Bikram Yoga in the cold?

My sister-in-law Lya has been convincing me to try Bikram Yoga, or hot yoga. But I’ve always felt that enough heat is generated internally with Ashtanga Yoga. So doing the 26 Bikram Yoga postures out of town , minus the hot room and holding them for a full minute in the cold December weather was actually quite challenging. We were guided through the routine by no less than Bikram Choudhury himself via an audio CD which was recorded in his Hollywood studio. Bikram is known to speak in military, staccato fashion and I was glad he was not around to berate me when I couldn’t maintain Dandayamana Janushirasana or standing head to knee pose and dancer’s pose. But boy, stretching in Pada Hastasana, Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Paschimottanasana and Dandayamana Bibhaktapada Janushirasana was fantastic! Really glorious and I must say effective since it restored my flexibility almost immediately. I also enjoyed Utkatasana, Ganurasana, Tuladandasana, Supta Vajrasana and Ustrasana.

By day 3 Lya had all the females in the clan doing Bikram Yoga, including my mother-in-law aged 75, my niece Talia who is a budding ballerina and even my three-year old daughter and baby Ashtangi below in Baddha Konasana.Lya taught us like a pro, instructing us to lock our knees, keep both elbows straight and pulled back, and hips pushed forward—cornerstones of Bikram Yoga. The impromptu class ended after 90 minutes. Lya and I practiced some advanced Bikram poses which I’m already familiar with since they’re part of the primary series of Ashtanga Yoga.
Matsyasana. That's me in Shirsasana. Urdhva Mukha Pashcimottanasana Utplutih Modified Bakasana.

My attempt at Titibhasana, or the firefly. Now if only I could lift my legs higher and straighten them... My most serene Shavasana yet, thanks to this lovely view of clear skies above.
Time for some real hot yoga—out in the sun and at the beach! Lya displays excellent form in standing head to knee, dancer's pose and trikonasana.
Would I try Bikram Yoga again? Outdoors and in good company--definitely! As I watched the last sunset of the year I realized that yoga is also about flexibility of both mind and body. So here's to trying out more yoga forms in 2009. Namaste.

Yoga Sanctuary: Santiago, Ilocos Sur

Almost two months of no yoga due to the year-end work and Christmas rush have left me stressed, stiff and tight. So I’m really, really grateful to Lya, my sister-in-law, for giving me a 4-day Bikram Yoga “intensive” and a much-needed workout during the holiday spent at the family farm located in the Santiago Cove in Ilocos Sur. Here a variety of crops and fruit-bearing trees are grown and cultivated. It is also the resting place of “Lelong” who lovingly built this sanctuary for his wife, children and grandchildren in the mid '80s. Lelong and Lelang My son and the farm goats. We have cows and chickens too.
The exterior of the house. Two bululs welcome visitors.
My favorite pieces: the long dining table where many memorable Ilocano feasts have been served...
...chandelier from Artes Espanoles...
...a farmer’s plough and centrepiece...
...this bell...
...and of course the kids’ play set that keeps them happy for hours.
Driveway leading to the beachfront.
In keeping with the rustic backdrop, Lya and I used native woven mats for practice.It's 6:45 a.m., I'm all set for my Intro to Bikram Yoga!

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.

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.

Passive Yoga

After two straight days of physical exertion involving wall climbing followed by Led Ashtanga, my body sorely needed some serious kneading.

I opted for "Nuat phaen boran" or ancient Thai massage. Thai massage is also called northern-style Thai massage, Buntautuk style, Old Medicine Hospital Style, traditional Thai massage, Traditional Thai Medical Massage, Thai classical massage, and get this, Thai Yoga, Thai Yoga massage, passive yoga or assisted yoga. Perfect, right? More yoga!

Thai massage is believed to have been developed by Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha, physician to Buddha, more than 2,500 years ago in India. It made its way to Thailand, where the Ayurvedic techniques and principles gradually became influenced by traditional Chinese medicine. For centuries, Thai massage was performed by monks as one component of Thai medicine.

