Chic Yogi: Maritoni Rufino Tordesillas

It was a welcome respite to see this incredible photograph of one of my YM teachers, Maritoni Rufino Tordesillas in today's Inquirer. Dressed in chic and casual clothes she posed in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana. Maritoni was also photographed in heels and a Michael Kors top doing Hanumanasana--too bad the paper's online version didn't post it. Click here to read the full article by Rina Silayan-Go.

A principal dancer for Philippine Ballet Theatre, Maritoni was hailed by critics as a “versatile, wide range actress,” having “turns securely centered,” and “one of the finest dancers this country has ever produced.” She is memorable for her roles as Cio Cio San in "Madame Butterfly", Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet", Kitri in "Don Quixote", Odette in "Swan Lake" and Giselle.

Maritoni discovered Asthanga Yoga around the same time she retired from ballet and established her Danspace school in 2000. By 2006 she graduated from the Centered Yoga Institute in Koh Samui, Thailand under Paul Dallghan and became a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance. A mother of two, Maritoni is also one of the founders of Yoga Manila.

Santosha

As a treat before taking off for the holiday, my teacher worked with me on my drop backs. After weeks of practicing backbends, I felt I still wasn’t prepared to be dropped back, but Peachie Kilayco (above) is the type of teacher who rewards students who are diligent and practise hard. Of all my teachers, I think she knows me and my practise best. She has spotted my enemy poses and helped me overcome them while introducing me to new and challenging postures. I also love the nuggets of information she shares while calling out the poses during our Led classes as well as the neck massages she gives during Savasana.

After Peachie lifted me up from the Wheel I was struck by a rush of elation, almost euphoria. Peachie explained that the backbend is a “happy pose” which invigorates and releases endorphins into the bloodstream and along with inversions and such postures as the shoulder stand or headstand alters the flow of blood, lymphatic drainage and cranial sacral fluid. This increases the availability of oxygen and glucose in the brain required for the production of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin collectively known as the feel-good neurotransmitters.

But I was still silly-happy days after my practise. In fact, I’ve been feeling supremely serene lately. I came to realise that I may be experiencing contentment or santosha which is cultivated by finding happiness with what you have and who you are according to the eight limbs of Patanjali. Santosha is one of five niyamas in the eightfold path of yoga. Niyama is inner discipline and responsibility. The other niyamas are austerity, purity, study of the sacred text and living with an awareness of the Divine.

It’s nice to know that yoga has positively affected my life on both a physical and emotional level.

Yogi poetry

Lyn does it during Ladies' Holidays,
Sasheen, when she's feeling under the weather.
Allen, to clear her nasal passage ways,
Methinks doing it will make my bum knee better.
Ashtanga Yoga, this is not.
But gentle yoga in a room that's hot.

Clayton Horton Mysore workshops at Yoga Manila

It was intimidating to say the least. Towering over 6 feet, Clayton Horton himself let me into the Yoga Manila Makati shala. The director of the San Francisco-based Greenpath Yoga glanced at the clock, silently chiding me for my tardiness and seemed to worry about where to put me in the crowded studio of 17 practitioners.
Maritoni Tordesillas graciously made space for me at the far end of the room. There were four other YM instructors attending Clayton’s Mysore workshop: Hoze Arando, Peachie Kilayco, Cherry Du and Kitty Arambulo. I arrived only 30 minutes late so it made me panic to see a number of people already dropping back. In my trepidation, I somehow erased the primary series from memory. I must have skipped 10 poses and stopped at Navasana. Maritoni had to remind me every so often what asana came next which made me feel like a major pain for interrupting her practise.

Upside: getting that warm, fuzzy feeling from practising beside my teachers; finding inspiration from watching them doing 2nd series poses like Dwi Pada Sirsasana and Pincha Mayurasana; seeing my friend Allen Enrique grasp her shins for 5 breaths in Urdhva Dhanurasana (woo-hoo!); and best of all--Clayton Horton’s gentle and painless adjustments especially for my enemy poses Marichyasana D and Supta Kurmasana.

Downside: workshops are usually packed and run for a limited period, so try to learn as much as you can as not everyone may get adjustments. Most importantly, DON'T BE LATE.