Mula Bandha – Now I get it!
I have literally been hearing about the importance of the bandhas for years. Every yoga class, every strength training core class, every pilates class, trainers talk about the bandha in lots of different ways: “engage your mula bandha,” “squeeze your pelvic floor – lifting it,” “hold that muscle like you’re stopping your pee!” I thought I got it. I mean, I technically knew how to do it. But, that was when I was standing still, on my feet, thinking about it. Not in the middle of an inversion…when I can hardly tell my bum from my shoulder. In YTT, I have been pushing myself to new limits – utilizing muscles I never even knew I had – and trying to get into poses I never thought possible. The key principles are always the same – tuck the ribs, engage the core, tuck the tailbone and for God’s sake – squeeze that root lock! Now, my brain knows this – but the issue is trying to translate that to making my body do it whilst in extreme situations – like trying to pike up into a headstand. And, I think I’ve finally figured it out that it’s not a lack of core or quad strength. I’m just not effectively engaging the mula bandha! It all came to me one morning in Adho Mukha Swanasana. Jessica said, “Pull your chest closer to your thighs with the mula and uddiyana bandha.” So, I did what she said, and boom! Back I went – much closer to the thighs. The power of the bandhas. That’s when I finally got it – this is what I need to engage in order to get those other poses done. I am trying on a daily basis – but it takes time. Yoga is a process, and it’s not easy to try and engage so many parts when your brain and body is not used to it. But, it will happen. I just know it. And, I’ll be piking up like it’s nothing at all! -Patricia Makatsaria
The importance of knowing your body and the fun of knowing others’!
This week in YTT, one of our theory afternoons was spent learning how to analyze a body and diagnose which skeletal and muscle problems are present. Of course, two hours is hardly enough time to truly learn to identify and ‘fix’ all issues, but it was a great crash course on beginning to understand this important process to help ourselves and our future clients. I always knew that I had a few of the issues my teacher and classmates identified: pronation of the foot, slight scoliosis and kyphosis. I did NOT know that I had a flat back! But, what was really interesting was learning how these problems affected my whole body and posture, and very importantly for YTT, how they affect being able to successfully hold stable yoga poses. It gave me new insight on why my inversions are difficult to hold straight without support and how to fix that, albeit a difficult challenge. And, also, whilst I thought I was lacking core strength for Navasana, it is actually more of an issue of my lack of ability to flex my spine in a manner comfortable to hold the pose. The exciting part about all of this, though, is a newfound ability to help others as well. I find myself analyzing and diagnosing everyone around me: on the escalator from the MRT, standing in line at the grocery and even at home. I noticed my son has severe pronation of the left foot. I scheduled an appointment with a podiatrist and low and behold, he does have severe pronation – the reason behind his knees aching when he swims the breastroke. It’s exciting how it’s all tied together, and I feel empowered to learn more and help more. I will definitely be studying this topic further! -Patricia Makatsaria
ytt200hr journal week 3
Week 3 zipped through right by too quickly. I truly treasured the time we had to practice mindful yoga and having Jessica correct my alignments, especially after learning about the skeletal scoliosis and kyphosis, i did feel a little more in-tuned with the body. Despite moments of frustrations from the bi-polar left leg v.s. right leg, there was a general sense of calmness. I think all the love in the studio really helped build that calmness …. by Day 5 this week, i finally got it! How it feels to be inverted and still safe and secure, all at the same time. So, Y-A-a-Y-s!! A-U-M and keep practicing!! Muscles, let’s buck up ok?! Another thing that really sticks with me is the realization of what a level 99999999 Yoga Teacher requires …. To be FIRM yet GENTLE (?）This was particularly, demonstrated when we were learning on physical adjustments. In truth, shouldn’t this simple principle be practiced by all, across all walks of life? Namaste … Cherlyn
头倒立体会
头倒立体会 接触头倒立其实很久了，来上RYT200之前就有练习过。一开始靠墙练习，很快可以上去后一直不能离开墙。来RYT200 开始几节课发现很多同学都可以做，心里有些着急，不知道自己什么时候才能不靠墙。后来老师细致的教了方法，从手指到脚趾每个部位该怎么做都讲到了。根据老师的讲解改正了自己的姿势后发现可以慢慢的找到平衡了起来了，但还是不能保持。老师讲很多时候不是身体没有条件上去，而是潜意识里害怕摔下来所以告诉身体不要上去，我觉得深有体会。虽然不需要借助墙，但是不对着墙练习时总是不能保持体式，也更容易摔下来，面对墙时就比较稳。体式考试时虽然还是选择对着墙但是离墙比较远，坚持了三分钟，下来以后自己觉得蛮开心的。 2018.09， RYT200 周末班 liyao
Astavakrasana 体会
