Lisa: Achievements
Pause, rewind, playback to YTT day 1… I remember sharing with the fellow YTT friends that I aim to eventually teach yoga one day, improve my posture and also get into handstand or any sort of inversions that I thought I would never be able to do it. But throughout the few weeks, I find myself achieving more than just being able to do a certain poses (well this is a bonus of course) But I found myself understanding that Yoga is not just a physical thing, it is a union of body, mind and soul. It coincides closely with the 8 limbs of Yoga. One of the Niyamas, particularly Santosha, reminded me to be contented with wherever I am at now. It is never a race with anyone. It should not be about chasing Asanas, but to really be enjoying every progress. It might be just a 200 hours course, but I learned so much from it!!!! I gained so much knowledge, learnt a new language (of course it got to be Sanskrit), made awesome friends and enjoyed every painful physical process! I am proud to say that I did my YTT at The Yoga Mandala, this journey has just begun 😀 I am so glad to say that I have experienced such a great learning process here!!! Lisa 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Lisa: Teaching (Community Classes)
Surprisingly, this has got to be one of the most memorable events so far! I am confident to say that it is one of the best things that happened in YTT. I like how the whole YTT course is so organised! Every session was built to slowly lead us to teaching. Starting from teaching Sun Salutation to our fellow batch friends, learning how to do alignment on different body types, and then finally to teaching our friends in community classes. As instructed, I had the sequence done, it sounded good and it looked like it would flow smoothly. And then I had to remember the names of the poses, descriptions of poses, and then the steps to align. Okay all should be good. But no! When I first tried the sequence on our YTT friends in class, there were a lot more to look out for! Multi-tasking… saying the descriptions out to everyone in class but at the same time whispering to the person I am aligning. And thinking of the next pose that is coming up. HOWWW? But Jessica took it one step at a time! She guided us through every steps and I am very thankful for that :”) Thank you Jessica for guiding us throughout the whole 200 hours and for making The Yoga Mandala a safe space for us to learn and grow! I had such a great time during my community classes!!!!! Laughters overweighed the nervousness, it was a an amazing experience!! Lisa 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Lisa: Breathing into calmness (Breathing Techniques)
I have always been that someone who is never good at sitting still. In the past, I always find it super uncomfortable whenever I have to sit through the silent time catered for breathing in yoga classes. I could not even shut my eyes for a good 1 minute. But of course, when you undergo a course, there was in a way, not much of a choice because Jessica would cater 15-20 minutes everyday purely just for breathing. Ridiculous to say, but I actually learnt how to properly do deep breathing only during the YTT course. The idea I had about breathing in and out through the nose was to just fill in the lungs with oxygen, and then release the air fully during exhalation. Little did I know that deep breathing has got more to do with just that! I learnt to open my ribs and expand my stomach as I inhale and close my ribs and contract my stomach as I exhale. “Deep breathing will help to reduce stress”, this was something I never understood until I experienced Ujjayi. Personally, practising Ujjayi allows me to gather my thoughts and put them aside as I try to focus on breathing and sitting still every morning during the course. It might still be a challenge for me to sit still and stay focus throughout the whole time, but like what Jessica always says, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE PROCESS OF LEARNING 🙂 Lisa 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Lisa: Fixing bad postures (Alignment)
I always knew I had to fix my bad posture; hyperextended knees, hunch back and text neck! Especially my text neck, oopsy! It used to get in the way during my workout sessions and I never understood why my neck would hurt so badly everytime I was working on exercises such as crunches or leg lifts. Unfortunately, breaking a bad habit is difficult, so the bad posture stayed with me for a long number of years. It might sound ridiculously silly but it was never easy for me to tuck my chin to the back of my neck due to the discomfort. But Jessica, being very particular about postures, never failed to correct my neck! She always looks out for all of her students very closely! For me, she provided regressions for poses that require a lot of neck strength and miraculously I might have grown a bit of neck muscles over the few weeks during YTT :O We were taught to study about the different body types and how we could customise a yoga sequence to improve individual’s posture. I like how she always focuses that every body is different so we have to find out what is best for our own body type. As she taught us how to do alignment for others, I got more aware of my bad postures and I would purposefully roll my shoulders back, depress them away from my ears and push my chin to the back of my neck. Over that few weeks, the discomfort from my neck was not as bad as before, magiccccc! And on my fourth week through YTT course, I actually receive comments from people around me saying that there is a change in my posture (now this is magic)!! Lisa 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Lisa: Understanding the purpose of the pose (Joints & Muscles)
