open the heart

today i started my practice with frustration (becos someone isn't co-operative in some life matter). i lost count during sun salutations and that's when i realized my mind is so occupied with the frustration (or the person). I calmed down a bit after a few more rounds and tried to focus on my breath, but little, annoying thoughts continued to creep up.

i moved on to 40mins of heart opening sequence, dedicating my practice to this someone that has triggered anger in me. i paid really close attention to my breathing, trying to bring back focus on the breath. i inhale and open the heart to accept the matter as it is, and exhale to forgive and re-try, i feel much better towards the end.



and much much better after writing this down. yes, i will try again with that person!
thank you, yoga!

yoga & fasting

august is the month of Ramadan where all muslims in the world would fast. during the fasting month, yoga classes would still go on. i'm delighted to see so many that many students showed up for today's class.

i've always loved classes during the fasting month. it is the time where we easily work on our body alignment, just staying in poses and connecting with our breathe and our mind ~ simply relaxing and restorative :D

pictures of my classmates taken & edited using iphone :D

yoga sutras, the 5th limb of yoga which is pratyahara which means withdrawal of the senses. i personally think that fasting is a good way to practice pratyahara. Just as the body benefits by fasting from food, so the mind benefits by fasting from impressions.

happy fasting!

loving it again

ashtanga class is never really my favorite because of the many many jumps, and the pace of the flow, i forgot my breathing most of the time and end up with sore arms. my teacher decided to do ashtanga class and so, i had 60 minutes of ashtanga asana practice this afternoon. thanks to her patience, i finally could feel my inner thighs working. my jump back and forward is slowly coming!

this is a picture of me (edited) doing inversion with wall support. one fine day, i would be able to do this without support. practice and all is coming...

Relax...

I certainly do not want this to happen in any of my yoga classes!

A birthday card from my best friend in Melbourne - Joanne

supta virasana

supta virasana - reclining hero is wonderful during menses. i love to simply relax in supta virasana, feeling the tension in the lower back melting away...

supta virasana, my humble drawing. hehehe!

eka pada rajakapotasana

if you would like a very deep back bend and therapeutic hip stretch, eka pada rajakapotasana is the perfect asana for you. eka - one, pada- foot, raja - king and kapota - pigeon. hence, the name eka pada rajakapotasana - king of pigeons where the chest is pushed forward like of a pouter pigeon.

background image from Yoga Journal magazine
image editing done using my 1 and only gadget - iphone :)

with regular practice, more blood circulates round the pubic region, keeping it healthy & disorder of the urinary system is rectified. like any other pose, there is no shortcuts to eka pada rajakapotasana. so, have you practice today?

supta bekhasana

Bhekasana comes from the word bheka means frog. According to Light on Yoga, the action in this asana resembles that of a frog, hence the name. supta bekhasana on the other hand is the reclined version of bekhasana. Both poses allow the front of the body a nice stretch from the ankle-thighs-groins-abdomen-chest-even the throat-hip flexors.

B.K.S Iyengar in bekhasana

below photo was taken weeks ago of me in supta bekhasana. what i like most about this pose is the opening of the heart and the feeling of my neck & throat being stretched. its a kind of massage on your throat that you won't get from any spa :D

supta bekhasana

And of cos, i won't be able to get into this pose without the help of my teacher. here's a video how you could assist your partner into supta bekhasana. Try this only if you are comfortable in bekhasana and... enjoy!