JON CAGAS: On a mission to Mysore

En route to India, Jon Cagas is in town for a stopover. We yogins over at UP have been very fortunate and privileged to have him back even just briefly. For those who don’t know him yet, Jonathan Cagas implemented and taught the yoga program at the UP College of Human Kinetics some years ago which he relinquished in 2006 to teach at a private university in the Emirates. Last year, Jon enriched his training with a 200-hour intensive in the Centered Yoga Institute in Thailand under Paul Dallaghan and Neil Barker plus a 100-hour advanced course on hatha yoga and pranayama with Sri O.P. Tiwari. In August, he will begin practice at the pre-eminent Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (AYRI) which was established by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois who has put Mysore on the world map. Tim Miller, David Swenson and John Scott are some of the high-profile products of AYRI. Before the end of the year Jon, along with Tesa Celdran of Pulse Yoga, will join the ranks of Bela Lipat who have trained directly under Pattabhi and will now most likely also learn from Sharath, grandson of Guruji and heir apparent.

While here, Jon has been refining and polishing our practice. In the Mysore tradition he began Day 2 (first day was Saturday, June 28th) with a chant then started counting and calling out the poses in Sanskrit. He emphasized the relevance and relation of proper breathing, root locks and gaze to executing the asanas. We must experience tristana, he says, or the union of ujayi, the bandhas and dristi. He also scrutinized for us Suryas A and B making adjustments in the way we performed every single vinyasa in both Sun Salutations. In the past two days under his guidance, I have already deepened my practice beyond what I thought I could achieve.

I fell in love with Ashtanga Yoga when I first tried it during the Summer. The nature of my job makes self-practice almost impossible. So I have been feeding my interest in Ashtanga with research. I may be familiar with the techniques in theory but in practice, I had been clueless about, for example, how to negotiate my arms past my back or knees to bind and maintain the twist for Maricyasana. Not anymore.

We all received individualised instruction from Jon who honed our skills and gently coaxed us, boosted our confidence and with smooth, swift adjustments eased us into the poses. This naturally extended our class past the requisite 90 minutes, much to our luck. What seemed daunting before now made perfect sense as he revealed the steps to get there. That, for me, separates a great teacher from a good one.

Jon also has much more to impart than many other instructors. Having obtained a Masters degree in sports education from UP, he is well-versed on human anatomy and the key muscles of yoga. He is also a professional trainer certified by the American Council of Exercise (ACE). In short, Jon brings to the table a combination of Eastern philosophies and Western science which basically makes him well-equipped for Mysore.

Back to class at UP. Jon helped one of the senior Psych professors execute Maricyasana B, and as for me, he got me past that all through Maricyasana D. Whew! For a newbie, that should qualify as a major milestone (right?). Not even an Indian yogi at a popular shala could assist me with that set of asanas. Maybe next time we don’t have to skip Bhujapidasana all the way to Supta Konasana hmmm?

Before I get ahead of myself...watching Jon Cagas demonstrate the full primary series including Pashasana, Eka Pada Sirsasana and other poses from the intermediate series truly inspires awe and respect. Looking back at the journey of this 31-year old Ashtangi, he has also made his mark as a member of the flagship Team Yoga Philippines which sought to bring the yoga boom beyond exclusive Makati to places like the UP gym. With its pared-down, no frills quality UP has attracted university professors, mountain climbers, former ballerinas and Elsa, my classmate, who is a monk. Should he come back to the country and to UP after AYRI, then hopefully we will see more aptly-trained Ashtangins north of the capital.

Jon ended our session with a chant which was offered in gratitude to both teacher and students to celebrate mutual learning. I went home with a sense of tranquility, suspending all apprehensions that tomorrow I would have achey, “Mysore” muscles.

Jon with his students in U.P. and current teacher Joji Balcita whom he trained.

Mysore Workshop with Cathy Broda at Yoga Manila

Cathy Louise Broda, the first female authorized ashtanga teacher will conduct a Yoga Hands-On Adjustments Intensive at the Yoga Manila shalas in Makati and Alabang from September 26th to 28th.

