Week 1 - Yoga Teacher Training

I  have started my 200-hour Yogaworks Teacher Training program with David Kim on 4 April 2016 and the first week has passed so quickly.

I chose to do the Yogaworks TT program as it offers a balance and comprehensive training to prepare the practitioner to teach skillfully with safety, integrity and compassion.   Having attended David Kim's workshop before, I wanted to learn more from him as he is a teacher who teaches with passion and enthusiasm and his precise instructions made it easy to learn and follow his teachings.

Our first class began with learning to stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) which is the blue print pose for the other poses.  We learnt how to activate and engage different parts of our body to ensure that our body is in correct alignment to ensure a good foundation.   Tadasana was done standing up, against the wall and lying down so that we can  build the 3 platforms - knees over ankles, hips over knees and shoulders over hips for the optimal alignment where there is a plum line through the center of the torso.

During the course of the week, we also learnt about the key simple actions, key pairs of counter actions and complementary actions when doing the poses like Utthita Hastasana, Prasarita Padottanasana, Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, etc.

The morning session of the class was spent on anatomy studies, followed by 2-3 hours of asana practice before we break for lunch.    After lunch, David would go through the yoga sutras to help us understand the philosophy of yoga.    We have also started to learn to chant the sutras which help us to familiarize ourselves with saying them.  

We have started to look and analyse each other bodies, learnt to do some hands-on adjustments and practice teach with a partner during the week.

It's been a hectic first week of absorbing all this new knowledge but I am grateful to David for letting us know that it is normal to feel anxiety and sometimes lost during the first two weeks of the program.  I know that I only need to stay focus in class and do the daily reading and written homework assignments to keep on track and let everything falls in place without thinking too far ahead.  David is also helping us by letting us know the areas where we should pay particular attention to for our final examination.

I am very inspired by my fellow trainees.  Two of them, Ken Yang and Claudia who are teachers are still teaching classes in the evening after the long day of spending eight hours learning in the class.   I am also very motivated by the group of trainees who are not well-versed in English who need to spend additional time to translate everything that David is teaching into Mandarin.   I really admire their dedication and courage in taking the teaching training in another language.   Ken Yang who is the owner of Simplylife Yoga who brought the Yogaworks TT program to Malaysia has earned my admiration as besides attending the program himself, he is also giving revision class to these trainees on Saturday to help them understand the teaching materials and assisting David in translating his teaching in Mandarin during class.

I hope to support my fellow trainees by posting inspirational quotes daily and sharing information which are relevant to our training on my FB page.

10 Yoga Poses for Bone Health

A pilot study of yoga moves to determine whether yoga might be an effective therapy for osteoporisis conducted by Dr Loren M. Fishman has turned up some encouraging results.   You can read the full article here.

The participants of the study were taught the following yoga poses with frequent adaptions in keeping with their limitations and abilities.  Please click on the link for each of the poses to learn more about the pose, contraindications and modifications for the pose.

Trikonasana (Triangle pose) 

Image taken from here

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog pose)

Image taken from here

You can view a 3D model of the pose at this link at gotyoga to check out the correct form of the pose and step by step instructions to do the pose.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog pose)

Image taken from here

Setu Bandhasana (Bridge pose) 

Image taken from here

Urdhva Dhanurasana (Rainbow/Wheel pose) 

Image taken from here

Janu Sirasasana (1-legged Head to Knee Forward Bend) 

Image taken from here

Paschimottoasana (Seated Forward Bend) 

Image taken from here

Navasana (Boat pose) 

Image taken from here

Suptha Padangusthasana (Recling Hand to Big-Toe pose) 

Image taken from here

Marichiyasana (Seated Twist/Sage's pose) 

Image taken from here

Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Spinal Twist pose) 

Image taken from here

Jathara Parivatanasana (Belly Twist pose) 

Image taken from here

"Yoga puts more pressure on bone than gravity does.  By opposing one group of muscles against another, it stimulates osteocytes, the bone-making cells.  Even if bone density did not increase, improvements in posture and balance that can accrue from the practice can be protective.  Spinal fractures can result from poor posture, and there's no medication for that, but yoga is helpful.  Yoga is good for range of motion, strength, coordination and reduced anxiety, all of which contribute to the ability to stay upright and not fall.  If you don't fall, you greatly reduce your risk of a serious fracture." (excerpt from interview with Dr Loren M. Fishman from article by Jane E. Brody published in The New Yoke Times) 

Structural Body Alignment and Rebalancing with Mike Tan

Yesterday I attended a Body Assessment and Rebalancing workshop facilitated by Mike Tan, a massage therapist based in Chiang Mai.  You can read more about his profile here.   Mike's approach to long-time healing the body is through assigning specific exercise for release, strengthening and mobility.

