Yoga Version of the 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing all of you a year of blessings filled with abundance joy and happiness, good health and great fortune. And may the year of the Dragon stretches you to your limit and brings you peace and love.

Handstands Video

HEADSTAND - Up Close and Personal with the KING

Come and explore what you have been curious about. It is said to be the KING of postures in a Yoga Practice. Find out why in this 2-part workshop by Principal Teacher Azmi Samdjaga.

**WORKSHOP IS ONLY OPEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE PRACTICED YOGA REGULARLY (at least 2x a week) MORE THAN 4 MONTHS.**

SEATS LIMITED TO 15 ONLY!!!!!

Date: Saturday, 11 February 2012

Part I - 14.00hrs to 15.15hrs

- Myths and Facts about the posture

- Why is it important in Yoga

- Benefits and Contraindications

- Its significance to other Inversions like the Shoulder Stand

- Identify with the correct feel of headstand

- A safe and practical approach

- Mental preparation before you start

Part II - 15.30hrs to 16.45hrs

- Cautions/Restrictions

- Preparation Asanas

- Basic alignment checkpoints

- Finding balance to stay longer

- Using simple balance techniques

- Flexibility and Strength NOT required

The workshop is open to both Members of MYS and Non-Members. Rates as below. Early bird price is before 28 January 2012.

PART I - RM120, PART II - RM180, PART I&II - RM250

Early Bird Prices - RM100, RM150, RM200 Respectively

For reservations please contact My Yoga Sanctuary at:

Phone : +6012-331 9332

Email : info@yogasanc.com

Website : www.yogasanc.com

108 Surya Namaskar on New Year's Day

I decided to sign up for the New Year Special Yoga: 108 Surya Namaskar organized by Breazy Yoga with a fellow yoga practitioner to welcome the first sunrise of 2012 and this is the first time I am taking part in such an event.

It was still dark when we reached the venue, Taman Tasik Cempaka, Bangi at 6.10 am this morning.   The organizer asked us to place our mats to face the east where the sun would be rising.  Before the start of the event, we were shown half a round of the sun salutations that we would be doing which consists of:

Stand in Tadasana with hands in namaste.
Inhale and raise the arms up and above the head.

Exhale and fold forward.

Inhale and step the right foot back followed by the left foot.

Exhale, knees down followed by chest and chin.

Inhale to cobra.

Exhale to downward dog.

Inhale and step the right foot forwarded followed by the left foot.

Exhale and fold forward.

Inhale and rise up with hands sweeping upwards.

Exhale and bring the hands in namaste in Tadasana.

The other half round would be the same sequence with the left foot first.

We were told to take it easy and rest in child’s pose when we feel tired or sick. 

At 6.30 am, the count started and we will led through the sequence by a leader.  At the start, there were some awkward movements of which leg to step backward and forward first and bringing my hands to namaste after rising with the hands upwards as normally, in my Ashtanga practice, I would bring my hands to each side of the body.

However, after a few rounds, I managed to co-ordinate my movements and it was a smooth transition with the breath being the main energizing force in flowing through the asanas.   After reaching the 70^th round, I decided to skip a few rounds and take a rest in child’s pose to conserve some energy and joined back after the short rest.   

When the leader shouted that we have reached the last ten rounds, there was an air of excitement and all those who had stopped joined back for the last few rounds.    When we hit the 108^th round, the leader told us to jump forward instead of stepping forward and all of us cheered and clapped as we finished the final asana.  

As I sat in easy pose after laying down in savasana, I made a silent prayer of hope that I would be able to face all the challenges in my life as I had courageously this morning.

It was an awesome experience and watching the sky being lit up by the sun as we were doing the sun salutations brought forth the significance of the practice of paying homage to the Sun-god and enjoying his blessings.

I stretch back up to the sky

Oh Surya Namaskar

To give many thanks for blessing me with your light

I say many prayers to you

Oh Surya Namaskar

For sharing with me your light

(part of Prayer to the Sun from The Pagan Library) 

My Yoga Journey in 2011

Tonight, when we finished our yoga class, Azmi told us to reflect on our practice for the year and write down our achievements which were what I was thinking to write for my blog before the start of the class.

2011 is a year where I find myself immersing into my yoga practice by going to a yoga conference and attending two wonderful workshops besides going regularly to classes.

My yoga journey in 2011 started with a hiccup in January where I had to stay away from doing the yoga poses that put pressure on my right elbow which was diagnosed with tennis elbow.  Following the doctor’s advice, I did not go to classes and only did restorative poses at home.