Cathy Louise Broda has been teaching Ashtanga Yoga for 18 years and was authorized by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in 2000. She teaches Mysore-style ashtanga as well as Pregnancy and Mom & Baby yoga at her studio, Purple Yoga Hawaii in Honolulu. She has three young daughters, including twins. Cathy Louise previously taught at Triyoga in London, and assisted John Scott before leading her own Mysore classes at Ashtanga Yoga London.

During her 18 years of teaching Ashtanga, Cathy Louise has become known for an intuitive touch that can transform your practice. For this weekend intensive, she will teach how to give and receive safe and sure adjustments. Cathy Louise will also share her perspective on the three types of students and the different ways to work with them.

This workshop is open to teachers and students of any style of yoga (students who wish to understand more about their own practice will benefit greatly from learning about hands-on work). It will be broken down into the following modules: dancing with the sun: Suryanamaskara A & B, from the ground up: building energy in standing poses, moving into stillness: vinyasa & the seated asanas, including a Mysore class with Cathy on September 29th.

The hands on workshop costs USD240 which also covers lunch on Saturday and Sunday. PhP700 will be charged for her Mysore class. Please visit the Yoga Manila website for more details.

Yoga for Bloggers at Vinyasa Yoga Center

In the words of Pattabhi Jois: “Practice, practice, practice and all is forthcoming,” Guruji said referring to the secret to perfecting the Ashtanga Yoga series. I am an Ashtangi trying to cultivate a daily practice amidst the demands of work and mommy-hood. I attend a Led Ashtanga class every weekend, but the closest I have come to practicing the asanas everyday is viewing them on YouTube, posting the Ashtanga mind maps on my blog then mentally executing them. So you could say I have developed a “practice”, albeit a theoretical one. Enter the Yoga for Bloggers event held at the Vinyasa Yoga Center in Ortigas last Saturday evening, June 28th. I have been frequenting the blogs of Jane a.k.a The Yogini from Manila and Chona (The Journey of a Yogini), without announcing myself until last week when they whipped up this one of a kind event together with the dynamic Blog and Soul team of Juned and Jayvee--Yoga for computer-based professionals (bloggers)—brilliant! I think I was the third blogger to sign up and qualify for the free class.

As I stepped into the VYC shala, I was warmly greeted by Jane who handed me her personalised Yogini business card and Chona who like myself uses a Gaiam mat. I also met Juned, Minna the lovely VYC directress, VYC regular Trin, and fellow bloggers and shutterbugs Carl (thanks for the photos you sent me, Carl), Cookie and Chat. All in all, there seemed like almost 20 participants.

Jane introduced the group to resident VYC instructor Pio Baquiran who launched us into a yoga routine tailor-made for bloggers. He had us stretching our necks, shoulders, backs, hands and had us do eye rotations while prompting us to breathe “in and out”, and within minutes I felt like I had just spent an hour at the spa! It was amazing how relaxed I felt especially coming from a week of chasing after deadlines at work. What was so gratifying for me was the realisation that I could actually perform this short set of exercises at a quiet spot in the office.

Pio then moved on to a simplified Hatha Vinyasa Yoga routine that I could instinctively follow being an Ashtanga practitioner. Having been thrown into the athletic Ashtanga practice initially because of proximity (the gym nearest my house offers Ashtanga), I lacked the critical foundation that the moderately-paced Hatha Yoga—the origins of many yoga forms including Ashtanga—provided. Pio’s abbreviated Hatha Vinyasa workout focused on achieving proper alignment as much as possible while breathing in the ujayi manner inherent to yoga. By the close of the finishing sequence I sat on my mat, completely calmed and decided that with Hatha Vinyasa yoga I would be well-grounded for my long-term Ashtanga practice.

That said, I knew I would come back to VYC not only because the organisers gave everyone three more free yoga sessions at VYC, nor because my husband works in the building across the street, but because I am eager to learn more from Pio and soak up the warm and welcoming atmosphere at VYC. I mean, where else can you find a shala that teaches yoga then hosts a delicious vegetarian dinner after complete with an eggless leche flan dessert (meal prepared by the in-house yogi Pio), and finally sends you off with a health and wellness loot bag??? Now that’s service de luxe! With the talents and efforts of Jane, Chona, Jayvee, Juned and VYC collaborating on this unique event, I’m really looking forward to what they’ll cook up next.

Salut guys!

(some photos courtesy of Carl Valenzona)