Yanhan (6/6) Thankful
The best thing about TYM teachers is that they care. For every single student. They share in your triumphs and tribulations. TYM is not just a studio that runs great yoga classes, it provides a safe and friendly community and space for everyone to practise. They make you want to be a better person!! I thought YTT would give me some kind of yoga-related epiphany or breakthrough. Well I still cannot magically roll up into a pincha or handstand. But I’ve become more aware, controlled and contented in my practice. As someone who’s been trained to be results-driven, this is a breakthrough. My practice is now less about being able to achieve specific poses but more about being intuitive and doing what feels good and right for me. Yoga has gone beyond being just a form of exercise for me; it is also a source of comfort and challenge. It helps me rebalance and seek my centre both on and off the mat. Throwback to one of the early theory classes when we discussed how yoga is about the unification of the mind, body and soul. I think perhaps I’m getting a better idea of what that means, and for that I’m thankful.
Yanhan (5/6) Teaching
We have reached THAT point in our YTT journey – actually teaching a full one-hour yoga class. The class sequence, delivery, students’ safety are all entirely up to us. It’s actually quite funny how most, if not all, of us freak out over this part of the YTT the most although it is pretty much the essence of a YTT. For me, the anxiety stems a lot from a sense of insecurity, wanting to make all the class attendees happy. What if I’m not good enough / what if someone doesn’t enjoy my sequence / what if I don’t know how to adjust someone correctly / what if I say the wrong thing?!? Cue Jess’ wise words (applicable to teaching yoga and life): you can’t please everyone. Just do you. Everyone is different. In a yoga class, the teaching/learning goes both ways for students and ‘teachers’ alike. I love that The Yoga Mandala provides us with the space to explore, make mistakes, grow and figure out what (teaching) yoga means to us and how we hope to share our practice with others. My first time leading a yoga class was quite liberating. I was so nervous at the start and replayed in my head how I would deliver the cues for the various poses… but as the class went on, I was just happy to share with others what I knew from my personal experience with yoga. It is truly uplifting to think that sharing about yoga has perhaps, helped me make a tiny difference in someone’s day.
Olivia 4. Fear of inversions
Throughout YTT, there are times when we ask Jess questions and she mentions she has to see us do the pose in person or that she only takes in certain private sessions because everybody is different and not every cue would work for you. A big part of being a yoga teacher is knowing that every student is different and you should give specific cues (as much as possible) for different students. And likewise , a big part of being a yoga practitioner is knowing what cues to take for yourself. Throughout YTT, “tuck your tailbone” was the biggest cue drilled into us. I think we all probably had dreams about it. And for many poses, that cue seemed to work for me, until inversions. Apparently, I was engaging that part so much (probably attribute that to leg day) that it made the front part of my legs so heavy that my legs would just fall forward. More than one instructor just told me to untuck my tailbone. I was so confused at that point that I could not even untuck my tailbone because my body automatically does it. I had to consciously get into chair pose, stick my butt out and tuck in repeatedly just to understand the movement on the ground before going up! And that helped! So from now on in inversions, when they say tuck tailbone, I have to consciously untuck my tailbone. The big lesson learned is to do what works for you and your body and to be open to feedback and suggestions (with a pinch of salt of course).
Olivia 3. Letting go
Coming from the fitness world, there’s always a little bit of ego when it comes to achieving poses or pushing yourself. But one of the most enlightening points from YTT was during the lesson on body alignments. There are just some things your body wasn’t meant to do or just have more difficulty doing. And rather than stewing over it or getting injured in order to achieve something, why not embrace it and work on the root problem (most of the time it would be body alignment). For the longest time, I was having a lot of trouble with my squats. No matter what I did, I would never increase the squat weight past a certain number. And it started to feel intense pain in my knees. That’s when the cue “tucking in your ribs” made the world of a difference. I’ve had to let go of my ego and relearn how to squat. No regrets there though! I feel a lot more comfortable and confident in my squat than I ever was before.
