Beauty-full light welcOMes all

The most beautiful shala in Manila, in my humble opinion.

Not only because of what has been lovingly given and shared. The altar table, flowers, the lotus paintings and stunning tourmalinated cathedral quartz make this shala and its altar a place of tranquility within the city.

But mainly because of the people who built this shala with the purpose of creating a hOMe away from home.

For Becky:  "This is yoga .... this is stillpoint .... this is oneness ....blossoming from the heart...
everything is still, your mind is still ... there is peace … everything is ‘empty’ ... in this state you are open to infinite possibilities, infinite expansion ... anything is possible."

 

 

Learn the timeless and beautiful practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga from the expert yet gentle and nurturing hands of  Rebecca De Villa who completed Levels 1 & 2 certification under John and Lucy Scott at Stillpoint New Zealand. Read her "How I Tamed my Fears and found Stillpoint" article. Becky is joined by teachers Karen Magdangal and Edith Tobias. Reach your unlimited potential at Stillpoint Manila. Om.

 

630am m,tu,w,th,f mysore sp (self-practice)

10am tu,th beginners led

4pm tu,th beginners led

4pm su led/mysore sp (not for beginners)

630pm m,tu,w,th led/mysore sp

Contact Stillpoint Manila to book a class:
stillpointmanila@gmail.com

or cell No: 0927-976-0666

photos taken by Karen Magdangal and Jing Tobias

In celebration

Image courtesy of North End yoga

On Tuesday, May 18th all practitioners are invited to share their energies to honour and celebrate the life of Sri K Pattabhi Jois. Rebecca De Villa leads 108 sun salutations which will start at 7:30 a.m. at Echoyoga. There is a suggested donation of P500. This is a charity event, proceeds after rent will be given to Project Air. Contact Echoyoga for details.

Om.

Yoga and the creative spark: the paintings of Susan Hao

Practitioners in the shala would describe Susan Hao as…everyday Ashtangi…Filipino-Chinese…and very, very nice. But many don’t know that Susan has been, since 1988, a licensed agent and trader to various brokerage firms in the Philippines and is currently working for Accord Capital Equities Corporation.

Amidst the fast-paced, pressure-cooker environment of the business world, Susan discovered an artistic inclination and without prior experience in drawing or painting she took art classes at the Ayala Museum in 2008 under master portraitist Gig de Pio who is now her mentor.

A former professor at the University for the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman - taught Materials & Techniques of the Old Masters, Anatomy, Figure Drawing & Painting from Life, Gig Mario Completo de Pio is known for capturing not only the likeness but also the presence of a sitter deftly from life.

Together with Yoga Manila, Susan Hao shared her passion for the beautiful practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga to her mentor and a group of painters who include Irwin Fernandez and Gideon Javier.

Below are the images I took of that Saturday sketching session which captured The Primary Series. Enjoy!

Avail of a special summer treat for practitioners new to Yoga Manila. For a limited period, all classes at all YM branches are offered at half-price. Visit their website for more details.

Echoyoga

ECHOyoga is ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle’s yoga wellness program that offers a variety of yoga workshops and classes such as Big Yoga, Yoga for Domestic Goddesses, and Yoga Loca designed for plus-size women, housewives or absolute beginners in order for them to eventually develop a home practice. Led by a team of instructors certified at the Centred Yoga Institute in Thailand and with alliances with Yoga Manila. Visit their site for details and enquiries.

Yoga and the creative spark: "Panalangin"

Ashtangis doing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd series will enjoy spotting-the-asana in this elegant piece entitled, "Panalangin" which means Prayer choreographed by my yoga teacher Jon Cagas. This was included in the U.P. Pep Squad's Elevate 10 concert last month and is performed to Middle Eastern music. The hatha poses Jon weaved seamlesslessy into the number run the gamut from Sun Salutations, to Bakasana, Parsva Bakasana, Bhujapidasana, Eka Pada Sirsasana C, Pincha Mayurasana, Tittibhasana, Vrishchikasana, Mukta Hasta Sirsasana A & B, Astavakrasana, Eka Pada Galavasana and Vasistasana to name some.

I can't help but gush about the talent and artistry overflowing among Ashtangis. You should also catch the travel photography from another yoga teacher, Tesa Celdran, and the paintings of fellow practitioner Susan Hao. Will try to post their work with their permission.

Om.

Cheat sheet

Just posting this cheat sheet which is taken from the Shine website courtesy of Yahoo. I love cheat sheets and this is one of the easiest to remember.

Yoga Kids!

I was asked by my son's teacher to talk about yoga at his progressive pre-school. I was hestitant at first (because I'm merely a practitioner and not a certified yoga teacher) but relented as I've always appreciated the open-minded and non-traditional methods and approach of proggressive schools. Teacher and I agreed to limit my spiel to yoga postures that mimic nature so I prepared a slide show of the animals and the things that we see in nature such as a mountain, tree, cat, dog, horse, firefly etc. and how these look as yoga poses. After some 10 slides we played guessing game by making the class guess which animals the asanas were imitating. The kids went hysterical watching the yogis do the duck, scorpion, peacock and other hatha yoga poses and at some point I really wished I had one of those Tibetan bowl-gongs to bang or even maybe Zen chimes to calm the kids. The children were holding their breaths in excitement and couldn't wait to do the poses themselves.

We started with the mountain pose, or Tadasana. Here I introduced breathing yoga-style. Ekam, inhale. Dve, exhale. Trini, look up...

I had Teachers May and Kleck demonstarte Vrksasana, or tree pose.

A forest...

We played "who could stay longest in eagle pose" also known as Garudasana.

Upward facing dog and its' counter-pose...

Chloe preparing for the Dolphin pose. Before long the kids were having so much fun rocking around in a modified rooster or Kukkutasana and doing the cobra, camel, and the crane while hooting like the animals. Gabby a lithe, fearless 7-year old could even hover in half a handstand then jump through. All this without even knowing about the bandhas! We finished with the butterfly and the lotus. In Padmasana I encouraged the kids to "believe in yourself" and to simply "do your best". Mantras that I hope they would remember for life.

Om...

I distributed animal mandalas (like the ones below) for them to colour at home. Mandala, I explained, in simple Sanskrit means "circle" and symbolises the connection between all beings in the universe. That is why yogis believe in treating nature and its creations with respect in order to preserve the balance of nature.

I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity to impart some yoga to children. I really think I enjoyed the hour with them more than they did. With this and with a deep, long breath, I've decided to continue my yoga practice. Namaste.

(Photos courtesy of May Enriquez and the school's blog.)