First time leading a class
The first time leading a yoga class was nerve wrecking but I enjoyed it very much. It was such a valuable lesson. I’m a natural introvert and speaking in public was always a challenge for me. Back in university, I dreaded discussion time. However, teaching yoga brings me out of my comfort zone and I feel very empowered. I really enjoy the process of creating sequences as I can be creative. The hardest part is to teach it 🙂 The first class didn’t go as well as I hoped. I completely forgot the sequence and had to improvised. Thank god my classmates didn’t realise it. I need work on my voice as well because i Know i talk fast and high pitched voice when i’m nervous. I was too proud to not save the sequence as my screensaver. It’s never good to be over-confident :). There is a lot room to improve. Thank you Jessica for all the feedbacks and advices! I will remember everything you said by heart and work on it! Now I need to learn to be a poised and calm teacher. Anna
Second last week of YTT
OMG How the time passes so much. I actually doesn’t want the 200 hours YTT to end. When I first started, I was wondering how I’m gonna survive the YTT since it starts at 8am and i have never been a morning person. However, to my surprise, I actually look forward to waking up early and start the classes every morning. We have learnt so much about our body, our chakras and our doshas. I also find it interesting how yoga will help our spine. I have always known that i have a crooked spine and a hunch back but i’ve been always unsure of how to fix it.Turn out, all I have to do is by doing fold forward poses to help improving my postures. The YTT has given me self-confidence too. Somehow, I feel that i’m taller even though i’m the shortest in class. My body is changing so fast in just 4 weeks :). It’s amazing! Anna
Nerve Wrecking First Class!! (Shuping)
We have finally come to the first day of teaching week. I have my first ever class and it was such a nerve wrecking yet valuable experience. We have the chance to open our class to our friends, family and public. Despite having the class during working hours, I am really grateful to have a few friends coming over to support. Having the opportunity to teach a yoga class was an eye opener for me. What may seem like just an hour of practice is actually tons of time spent preparing it. I would never be able to do this without the month of practice and learning, neither would I be able to do this without having a proper sequence in mind and understanding of how to get into the poses in the sequence. I have also learnt that you will never be able to be fully prepared for everything. What’s more important is how you are able to react under pressure. It was also a great experience having students (friends) who were new to yoga in the class, as it pushes me to think of different strategies in delivering instructions that were clear enough to different groups in the same class. Jessica has also given great feedback and observations which are really helpful. While there are definitely many areas to be improved, I’m finding myself enjoying the process and yearning to do more! 2 more classes to go! Shuping
It’s About Grasping the Process (Shuping)
More than 3 weeks of YTT has passed, and I can feel myself getting much stronger mentally and physically. I have a better sense of self awareness, and also experienced activating one of my chakras after doing 6 rounds of prone sequence, feeling immerse heat in my belly during Savasana in an air-conditioned room. Though still feeling unbelievable and shock, it was definitely an eye opener for me. While I have definitely progressed during these few weeks, a part of me is still feeling unsettled and unready. What is next after graduating from this YTT? I’m surrounded with uncertainties and sometimes doubts in myself. There are many poses that I have difficulty in doing, how can I teach? I was having great difficulties performing Tittibhasana and Jessica recommended using blocks to assist, which eventually helped me to be able to come to the starting pose. We were also taught to learn how to analyze the muscles required to be engaged in each of the poses in order to know how to do the poses. There is definitely a lot more to learn in yoga. But through these experiences I’ve definitely learn to shift my mindset a little. It’s not about how many asanas you can do and how well you do them, instead, it’s really about how you can grasp the process in doing them, and be able to break them down in to steps to teach and help yourself or someone else to successfully get into the pose. Shuping
Theory Lessons (Shuping)