At the workshop, we first learned about how to do a body assessment.  We start by trying to find out as much about what is affecting the person's body and if they have any recent injury.   We were given a sheet with anatomy drawing where we can indicate where the pain and misalignment were for the assessment exercise.  

Mike taught us to assess each other bodies by asking some of us to stand in a relaxed position with all the joints stacked (ankle, knee and hips in one straight line) and the insides of the feet aligned in parallel.    We started by looking closely at each portion of the body individually and in more detail; beginning with looking at the lower legs i.e the feet, ankles, shins and calves, followed by the knees and upper legs, pelvis (sacrum, groin, hips and low back), arms and shoulders and lastly, the upper torso (chest, upper back and neck).

Mike went through some of the conditions that could cause pain, movement limitation and what we can see from the each part of the body when the body is aligned vertically. When the body is not structurally aligned, how one part of the body that is impinged caused additional stress on the muscles, tendons and ligaments which can also caused pain in other areas of the body.

Mike taught us how we can rebalanced the body through releasing, stretching, strengthening and increasing the mobility of the muscles in those areas.

We were shown how to use the Lanna Roller for Body Rolling which is sometimes referred as Self MyoFascial Release (SMFR),    Body rolling is an effective way to balance muscle tension in the body.   It is a self-massage technique by placing your body weight upon the roller and applying some pressure on the muscles.  (I had also attended Mike's Body Rolling class on Friday and felt so relaxed after the class).

Mike also showed us how to use the other various tools such as lacrosse balls which can be used to massage different parts of the body and stretch resistance bands for exercises to open the shoulder and back.

Mike is a great facilitator and his vast knowledge of the body made the workshop so fun and interesting.  There are requests for Mike to come back to KL to do the workshop again, so don't miss it when he comes again.

Yin Yang Yoga "The Power of Stillness" with David Kim

Although I have been practicing yoga for many years and had gone for many workshops with some of the great teachers like Kino MacGregor, Christina Sell and Matthew Sweeney, I have not given much thought to going for a Yoga Teacher Training program although I have been encouraged by some of my yoga teachers and fellow practitioners to go for it.

Recently, I read an article about creating a second income to fall back on by doing something you are passionate about.  It got me thinking about my love for yoga and how I love the practice by blogging about it and sharing articles with my fellow practitioners,  I realized then, the next step for me would be to go for a Yoga Teaching Training program so that I can deepen my practice and spread the teaching of yoga to more people.   I do not have the confidence to go for a full 200 hour YTT course yet, so when I saw the Oscillation Yoga's post on David Kim's 13-hour Practitioners and Teachers Program Series in Yin Yang Yoga "The Power of Stillness",  I decided to sign up for it on my birthday as a birthday present to myself.

Last weekend was the David Kim's workshop which started with a Community Yoga session which was opened to all levels with a yin-yang class incorporating the breath awareness and heat building movement of vinyasa with the slower passive holds of yin yoga.   After the class, when I looked around the studio,  I could see a group of practitioners looking calm and serene from the effects of the yin-yang practice.

For the 1st session on "Yintegration - Balancing Vinyasa and Yin Yoga" David started by talking about anatomy and having us look at each other bodies to have a better understanding on how our unique bodily structure can limit our ability to do/move deeper in certain poses.   It was really an eye opener to see the difference in our bodies and how we compromise some parts of our body when we were told to go into a pose with specific instructions from the teacher.   Yin yoga enables us to be more aware of our body limitations and to move to a space where effort meets comfort.

For the 2nd session on "Yin Yang Yoga for Athletics", David talked about the importance of maintaining stability when our body is doing different range of motions.   He also talked about how our nervous system controls the body's activities and reacts by stopping us in certain movements to keep us safe .   He had us do some partner work to demonstrate how our nervous system can be tricked to enable us to stretch further by repeatedly doing ranges of motion through eccentric contraction of our muscles. This repetitive training of muscle memory is the yang aspect which enables the short burst of energy required by athletics to sprint to the finishing line.  Chronically engaged muscles tends to shorten which causes tightness and reduces our range of motion.  Yin yoga which focuses on the deeper connective tissues in the body helps to increase joint mobility.  With the balance of both yin (mobility) and yang (strength) yoga in our practice, we learn to move with stability, grace and focus and lower our chances of getting injured.

The 3rd session was "Heaven & Earth - Yang Inversions, Yin Backbends" where David led us through the progression poses to prepare us for the inversion poses of forearm handstand and handstand.  David also let us experiment with doing the inversion poses with different placement of our forearms and hands.   As I have a fear of banging my head on the wall when I am doing handstand, David told me not to use so much momentum when jumping into the pose and to rely more on keeping my top leg lifted, my shoulders over my wrists when hoping with my bottom leg,    We ended the class with some yin backbends poses which helped to cool down our body as well as having a grounding effect after the inversion poses.