What is Thai massage like? For me, it is definitely more invigorating and rigorous yet in the end more relaxing than run-of-the mill spa massages. It’s also referred to as Thai yoga massage because the therapist uses his/ her hands, knees, legs, and feet to move you into a series of yoga-like stretches. Therapists even greet customers in Namaste fashion. Muscle compression, joint mobilization, and acupressure are also used during treatment. Have a look:

I also prefer Thai massage more than the popular Swedish or Aromatherapy variety because no oil is applied and you are fully dressed in loose clothing. A typical Thai massage is done on a padded mat on the floor and usually lasts from 60 minutes to two hours. Except for the ambient music they played and the green tea that was served after my massage, this type of therapy dispenses with all other spa treats such as scented oils, terry cloth robe, a sauna and hot shower so it's competitively priced at only P250! I also discovered on their website that they have a branch right on the street where my shala is located.

Thai massage claims to provide the following benefits: relaxes, reduces stress, improves circulation, boosts energy, increases flexibility, improves range of motion, and centers the mind and body. No wonder they call it “assisted yoga”.

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!

CLAYTON HORTON Mysore and Led Ashtanga classes at Yoga Manila

Clayton Horton will be back with Yoga Manila this October to hold Mysore and Led Ashtanga classes. Take this opportunity to refine your practice with a senior ashtanga teacher.

Clayton is the director of Greenpath Yoga in San Francisco, CA. He has been a student of yoga for over 20 years and began teaching in 1996. His practice is rooted in the Ashtanga tradition and Greenpath meditation. He received formal authorization to teach ashtanga yoga from Sri K Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (AYRI) of Mysore, South India in 2003. Clayton is also a founding board member of the Green Yoga Association and the Director of Teenpath Yoga for teens in San Francisco.

Schedule of classes:
Oct 20 Mon 7:30 – 10:30a Mysore Makati
Oct 21 Tue 7:30 – 10:30a Mysore Alabang
Oct 22 Wed 7:30 – 10:30a Mysore Makati
Oct 22 Wed 6:30 - 8:30p Mysore Makati
Oct 23 Thu 7:30 – 10:30a Mysore Alabang
Oct 24 Fri 8:30 - 10:00a Led Ashtanga Alabang

Class fee: PhP700/session. Due to space limitations advance reservations with payment is highly recommended.

Variations on Backbends and Headstands

This montage takes me back to the time when I was much, much, much younger (and much limber, much lighter) and when I was a "cheer leader" in school. Back then, cheering competitions were not really that competitive or as acrobatic as they are today. But our routines then did involve plenty of backbends, handstands, headstands, splits, cartwheels and other gymnastic movements. I guess that's what attracted me to yoga: the routine looked familiar and do-able but the discipline is certainly more demanding. Yoga requires mental strength to achieve physical dexterity. I'm not as flexible anymore but I'm working towards using my mind to be more agile in asanas like the backbend.

I miss my childhood when life was uncomplicated and my actions were spontaneous and not calculated. That's why one of my favourite poses now--and apparently as a kid was--is Chakrasana--I try not to worry too much about what could possibly happen and just roll over with abandon. No neck injuries so far, I can attest to that.

Did a Led Ashtanga class in UP Psych last Monday with Joji. It was nicely paced and it helped that she always devotes a few minutes at the start of the class to calming the mind and regulating the breath--even if it meant doing a shortened series. But that's ok. UP was the place where it all started for me and where I committed myself to yoga for life. Thanks Joji, will see you Elsa and Marichu Lambino again soon!

Is the song by Cat Stevens? I'm not sure...

PULSE YOGA: Building a Brand Name

I am a big believer in a sound business plan, much like the one that PULSE YOGA has been aggressively rolling out within the past year. Since opening its flagship studio in Florida Street, Greenhills last December PULSE YOGA has also launched in two locations in Makati, along Pasong Tamo and in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Its mission: to spread yoga and “share the practice”--coincidentally the title of PULSE YOGA Pasong Tamo’s opening salvo last weekend, an Ashtanga workshop with PURE YOGA’s Amy Cheung. The 2-day event was well-attended by Pulse members and non-members alike, including yoga butterfly Lyn, fellow yoga blogger Chona, POWER Up! climbers Allen and Joel, and even Sundar Bikram Yoga owner and instructor Aljarreau Galang who noticeably sweat buckets inside the non-heated room and slept in Shavasana for half an hour.

