Inversion
Inversion is a type of yoga poses where the heart is higher from the ground than the head. I have never ever thought of it I will practice it one day. And now, thank you TYM, I literally learn from YTT a little by little on how to engage the core, gluts and entire body to lift up ourselves or make ourselves up side down. It’s kind of different experience and feeling. However, there are definitely some risks to practice these yoga poses. Always prepare to and get use to fall or injured yourself, eventually you will enjoy the moment when you lifted yourself up. Face the fear when you practice it and never give up. Once you make it upside down, inversions definitely are greatest way to boost your confidence and remind you of your greatness. Be patient with yourself and take the time to master them. If you do, you will reap their benefits for the rest of your life. Because every time when you practice inversion, it will buildup your confident, and make you stronger to see the progress of yourself to the next phase. Zenn Lim 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
Sun Salutation – Zenn
Sun salutation in Sanskrit name is Surya Namaskar. In simple way to understand: salute to the sun. Despite there are different kind of style as you can search from internet, and comes with ‘alphabetical letter’ behind, they are basically similar. Basic sun salutations are a key part of any vinyasa flow style yoga practice. It is a sequence of 12 powerful yoga poses with profound benefits that have been written about for thousands of years. One of many variations and synchronized our breath to the movements of our body. You may not even realize you are doing them sometimes, but many teachers use them as a warm-up at the beginning of class or even base whole classes around them. During the YTT weekends, we basically have to practice 10 rounds of sun salutation A and 5 rounds of sun salutation B in the morning. Before asana, after pranayama. When I was still a YTT’s newbie, I didn’t know that sun salutation have many things to be aware of. I only realized that later, when my mentor gives the verbal cues like ‘ tuck in your tail bone’, ‘tuck in your ribs’, ‘engage your core’, ‘engage your gluts’ heels facing upward’…etc. It sounds easy, isn’t it? Actually it is not easy at all. The basic instructions given probably sounds easier but when come into physical practice, it’s can completely burned all of calories in your body. I like to practice sun salutation as after all these warm-up, I totally felt a lots of different for my entire body especially early morning when I just stepped in to the studio with my heavy foot. Sun salutation always the best choice for all levels students to practice. These postures definitely are a good way to keep the body in shape and the mind calm and healthy. Master it! Zenn Lim 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
Pranayama – Zenn
After I learned about 6 breathing techniques of yoga in YTT class, I realized that breathing is not as easy as what I thought. What we’ve learnt in class are the basic breathing techniques, while there’re many more techniques that need times to explore and learn. Our breath is one of the best defenses against our daily stress and frustration. Once we learn and deep into the art of expert inhaling and exhaling, you will find the peace and feel better of yourself. Here’s my top three favorite breathing techniques: 1.Ujjayi Also known as ocean breathing. This technique is both inhalation and exhalation are done through nose with lips close. Constricting the back of the throat create the noise. It’s suitable for everyone. Good for calming and balancing our body. 2.Kapalbhati This breathing technique known as skull shining cleansing technique, is one of active deep breathing among hatha yoga that helps to heat and waken the body. It’s made up of two Sanskrit words: Kapal means ‘skull’, and Bhati means ‘shining’. It can improve the functioning of all abdominal organs. 3. Bhramari My most favorite breathing technique! Known as bee breath and perform as humming sound of a bee! It can calm your mind down instantly. Definitely undeniable one of the best breathing technique to distress as it rids the mind of frustrations and even help for having a good sleep at night. Breathing is somethings that we have to do regularly and every single day. Pay attention to breath and practice. These 3 techniques really helped me a lot of times to calm down my buzzing mind and thoughts. Ommm… Zenn Lim 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
Self-Confidence (Zenn)
Self-confidence is something that cannot be taught. It is depending on individual to decide how much belief that they possess inside of themselves. I am at the point where I realize that I must first believe in myself before others will believe in me. Nobody teaches us to be happy or sad. Those are natural feelings that come along as we develop mentally, physically, emotionally and psychologically, especially when I’m practicing yoga in the studio. However, there’s always a devil inside me, which easily break my confidence, just like a piece of cake. I always ask myself: ‘Am I ready for YTT course?’ ‘Am I ready to become a yoga teacher?’ ‘Am I possible to guide a student if I don’t have enough experience?’ ‘ Am I..’. All these questions just keep popping up in my mind. There’s always fear in me. I’m worried I couldn’t achieve this and that. Lost and struggling myself. But every weekend, my body clock will automatically wakes me at 5am and get ready for weekend YTT course. I remembered my mentor Jessica mentioned this while we doing asana: We are all here to learn. Sounds nothing isn’t it? but this is just like a booster to me. She’s right, we are all here to learn. Regardless of age nor gender, we are all here to learn. It’s not about how flexible your body is or to compete with others, we all here to learn. That’s the reason why we took YTT to improve our knowledge of Yoga. Flexibility is not a prerequisite, is an outcome. Learn the knowledge, practice the asana and let the inner fear and negatives goes. Sooner or later, I should be able to find my real self. Just a matter of time. Zenn Lim 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