Astavakrasana 体会（2018-10-06） 今天能做起来但是十分不轻巧。感觉有下面几个原因：1. 外面的手不会夹紧身体，试了很多次但是臀部一离开垫子身体就会像伸腿的方向滑，导致外面的手臂没法顶住肋骨附近，2. 臀部没有自主抬高，有点依靠身体向下倾斜来抬起臀部，3. 可能上面的腿收的还不够，所以不是很直，4.腹部不适十分收紧，不稳定，这一点和臀部没有自主抬高有关系，我想如果下腹收紧，那臀部就容易太高而不至于向下坠。5. 起来以后注意力可能都在手腕手臂向下推的动作，应该更注意核心和收紧。 2018.09 RYT200 周末班 Liyao
Week 3 of YTT: When You Realise that Balancing on Your Head is really about Balancing the Body and the Brain
Even though I’ve played a lot of sports – basketball, martial arts, skiing – yoga (and even more so, teaching yoga) is a whole new different game. When I was playing sports, my body just have to respond. When I was working, I sit behind a computer and use my brains, so the rest of my body doesn’t have to do anything. Before I started YTT, yoga felt like just any other sports. There weren’t that much thinking involved – just follow the instructions and move the part of the body involved accordingly. When a pose seems impossible, I thought maybe my body is just not made for the pose. There was a huge disconnection between my body and my brain – my body moves, but my brain isn’t doing much and I never have to use both actively at the same time. But as we understand more about each pose, our own body, how it feels and the purpose of each movement, things start to get complicated because here I am following the instructions and receiving more from my own brains telling me how I should adjust my body. On the other hand, a lot of poses also start to appear more accessible when your body and brain starts to talk to each other – you realise that there’s nothing wrong with your body; your brain just doesn’t know what to tell it. It’s like learning how to go upside down at first. There are so many things to think about – at the beginning when I was a lot less aware, the whole body sometimes freezes because there are just too much information to process. I have to balance on my head, bring legs up, tuck my ribs in, keep shoulders away from ears, try not to break the mirror or fall and squash my classmate, etc. Without understanding your body and the purpose of each movement, a lot of these information are just noise – I hear and remember, but my body doesn’t know what my brain is telling it to do. But as we learn more about each pose and how our body respond, and with a lot of practice, the brain now understands the information, so it learns to break down a pose into simpler individual equations that can be processed for your own body, and the body finally understands the instructions from the brains, rather than trying to solve a simultaneous equation that has multiple correlated or unknown variables making it a never-ending loop. I struggled for a long time with headstands and pincha, only to realise that 1) the question I am solving may be different versus other classmates as my body is different so my solution has to be different, and 2) I could break down the pose into many little steps and counter steps to prevent previous mistakes instead of making my brain go crazy and trying to solve 50 equations simultaneously and the body tries to respond to all and end up twitching spastically. Speaking of which, that’s still pretty much how I feel when learning to teach yoga. There’s so many things to think about while still having to move around – I have to observe, think about things to say, move my own body, try to move someone else’s body, and fight against my own natural shyness. The neurons in my brain are firing at all direction at the same time and it’s kind of insane – reminds me of the cartoon Inside Out and all the little personifications of my emotions are on fire and running around in panic. But I do think with more understanding of how the body feels with each movement and pose, a lot of the instructions are beginning to feel like common sense instead of just trying to memorise all of the information word for word. I’m hoping with more practice, teaching yoga will be like balancing on my head – once the body and the brain starts to understand each other, the dots will naturally connect. Joan
My YTT journey part 2
On the 17th November 2018, I kick-started the teaching exam. The night before, I was stressing out about my sequence. I was worried that my sequence is not good enough, I was afraid that I might be a bad teacher, I was anxious about not articulating my cues well enough for my students to understand what I want them to do. Then I remembered what Jessica said. In summary, she mentioned that we shouldn’t construct a sequence out of our own ego. It should be constructed with care, considerations of students who are new to yoga, injured and have certain physical shortcomings. Her words were etched in my head and they provided a sense of comfort. Why? because I don’t need to create a WOOOW sequence to impress people. Yoga is not a competition or about impressing people. It is about stripping off that ego of mine and JUST CREATE A SENSIBLE SEQUENCE. It does not matter