Doing yoga & Staying young

Raquel and I have been chatting about students perception towards yoga and the meaning of it. A lot of the issues have been raised since the latest news released about yoga as a religion. Some people think Sun Salutations has gestures in it that seems similar to other forms of religion. The gestures in yoga are called mudras, meaning 'seal' in old indian sanskrit language. The mudras are similar to reflexology which helps to stimulate organs in certain parts of the body.

Anjali Mudra is the most commonly used gesture in yoga (As above with the hands). The gesture seals the energy in the body, inducing a sense of awareness in yourself.

The Sun Salutation Pose, also known as Salute to the Sun and Surya Namaskar, is a flowing series of 12 poses which help improve strength and flexibility of the muscles and spinal column. This pose also warms up the body and tones the abdominal muscles. Virtually, all parts of the body, especially the thoracic and abdominal organs are exercised and rejuvenated with vitality. Traditionally, dawn and dusk are considered the most auspicious times of day to practise yoga, as the rising and setting of the sun both charge the atmosphere with energy. However, if these times are impossible for you, just practise when you can.

If you are interested in what sun salutations look like, then view http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yogapractice/sunsalutation.asp

Yogic practices stresses on regulation of breathing which helps the yogi to gain control over the life force within the body as well as outside. Synchronisation of the breathing is an important constituent of the practice of Hatha yoga. In Surya Namaskar, the different postures when correctly practised, appear rhythmical, one naturally leading to the other.

There are always going to be ongoing comments about yoga and it's affiliation to religion. The way I look at it is everything is connected to religion. It's as if you would stop doing Tai Chi or Kung Fu just because it was initially practised by the buddhists. Be mindful and be fully aware of what you are practising. If you don't feel comfortable, then fine, stop.

Hatha and Ashtanga yoga are regular performances of combined postures and practices that has been clinically observed by the medical practitioners throughout the world to enhance overall health and both prevent and reverse disease. Yoga is often referred to as "the fountain of youth" because there is clinical evidence that it slows the aging process and promotes long life. Symptoms of aging, such as wrinkles and a poor complexion, are caused by poor circulation of the blood, allowing metabolic waste products or toxins to build up in the system. Through the practice of the yoga asanas, blood circulation is restored and the metabolic waste products are washed out, resulting in a more youthful look and feeling.

Here's a favourite pose of Christy Turlington, 32 year old celeb, looking great, doing Kukutasana.

It must be fate

It must be fate. Peter was planning to take me to the Empire Hotel two nights ago. But plan was void since I didn't finished till late 8.15pm on the Thursday and we didnt' think it would be worth the $300 night stay. I was disappointed but Peter took us to Charcoal for a nice meal.

Our plan for the Friday was just to spend the day together since it's been hectic in the last two weeks for us. Thinking it was going to be a nice relaxing day, my mum knocked on my door (yes, long story, we live as one big happy family in one house...... :0) ) and told me dad was unwell. I didn't have time to even brush my teeth. Yes, lucky me, I had peppermint sweets in my handbag. Took dad to Gleneagles and good ol' Dr Patrick said it was a false alarm. I was so relief. I wasn't prepared to have dad being in hospital again. It was strange to be back in the hospital but I didn't felt I missed anything. Perhaps reminiscing the friends I used to work with. Yeoh, if you are reading this, please be sure to tell Eileen we made the right moves.

Then thinking I was going to have a peaceful lunch, I had more errands to run through. I think I would have burned more than 250 calories running like a lost chicken.

The afternoon went on okay, and Peter decided to take us out to Country Patch after the ordeal of the day I had. I have never been there and am impressed with the setting. Very 'Nosebag' restaurant Oxford like setting. I ordered Ice Cuppuccino (ya, after the day I had, I didn't think twice about the sugars) and Salmon Pasta. Just when I was digging into my food, my handphone rang. It was my sis from UK telling me my mum was taken ill and my dad was on his way to hospital. Okay, you may think me heartless, but I was super hungry and stressed after the call, I shuffed and scoffed 5 scoopfuls of the pasta into my mouth and scurried quickly to my car to meet my parents in A & E.