The paint at the 2-storey, 8 studio Pasong Tamo outlet hasn’t dried yet but one gets the distinct impression that PULSE is poised for rapid growth—driven not only by the yoga boom but also by a success strategy which the management has clearly “meditated” on.

With its finger truly on the pulse of yoga, PULSE offers multiple classes to cater to a broad base of practitioners. From Hatha to Led Ashtanga, and Hot Flow to Kids Yoga, classes run for a duration of 75 minutes and are taught by a formidable team of instructors led by Managing Instructor, Tesa Celdran, fresh from Mysore, India and new addition Pye Trinidad who is certified to teach Bikram Yoga offered as HOT YOGA in Pulse. While PULSE YOGA @ Mandarin has an Ashtanga Hour which is designed for business travelers and executives on the go and raises the studio's profile amongst the expatriate community. Teachers may also be available for personalised training for individuals or small groups. Pulse Managing Instructor Tesa Celdran in Parsvottanasana during the workshop

In the tradition of popular Asian yoga chains TRUE YOGA and PURE YOGA, which now operate international outlets in New York and Tokyo, PULSE YOGA has all the makings of a viable franchise: a signature look, a mix of Zen and industrial design also evident in the staff’s uniforms and the PULSE website; trademark services (serving hot tea and providing practitioners each with a mat and towels); expansive, immaculately clean and well-appointed shower and locker rooms; Lululemon Athletica apparel, Yogitoes and Aquazorb towels, Mandara yoga mats, SIGG water bottles and other yoga merchandise for sale; and of course flexible workout packages to suit any practitioner’s lifestyle and schedule. At P500 per class, yoga at PULSE is more expensive than anywhere else, but that price comes down if you avail of monthly or annual packages. All things considered, PULSE YOGA is a place that pampers you after a long, hard practice and keeps tabs on your practice through regular email and friendly text messages.

According to Tesa Celdran, whom I spoke to after the workshop and who promised to personally make me an authentic cup of chai now that she's back from India, PULSE plans to entice practitioners some more with refreshments mixed at a juice bar it will soon open inside the studio. When asked if one day bigger yoga establishments would offer to buy out PULSE, Tesa—who considers PULSE Greenhills her “baby”—says she would staunchly refuse and would rather secure and fortify PULSE's identity in the country. Good to know, Tesa!

With such critical success factors and sustained marketing activities, I won’t be surprised to find a PULSE YOGA branch in Cebu or perhaps Boracay one day. Maybe soon PULSE YOGA can also offer regular Iyengar and Anusara Yoga classes or introduce ACRO-YOGA which really looks like good fun. In today’s free market, PULSE YOGA may just emerge as the Philippines’ ubiquitous yoga brand.

My Om the Road Ranking, 4 and a half out of 5 Lotuses:

Many thanks to Erik Lacson for capturing images from the Mysore workshop. You can view his work at http://www.elacson.com/

Bad Karma?

One of my favourite yoga images is this photograph from Alan Little. The yoga mats seem like they're floating in space but they're actually laid out on the floor of a shala in Munich, Germany.

I was puzzled that yogini friend Sasheen always comes late for class. She would stride into the shala, unfurl her mat and start her suryas as the rest of us would begin clasping our toes for padangusthasana. After an hour and a half of Led Ashtanga, she looked spent but always rejuvenated. Whereas I would crawl out of my mat, drenched in sweat, gulp down my water without caring if I was spilling half of it on my front and barely able to keep my hands steady while I write my name down on the sign up sheet. I am younger than Sash and longed to know her secret. So says Sash, the trick is simply to warm up before yoga.

That got me thinking. In ballet I used to do plies, backbends and leg extensions at the barre before going to centre for the floor exercises. For tennis, I’d limber up by moving my arms and joints in circles as well as doing some light lunges. But in yoga, we greet the sun right after the opening mantra in two fast-paced sequences that leave you gasping for breath. For many Ashtangis, the Sun Salutation is warm up in itself, especially Surya Namaskar B, which has a little of all the asanas in Ashtanga Yoga says Yoga Manila instructor Peachie Kilayko.