if my sequence is boring or extremely strong and impressive. It only matters if it is flows well and can make my students feel good at the end of the day, even if the sequence is entirely made up of the fundamental poses like warrior, boat, chaturanga , uttanasana , etc. Teaching my YTT friends was a humbling experience for me. As a typical millennial, I am self-centered and narcissistic. But this eye-opening experience has taught me to be less self-centered and narcissistic. I had to pay attention to how they feel and body alignments. It is not about how WOOW my sequence is. I am afraid of judgement. I fear people telling me that my sequence is “boring”, “easy game” and “no kick”. and therefore, think that I am a chill and lazy person. But, I’ve learned that your sequence does not entirely defines you. It reflects if you are a considerate and mindful teacher that prioritizes the students’ safety and feelings. I want to be a mindful and considerate teacher. I’ll be teaching my first community class this weekend, and I cannot wait to share more of my humbling experiences here! Wanwen
A refreshing journey #1
Before YTT started, I asked some of my friends who are not yoga teachers about their experiences with ytts. Most of them told me the same thing – it is life-changing. I was feeling excited yet nervous at the same time because I know I’ll have to sacrifice my weekends for this. I was also afraid of failing and then giving up. Memorizing the sanskrit, having the stamina to do 3 hours of asana practice and learning the theories were definitely not easy at all. As a university student, I was worried about not being able to juggle school and yoga commitments well. Needless to say, school and ytt combined can be overwhelming for me. However, as the weeks passed by, I realized YTT is not JUST ABOUT teaching me how to achieve certain asanas, understanding yoga theories and teaching, it teaches me about life itself, which is to find the balance. Doing the asanas reminded me that mind is indeed over matter. What looks difficult and seem impossible for me to do, is actually highly doable only if the mind conceives that nothing is impossible. Focus and resilient are the two main ingredients for achieving your goal. Disciplining the mind is THE start to manifesting the life you want to create. Wanwen
Yoga is NOT a competition…or is it?
Competition has been a major part of my life since the very beginning. In school, in sports, even in my family – always trying to be the best, to win. I don’t say this with malice; I enjoy competition. It has become a part of my daily life, and I have a healthy attitude towards it…especially when I’m winning. So, I admit it – I was really nervous to start this course. But, why? I was afraid that it was a competition, and I was afraid I was going to lose. I knew I definitely wouldn’t be the youngest, strongest, or most flexible. Knowing all that – I was scared. But, then, breathing deeply and standing tall, I walked in and sat down and started the process of yoga. Through the kind words of my teachers and the great attitudes of my fellow classmates, I have truly begun to understand that yoga is NOT a competition – at least, not in the traditional sense. I don’t get jealous that someone else’s core strength is greater than mine. I feel happy when she is able to use her strength to pike into a headstand. I’m not bitter when someone else can rotate completely in a pose because her spine is more flexible. I’m happy that she is able to do the advanced version. So, no, I’m not in competition with others. But, I am in competition with myself. I love trying to push myself to that next level of a pose. I love the feeling of finally being strong enough to do a Fallen Angle. However, I am cautious of this competition. I understand there will be ups and downs, and I am forgiving of the downs. I am kind to myself. It is a process. And, it is mine. -Patricia Makatsaria
Don’t forget the struggle
There was one time on our way to lunch, we were all sore, aching, frustrated, and completely spent. We were ranting and talking about how hard the sequence was and picking on our own difficulties and feeling rather down about it. Because well…nobody likes to be reminded of their own shortcomings right? Then I remember Jess saying, “The best kinds of teachers are not those who are already perfect and flexible and strong to begin with, like for example, a gymnast who does yoga. But rather those who have overcome their own physical limitations and can understand what their students are going through, so that they can help.” Her words hit me so hard. Just….wow. I’m learning not to view my limitations as roadblocks but rather as avenues for me to grow. I don’t ever want to forget how it feels like to struggle because it’s one big step towards being able to relate and empathize with people. Feeling so, so grateful. Anthea
