Conducting our first class
Teaching our first class this weekend was something we practised and worked hard for, as it was our first time delivering a full class. We had rehearsed with each other prior, giving feedback on what to improve on. Remembering the poses and transitions is also a challenge for me with my poor memory and I had to run through the sequence on my own a couple of times too, but I find that it really helps to have the poses flow from one to another as it would come naturally to mind. Hopefully when I am more used to this, I will take less time to prepare for a lesson. It was exhilarating to be able to teach a full sequence. I started off a little shaky and nervous, especially with the mask on and I was getting a little breathless trying to do the sun salutations together with my ‘students’. I was also a little panicked prior to the start of class as I was unable to get my music playing on the speaker. Being a yoga teacher also trains the mind in many ways – you’re forced to stay calm and focused, because there’s no stopping once the class starts. Here’s noting down what I found challenging with teaching: 1) Juggling delivering instructions, observing students and reacting to their requirements and limitations by giving customized cues 2) Being aware of the time and not panicking near the end of the sequence because it may feel like you are running out of time, but you actually aren’t 3) Not getting tongue-tied when giving instructions, or saying wrong body parts or directions 4) Juggling giving adjustments while focusing on the flow of the class (which we tried when practising with each other) 5) Not letting any distractions throw you off at any moment 6) The most challenging – keeping count of the breaths, either mentally or physically (somehow I can’t take as long deep breaths as when I am practising) and keeping them consistent among poses. Mel also told me this during our practice sessions and I still need to work on this Looking forward to more classes! Michelle Cheung 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Surya Namaskar
The most enjoyable part for me in Sun Salutation is to learn the Sanskrit names of the asanas. It is fun to break the words down and learn what they mean. Interestingly, the Sanskrit names of the asanas are the literal instructions for you to get into the pose. The main thing that I was really worried about when I decided to go for my YTT is that I may have been practising with quite a bit of bad habits or incorrect postures. Out of the entire Surya Namaskar, I could only do Tadasana and Chaturanga Dandasana. I struggled in Uttanasana, Ardha Uttanasana, and Adho Mukha Swanasana. My downward facing dog – you have no idea how funny it was when Jessica tried to flatten my lower back just so that my spine is lengthened, and she failed just because my lower back is that tight but of course she provided a variation for me to work on. The last part is something I appreciate a lot which is when she broke the poses down for us after our morning practice. I like how we are taught on what kind of variations or regressions to provide if someone is facing certain injuries or issues or simply just because body proportions which do not allow them to take certain poses. Nate 2oo Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Meditation in Sukhasana — Easy Seated Pose is Not Easy
Sukhasana, commonly known as easy or comfortable seated pose. A simple act of sitting cross-legged and doing breathing exercises. But I’ve found that there is a lot more to the pose than mere sitting and breathing. The first challenge was body posture alignment. Sitting up tall to ensure the spine is straight, but it is not only the back, but the head and neck included. The weight of the body has to be evenly distributed, meaning you can’t have more weight on one bum and leaning to the side. The body had to be relaxed and relieved of tension, yet the alignment had to be maintained continuously, it was a sense of finding balance between the two contradictory states. Next was the act of breathing. Sounds simple enough, the body naturally breathes on its own. And yet when it has to be done consciously, there are all kinds of distractions in the head. It could be body aches or random thoughts, and it makes the breath erratic. It is actually difficult to focus on the now, the present moment of being on the mat. You have to steel your mind, allowing the thoughts to flow through you and let it go, only then you can take the next step of focusing on the breath. More importantly, focusing on yourself. Is the easy seated pose easy? It could be, with enough practice, you can find steadiness in your body and a calm sense of rhythm in your breathing. Alvin 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Savasana (Corpse Pose) — A Difficult Relaxation Pose
Savasana, a pose often used for relaxation at the end of a session, and a favorite for students. It may seem like the perfect nap time at the end of the yoga practice. But you actually have to be fully conscious, yet being completely relaxed. Not everyone can be happily balanced and relaxed in this pose. I have friends with anxiety issues that find it hard to find comfort in the pose. The body twitches, the mind is preoccupied, and sometimes they open their eyes and come out of the pose. Personally, I found it hard to relax my body when I first experienced the pose. I heard the instructions to relax each part of my body, however I could not release the tension of the muscles on command. Only with more practice, my body was aligned with my mind, and releasing the tensions in both body and mind. At times, I also found the pose to be extremely humbling, such as crying over a dearly departed pet and being thankful to my body for achieving a peak pose during the practice. Alvin 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
The Subtle Transition from a Yoga Practitioner to a Yoga Teacher
