Yin-Yin (4/6): The Mind and the Present Moment
One of the most important lessons that I’ve learned from YTT is that your mental strength is just as important as your physical strengthen when it comes to improving the quality of your practice. Mental strength is about the ability for your mind to stay present and to silence the external noise. According to a Harvard study, almost half of our waking hours is spent thinking about something other than what we’re doing. “Unlike other animals, humans spend a lot of time thinking about what isn’t going on around them: contemplating events that happened in the past, might happen in the future, or may never happen at all. Indeed, mind-wandering appears to be the human brain’s default mode of operation.” What’s concerning is that the study suggests a correlation between a wandering mind and an unhappy mind. How often our minds leave the present and where they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than the activities in which we are engaged.” Yoga teaches the mind to be present and to resist wandering. In particular, focusing on the breath allows me to stay present and aware of my body. This is was a surprising benefit for me joining YTT. I had originally intended to get more in shape physically. However, I was surprised at how much training the mind to be present impacted my overall satisfaction. I am excited to learn more about the breathing exercises and share these learnings with others.
Yin-Yin (3/6): Teaching Yoga for the First Time
The first time teaching sun salutation to the entire class was one of the most nerve wrecking experiences so far during my YTT course. I was nervous because 1) Doing something new is scary. I was so used to being the student and I didn’t know what to expect as a teacher, 2) Big groups can be intimidating. There were so many girls in the room that I felt like I didn’t want to mess up their poses, 3) I was afraid I would forget the different posts. We each went up to the front of the room and instructed the students on sun salutation poses. I was grateful that Jess, our teacher, was there to correct me immediately when I forgot a pose or accidentally confused the different names. The girls in the class were super supportive and had great attitudes. They were particularly cool when I took a bit longer to remember the next pose. The only way to grow is to consistently push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I’m glad that Jess, our teacher, constantly does this and I’m even more grateful for this opportunity to practice teaching. Practicing to teach has taught me to be more confident and more comfortable with making mistakes.
Yin-Yin (2/6): Learning to Teach Yoga (Four Weeks into YTT)
The focus of the program is to allow participants to not only deepen their own practice and also potentially become yoga teachers if they choose to. Four weeks into the class, I really enjoyed Yoga Mandala’s Jessica Sinclair and her way of teaching. She’s super detailed in her explanations and patient with her students. She’s also not afraid to push her students to get out of their comfort zones which is a great quality in a teacher. Over the last few weeks I’m learning about the key differences between practicing and teaching yoga. 1) What comes naturally to me may not necessarily come naturally to others. Our bodies and our minds can vary from person to person. Just because something comes naturally to me doesn’t necessarily mean that it will automatically resonate with someone else. For example, because I’ve been practicing yoga for 7 years, I feel quite comfortable with the sun salutation sequence. However, as I was instructing this sequence, my teacher reminded me to mention variations for certain poses for students with limited flexibility. It was then I realized that I had unconsciously assumed variations was universal knowledge. It was a good reminder to plan your classes and instructions with your students (of varying levels) in mind. 2) You may not initially like the way you teach. When I recorded myself teaching a sequence, it didn’t turn out the way I had imagined. I spent most of the time cringing at my yoga or frustrated at the pace. I was a lot cooler in my mind than in real life. Recording myself was super helpful to observe and refine my teaching. 3) There are a lot of different teaching styles. One of our homework assignments 4 weeks into YTT was to teach the sun salutation to our YTT class. As we went around the room of 10+ people, it was interesting to see that even though the sequence was the same, everyone’s approach was unique with different intonation, pace, and details. This was reassuring because it made me realize there isn’t one “correct” way to teach yoga and in fact, I can have fun adding in my own style.
Yin-Yin (1/6) Introduction: Why I started YTT
I had been an avid runner growing up. I didn’t get into yoga until after college. I was initially drawn to it because it was so different from my normal routine. What kept me practicing for almost 7 years now is how it continues to challenge me in new ways both physically and mentally. My favourite part about yoga is how it’s taught me to understand how my words and actions impact those around me. This heightened sense of self-awareness has positively impacted not only my practice, but also my work and personal relationships. What drew me to Yoga Teacher Training was the desire to learn. Yoga Mandala particularly stood out because I had taken classes there before and loved the ambiance of the studio and the awesome teachers there. I felt that there was no way 5,000 years of yoga history and philosophy could be understood in just a simple 1-hour class, regardless of how many classes I’ve taken over the last 7 years. I’m super excited for what’s in store and hope to share my journey at Yoga Mandala with others who are also contemplating taking YTT.
Yan Han – discipline/creativity (3/6)
YTT has worked our minds and bodies h a r d. Everyone’s physical practice is different. We have different body types, strengths and weaknesses, goals and intentions. The YTT emphasises the importance of discipline in your physical practice. Getting the alignment and engagement right instead of just falling into the shapes. Letting go of the ego. Like squaring the hips instead of splaying them open without engagement just so I can do a full split. It takes so much discipline and humility. As we learn about sequencing flows for classes (or personal practice), there is plenty of room for creativity. I’ve never really thought about mindfully sequencing poses for my personal practice, because who’s looking right? It’s just me and my body must be fine with anything I make it do. I now have a newfound appreciation for clever/creative/purposeful yoga flows, and I pay more attention to the sequencing in yoga classes or online videos I watch. The possibilities are endless! In yoga there are so many ways you can move. You gain awareness of your limits, but also discover strengths and range of motion that you never thought you had.