Yoga is not just about getting into that pose, but it really is a lot about engaging the correct muscles to enter into a particular pose! Came the week where we were introduced to the topic on joints; internal/ external rotation, extension/ flexion. Then onto the topic on muscles, agonist and antagonist. Very often, I would just fit into the shape of the pose without thinking of neither the rotation of the joints nor the contractions of a particular muscle group(s). It might look correct from the outside but I was clearly missing the purpose of many yoga poses. I attend dance classes frequent, so I would find certain poses such as Malasana or poses that require bindings are still manageable. In the past, I would just sink my bum down low into a full squat and twist with all my might to come into a bind. Little did I know that twisting before lengthening the spine could hurt the lower back in the long run. Understanding the purpose behind a particular pose allowed me to go deeper into it by engaging the correct muscle group(s). For example wheel pose, the upper back, lower back and the gluteus are the prime mover of the muscles (agonist!!!) instead of pure arms strength. With these knowledge, I find myself entering into a pose purposefully with care to reduce the risks of injuries. Lisa 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Lisa: Overcoming The Fear Of Success (Inversions)
I have always had this BIG FEAR of going upside down. But the irony is, I have always wanted to do an inversion (wahaha). Putting the benefits of inversions aside… I mean, how cool is it to stand on your hands/head instead of your feet right???? Unlike the usual statements that I always hear whenever I try to attempt an inversion, “Engage your core!’ or ‘Do not be afraid and just kick up!”, Jessica was different! She could point out the exact problem(s) and provided solutions to work on first. She took it step by step. One of the steps was to first be aware of my own body parts, I would then be able to learn to tuck in my ribs and scoop in my tailbone. I am grateful that I got to experience the weightlessness with a lot of very detailed tips from Jessica. This process strengthened me physically and mentally. Thank you Jessica for your patience and eventually allowing me to finally experience how it is like to go upside down!! My first headstand, pincha mayurasana and handstand all began at The Yoga Mandala!!! Lisa 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Scarlet: Blog 6
In my last passage, I would like to brag about myself a little bit. I am shy by nature, and what I dreaded the most was actually teaching a class, speaking and taking charge in front of (so many) other people. So when Jessica asked us to prepare a class as a teacher I was both excited and nervous at the same time. At the end of the day, was the classes I taught perfect? Far from it. Was I nervous doing it? You can bet I was. Did I do the best I could and was I happy doing it? Yes, one hundred percent. Although in retrospect there is many things I could have done different and could have improved, I was and am still proud of myself for having gone through with this task with a confident heart and mind, and always trying to keep the best interest of my “students” in mind. The best thing about joining the YTT program for me has been being able to push my limits, both physically and mentally, and I am forever grateful. one of Jessica’s quotes really stuck with me “You don’t have to be perfect to step on the mat, it’s the other way around, you step on the mat to perfect yourself! “ Thank you for this wonderful journey! But for me I would like to say it’s not the end of my yoga journey, it’s just the beginning. Namaste. Scarlet 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Scarlet: Blog 5
Now after having spent almost a month together with these wonderful people, I can be nothing but highly grateful to Jessica and my fellow students. Although we all have different backgrounds and motivations we are still sharing the same path, and I feel honored to share it with these lovely girls. With their strength and attitude they inspire me everyday to constantly improve myself, not to be better than them, but rather to be a better self for myself, to be a better self to share with my surroundings. Just be the best “I” that I can be. Scarlet 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Scarlet: Blog 4
Hour after hour practicing yoga together with Jessica and my classmates, I am finally starting to feel physically as a peer to my classmates. Although they still stretch deeper, perform poses better and perhaps have a better grasp on the all over concept of the teachings of yoga; I am finally starting to feel lighter, my body is no longer heavy, and instead of being in a state of negative anticipation towards performing certain poses or positions (ie planks, push-ups etc) I am now looking forward to challenge my body and mind, constantly seeking to improve myself, both mentally and physically. Scarlet 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
Scarlet: Blog 3
After realising that yoga could be so much more than just poses and stretches, I also got to learn about the 8 limbs of yoga and 7 chakras etc., Although I am still far away from really understanding how it works, how through asana, pranayama practice you can open ”chakras”.. however one day when we were repeatedly chanting (54 times!) ‘ohm’ under Jessica’s guidance, i had an amazing experience, i could literally feel how the energy in my body was moving around, i could feel some of my chakra’s opening. I really could feel the flow of power in my body moving around along my breath. My body got lighter and lighter, as if the laws of gravity no longer applied to me. It made me more understand the more ”spiritual or meditative sides of yoga. The different modes of meditation, different ways of reaching your inner self, different ways of accepting your surroundings and how possibly to combine all internal and external sensations into a perfect harmony. Although this is a long process, I definitely feel more connected to the world, and to myself after learning about these spiritual sides of the yoga practice. I am eager to learn more. Scarlet 200 Hour YTT Nov’19
