class started and felt terribly guilty for not going to class. We have a full day today, looking at 12 places in Windsor from 12 to 8. Yesterday, I have created checklists to guide us through selecting the right place, printing maps online and routing our visits from one place to another. All this work made me feel extremely guilty for not going to the yoga classes but I can’t help it. Andy hadn’t done much throughout the process and our time is running out fast. Nonetheless, we did find a place that we like at the 11th hour. I hope that we get that place so that I can go on progressing with my yoga practice.