Working daily sometimes up to 12 hours straight in front of a computer always leaves me stiff as a board and unable to practice regularly, so if you’re like me, you may benefit from some other form of loosening up. For Sasheen, jogging around her La Vista neighbourhood complements yoga (and also explains why she's been late for class).

This now brings me to an article from the internet arm of my former employer, CNBC. Jennifer Wolf Perrine writes in “Bad Karma: When Yoga Harms instead of Heals”, that yoga became her salvation and then her damnation after she injured her arm in class. She reports that in 2006, nearly 4,500 people in the US ended up in the emergency room for treatment of yoga-related injuries, most commonly these include strained muscles, rotator cuff tears in the shoulders, exacerbated carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists, torn cartilage in the knees, and lower-back and neck injuries such as herniated disks.

Being a “yoga butterfly”, a few months ago I encountered an overzealous instructor who was a lethal match for my over enthusiasm to learn. The result: a knee injury which has been compromising my right leg in ardha baddha padmottanasana, maricyasanas C and D, kukkutasana, padmasana, urdhva padmasana, baddha padmasana, yoga mudrasana, utplutih and leaves me sore and feeling extremely short-changed while lying in shavasana. I have been numbing the pain with 120 mg of Etoricoxib and by rubbing on the affected area a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointment twice daily, both doctor-prescribed.

But unlike Jennifer Wolf Perrine, I love yoga too much to feel betrayed by it. I still do Led Ashtanga but now I am more mindful of my limitations, heed my body’s signals, pace myself, modify the poses even stopping if I have to, and sometimes warm up to prevent injuries. I believe that yoga has more potential to heal than to hurt if done properly and when learned under the guidance of a qualified instructor. Studies reveal that yoga helps relieve chronic lower-back pain, depression and anxiety.

Ashtanga Yoga calls for strength, flexibility, proper alignment. Terri Kennedy, founder of Ta Yoga House in New York City adds that, “Yoga is about intention, attention and breath. If you keep the breath steady, then you can begin to steady the mind.” Kennedy who is also chairwoman of the board of Yoga Alliance, an American organization that sets standards for yoga teaching emphasises “That's the essence of the practice. It's not just about a perfect-looking posture.”

Green Yoga

In yoga, green applications are by no stretch of the imagination difficult, especially in a tropical country like the Philippines. When practicing, simply concentrate on breath control techniques--traditionally known as pranayama, and engage your bandhas or root locks to perform the asanas properly. In no to time you should build up intense body heat internally, naturally and through non-artificial methods.

Take inspiration from some of these man-made marvels aimed at minimising greenhouse gas emissions and cooling our overheating planet:


The Dynamic Tower from Italian architect David Fisher. The world's first rotating, self-powered skyscraper will change the landscape of Dubai and is pushing the limits of modern architecture. The 80-storey building generates electricity from wind turbines located in between each floor. The wind turbines are extremely quiet and practically invisible due to their unique design and carbon fibre material. Photovoltaic cells on rooftops will produce solar energy while insulated glass and insulating panels will improve energy efficiency. Natural and recyclable materials such as stone, marble, glass and wood will adorn the interiors and will contribute to the building's environmental vibe.


The Prius by Japanese car giant Toyota provides a solution to the tailpipe emissions problems of automobiles. The Prius is fitted with a powertrain which combines a gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine with an electric motor and thus delivers, along with other advanced features, higher fuel economy and lower C02 emissions.

The Green flagship E/S Orcelle from Norway's Wilhelmsen Marine. The concept vessel does not release any emissions into the atmosphere or the ocean. It uses renewable energy sources and fuel cells to generate the energy required to power the vessel. Its highly-advanced design provides optimum cargo capacity to transport cars and other goods around the world more efficiently. The E/S Orcelle is named after the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin, or Orcelle in French. The abbreviation, E/S, stands for Environmentally-sound Ship and represents the company's vision of a zero-emission cargo carrier by 2025.

