home practice

I have always love home practice. Studio practice is great to explore new poses but home practice is the time i develop a deeper connection to the practice, a better understanding of my body and asanas, awareness of my breathing and my mind.


me with my favorite red thin mat

many don't practice at home because they don't know where or how to start. I've always tell my yogi friends, start of by practicing surya-namaskar (sun-salutations). When you are comfortable, add in your favorite asanas (poses). Then, when you feel like more challenge, try some new asanas. If this is still not helpful enough, always feel free to ask your teacher for ideas on home practice or, simply google for ideas. Yogajournal features very interesting home practices and articles which I find it very very helpful.
Bringing Your Practice Home
Yoga Home Practice

Start your home practice today!

kapalbathi

last evening was our fist practice on kapalbathi. As expected, they gave me a weird look :D but, they did it anyway! kapalbathi pranayama is cleansing breathing exercise. kapala means skull and bathi means shine. so, by practicing kapalbathi regularly, the face will shine with inner radiance :D
How?
- Sit in comfortable crossed leg position with the spine long, shoulder relaxed. Palms resting on knees or in chinmudra. Face relaxed.- Inhale deeply through both nostril, expanding abdomen and exhale with the forceful contraction of abdominal muscles. (Pull the abdomen in by quickly contracting the abdominal muscles and exhale through the nose). The air is pushed out of lungs by contraction of the diaphragm.

- After exhalation, inhale but inhalation should not involve any effort. To inhale, just relax and the lungs will automatically expand and filled with air.

- As a beginner, try 15 respiration or any count as long as comfortable. After completing 15 quick exhalations and natural inhalations , inhale and exhale deeply. This is one round. Practice of Kapalbhati pranayama with 3 such rounds for practice.
So the more you practice, you will have a nicer abdomen :D as it strengthen the abdominal muscles. However, one should not practice kapalbathi if suffering from heart disease, high blood, hernia and during asthma attack.
Remember, work from the abdomen not the shoulder :D Happy Practicing!

just kidding abt the "eat a cookie" part :D

props

i believe back in the ancient days, yogis didn't practice with foam blocks, colorful sticky mat or D-ring strap. But as time evolved, many discovered that props could help us access posture more fully.

there were only 4 of us in class this noon... and we had the opportunity to explore poses using props. it is interesting to experience how props can help us move deeper into poses. So, if you would like to try some new asanas, consider having props to help you. Apart from straps and blocks, your props can be any basic things like the wall, a table, blanket or maybe a friend. but, most importantly an open mind! Namaste.

doing a twist with the help of a chair

welcome izso

I would like to dedicate this post to my new yogi friend - Izso! Welcome to yoga & I really hope you would like it. One thing for sure, practice and all is coming!

"Are we supposed to eat after yoga? I'm kinda hungry". My friend worked really hard :D


Izso - grounding and empowering the base

eat, pray, love

I was in the studio waiting for the rest of the students while Beta came to me. She told me that she had just finished reading the book Eat, Pray, Love. I know neither the book nor the movie so, I asked, was it good? Part of the book describes yoga and she was amazed to know that yoga is not just about practicing asana. There are more and she seems really interested to find out the rest. I’m so glad!

Yoga is more than just on your mat. Yoga is every time, everywhere. Yoga is your breaths, thoughts, words, actions. I promised that I would share as much that I know and... that would mean I have to work even harder… that is why I always like teaching! It just keeps me going...


Waiting for studio to be opened. Picture by FD. He was saying that
the bench can't bear my weight, lol!

class begins tomorrow

Yay! Classes with the ladies will begin tomorrow after a long 3 months break. Hopefully they still remember the sun salute sequence, lol! Planning to give a slow and relax class as a start. I like teaching because it motivates me to continue my practice and make them regular and... shed off those extra pounds :D

the guys

i had my first yoga lesson with the guys. i was kinda nervous as i've not yet taught a class with only men in it. my brother had requested yoga class to make them flexible. today, I've showed them yoga is more than just flexibility. it was a great experience and hope it continues :D

a picture during savasana and yes, don't ask me about the awesome yoga mat :D

ardha baddha padmottanasana

picture taken at an art gallery of The Convent in Daylesford

Ardha - half, Baddha - bound, Padma - Lotus, Uttana - Intense stretch
Practicing ardha baddha padmottanasana can cure stiffness of the knees. As the abdominal organs are contracted, digestive powers increase and the peristaltic activity helps to eliminate toxin creating waste matter - Light on Yoga

sunday morning

Unusual to wake up early on a Sunday morning but its a meaningful day as we sweat it out at a charity walk and made it to the finishing line - The Terry Fox Run 2010 :D


Group picture after the event


for those participated, thank you for your support!


happy with our fox t-shirts :D

photo session

The long-planned photo session. Here are some photos of my yoga class and my yogi-mates!