The last session  on "Core Focus for Seated Meditation"was on cultivating core stability which involves strengthening the inner deep muscles that stabilizes the spine,  David led us through a routine where we were asked to maintain the integrity of our spine as we move in the poses.   We finished the workshop with two rounds of Nadi Shodhana Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) and a seated mediation practice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop with a great teacher who shares his teaching with so much passion and enthusiasm and his precise instructions made it easy to learn and follow during the asana practice.  I also met a group of dedicated and inspiring yoga teachers and practitioners who shares my passion for yoga.    The workshop is my first step to embark on my next yoga journey.

Teacher David Kim and my fellow yogis at the workshop

"You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step" - Martin Luther King Jr.

Good Enough

Last night as I was driving home after my yoga class, a guest speaker was being interviewed by a DJ on the radio station.  The guest speaker mentioned that we procrastinate because we want to be perfect.  Whatever we do, we always have in our mind a perfect version of what we want to do.  And that makes it difficult for us to start especially when we have doubts in our own abilities.   Instead, if we think that whatever we do is good enough, we will work our way through and the outcome of our efforts might come as a surprise to us.

This led me to connect it to our yoga practice. When we are learning to do a difficult pose, we tend to have in our mind a perfect version of the pose.  Sometimes, we doubt our own ability to execute the pose by thinking that we are not flexible enough, our hips are too tight, etc.  We stop ourselves from trying to do the pose by thinking that we need to do the perfect pose.  But many a times, if we think the pose we are doing is good enough, we will move on and become better as we learn the techniques to overcome our limitations.   Being good enough helps to build our confidence in trying new and difficult poses with an open mind.    And one day, we might become good if not perfect in the pose.

Image taken from here

Notes from my practice - Preparation Poses for Urdhra Dhanurasana (Wheel Pose)

I attended Foo's class last Thursday and it was a class with preparation poses for backbends with the peak pose being Urdhra Dharnurasana (Wheel Pose) and Eka Pada Urdhra Dhanurasana.  As Urdhra Dhanurasana is my nemesis pose, I was quite apprehensive at first as it has always been a difficult pose for me with my tight shoulders and upper back.

Foo started the class with us doing three Sun Salutations A and three Sun Salutations B to warm up the body.  From then on, we did poses to stretch our hamstrings, quadriceps and hip flexors, open our chest and the shoulders.   And when it was time to do Urdhra Dhanurasana, I was able to hold the pose for five breaths before coming down and going up the second and third time.   The preparation poses really made a difference to my pose as I dd not feel the usual tightness at my shoulders by remembering to lift the head of my arm bones back when I push up to the pose.  I was able to lift up higher and stayed longer in the pose  by using my legs more which have been strengthen by the preparation poses for the hamstrings and quads.

Some of the preparation poses we did were:

Cat-Cow Pose 
Standing forward bend with arms clasped at the back
High Lunge
Low Lunge 
Kneeling Quad Stretch
Revolved High Lunge
Handstand (to strengthen the arms)
Cobra Pose
Lizard pose 
Reclined Hero pose (keeping the knees together in this pose will help you to learn to keep your inner thighs turned in for the wheel pose)
Locust pose 
Bow pose
Bridge pose

Below is a very good video on the preparation poses for Urdhra Dhanurasana by Kat Heagberg,

A Weekend Of Yoga Love

When I received news that two of my favourite teachers would be in town and will be teaching during this weekend, I did not hesitate to confirm that I would be attending both sessions although it was on the 3rd and 4th day of Chinese New Year.  

Yesterday's session with Lila was a donation based class as the proceeds collected from the class will be donated to flood relief and repair in Kuantan.   The class was a healing yoga therapy class with a slow-paced flow yoga class and ended with a chakra balance session during savasana.  I felt so wonderful and relaxed after the class.

Today's workshop with Azmi focused on invoking strength and completion in vinyasa,  The workshop brings back memories of my practice with Azmi from the music that was played to the poses that was practiced.  Azmi's instruction at the beginning of the session on setting intentions reminded me why it is important to have an intention every time we step on our mat so that when we practice we are more aware and mindful.

Although the two sessions were very different, there was one common thing that both of my teachers had emphasized on which was the breath.  When we breathe in the poses, we will find ease and balance in the poses.  And as Azmi reminded us at the end of the workshop, we should remember to welcome the breath when we inhale and expressed our gratitude when we exhale as the breath is our life force.

Azmi's workshop at Yogaonethatiwant @ Saville Melawati 

Btw, the workshop was held at Yogaonethatiwant Studio @ Saville Melawati, a very nice and spacious studio.  Check out Yogaonethatiwant studios here and you can also join freeyogafit sessions organised by the studio on Saturday mornings at KLCC Park, Central Park Bandar Utama and Tasik Shah Alam.