Mum looked pale and completely 'off'. She felt nauseas with pressure at the back of her left eye. When the nurse took her vital signs, I was already diagnosing my own mum. Mum has been anxious in the last two weeks and the event of the day just set her off. So my guess was anxiety and not having enough rest. Waited in A & E for nearly 2 hours, and then was seen by the doctor. Yes, he too diagnose the same and told my mum to take it easy.

FATE, I didn't go to the Empire Hotel as I won't even have stayed there longer than 9hours. FATE, I used to be a nurse so I didn't feel too panicky about my parents situation (I could be a hysterial woman screaming at nurses and doctors for my mum to be seen first within 5 minutes) . FATE, I married a wonderful husband who understands and supports me . FATE, glad I had a quick dinner before the two hours wait. Hospital food not my 'cup of tea'. FATE, I am a yoga teacher now, all the deep breathing Ujyai breaths really helped big time.

Hitting 30's and making a resolution

Birthdays are usually not a big deal in my family. I always think age is just a number, and Peter still says I'm a child at heart. Ya. I can be when I'm around friends I'm comfortable with. Anyhow, point is, my birthday is just around the corner, and lately, I have been thinking........why do I put on weight more easily no matter how much I cut down on my cakes and biscuits? When I used to be a nurse, I always told my patients enthuastically , eat more vegetables, eat more fruits, go exercise, lose weight,...etc. The look they gave me was 'I'm ready to kill this psycho nurse'.

I have put on a bit of weight around my waist, hips and thighs. No matter how slim you are, you will always notice this small changes. Peter says I'm vain. If I am, then the whole entire world would be too. There isn't a person out there I don't know that isn't uncomfortable with certain parts of their body. Think is, I don't take it too far with being too overly body conscious. But what bothers me is the slow metabolism that's heading in my direction and that's a real bugger!

I used to be able to eat piles of food and still not put on much weight. Now, it's like I have to pay back big time if I slip one cupcake into my lunch box. Bummer!

Sooo, I have been rethinking what I could do to boost up my metabolism......rethink what I used to do back in my 20's. Voila! !!!! DANCE DANCE DANCE.........so, am really blessed Raquel is around with the latino aero dance. I don't like jumping around alot but the latino dance is a nice moderate/fast pace. Just imagine walking down the street while dancing. That's how it feels like doing Raquel's workout. Gees, I hope I have done her justice trying to explain what latin aero is.
And I think the weight is slowly shifting . It's not easy to lose weight in Brunei since the food choices are more restricted to heavy meals like rice and noodles with lots of meat. Plus, we don't walk around in Brunei as much. I felt it was much easier losing weight in UK since I walked tons from the house to the town center. There were more variety of wholesome sandwiches and salads to choose in coffee shops and restaurants as well.

So, even if I'm doing yoga, I realise the rest of the days consist a lot of eating, laptop work and napping. Plus, it's a hot country and I'm not drinking enough to flush out my system.

Weight is always an issue, otherwise it won't be a health problem if it wasn't. I don't think you have to be stick thin to be pretty. The hollywood starlets all look gaunt, drained and starved. I think being atheletic looking is the best way to maintain a healthy body. A nice curve to a woman's body looks more appealing. Plus, you survive much better with more meat if you were in a prison camp or war.

So, before the start of next year, I'm already making my resolutions, and one of them is be more active and to keep my butt off the chair.

Little Pleasures and Surprises

Hi everyone,

Haven't been blogging awhile. Had been unwell as well for the past two weeks and managed to recover in the last few days. Ya, a lot of gunk came out thru' the nasal passage (hee! hee! being polite and all). But what a luxury it is to be able to finally breathe thru' my nose again. What other stuff have I been up to? Well, lots of lying in bed, watching Weeds in bed. Pretty funny and not for 'young' eyes to view. I rate it parental guidance.....