Postures
I always had a little hunch back. It never really bothered me until I saw it in my wedding photos and I felt that i could look so much nicer if i were to lose the hunch. Every time someone tells me to stand or sit up straight, I always just arch my back more thinking that it helps me in standing straight up. But during YTT I realise that it is not so simple. My upper back and shoulders are really tight, and chest muscles are really short. I struggle with many asanas that requires an open chest and open shoulders. It is really not easy for my arms to be beside my ears in Urhva hastasanas and Warrior 1. I am not sure if it is just in my head, but after 2.5 weeks of practice , I feel that my chest is alot more open than it ever was. My urhva hastasanas are alot better than day 1. I still have a long way to go, but I am happy to feel an improvement! I love how YTT improves my daily life, the way i walk, the way i stand. I love that I am more aware of my body , understanding what kind of exercises and postures are good for me. I also like observing peoples postures in the trains now, and secretly envy those who do not have a hunch. On the other hand. We are half way through our YTT!! Extremely proud of every one in class! I see how everyone is improving everyday, my course mates are all very self motivated people and it really keeps the energy going, it give me strength to do even better everyday! Daisy 200 Hour YTT Jan’21
Week 4
I cannot believe that it is already week 4! Where did all the time go? Today we got to choose our time slots for our community class next week. I think everybody had a mini panic attack because it feels like its way too soon! But I guess the best way to learn to teach is through teaching itself. I am so nervous yet excited, and I cant believe we are all going to teach a one hour class on our own next week!! In my previous career we call it the “first solo”, and it will always be a very precious memory no matter how many more lessons we teach in the future. We started learning how to do adjustments for different asanas this week and it is really not as easy as it looks! It really takes a good multitasker to be able to remember your own sequence, give the instructions, identify and guide your students body into the correct poses , still addressing the whole class while adjusting one person, and also be aware of the time and of course maintaining safety. I now appreciate all the yoga teachers even more than before, they are amazing!! Practicing adjustments in class makes me feel like Im starting to be a “real yoga teacher” . I dont even know what that means but it makes me feel really accomplished! I feel like I am one step closer, a little better. I hope one day i will be good enough and I can impart my knowledge and skills to another individual and make him/her appreciate yoga the way Jessica made me to. Daisy 200 Hour YTT Jan’21
Yoga for detox
As part of our teaching assessment to fulfill YTT 200hr criteria, we had to create two sequences for community classes, and I trialled one of them recently with my amazing batch mates. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone absolutely loved the sequence and some exclaimed that there was a lot of bowel movement following the class…which made me very happy as that was the intention of my sequence indeed… I was inspired to create a detox sequence as I was feeling so bloated that week and bowel movement was very challenging that week. This was after the Christmas break we took when we had lots of feasting and merrymaking with lots of foods that’s high in fat and low in fibre so it all makes sense. While ‘detox’ sounds like a marketing term employed to get more to try a yoga class, let me first make some clarifications. Here when we mention ‘detox’ we do not mean purging the body of any toxins – detoxification in this context refers to removal of wastes from the body, and this is exactly what a detox yoga sequence promotes. We don’t claim to remove toxins from the body by strict scientific definition – please if you are feeling ill, seek professional medical advice! In a detox sequence, you will find a lot of poses with twists. I incorporated poses such as twisted high-lunge, twisted chair and marichiyasana C in my sequence. The physical action of twisting your torso is actually a form of massage of our guts. While most of the time our muscles are able to contract on their own in a healthy individual, sometimes we just need that extra movement to facilitate after many very unhealthy meals. I also had some elements of core-drills such as boat pose and twists within the sequence to activate the core area. By engaging and targeting our core and abdominal muscles, it brings blood flow to these areas to generate heat and promote blood circulation. The drills also encourage blood flow in general, and an increased blood flow will help the kidneys process waste in our blood – which is also a form of detox in some sense. The exercise also helps reduce retention caused by excessive sodium intake. So next time, if you’re feeling slightly constipated or bloated – consider a detox yoga sequence to help you reset! Justina 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
What does it take to be (in) a good (downward facing) dog ?