As responsible yoga practitioners, let's evaluate the impact of our environmental footprint and try to reduce it. Namaste.

Yoga in the rain, anyone?

Yogini friend Lyn was eager to hear about my evening Mysore practice. It went well, I texted back. Truth is, it was horrible! It was an off day for me right from the beginning: the rain was pouring, I couldn’t parallel park and the only available spot was quite a distance from the shala, I forgot my umbrella in the car and was too far away to run back for it, the instructor was late so I got all cold inside the air conditioned studio.

The six of us were prompted to start our Suryas while waiting for the teacher. Fair enough. When she finally showed she divided us into 3 groups. My partner, Clara, looked like she had been doing yoga for some time already. I’m in good hands, I thought, someone to follow the series from. Nope, we were both taking cues from each other: she would look at me from over her T-arms and I would peer at her from between my legs in Prasarita. It was a complete mess, that didn’t escape the teacher’s eye. So she “punished” us by making us do the series from the TOP every single time we broke the sequence (which was often). Sure there was a flow of energy between me and Clara--we were feeding off each other’s negative energies. But we had a good laugh anyway, and we both knew what to do by the time we reached Shavasana.

“Kayong dalawa, you must repeat the postures every time you lose track of them. This is the only way, you can learn the flow.” Yes, teacher. LYN, don’t be absent ha!

Yoga: Striking a balance between mind and body

Part of my yoga practice is a daily ritual of perusing the blogs of fellow practitioners. It keeps me in the loop and aware of what’s going on in the local yoga community.

An interesting read is the blog of Jon Cagas who discusses a full-spectrum of topics from durians in Davao to his yogic adventures with pals Chona, Jane, Trin and Crissy. His yoga studies have taken him around the globe and have made him a credible resource for the theory and practice of Ashtanga , Hatha Yoga and Pranayama as well as something of a culinary expert in Middle Eastern vegetarian cuisine.

His post today caught my eye and I hope to draw others attention to it. Yoga Sutras Q&A, sheds light on how to approach the yoga philosophy with an open mind. He deconstructs the opening chant, which if translated literally would provoke but in Sanskrit is beautiful and poetic. In class, Jon's voice is deep, booming and heartfelt, as he goes through the prayer line by line so that students may respond and connect with the chant.

Being chiefly a teacher, he spares readers a visit to Indian websites that attempt to explain the sage’s eight-fold path of yoga which yes, can be confounding, perhaps too metaphysical for other denominations. He answers 7 basic questions for the layman in this 2-part series.

Having only started my practice, I’m still at a level which many may consider superficial: I’m doing yoga for self-gratification, to de-stress and escape the demands of my job, to forget about the difficulties of parenthood, to restore the flexibility I once had as a ballet dancer, to perspire and a host of other narcissistic reasons. I’m at a stage where I’m enjoying the physical benefits more than the spiritual. This could be the reason why I can’t memorize the primary series. “Dance with it!” Jon says during vinyasas. Now that, I understand.

If you’re like me—beginning to feel guilty about not being diligent enough—go to this link and post questions. On the surface, I think (and this is my pedestrian interpretation only, ok?) the goal of yoga is to achieve a balance between mind and body. One must be fully-focused and concentrated, stilling the mind and controlling it with a long-term and earnest practice of yoga. Success in yoga comes to the keen and intent practitioner.

Namaste. Practice with integrity!

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 :-)

Article: The Quiet Strength of a Woman's Body by Kino MacGregor

The yoga world sometimes makes deeply held assumptions about male and female capabilities. Contemporary dogmas of what’s possible for men and women contribute to what every yoga practitioner believes is possible for male and female bodies.

In yoga there is an unfair assumption that all men effortlessly perform gravity-defying lift-ups, and all women snake their way into all manner of flexible positions. While the mindset of teachers, students and traditions often perpetuates some very traditional gender roles, the reality of yoga practitioners tells a different story. There are men who are hypermobile and unable to lift their butts off the ground, and there are women who are stiff as a board but able to balance unwaveringly in a handstand. One of yoga’s greatest lessons is that there are no universal standards for bodies, and that all bodies, genders, races and ages have the ability to benefit from and master this ancient practice.