Olivia Yiong 2. Overcoming sun salutations & sanskrit
Sun salutations. The bane of every YTT student (at the beginning). Learning the correct alignment, memorizing the Sanskrit names and teaching the sequence – these caused quite a bit of headache in Weeks 2-5. Who knew there were so many cues for these (seemingly) simple poses? My downward dog has never been the same since. You can literally talk for 5 minutes about 1 pose, including cues, regressions, and adjustments. Doing this repeatedly at the start of the YTT Program really drilled it into us, which was probably its intention. Now I can’t think of sun salutations without thinking of the Sanskrit name first. I definitely contributed my fair share of whining when it came to sun salutations. But I’ve honestly come to appreciate sun salutations as an amazing way to warm up the body and preparing your body for the crazy flows and postures that follow after. Taking 3-5 breaths in each pose also helps in getting our minds focused and centered at the start of the class. It’s quite fun to add our own spin to the chaturanga in our sequences too 😛
Olivia Yiong 1. Welcome to YTT
So I finally took the plunge and dived right straight into YTT 200. Completing the YTT was always something on my to-do list/bucket list/whatever you call it these days. I wanted it but I made so many excuses for myself. School/work/timing/money/lack of knowledge. And somehow I chose to embark on this journey at the busiest point in my life. Working 2 jobs, starting a whole new corporate job, practicing for my 2nd performance and all while nursing the worst injury I’ve ever gotten. Genius, I know. Then again, the timing was never my best forte anyway. All I knew was that I needed and wanted to know more, find out more about why things were done a certain way. It was beyond what I used to want (i.e. just getting the cert). Basically, I just wanted to know what I was doing every yoga class. And boy, am I learning. Best $3,600 I’ve ever spent. And this was only possible with the encouragement of my yoga buddies Valerie and Sophia. And of course, meeting Jess, whose facial expressions every weekend never fails to make me laugh.
Charmaine – Appreciation (6/6)
3 months have flown by and we’re now coming to the end of YTT. I’m so grateful for Jess, who is always generous with her time and her knowledge, and is always so nurturing and compassionate even though she might be having a difficult day. Thank you Alexis for taking photos of us and giving us advice and feedback too! I’m also so grateful for all my lovely batchmates whom I’ve grown to love. Every weekend was made better with all the laughter and banter, and it’s so nice to see everybody being so genuinely caring and encouraging. Growing together, watching my friends progress and cheering each other on made the whole journey extra enjoyable. Thank you all for showing me what yoga means to all of you, sharing your practice with me every weekend for the past 3 months, and showing me what it means to teach yoga.
Charmaine – Community Classes (5/6)
So after teaching two classes (one multi-level class last week and one themed class on split pincha today) I learnt that – I am a nervous blob before class starts. I think a lot of the fear stems from worry about not being good enough and being unable to execute a perfect class. – Cues have to be repeated very very very often and in a multitude of different ways in the hopes that it gets through. I got scared that I sounded naggy but I was reassured that the people on the mat needed the reminder. – Jessica also reminded me not to take things so personally when a student seems unhappy/ looks preoccupied because it’s usually because of other factors (e.g Yen looked super grumpy during class and I was stressing out about the regular practitioners being bored with my sequence, but I asked her about it after and it turns out she was cranky about something else going on next door). – it’s hard to describe the feeling of being hyper-focused while trying to multi-task (trying to keep track of time, remembering cues, rephrasing cues that students don’t seem to respond to on the spot, your sequence, offering regressions, DIFFERENTIATING LEFT AND RIGHT, correcting alignment, adjusting students, talking while demonstrating the pose) and it’s really exhilarating during that hour, but it takes a lot of energy. I’m tired after class, but in a really great way knowing that I gave my best. – one of my friends who came for class and said that she had more fun than she expected for her first yoga class, and considered starting a yoga practice, which was very heart-warming.
