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.)

OM the Road

“You’re a Yoga butterfly!” said Lyn, a new friend I made at Yoga Manila. She recognised the “symptoms” of my yoga affliction easily: fluttering about from one shala to another and trying out different classes and teachers was something she herself was guilty of since she began her yoga journey two years ago. She was among the first students of Pio Baquiran when VYC opened in Ortigas and now combines a restorative hatha routine with a brisk Ashtanga practice.

Thanks to Lyn, who has given me inspiration for my new task: to get off my sit-bones more often and go Om the Road to tour Manila’s yoga studios. I suggested to her that we re-visit Pulse Yoga after Tesa Celdran returns from Mysore, India (can’t wait for that!). Lyn, let’s make sure we time this carefully so we can both do the inversions, ok?

This weekend I was at Yoga Manila’s new home in Good Qi Circle, an elegant and tastefully-designed holistic wellness centre on the 5th floor of the Greenbelt Mansion. The Good Qi Circle website claims that the 100 square metre studio can fit up to 30 people per class but the Led Ashtanga session I attended seemed already cramped with just 10 practitioners. The changing rooms could also accommodate only three people at a time. Nevertheless, what the studio ostensibly lacks in floor space it overcompensates for in the quality of teaching. After all, this is the mecca of Ashtanga Yoga in the country and is home to an elite breed of certified yoga instructors some of whom trained under Paul Dallaghan in Thailand as well as from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy.

To my surprise, Peachie Kilayco was conducting a Kid’s Yoga class when I arrived twenty minutes early. I was so sure she would have little energy left for the Led class after teaching the munchkins. One little girl was repeatedly asking why the A/Cs were not swtiched on seeing as there were 3 units inside the shala. Her brother, in the meantime, would flick li'l sister's shoulder everytime Peachie was looking away. But throughout their shenanigans, Peachie would always reign them in patiently and contain their energies. According to Peachie, it's important to relate to them in their language. Hence, Urdvha Dhanurasana--or the bridge--is called "Yabadabadoo" (a trademark Yoga Manila term she says) and Shalabha-asana is more commonly referred to as the Grasshopper.

Her teaching style for the Led Ashtanga class was the complete opposite. As it turns out this was not a beginner's class, so she had high expectations for all students to perform the postures on their own with little assistance. In cases like this, I urge students to raise their hands for help as this is a service that you are paying for as much as it is the duty of a teacher to recognise and respond to an SOS. Peachie was at my side with a wave of my hand to carefully, and clinically, coach and explain the procedures in executing the pose. This blend of personalised training and military-style instruction helps in completing the entire primary series in under 2 hours and should attract classic Type-A personalities and serious practitioners looking for a challenging yoga discipline.

In terms of the facilities, the studio does not provide towels nor offer hot tea but it is equipped with props like blocks, straps, and even spritzers to lubricate your arms during Garbha Pindasana and Kukkutasana--a clear sign that Yoga Manila focuses more on a student's practice than his or her comfort which is fine by my standards. So from a customer's point of view, Yoga Manila is the place to learn world-class Ashtanga Yoga and if it's your first time to try other yoga classes it's best learned here from the experts. I give Yoga Manila 4 and a half out of 5 Lotuses :-)