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.

Yoga-inspired apparel

Just a quick post…my sister-in-law needs help in coming up with a brand name and logo for a yoga-inspired clothing line she’s developing for Certified Calm, a shop in the Shang mall. She’ll be using all-natural fabrics like linen and cotton as well as indigenous materials like rope, stones and shells for embellishments. Hope you can post your suggestions here. C'mon, I know we can think of something better than "Lulu" or "karma" or "prAna" or "be present"...you get the picture.

Lya, my sis-in-law, is a fashion designer trained in Paris and New York. She ran a boutique in Greenbelt in the ‘90s and sold a line of ready-to-wear apparel in Rustan’s. Today you’ll mostly find her designing wedding ensembles from her atelier in Libis and practicing Bikram in Greenhills. Lya is currently training for a yoga competition this November which she is inviting me to participate in. “There’s no competition in Ashtanga, practise is personal and not a contest,” I said. Right?

Bikram has been visibly effective for Lya who has lost weight significantly since she got hooked last year. She has been persuading me to try Bikram but I have been lured more by the grace, power and elegance of Ashtanga. Besides since I began my yoga journey in March, I’ve already shed 8 lbs with Ashtanga (not that weight loss is my goal).

Anyway since this blog is dedicated to Ashtanga, this Bikram post has a purpose here. Below is a video of esteemed Bikram instructor and 2005 Bishnu Charan Ghosh cup winner Esak Garcia demonstrating poses from the Advanced Bikram routine now being introduced in Bikram studios in the country.

See how many Ashtanga asanas you can identify from the Advanced Bikram routine. For those consulting Ashtanga books, there is no need to look further than the Ashtanga primary and secondary series. {Note: Ashtanga is a progressive practice that begins with theYoga Chikitsa or primary series; followed by Nadi Shodana or intermediate series which brings the ashtanga vinyasa practice from a physical to more energetic levels; then comes Sthira Bhaga or the advanced series A described as “transcending gravity”; finally, the advanced series B elevates the practice to greater heights.}

The advanced series of Bikram postures makes a quantum leap from the original set of 26 poses. Here, the most classic of all yoga poses, Padmasana or lotus position, is introduced with a number of variations. Bikram practitioners also get a taste of Sirsasana or headstands and full backbends in the advanced series. You can view the basic Bikram poses at the Bikram's Yoga College of India website. The school is located in Los Angeles, California and was established as a global headquarters.

Exhilarating climb, earth-shaking yoga

I invited a former yoga classmate from UP to practice at Yoga Manila, the second from that group to join me already. I have been proud to have Sasheen over at the Makati shala, this time around I had the amazing Allen Enrique: hardcore mountain climber and yoga overachiever. This small-framed but powerful 26 year-old can complete the primary series and is well on her way to learning the full second series. She can already do some intermediate poses and is now on the trail for a mentor. Lyn and I suggested that she learns the series under yoga trailblazer Hoze Arando and the next thing I knew she had signed up for 10 classes at Yoga Manila. She really doesn’t waste much time. Yey Allen, I’ll be seeing you around YM more often!

Allen says yoga is ideal cross-training for indoor/outdoor climbing. Yoga promotes flexibility, bandha control, awareness of the breath and stillness of the mind which are also required in climbing--especially in extreme outdoor situations. Pulse Yoga visiting instructor Amy Cheung has scaled the walls at Silver City where Allen is a climbing instructor and coach. Last weekend it was our turn for an intro climb. Allen was our belayer providing slack and tension as we made our ascent of... the beginner’s wall. Lyn made it through the second wall, which was gradually inclined, while I was really enjoying traversing all the walls without any ropes but of course at a very safe height. At this point, Allen demonstrated yoga applications in wall or mountain climbing.

Observe Allen in a modified warrior pose:

And here’s Lyn just getting a high at one of the steeper walls.

I must say that yoga does seem to prep the body for climbing. All the Chaturangas in the primary series really gave us the strength to pull our weight up the walls. The flexibility we’ve developed in yoga also helped us stretch and reach our limbs out for those tiny faraway rocks.

I expected the climb to drain me of all energy but doing a Led class with Allen the following morning turned out to be truly exhilarating! With Allen beside me, I paid greater attention to my breathing, form and alignment beginning with the Sun Salutations all the way to the seated poses and finishing sequence. But our practice was interrupted by a couple of mild earthquakes which struck first while we were balancing in Bhujapidasana and once again, of all times, during the headstands which sent me crashing down the floor after only 8 breaths. We didn’t let the tremors completely shake our practice though. YM instructor Maritoni Tordesillas even let out a wide smile as we watched Allen drop back to Urdhva Dhanurasana or the Wheel and stand up from it (a milestone for practitioners who are ready to progress to the intermediate series). Now that for me, was one earth-shaking practice!