Body Types, Aura and Chakra
In the YTT class, I learned about the five elements in ancient India and the three body type elements formed by these five elements. The elements are Water, Fire, Earth, Air and Space. The three body type elements are Pitta (made of Fire & Water), Vata (Air & Space), Kapha (Earth & Water). It’s interesting to see how well the related theories work by looking at our batch of students. Like Pitta are people who like challenge, they usually like Vinyasa. Kapha is slightly bigger size and have lung problem. By observing the teammates, we could tell the major body type elements. Your body type can have one or more than two of the majority elements. The body types are Single Dosha (Vata, Pitta or Kapha), Two-Dosha Type (Vata-Pitta, Pitta-Kapha, Kapha-vata) , and Three-Dosha Type (Vatta-Pitta-Kapha). The three dosha body type is very rare. It indicates your body is quite balance. As a yoga teacher, we can observe our students’ body types and give them suitable yoga sequences and poses to balance their body type and energy. In addition, we also learned how to observe if students have issues like flat back, hyper extended knees and how can we help them to improve the situation. I tested on it, within one week, I was able to decrease the knee and back pains as a patient myself. With a bit consciousness and action, we can build up a healthy body. Shuyan 200HR YTT
Easy is the hard – Downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana): Shuyan
Downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) is almost in all the yoga videos I’ve seen before. I did know that I could barely put my hills on the mat, but it was only until the YTT class, I realized the pose has so much more requirements. Before the YTT class, I thought the root cause of my issue is purely on hamstring. In fact, pushing your hills on the mat is not the only thing. My bigger issues are on the rounded lower back, disengaged hip flexors and core. We also need to be careful about protecting the wrist, pressing the mat with the first three fingers help a lot. It’s also part of the graduate process to reach handstand poses. As part of the Sun Salutation Sequence (Surya Namascar), we usually stay longer time in the easy poses like Mountain Pose (Tadasana) and downward facing dog to feel our body and adjust the breath and balance the energy. Simple poses are the ones we should practice more regularly. It’s also very interesting for me to know about the Strengthening and Stretching concept. Like in downward facing dog, you need to strengthen your core power to be able to stretch your hamstring further. It’s like two sides of the coin. Shuyan 200HR YTT
It always seems impossible until it’s done: Shuyan
Before coming to the YTT class, I could not do pushups, never imaged myself doing Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-limbed Staff Pose). After one month, magically, this pose becomes very easy and natural for me. Jessica gave us very detailed step-by-step practicing guide to help us building our shoulder and core muscles. I started with knees down pushups with block under my chest, then gradually reduced the height of the block. Initially, I had some problems like elbows going outwards and lacking strength in my upper arms. I tried to engage my whole arms during each practice and be present. I also could not do the 3 sets in one video and had to take break after each set. During the process, I learned how to listen to my body and be comfortable with it. After one week of practicing 3 sets of 10 easy push-ups and one minute plank, I could already see huge improvement in my following class. By simply following the homework instructions, one can really surprise himself with the things he could achieve. Our body is adaptive, don’t overthink, focus and practice, you will reach the goal! Shuyan 200HR YTT
The Six Stages of YTT- as I coined them: Shi Qi
Being a mental health practitioner, no doubts I would love a model or theory which summarizes my experiences in a concrete stages. So here I have, the Six Stages of my YTT experience, as I have personally gone through them myself. The first stage of my YTT experience can be easily termed as “Uncertainty and Apprehension”, most visibly felt during the first two to three weeks from starting the YTT. This stage, is characterized by not knowing what is going on (literally), struggling to grasp everyone’s names (is it only me?), getting past the awkward stage and at the same time, trying to learn the expectations of the course. Not to mention, getting the body used to the 6.30am call time on weekends. I mean, I am an early riser but I got to admit, I struggle with this too. Seems like there are only negatives in these first few weeks? Arguably so, but along with that came a sense of accomplishment of surviving the first few weeks and not dying (literally), the realization that the body and mind can do so much more and also, meeting people whom you know you can count on for support throughout this journey. During this period of time, mind shifts happens as well, poses that you thought you have been doing for the longest time seemed to have a different interpretation and sensation to them and best thing is, you might be doing them wrongly for your whole life (okay, maybe not whole life but part of my life). They say that habits takes time to cultivate but I think the first few weeks accelerated that and through the weekday homework, discipline is being instill as well. Isn’t this then part of the spirit of Yoga? In the next stage, let’s see how this Uncertainty and Apprehension evolved! Shi Qi 200HR YTT
Success is a journey, not a destination: Titus
I felt more confident; however, I wasn’t confident about my abilities, but I am now confident in accepting my limitations and flaws. We started to practice Pincha Mayurasana. Most of my batch mates could hit the pose; however, I have difficulty tucking my tailbone when inverted. This resulted in me having an arched back that affected my balance. I was frustrated, such an easy task of tucking in the tailbone, and I simply couldn’t do it when inverted. However, this frustration did not stay for long. I reminded myself to embrace my issues and continue to work on my limitations. When I am writing this post, I am still unable to get into the pose fully. However, I no longer feel frustrated, and in fact, I am comfortable with my progress, and I believe I will correct my issues eventually get into the pose. This week’s highlight wasn’t hitting any new or sexy poses, but instead, it was observing how I could get into poses with greater ease. What has yoga taught me: “Progression over Perfection.” Titus 200HR YTT
When you feel like giving up, remember why you started in the first place: Titus
One of the reasons I always enjoyed studio class for all sorts of workouts is community presence. As doubts constantly came to my mind, I am grateful to Jessica and my batchmates for their positive energy and sincerity. We are not here to compete to see who is better than the other but to learn and progress together. “I can’t do it!” gradually became “not yet.” Things started to fall into place as we journey into weeks 2 and 3 of YTT. Challenging physical poses became easier, teaching instructions were clearer and smoother, and humor and laughter started to fill the studio. It is possible to lack love, but there is no such situation as an abundance of love. In this uncertain world we live in. We need more love, encouragement, and positive vibes. What has yoga taught me: “Community! Uplift each other, extend a hand, show more love and exercise grace.” Titus 200HR YTT
What looks so easy doesn’t seem easy: Titus
One of the earlier assignments was learning Sun Salutation. BORINGGGGGG!!!!! That’s the thought that immediately came to my mind. We were tasked to teach in the subsequent days. How difficult can this be? Mountain pose, forward fold, plank, Chaturanga, down dog, etc. I will ace it for sure! Spending a few minutes the night before to memorize the instruction, I arrived at Telok Ayer feeling confident and un-challenged. Despite seeing how my batchmates fumbled on our first attempt into teaching sun salutation, I was still feeling confident. Within ten seconds of my routine, my world came tumbling down. I felt defeated once again. Defeated not by anything but by my ego and pride. I deemed myself as an excellent multi-tasker. However, I just could not adapt and function. My brain was overload with the tasks. I was doing the physical practice, reciting the Sanskrit, providing step-by-step instructions, etc. I was in a mess. Once again, I ended the day questioning myself if I should be here in the first place. What yoga had taught me: The famous Chinese saying: “台上一分钟 台下十年功” one minute of performance on stage, ten years of hard work off stage Titus 200HR YTT