That being said, if you’re a woman it’s still easy to discount yourself when you peer into the lexicon of masterful yoga DVDs from strong, skinny men like Rodney Yee, David Swenson, Richard Freeman, Chuck Miller and Sharath Rangaswamy. Your child-bearing hips and soft curves may look nothing like these master teachers’ sinewy legs. When you look for evidence that women can actually be strong in the yoga world, you dig into the very essence of femininity. Sometimes it seems like women who can perform gravity-defying feats and achieve political success have overcompensated in toughness to excel in a male-dominated world.

My personal journey into yoga led me to ask the very difficult question of whether there is a natural strength in a woman’s body that is different, but not less, than a man’s. I began my journey into yoga nearly ten years ago as the stereotypical flexible girl with no strength. In awe of the mysterious lift-up, arm balances, handstands and vinyasas, I looked critically at my extra cushioning around the bum, small arms and petite frame, and blamed my shape and gender for what I could not easily do. Male teachers in the Western world, meaning well, simply let me slide, saying that they did not expect women to actually match men’s strength. Movement-based, scientifically-backed anatomy books state that women’s bodies have a lower center of gravity and therefore have a different set of rules to work with, thereby casting women as the physically weaker gender. Science, stereotypes and points of view could have created an artificial limit, but I dug deeper.

My ninety-three-year-old master teacher, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, said one day in a group conference in Mysore, India in his iconographic broken English: “Yoga changing. Now some women very strong. Correct asana performing possible. Before, not possible. Now possible. All women doing all asanas o.k.” Krishnamacharya, all of our teachers’ teacher, was the first Brahmin to allow women into the secret study of the Indian sacred texts and is also quoted as saying that women are the future of yoga. In the arena of a quickly equalizing realm of power, it is fitting that women’s role in yoga also changes and evolves. The basic teaching in yoga is the unification of extremes, and in that light it is appropriate that both men and women are asked to move towards a balance between strength and flexibility.

After years of practice and mastery over seemingly impossible postures, there is now no doubt that women have an equal type of strength, too. A true woman’s power is magnetic, attractive and visionary. A woman’s body receives, nurtures, gives, produces, holds, bears, bends, grows, shrinks and sometimes even breaks, only to rebuild. In the heart of every female form rests a womb that is a great, silent and dark potential for life. Where a man’s body has muscles to push, thrust and engage, a woman’s body beckons, seduces and contains. It is in this crucial difference where women must find their strength in the yoga practice and in life: not in emulating the deep belly thrust of a man’s world, but in tapping into a uniquely feminine way to engage the world will women touch the mystery of true female power.

Having practiced the challenging Advanced Series of Ashtanga Yoga continuously for the last five years, I find that endurance, pragmatism and grace are well within the domain of my woman’s body, strength and soul. A man’s strength is louder, directed outward, striving, reaching and sometimes fighting. It’s not to say that women don’t fight or aren’t violent, but that in a woman’s body violence takes on another form. A woman’s sometimes smaller body cannot simply mimic male form in the physical world to succeed. In order to perform the same feats of strength with the graceful heart of a woman, the female body must learn to access its natural reserves of strength by honoring the female form in and of itself. This strength lies not in forceful thrusting, but instead in determining exactly how and where to work, with a perfect mix of strength and grace.

In every handstand, arm balance, backbend, and gravity-defying lift-up, I do not seek to replicate the male form, but instead to allow the flow of my female life to course through my veins, muscles, body, mind and soul.

In our ability to choose, to gather and to draw, we find our true empowerment: Not in emulating the boisterous strength of men, but instead shining like the full moon on a clear night, we are graceful, iconic, powerful, beautiful, mesmerizing, enchanting and captivating. In the yoga practice strength must come for women as well as men. When it comes, it is not at the expense of the graceful female form but as an enhancement of it–for it is a quiet strength that lies within every woman’s body.

© 2008 Kino MacGregor (article condensed from Fit Yoga, June 2008)