After one month of sitting out the yoga classes, I went back to classes regularly and found a new awareness to my practice.  I find myself more in tune to my body, feeling every sensation and pain and learning to ease off to avoid aggravating the injury.   As my elbow healed after going through a needle scalpel treatment, my practice began to grow stronger day by day.

Going to the yoga conference in Hong Kong provided me with insights on the shortcomings of my practice besides being able to practice and learn from some of the best gurus in the yoga industry.   It was an experience that I cherished and hope to go through again.

                                              

The workshops with Gianinna and Raymond Lim were fun and the sharing of energy especially in the partner yoga sessions brought forth the importance of communication and learning to trust and support your partner.

Going regularly to the classes with Azmi Samdjaga at My Yoga Sanctuary has given me more confidence as I learned from him the techniques to go into the poses.   I am also grateful to the replacement teachers, Viviane De Doncker, Raymond  and Angie Teh for reminding me the importance of grounding and alignment in the poses.

I am now able to do a full headstand and have learned to control my bandhas to come down from the pose whereas previously I was crashing down from the pose.   Bakasana (crow pose) has become easier as well as some of the arm-balancing poses like Eka Pada KoundiyanasanaII and Astavakrasana.

I have started to practice meditation on a more regular basis although it is just sitting in silence and listening to my breath for about 10 minutes. 

2011 has been a very enlightening year in my yoga journey and I believe 2012 will also bring a lot of changes to my practice.  I will be welcoming the new year sunrise on Sunday morning at 6.30 am with a group of practitioners doing the 108 Surya Namaskar at Taman Tasik Cempaka in Bangi.

Ashtanga Yoga Videos

Two very comprehensive Ashtanga Yoga videos where you can practice along with emphasis on the breath and dristi and instructions on the fine points of the poses.

Up Close and Personal with Gianinna

If you have been following my blog, you would know that I have recently attended two yoga workshops with Gianinna. I took the opportunity to ask her for an interview as I find her to be an inspiring teacher and would like to have her share her thoughts about yoga.

What made you take up yoga and why did you become a yoga teacher and how long have you been teaching?

3 years ago I was attending a class, I used to leave before Savasana, running to work thinking “who has time for this”!, but once I decided to stay and I can remember when in Savasana I started breathing in the right way, allowing myself to face my feelings in the silence, opening my chest and feeling my whole body alive, it was a great and a huge inner experience. I’ve never felt so connected with myself before when practicing yoga.

At that moment I realized that I’ve been practicing yoga as a sport only, performing my postures but I wasn’t full minded and either connected with my breath. The more I practiced, the more I realized how important the silence is.

It took me some time to make the decision to become a Yoga Instructor. As soon as I made my choice I was completely motivated to share my experience. I’ve started looking for the way to start, lucky for me, I met the right person to help me to find a soft way to learn how to teach, without mirrors and listening to my body in the traditional hatha yoga way.

I’ve been teaching hatha and prenatal yoga since June 2011 and that’s what I share in my classes with loving, kindness and respect.

I’m a new yoga instructor, passionate about human contact. Teaching offers me the challenge and the joy of self-discovery though the process of yoga and to make contact with people out of the limit of the words.

How long you have been in Malaysia and what do you think of the yoga practitioners here?

Malaysia is a new experience for me, I arrived here in February 2011 straight from Switzerland. Originally, I'm from Peru and sincerely, I’ve found that my culture is similar as yours, despite the differences, we are friendly and as you, we like eating!

Yoga in Malaysia is part of your culture; lot of people is practicing yoga here. In my group classes I have people from everywhere, any sex, age, religion and different needs, it’s amazing. It exists so many possibilities to practice yoga. I have to say that in my prenatal class, I have ladies doing Sirsasana!.

The conscious of the practice is beautiful, “here people stay for savasana”.

What is a healthy yoga routine and how often do you suggest practicing?

I’ll suggest a daily practice. You do not have to practice a full hour and a half every time, as in a typical yoga class. Even a few minutes will do! A few minutes of practice is better than nothing, and every time you practice, you are enriched.

The best time to practice yoga?, I’ll say in the morning, yoga is especially beneficial because we tend to wake up stiff from the night of sleep. Yoga in the morning helps us loosen up and gets the blood moving so that we feel better more quickly.

It also helps to quiet the mind so that when we start engaging in the day’s activities, we can more easily maintain calm, clarity, and connection with our essence.

And of course, before bed, yoga is nice to help unwind from the day and to bring better quality sleep.

You can email Gianinna @ gianinna.yogakl@gmail.com if you would like to contact her about her classes and workshops.  You can also find Gianinna on Facebook.

Gianinna & Raymond in a Partner Yoga pose