Yoga at the beach

More about Surya Yoga at the beach. Surya means ‘Sun’ in Sanskrit. I thought of naming it just that since we’ll be doing at sunrise at 6.30am on the 21st September 2008. Practicing yoga out in the open, inhaling fresh air is much different from doing it indoors. So, if you do get the chance, try it out. We are raising money for the blind charity. Small to big changes are appreciated.

We’ll hopefully be having the event at the berakas beach (Reserve Forest. Along Jerudong Highway). Please wear white or black attire to blend in the photos. :0) Also, if each of us could bring a dish for the picnic after the yoga session.


Things you’ll need to bring for the day:

Yoga mat
Big beach towel
Water to drink for yourself
Extra clothes to change in (after yoga session)
Sun Block Lotion

Please note I have placed an earlier post on it in August. Look up on the left side of your screen under category Yoga in Brunei with subject, Yoga at the Sea.
See you there!

Did You Know This?

Reading through Women's Health Magazine, did you know that women who accept their bodies generally eat more healthfully than women who don't? In a study of 597 women (A research presented at a meeting of the American Psychological Association), those who agreed with statements like " Despite its flaws, I accept my body for what it is" were 42.5 percent more likely to follow intuitive eating principles (eating when hungry, stopping when full) and had lower BMI's than women who were dissatisfied with their bodies. Making peace with your belly may take time, but you can learn to eat intuitively now. To start, eat only when you're moderately hungry, not ravenous.

And, and, and, and, and........here are more facts and figures for some professionals on the number of steps they take in a day at work (a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise). They are...mail carriers 18,904....(not sure if that applies to Bruneian's postmen. I'm sure I saw our postman riding on his bike just the other day), Restaurant Servers with 10,087 steps ( erm, okay, I am also not sure if this applies to Brunei's restaurants. Maybe CheezBox.)
Nurses with 8,648 (well, I could agree on that figure if I was back in the UK in crazy St Mary's Hospital in London. However, in Brunei, I think maybe not unless you work in Emergency or really fast paced Intensive Cardiac Unit.) Lawyers with 5062 steps (Ummmmh, why did I even start with this write up in the first place? We all have pretty good cars to take us everywhere. Most times, we are always in the office right?) and teachers with 4726 steps. Okay, maybe that one I can agreee with. Just about.

HICK ! HICK!!

I had an early yoga session today and for some odd reason, I started having hiccups at the end bit of the session. It just won't stop. It was even harder to give out the instructions without adding the hiccups to it. Lucky me, it was time to relax in Shavasana. I laid down with the students and I took slow deep breaths, trying to keep calm at the same time. To my utmost surprise, it worked!!! The deep breaths were so relaxing as well, I felt so light and good.

Well, I went thru' Wiki How on hiccups. And some of the suggestions they had in it was absurd. Here are the 'How to stop hiccups?' in Wiki How.

1)Stand on Your Head Method

Gargle warm salt water for 30 seconds
Perform a handstand next to a wall (to prevent falling over)
Recite the alphabet backwards, while retaining a small amount of gargle-water in your mouth.
Enjoy hiccup-free condition.

2)Peanut Butter Method

Get a tablespoon of peanut butter.
Swallow the whole spoonful immediately, don't chew it or get it all slobbery. Please make sure you are not allergic to peanuts before attempting this, and be careful not to choke while using this method

3)Pencil Method

Fill a glass up with room temperature water.
Hold a pencil horizontally with your lips, keeping your mouth slightly open.
Drink the water with the pencil in your mouth. The air will flow differently into your mouth, causing the hiccups to stop.



4)Ear Method

Drink a normal-sized gulp of water, but don't swallow! Leave the water in your mouth. Pull down both your earlobes.
Tilt your head back.
Swallow.



5)Look Up Method

Pour a glass of any beverage and place it in front of you.
Wait for a hiccup to come.
Once you hiccup, drink the beverage while looking up. Don't look down until you've emptied the glass.

Okay, this one I learned from an ol' friend at work. She asked one of the girls who just couldn't stop hiccuping for nearly half an hour or so. She tore a small bit of toilet tissue paper and asked our friend to damp it with her own saliva. Then she got the poor girl to stick the tissued saliva between the eyebrows. Did it work? Yes, surprisingly, it did. I don't know whether it's just the psychological part playing the remedy or it was somehow connected to the saliva in the tissue. Go figure!

Friends and Family

My weekly om is this. Go With The Flow

Daily Om on the 29th August, 2008 was to synchronise with life. To see the bigger picture and to understand that our lives are filled with both positive and negative events. Once we can recognize that one event is neither more desirable nor better than the other – they all have an overall purpose in our lives, then we are truly ready to listen to the messages the universe gives us.

I think of the times when things just when completely out of control and seemed unending with tragedies and disasters. It may seemed I didn't deserve the situation
at that time. But when I look at the whole entire scenario again, I imagined what it be like if it didn't happened and where I'd be after.