So, what else? My birthday's coming up and am hoping I will have an Abba karaoke night. Pete's dreading it. Love Meryl Streeps in Mamma Mia. Been playing the tracks in my car a lot on the way to work. On my wishlist, to do scorpion pose without the wall, have a 'magic' yoga mat that cleans on its own each time I use it, get new reading glasses, to get more sleeeeeeeeeeeepppppp, ....there are more, but I don't dare to put it on the web yet. Have to get it first,...ya, how sad, I am getting it for myself, (from me to me gift) and then let ya know.

Ps.....I have a new instructor, Raquel who's just joined me at Seraphina. She's really cool, able to do yogalates, cardio workouts and aero dances. So, if you're interested, do join us for some fun!!!! I have placed her timetable in the website. It's so nice to have some one to be 'there' to practice yoga with. Plus I FINALLY get to be a yoga student again in Raquel's class. WOOHOO!!!! The little pleasures I find in life. Ahhhhhhhh.....


Well, see you later alligators.............xoxo :P

Yoga Outing at Tasek Lama

Candy C. doing the handstand with me in downward facing dog.

Me, balancing in upward (or downward :P) bowpose with Peter. And yes, my fear of heights is still there.

Is Yoga a religion?

Referring to the article placed on Borneo Bulletin front page on the 30th October 2008, I felt compelled to clear the misunderstandings of what people actually think what yoga is all about. As a yoga teacher, I am always asked if yoga is a religion in its own. My answer is ‘no’. It is seen as a religion or cult by some due to it’s origin from India within the Hindu culture in 8500 BC to 5500BC. Or for some, as early as Indian civilization in 3000 BC. Yoga in old Indian Sanskrit language means the union of the body and mind. It helps you become more aware of your body’s posture, alignment and patterns of movement. I practice hatha yoga which is a compilation of different postures that stretches, strengthens and tones the body. It makes the body more flexible and helps you relax even in the midst of a stress stricken environment. This is one of the foremost reasons why people want to start practicing yoga- to feel fitter, be more energetic, be happier and peaceful.

Yoga is a science that has been practiced for thousands of years. It is consists of ancient theories, observations and principles about the mind and body connection which is now being proven by modern medicine. Substantial research has been conducted to look at the Health Benefits of Yoga - from the yoga postures , yoga breathing , and meditation. Yoga has been beneficial in three parts-physiological, psychological, biochemical effects. Furthermore, scientists have laid these results against the benefits of regular exercise.

In the last two or three decades, when yoga was introduced to the modern world, it was received with some scepticism. At first people thought that it was another religion. But in spite of this, young people took up yoga and soon others began to notice its amazing effects. Then the psychologists, medical doctors, criminologists, and philosophers started making investigations and they were surprised to find that yoga is not a religion but a science

Yoga is not a religion—remember that. Yoga is not Hindu, it is not Mohammedan. Yoga is a pure science just like mathematics, physics or chemistry. Physics is not Christian, physics is not Buddhist. If Christians have discovered the laws of physics, then too physics is not Christian. It is just accidental that Christians have come to discover the laws of physics. But physics remains just a science. Yoga is a science—it is just an accident that Hindus discovered it. It is not Hindu. It is a pure mathematics of the inner being.

I personally practice it as keeping fit and healthy is important to me. I do not chant mantras with my students as I am only interested in sharing the beneficial physical and psychological aspects of yoga. There are choices, just as you would do if you were practicing karate or kung fu. Just because you are interested in the benefits of the physical aspects of it doesn’t mean you have switch over to another religion due to its origin. Did you know kung fu was created by an Indian monk named Bodhidharma?. Bodhidharma invented a self-defense art called Eighteen Lohan Hands based on the movements of animals he saw in the mountains. This he taught the Shaolin monks so they could protect themselves from wild animals and bandits.

He also created Yijinjing or Muscle-Tendon Change Classic, a series of yoga-like movements to develop qi flow so the monks had more energy to practice Zen.