Ah, the classic downward dog, Ardho Mukha Svanasana. The pose that always baffles beginners when the yoga teacher says “come into downward dog to rest if you need to”. How is this a ‘resting’ position!? When I tried yoga for the very first time, just like every beginner, I contemplated giving up and I definitely did not like the feeling of being in downward dog. It took me at least a few more attempts before I actually enjoyed yoga….and downward dog was one of the reasons. Holding the downward dog just felt awfully long and that time was passing way too slowly in this pose – it felt like the whole class! I couldn’t even recall what were the other poses in the sequence. The reason why almost all beginners feel this way is because the pose counter-stretches all the muscles that we overuse in our daily activities. We are almost never in a similar position to downward dog , and this is what makes it so good for us. The downward dog is an inversion pose (surprise! You can do an inversion too even if you are a beginner!) and inversion poses are great because it promotes blood flow to our heads. It also helps stretch out all those tight hamstrings that almost everyone who sits for too long suffers from. In downward dog, the priority is to maintain a straight spine as much as possible and feel the extension from the base of our spine all the way to our neck, and this helps decompress and lengthen our spine. By placing our arms next to our ears and really pushing back to gaze at our navel, this helps to work out all the kinks we have build up from hunching in front of the computer and over our phones. Another reason why downward dog may seem challenging is also because almost every beginner will not be doing the pose correctly. To enter into downward dog, one common method I prefer is to enter from table top position, where your wrists are just below your shoulder and your knees right below your hips. This neutral position creates the perfect distance between your palms and your feet, and next is to lift both knees off the mat and push your hips towards the ceiling as high as you can to create an inverted ‘V’ shape without moving your palms and knees. For most with tight hamstrings, resist the tendency to straighten your legs or touch your heels on the ground. This will distort the ‘V’ shape and you will look more like a bridge. The key is to always keep your spine straight and to do this you will need to bend your knees as much as you need to to have your belly touch your thighs. Don’t be afraid to keep your heels lifted – this will happen if your achilles tendon is tight, not just your hamstrings. Keep going at it and one day you’ll be able to straighten your knees and touch your heels on the mat. You’ll be able to even lift all 10 toes when that happens! The downward dog is a very powerful pose; it is a classic pose in (almost) every single (hatha/vinyasa) yoga sequence and it is classic for a very good reason (just like the sun salutation sequence). It’s honestly my favourite RESTING pose now in between poses and I absolutely love that good hamstring and achilles stretch that I get every single time. Justina 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
Benefits of yoga for the sedentary homo sapien
A friend of mine exclaimed that the community class I taught had too many core exercises and it was very tiring for them because their core was so weak. In comparison, I had a breeze demonstrating because my core is strong ‘see you can sit straight on a chair without the backrest’. Of course, I disagreed that my class had ‘too many’ core exercises – those are great for you – but it was then that I realised that I have subconsciously sat on the same chair for more than an hour without leaning on the backrest, and this is only possible with a strong core. It never used to be like this for me. Like almost the majority of the population in urban areas doing our work and earning our salaries sitting on a chair, in front of the computer. When I graduated and first started working full-time, I spent so much time stationary in front of the computer that my shoulders ache almost permanently, and a salon-pas (medicated plaster for pain relief) is always within an arm’s reach. I’ve never touched more than a couple of salon-pas since I started practising yoga more than 4 years ago. You will hear a very