For instance, I took a resignation to my nursing career at the beginning of this year. I was under a lot of immense pressure to work overtime 12 hours a day. Management at that time was laying a lot of medical responsiblities on nurses. To top it off, I was laughed at by people for wanting to change my career. They didn't understand why I would place my nursing career aside to become a yoga teacher. I probably asked myself that a million times. 3 years of university, 9 years of nursing experiences was a lot to release and let go.

I thought it through sleepless nights. I knew I wanted to do more than being in a 'hospital' environment. I felt I wanted to travel and share more of myself to 'something'. I wasn't prepared to work in an environment where nurses were suppress in thoughts, words and actions (My previous workplace was just about that). I wanted much more than nodding heads, ' Yes, mam' ' and 'Yes, Sir', . I wanted to say ' Yes, world'. So, I took a deep breath and handed in my resignation letter.

Starting out as a yoga teacher wasn't easy. Raised eyebrows and mockeries came along with the new found career. I carried on, following my own dreams. Hoping for the best.

Now, with a studio I can see my past career as a nurse has not been discarded aside as a yoga teacher. I feel I have more insight to students past medical history and their physical limits.

The bigger picture was it didn't started off easy to become a yoga teacher. But the previous workplace with low staff morale played a part in my decision making. If it wasn't there I wouldn't have thought too much to change my career. The initiation to take courage in becoming a yoga teacher has only made me stronger in person.

So, yes, even events that might not at first seem to be related to each other are indicators that the universe is working with, not against, us. This idea of synchronicity, then, means that we have to trust there is more to our lives than what we experience on a physical level.

A Nurse & Dear Friend

2 years back, Carol and I started out in ICU at the same time. We both went through a lot and was at the point of 'quitting' when the pressure amounted too much. We made a 'pact', not to quit till two years later. Just shortly after 2 years and abit, I left ICU. Four months after my resignation, Carol called me yesterday saying she too left our previous workplace and was heading back to the Phillipines. Felt really sad she was leaving Brunei. But I guess, that's part of life, to move on. Will miss her lots.

The Yoga Manifesto

There will be no correct clothes
There will be no proper payment
There will be no right answers
No glorified teachers
No ego no script no pedestals
No you're not good enough or rich enough
This yoga is for everyone
This sweating and breathing and becoming
This knowing glowing feeling
Is for the big small weak and strong
Able and crazy
Brothers sisters grandmothers
This mighty and meek
Bones that creek
Those who seek
This power is for everyone
Yoga to the people
All bodies rise


Yoga + Joyful Living Nov-Dec 2007

Shivers down my spine

Watched Untraceable last night with Pete after our late night dinner. It stars Diane Lane as an FBI investigating a website on which victims are subjected to fatal ordeals involving cement, sulphuric acid and lawnmowers. The more people click on the site, the faster the victim dies. The film was slow in the beginning, Pete's eyes were already half close by that time. It got interesting half an hour later and the story reveals the killer's identity within 45 minutes. The film was interesting but the killings were grotesque. I felt sick in the tummy again. Such imagination with the killings, it sent shivers down my spine. The film didn't interest Pete, he was fast asleep before the film ended. So I guess besides the gross parts, the film is watcheble.

Yoginis at Seraphina

Had a nice day today with the students. Morning started off with Sun Salutation with Zana. It was refreshing to start at 6.30am, sun rays coming through the windows. We flowed with all the warrior and balancing poses. I think it’s not so much about how long we hold the poses that makes yoga enjoyable. It’s the friendship and the company you keep as both teacher and students. I love the flow of Sun Salutation even if I have done it a 100 times in one week. Perhaps Zana feels the same way too, she has such focus and endless energy to hold the pose. I like her grace when she does it.

Then came afternoon session with the beginners. I had Mei King and Sidah. It was good to run through in details on the poses. I got to work them through the ones they weren’t too sure about. We also got to look through Iyenger’s Light On Yoga. Telling them about the 8 limbs of yoga, and how it all relates to ourselves outside the class. It was a good chit chat before and during the session. I should call it Little Tea Time Yoga !

I decided to go full steam ahead with the 5.30pm session with the Intermediates. They did a lot of balances and poses that works with the heart chakra. I think I was the one that was puffed out cause I had my words all jumbled after 30 minutes. My brain, I think, was a little steam train trying to keep up with pace the students were doing.

Ahhhh, now I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Hmmm, maybe Pete will prepare a nice breakfast on Sunday….you think? …………Sigh

Warriors and Princesses

(Stardust 2008)


Warriors and Princesses,
Heroes and Villains,
Fairies and Trolls
They’re stories of us all
Precious in a moment
To courage and bravery in the next
From moments of magic spells
To ugly tales of gore, misery
And broken bridges


Wizards and Witches
Saints and Unsung Heroes
Kings and Jesters
They’re stories of us all
Wishing and Wanting
Saving and Sacrificing
Battling and Conquering
Till tis’ very day

Unsung heroes
Like you and me
Journeyed thru’ all our lives
As Kings and Queens
Of our own fairytales
To venture into life’s mystery
Fated by our own destiny

Live ! as you would in
Dreams of legends and tales
Of yesterday and not so long ago

Live ! Our sacred journey awaits
Not so far away
So, come live and fight
Love, cry and laugh
Give me your story
And we can both tell
Our true adventure
Our dream
Our world