If you like to more about Bodhidharma, click http://shaolin.isilkroad.net/articles/how-did-zen-and-kung-fu-originate

So really, if yoga is discriminated as a religion because of it’s affiliation with its origin, wouldn’t the rest of other yoga originated forms of exercise such as pilates, kung fu and tai chi be seen as a religion too? Just like martial arts in its different forms, yoga comes in different practices too. As far as I know, most of the yoga teachers in the south east practices Hatha yoga, which most of the time doesn’t include chanting mantras.

Here are some physiological benefits of yoga exercises
Posture improves
Strength and resiliency increase
Endurance increases
Energy level increases
Weight normalizes
Sleep improves
Immunity increases
Pain decreases
Steadiness improves
Depth perception improves
Balance improves
Integrated functioning of body parts improves

I hope this helps clears out the misconception people have about yoga.

Tasek Lama 2nd November 2008

I hardly slept last Saturday, praying hard the rain will stop by 5am. But it didn't by 5.30am and I had to text everyone to cancel the outing. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Nevermind, we have postponed the outing to this Sunday on the 2nd November at 6.30am. So, if you are interested to join us, let me know. See ya later alligators...... :P

Hoorah, the weekend is here

Ahhhhhh, Sunday's just around the corner. I love Sundays. Even if I have to get bright and early at 4.30am to get ready for our yoga event at Tasek Lama. But I am looking forward to it. Jen and Fui have been around at the studio today and we were thinking of doing some photo shoots by the waterfall after the session. It was fun messing around the studio, figuring out what poses we could or couldn't do. The lessons today were fun too. We did some partnering poses and played around with some arm balancing poses. That's what I love about yoga, we can explore our inner selves while we are meditating and practicing but the best part is to have a laugh with it too.

Besides yoging (if there's such a word as that.....oooooh, just googled it and there are people using the word 'yoging' for practicing yoga), have been lazing about in the studio, watching movies on the laptop. Meet the Fockers was funny. Love Barbara Streisand and Robert DeNiro. They are such good actors! I wasn't very keen on Max Payne. Just thought some parts were very weird and not much of a storyline to follow. Very confusing in the first part of the movie. Embarassingly, I have been watching Gossip Girl. As much as I don't like the title or the thought of it, I bought it since there wasn't much new movies about on the big screen. But so far, love the series. It's very teenage like but ahhh, who cares! I think I'm still childlike at heart most times.

Now at home, having finished dinner. My dad cooked dinner and he made some Japanese Sweet Potatoes with salad, a big pot of home made pumpkin soup (Peter's favourite), and yum yum........he also bought me some 'tarap' ......ahhhhhh, spoilt for choices.....

Well, am going to sign off and watch The Rock with Peter. ................see ya later, alligators.........

Gorgeous boys, Max & Gabriel

My nephew Max, playing hide and seek.

This is Max with his recent haircut.

This is Max's little brother Gabriel at 3 months plus. He is absoloodley gorgeous.

Making it into your own practice

Teaching yoga for less than a year and I am learning so much not only from my own practice but the students too. I watched them and have seen their own made progress from each and very movement they do. It's not the arm balances or the number of headstands they do, rather it's the focus they have from one pose to the other. Last night the students practiced their postures well with their breathing techniques. Each breath taken was synchronised with their movements during the vinyasa flow.

Breathing in deeply and effectively into and out of the poses helps mobilise the joints, muscles and spine more fluidly without jerking or overstretching any parts of the body.

I used to practice in the house garden in the evenings before taking the practice to the studio. It was nice breathing in fresh air into the lungs, just doing 3 rounds of sun salutations. It made such a difference to the day I had. During the practice, I found it important to bring awareness into how I moved with my breaths, at the same time, enjoying each and very movement I did without rushing into the next pose.

So, do enjoy what you do in yoga without having to feel you need to achieve a certain 'standard'.
It's a gift to yourself to remain supple and healthy, not a competition or a sport event.

See you soon in class again