KC – The Art of Yoga Sequencing (3/6)
Of course I’m not talking about MY Art of Yoga Sequencing. Mine is just at doodling stage. What I scribbled on paper is basically over-thinking and messy bits and pieces of yoga flows. We were told to create our own sequence of yoga as homework. I remember I was very enthusiastic, wanting to create a perfect yoga flow for a particular chakra. Then, my enthusiasm burned away by my over-thinking mind. I kept staring on a blank Words file, no idea which asana to be used. By the time I finished typing a 30-min sequence, 4 hours had gone by. What?! 4 hours! And that had not included the time of me going through my own sequence! I’m lacking in asana and anatomy knowledge, the experience of pacing the sequence, and the understanding of the seamlessness of flow. Probably I really need to sign up for yoga classes (I usually just practise at home). Cannot be 井底之蛙 (“frog in the well”) anymore. So, I’m still far away from the ‘art’. I shall polish my doodling skill first, and test the sequences on myself, and on some innocent family and friends, and learn from mistakes. Ok this shall be the plan for now.
Renee – OMG Inversions! (3/6)
Comes to the inversion part, as what I mentioned before, I really don’t have a strong foundation and enough strength, inversion to me is really challenging and tough, I never tried any kind of stand before except shoulder stand T_T 1st inversion in Mandala is headstand, Jess guided us step by step and emphasised the important key points, like how to place ur head on the mat, push the shoulders away from ears and keep tuck in the ribs & tailbones, 3 points of contact etc. Most of my classmates did it easily and successfully by following her guide, however, it’s so difficult for me to implement even with her helping hand, I try my best to push my shoulders away but still can’t flip myself upwards, a bit frustrated but Jess told me it’s ok, the most important thing is not flipping yourself up successfully but by doing it safely. After class I tried to practise at home but made a mistake which was I did not against the wall but my bed, so when I fell, I strained my lower back, haha what a silly mistake… But surprisingly, after stopped for few weeks, suddenly I can do the headstand by last week! Not sure how I unlocked this new skill but guess it’s because I built up some strength through the few weeks YTT training and finally managed to push my shoulders away! What I need to improve now is pull myself up without the wall and stay there for a longer time 🙂 But when come to Pincha, then it’s become the real challenge to me, I have been tried for 2 weeks and still trying, while Jess asked me to avoid any arm balances and inversions for now due to my shoulder issue, so I will only practise the basic 3 legged dolphin first and hopefully one day I can overcome it and do Pincha!
Renee – Body, Mind and Soul (1/6)
6 & 7 July 2019 – Day 1 & 2 Before class starts, Jess asked everyone to give a self-introduction, then I realised I am the most junior one among all my classmates and with a very poor foundation, less than 2 years on and off practice plus lack of flexibility and body strength…and not doing any practice in any place currently! Think I’m the only person who could not do the proper Chaturanga in my class…So I started to worry a lot and doubt if I really can graduate from this program… However during the Day 2 theory session, Jess taught us Yoga is the union of our body, mind and soul. So is not only about how fancy asana or posture you can do. It’s more about observe yourself and bring awareness of your body. Which is quite in line with my 3A belief – Awareness, Awaken & Action. Quite enjoy the theory part, Jess is such a cute and fun teacher, with the adequate profession at the same time. I’m glad that I chose Mandala for my YTT journey and hope it can bring me full awareness!
KC – Scary Inversion (2/6)
I wrote that knowing how to fall out safely will help me in my inversion practice. Believe me, I meant what I wrote. But when comes to practicing inversion, I forgot that belief. When everything is upside down in your vision, you can think of nothing other than the fear of falling . I don’t understand why I have this fear (I’m so short and my center of gravity is really not far from the mat lor!). I have the wall behind me, and I have the mat supporting me. What I need to do is to press forearms firmly to the mat, tuck in ribs, tuck in tailbone, square the hips, look at the mat and kick up the legs. But my legs never touched the wall, which is just 20cm away. Jessica told me “Don’t think so much”. For now, I will practise “dolphin” to condition my body. Let that feeling of going into inversion sink in more before I attempt inversion again. The journey matters.
KC – Falling out safely (1/6)
03/08/2019 Day 9 I woke up before alarm rang at 5.30a.m today. I was worried about the lesson today – how to fall out safely from headstand. Jessica drew a perfect one-legged forearm wheel pose on the board, saying this is the pose we are supposed to fall out from headstand safely into. Ah ha! I’ve never attempted a one-legged forearm wheel pose before! While I was busy handling my anxiousness, Jessica explained and demonstrated how to partner with a friend to practise the fall out. And, the practice started! No time to be anxious anymore, I knelt down, pressed both forearms all the way into the mat, my friend supported strongly on my left leg, and I somehow ended in one-legged forearm wheel, safely. Ah-ha! My back, my forearms, and I survived! We practised a few more rounds. The confidence grew after each fall out. I believe this technique (and the wall) will help me in my inversion practice.