similar story from other regular practitioners. Here I’ll like to share a few reasons why yoga resolves a lot of pain issues created by our lifestyle and some poses for you to explore: Yoga trains your core and protects your spine Our core muscles are actually very important when protecting our spine. If you didn’t already know, anthropologists argued that our pain issues began when our ape ancestors decided to stand upright despite our spine being built for climbing. As a result, immense pressure and weight is placed on the spine – which is then curved at the birth canal.Disaster As a result, lower back pain and other similar issues are extremely common. Yoga focuses heavily on building core strength, engagement, and the lengthening of the spine. Over time, a strong core will protect you from injuries to our poorly ‘designed’ spine by creating strong muscles around it to protect it. The lengthening of the spine also helps relieve some of the compression from carrying so much weight on our spine. These days, too much mobile phones and sitting in front of the computer has worsened the issues in our neck and spine (lordosis and kyphosis), and yoga counteracts this. Healthy spine, healthy life. Yoga counter-stretches that are overused and activates muscles you don’t usually use. Besides neck and spine issues, all that sitting infront of the computer has also closed up our chests, round our shoulders, and tighten our hamstrings and weaken our hip flexors. Chest-opening poses, shoulder stretches helps loosen the kinks and relieves pressure points for reduction of pain. Many yoga poses also stretches out the hamstrings and strengthens the hip flexors (which can get very weak from too much sitting). It is important to stretch and strengthen these to protect from injuries. Hopefully these will convince you to give yoga a shot for maintaining and staying pain-free for life. Justina 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu is a Sanskrit mantra popularised by Jivamukti Yoga. You will often hear it at the end of a yoga practice. I personally like to use a recording of the mantra during savasana to wrap up a practice. Here is a version of a translation of the mantras: Lokah: location, realm, all universes existing now Samastah: all beings sharing that same location Sukhino: centered in happiness and joy, free from suffering Bhav: the divine mood or state of unified existence Antu: may it be so, it must be so And when you chain the words in the mantra together, it serves as a powerful reminder of why we practise yoga, and also speaks to Ahimsa, one of the yamas in Hinduism, that is the virtue of non-violence and non-harming. One of the most memorable teachings from Jessica (our dear YTT teacher at Yoga Mandala) is that the practice of yoga is not just on your mat or when you are performing physical poses. Yoga is a way of life – and we must consider how we can extend the virtues of yoga (read up on 8 limbs of yoga) beyond the few hours of practise and let it guide our daily lives. I tend to – we all tend to- forget to practise non-violence and non-harming in our daily lives. It’s easy to be genuine and nice to your batch mates at YTT because more often than not you are not carrying your emotional armour with you when you are going for yoga – most who practise yoga fervently are patient, and full of love and acceptance (you have to be patient and be kind and love and accept yourself for who you are to even make any significant progress in yoga AND enjoy it) – there is no need to defend against such lovely people. But step off the mat and I find it challenging at times. How do we protect ourselves without being defensive, and to not practise violence and inflict harm through our actions and through our words towards others who have caused hurt or are still causing hurt willingly or unknowingly? I guess I don’t have all the right answers, at least not at this point in time, but I love how Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu is a constant reminder that our lives are so fleeting, it is fate that we are sharing the same space (perhaps we all are if we disregard the dimension of time – but let’s leave the abstract discussion for another time) and we should always endeavour to be kind, and that all beings have the right to be happy, and to be free. Justina 200 Hour YTT Oct’20