Our theory lessons are getting more and more interesting as the days went by. Other than the dreadful Sanskrit names (but I am starting to appreciate it) which we have to learn at the start, we have also learned more about our body, joints, muscle and spine analysis and yoga as a way of living. I have never appreciated yoga more until this training course. I used to think that yoga is all about practicing the poses well and staying focus but no I was so wrong! Every sequence and flow are aligned to our chakras which we do not want to mess up, and not all body types or spinal structure suit every single asana pose. If done wrongly, it could be damaging to the body instead. It has been a really insightful journey so far, and it definitely has brought more hunger in me to increase my knowledge in yoga. Shuping
Managing the Murphy’s Law (Shuping)
Always be prepared mentally and except the unexpected. It’s the third week of YTT and we have covered the entire asana sequence. We have also started giving instructions for sun salutations and taking turns to say the poses in Sanskrit and doing counts for the rest of classmates. I volunteered to say the poses for the entire sequence, and memorized the Sanskrit names by heart the night before. Imagine my confidence turned into horror when Jessica asked me to give instructions and adjustments for the first standing sequence. Definitely not prepared for this, and meltdown I went. As screwed as I can get, but I must say it was a great learning lesson. Life’s not always a bed of roses and you probably can never be fully prepared. No matter what happens, always stay calm and be the best of yourself. Though I have to admit, there is definitely so much more for me to prepare other than memorizing the Sanskrit names. Shuping
Fear (Shuping)
Fear is a mental obstacle that slowly builds within you as you grow, without you knowing. It wasn’t until joining the YTT that I realized that I have probably built a Great Wall of China inside me. Over the years of doing sports, I have accumulated numerous injuries, and what I did not realize is that I have also accumulated numerous fears that stopped me from performing poses to prevent myself from getting injured. The first week of YTT has definitely brought some insights to me. We started learning to do headstands and no matter how I try, I could not get myself to do it. Thinking it was purely due to physical strength, however, Jessica pointed out that I could do it. I tried several times at home during the weekend and even filmed myself to see what went wrong. It was at the point of time when both legs managed to land on the wall when I realized that it was not all physical, and that my fear was so great that I was the one that literally brought myself down again and again. It was definitely a great learning lesson for me to be able to identify and acknowledge my fears. What’s next is how do I actually manage them properly to overcome this wall that I have built. I shall start with Ujayii breathing and meditation to work those thoughts out. Ohm… Shuping
01-March-2019: Show up-Tal
Celebrating 3 weeks of YTT, feel so proud to come this far. I now understand that the key to my success is showing up, be present. It’s not the strength of my body , it’s not the strength of my brain, it’s the strength of my soul, my heart and how much I love myself and believe in myself although my body is aching, although my brain tells me I can’t. This week was extremely challenging and yet I showed up on the mat every morning (GOD knows how hard it was) and ended up the week with a huge smile in my heart knowing the lesson of this week is – even when you think there is nothing left in you, you can still find some more just by showing up 🙂
20-Feb-2019: The Letting Go Asana-Tal
Second week of my YTT and I understand that the biggest Asana I need to practice is the ‘letting go’ one. It is so easy to be harsh on myself, it is so easy to be disappointed, but at the same time it is very degrading and restricting. I realize that in order to get better in my physical abilities I need first to increase and improve my mental strength. This means that I need to be kind to myself and to my body. The more I’ll be able to let go at any given moment, the more it will allow my spirit to grow. The less boundaries I set for myself like; ‘if’ ‘should have’ ‘but’ ‘can’t’ ‘no’ the easier it will be to let go, move forward and even fly – so bring it on, I’m ready and even if I’m not I’m sure as hell going to enjoy the ride 😉
15-Feb-2019, Journey?-Tal
Today I realized what a journey is. I always imagined a long rough road with lots of obstacles, the kind of road that you can’t know when and how it will end. I woke up this morning understanding that everything in life is a journey, taking a class, doing homework with my kids, choosing how to nurture my body, to be kind to myself at all times, getting on the mat, every posture is a journey, even every breath I take and every thought I think is a journey. In some journeys I’m alone in some I have company, most journeys are thoughts that goes on in my head. From today onward I choose to consider each Journey as a victory, in one way or another, and as victories they should be celebrated (failures are also victories as they are celebration of trying, or learning how do do thing differently next time). So this is my celebration to be grateful and humble for the opportunity this life offers me.