Helping our photographer - Izan into lord of monkey pose :D


Opening, circling ceremony


all lined up, preparing for Urdhva Dhanurasana


the beautiful arch. i edited the color of this picture :P

R-L: wisa, bee ling, myself in Bhujanghasana & our photographer - Chris


group photo, doing our fav pose!


supported L-handstand

basic yoga and you

Found this when I was in Melbourne visiting a Mill Market in Daylesford. The vintage Basic Yoga And You by Mark Becker.

acroyoga

Many years back, I did Mirroring & Partnering yoga but never Acroyoga. Last week's class, our teacher introduced us to Acroyoga.
Acroyoga blends the spiritual wisdom of yoga, the loving kindness of Thai massage, and the dynamic power of Acrobatics. These three ancient lineages form this practice that cultivates trust, connection and playfulness. There are 7 main elements that make up the practice: circle ceremony, asana, partner flow, Thai massage, therapeutic flying, inversions & spotting, and partner acrobatics. Acroyoga aims to bring individuals into a state of union with themselves, with each other, and with the divine. From this place of mutual support the true self can be realized, celebrated and shared for the benefit of all.
By moving and breathing together as one, I could sense that we are coming together as equals to create harmony, joy and community. What I love the most is the partner flow. The stretches and sequence are creative when done with partner and it gives us the platform to practice self acceptance, receptivity and communicating our needs. We had a good laugh doing some flying poses and inversions.


My teacher and me in Urdhva Dhanurasana


Teacher guiding Azlin & James to assist inversion

Michelle in flying pose while Azlin & James laughing their lungs out :D

All in all we had fun and will have acroyoga again!

bakasana

picture by izan

baka means crane. increase physical and mental balance, develops mental tranquility and also strengthen your wrists and forearms.

Terry Fox Run 2010 (Malaysia)

marking the 30th anniversary of the terry fox run this year on november 7th at tasik titiwangsa, a milestone unimaginable without the support of many people, there is so much to be done yet we must always celebrate our victories - of which there have been many!

join the Terry Fox Run 2010 (Malaysia)!

60 minutes of backbends

for home practice, i did some back bends - good for strengthening the spine and opening of the chest area. our daily routing would usually requires us to bend forwards or inwards, a good example - at your office desk for 8 hours and usually more! with back bends, the spine can then realign to its neutral position.

some back bends i did for my home practice,

setu bandhasana - bridge
eka pada setu bandha sarvangasana - single leg bridge
urdhva mukha svanasana - upward facing dog
bhujangasana - king cobra
dhanurasana - bow
shalabasana - single leg/full locust
natarajasana - dancers pose (single arm/both arms)
ustrasana - camel
kapotasana - dove

if you are new to back bends, always start off with the basic back bend poses. it is a good practice to have a counter pose for every back bend to release the spine. counter pose can be balasana - child's pose, paschimottanasana - seated forward bend or etc. end the practice with a simple twist and of course savasana - corpse pose.

practice back bends and breathe better!

Yoga Journal - Yoga Asana Columns - The Compassionate Backbend

10 twin factors of mind

Viliya - Laziness
Smrti - Forgetfulness
Ekagra - Distractedness
Maitri - Coldness
Mudita (joy, goodwill) - Jealousy
Karma (compassion) - Cruelty
Upekshanam (ability to accommodate changes) - No activity
Shanti (comfort) - Disturbed
Shraddha (confidence) - No confidence
Prajna (wisdom) - Total confusion

meditation - what do i know?

Garuda Purana states: "Meditation is the highest virtue. Meditation is the foremost austerity. Meditation is the greatest purity. Therefore be fond of meditation."
I have never known a thing about mediation until I met my teacher Dina. I always find meditation the hardest work in the world as it requires a lot of patience & discipline. But, knowing the benefits that it could bring, we should all get started now! Few months back, I've attended a workshop on Meditation by Manasa Yoga. Here's a summary of my understanding.
Dhyana
The 7th limb of Patanjali's classical 8-limbed Ashtanga Yoga. Dhyana comes from the root word Dhi+Ayana where Dhi refers to the capacity of the mind to be aware/knowing (such as recognising the state of mind eg. anger, lust, etc) and Ayana refers to the movement of the mind. In short, dhyana which means meditation is a practice to observe the mind.

Asana and Meditation
Why asana practice? To start of with physical conditions to be healthy, Asana gives space to the body, providing capacity for the body to function well as a whole. Meditation on the other hand gives space to stretches the mind.

10 twin factors of mindSee above Post

2 types of meditation
Concentration
- Giving tranquility. Focusing on breath (such as ida, pingala)
- If the capacity to concentrate is no strong, try focusing on body
- Finally, it would comes to certain states of mind/absorption

Wisdom
- Open and giving wisdom. Once developed concentration practice, we let go of it. Eg.Start off by watching the breath as object. Then, let go and noticing everything that is happening, coming to mind, observing the mind.
- Help is knowing life, mind
- Being aware of the continuous movement and awareness will come

How to practice?Coming soon...

love so sweet

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.To make all your friends feel like there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.To forget the mistakes of the past and press on the greater achievements of the future.To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living person you meet a smile.To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, and too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

One the most classic inspirational quotes by Christian D. Larson

permanent marker

Yoga Sutra II.40 - Through the feeling of trying to become clean, and of being clean, we come to understand that our body is permanent.
In verse II.40 of the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali speaks of saucha (purity or cleanliness) as a means to help you focused concentration. Keeping yourself and your surroundings clean has value because it makes you aware of the difference between the impermanent external world, and the true Self, which does not change. as you work to keep your environment clean, you see that this effort takes constant maintenance - if you stop dusting, the dirt builds up. Similarly, you might try to make your body more pure with the foods you choose, but that doesn't stop the aging process. In time, you see that no matter how diligent you are, your surroundings and even your body are decaying every moment, whereas your inner, or true, Self is permanent and unchanging. This realization gradually leads you to focus your attention inward. It is the internal Self that you want to purify, and once you do, you'll experience a positive attitude, a mastery of the senses, and a connection with your higher power. KATE HOLCOMBE