Phoebe Blog 5: Making the most of your yoga teacher training
Phoebe Ng. Follow my journey @Pianista_Phoebe @YogaWithPeachy Are you getting deeper in your practice that you crave for more even after one full hour of yoga class? Are you getting tired of your office job and want to take a break? Do you feel like your life/body is falling apart and you want to piece them together again? If that sounds like you, perhaps you may want to consider taking a YTT (yoga teacher training). I have finally completed my own 200-hour YTT, so I’d like to share my experience from a student’s perspective while my memory is still fresh. Here are the questions I had before my training (or questions you may have) and my answer after completing the course. How to choose a good YTT course? Try the studio’s classes, as simple as that! If you do yoga regularly then surely you can tell if a teacher if good or whether you click with him/ her. Ask as many questions as possible. Most YTT courses are accredited by Yoga Alliance of the USA. Certifications by Yoga Alliance is recognised worldwide, so it’s safest to register for a course under it – under you are sure what kind of course you are signing up for. I hadn’t had a chance to try out Mandala’s class before the YTT. So what I did instead was to stalk their Instagram. Not just the posts, but also Instagram story – it is where you can really see the character of a course. You can also look at the profiles of their graduates, their technique and teaching style would be influenced by the YTT. I don’t know how to headstand, am I good enough for YTT? Don’t think. If you want to do it, just do. We all have to start somewhere. If you overthink, you will never go anywhere. Basically all of my postures were wrong when I started the course, so I still had to remould myself and get rid of all my previous bad habits. You do see newbies and practitioners with years of experience or even gym nerds in YTTs. I think it is a beautiful thing to have different types of people in the course because then there will be something we can learn from each other. But the bottom line is you should have at least 3 months of regular practice, because YTT can be physically quite demanding. Weekday or weekend course? We all learn differently. Some people need time to digest what they have learnt. Some people, on the contrary, may forget everything unless they keep on practicing intensely on a daily basis. So by all means choose according to your routine and learning style. It was not a difficult one for me. I have only moved to Singapore recently and was waiting for my visa. So it’s a no-brainer to sign up for a weekday class to make the most of my waiting time. I also find it tough to just sacrifice my weekends for several months. I have seen people with day job Monday to Friday and comes for YTT on weekends. But as you may imagine, it takes a lot of determination and focus to do that. What is the most difficult part of YTT? It would be different for everyone. For me, it is staying focused. It has something to do with my dosha. I tend to drift away quite easily. Yet, in yoga there is a concept of drishti, when you are in a pose you are supposed to gaze only at one point. I am always caught looking around. Physically, your muscles will be sore throughout the first one or even two weeks if you are not used to hours of asana practice on a daily basis. But you will get through it and your body will become stronger. What can I prepare? Depending on when you plan to start the YTT. It wouldn’t harm taking more yoga classes or strength training. But if you are about to start in a week, don’t suddenly hit the gym for the first time in your life. You are investing a lot for the programme, don’t waste your money just because of some stupid avoidable injuries. Can I really teach after just 200 hours? Of course you can, the exams are here for a reason! There may be studios out there who let everyone pass whatever (that’s why you need proper research!). But at least it is not the case in my course. My instructor took the exams seriously and gave us honest feedback. It is a good thing if you have this question in your mind. I hope that during your future journey, you will keep learning and growing, perhaps reading, going to yoga workshops, or another YTT, or even just learn from your student and own teaching. Put your Niyamas (observance) into practice! Svadyaya (self study)!
Phoebe Blog 4: Let go of your ego
Phoebe Ng. Follow my journey @Pianista_Phoebe @YogaWithPeachy In any kind of forward fold, like Uttanasana or Paschimottanasana, the most common mistake new yogis make is to round the back so that your head can touch the legs. One should always maintain a straight back when doing any form of forward bends. Instead of forcing yourself into a bend, go down slowly starting by pasting stomach to the thighs, or even bend the knees a little. Often, a beginner’s forward bend doesn’t go very far forward and might look more like sitting up straight. And it is perfectly fine. The goal of the pose is to lengthen the lower back, not a competition of how far you can reach. The eight limbs of yoga form a moral or ethical code to help us live happier, more purposeful lives. One of the eight limbs is called “Niyama” (observance), and it can be cultivated through samtosha (contentment). Only by letting go, we can transcend the confines of our ego and reach self-realisation. Likewise, when we attempt other challenging poses, always listen to your body and stop when you need to. It is not uncommon to hear stories of yogis injuring themselves when forcing into a difficult asana. In Sanskrit, asana means “easy and comfortable pose”, not fancy and instagrammable pose. We want to push ourselves further, but not to the extent we start hurting ourselves. Another limb of yoga is yama, which talked about ahimsa – not harming yourself. I have to admit I am a culprit myself. After learning to bunny hop into handstand for the first time, I kept practicing it for the rest of the day without realising my shoulder was almost over my fingers, which can be very dangerous for the wrist. And I ended up having to spend a whole weekend refraining from yoga practice. Every time you force yourself into a pose, even , you are compensating by cricking some body parts. Focus on your form. If you can maintain a round spine in plank, drop your knees. If you have a banana back doing headstands, practice it against the wall. Use props, make modifications. The more you allow ego to control you, the less progress you are going to make.