Three months ago, in February 2021, I began my YTT as a total amateur in yoga. I had little to no knowledge on poses and their names. As we practiced Asanas in class, I had to rely heavily on instructions given, and looking around for reference of each pose. Even then, I didn’t get into certain poses as my body and mind couldn’t keep up. I was basically a lost sheep that followed the flock and being guided by a Shepard. With each weekly session of practice, my mind could process more instructions and my body gradually making minute progressions for each pose. But it still seemed impossible to visualize myself teaching people. But I found that the major leap forward was after understanding the Sanskrit translations to English, the why behind each instruction and the adjustments that teachers have to learn for students. All of these contributed to the insight of the poses, the flow and the practice itself. And I came to realize that the mind can adapt and do so much more than expected, the multi-tasking of teaching the Sanskrit/English pose name with instructions and the additional awareness of each student in the studio, is very much possible. Alvin 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
The Core of Standing Poses
Standing poses, my initial thoughts were that these were purely leg strength or flexibility. Which was pretty evident when I struggled with holding poses such as Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrior 1). My thighs quivered, shook, and screamed internally in agony from the pain. But I came to the realization that there was so much more to standing poses. It required a lot of core, the ab muscles to hold the pose comfortably without throwing out the back. There was a need to breath. Yes, I forgot to breath sometimes as I was distracted by the pain. By finding a rhythm to the breathing, the breath can be lengthened and oxygen supplied to the muscles, giving it strength and stability. The mind in particular, was the essence of the practice. The most insightful experience was standing in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), but with my eyes closed. It was the easiest standing pose, however I could feel myself swaying minutely on each side of my feet. It was important for the mind to be conscious of the pose, how the weight should be distributed, only then would the body gain awareness to feel each pose and execute it properly. Alvin 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Week 4: Body Progression & Breathing
‘Coming into an easy seated pose’, being the first instruction for meditation, has caused a little personal phobia for me over the past 3 weeks for the following reasons. 1. Adjustment of body posture and alignment is hard work When seated in meditation, my objective is to work on my body posture and alignment to improve my scoliosis condition. As this is the beginning of a long, painful journey of developing the required muscles to effect the transformation of my spine, my back muscles have been aching so much from just sitting and holding the right posture for the whole duration of meditation. And all the aching didn’t feel like it was worth it, because I was technically ‘doing nothing’ and the effect is also not immediately noticeable. It was also very discouraging when people asked what I did in YTT that resulted in the aching, while my answer to them is ‘Everything’, my honest answer to myself is ‘Just sitting :(‘. 2. Inability to do full inhalations Inhaling and exhaling for equal durations makes me feel breathless. I often feel that I have already reached my maximum capacity and I’m struggling to breathe in more, but the duration just could not match up to that of my exhalation. On hindsight, breathing has indeed been a constant issue to me across multiple disciplines in my life. As a competitive swimmer from young, each breath was always short and quick; just enough to fill my lungs and hold out for the next few quick strokes. It seems probable that I ‘learnt’ that my maximum breathing capacity is limited to my lungs from this very sport I have picked up since childhood. As a cross-country runner in secondary school and JC, my running coach used to tell me that my breaths are too shallow and fast paced. The correct breathing technique for running should be to inhale using the diaphragm at a 2:1 duration ratio, with the inhalations taking 2 strides and the exhalation taking just 1. I never could figure out how to breathe into the diaphragm. Frequently in pole dancing, I would also tend to hold my breath unknowingly because nailing the tricks would always be my priority. Little did I think about the fact that without breathing properly, my muscles would not be able to last as long nor perform at their optimal levels. I went for a singing class once and even then, the instructor had pointed out that I did not breathe in using my diaphragm and therefore found it difficult to hold and control long notes. — During meditation this 4th YTT weekend, I noticed that I was able to find the adjusted posture much more easily and hold it without fidgeting as much. Jessica also commented that my right shoulder was raised significantly less. My back muscles ached less as well. I attribute this progression to my conscious effort over the weeks on and off the mat. Because I realised that what was going to really make a difference was not just that few hours on the mat during YTT classes, but was instead the awareness of what my body is doing at any one time and the conscious effort of the minute adjustments in my daily life (eg. sitting habits, standing postures, the way I exert strength when I pole, etc). All these may seem like little things, but they add up significantly and are often underestimated. I was also finally able to take proper full breaths, and could actually feel my diaphragm being filled up. Inhalation duration has lengthened significantly and even exceeded my exhalation duration when I do focus on my breathing, and I was able to maintain a steady inhalation for a full ‘Omm’ in the soundtrack that is played during meditation. Experiencing these 2 improvements in my body greatly encouraged and motivated me. Onwards to more personal progress and breakthroughs, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they are, or how different they may be from others’. Melissa 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Week 5: Joint Movements & Spinal Check
Over this past weekend, we learnt about the different kinds of movements that each major joint in our bodies offer. It was really interesting to be thinking about our body movements as a result of certain joint actions, let alone describe the entry to a pose by using individual joint movements. Having done a variety of sports for a good 85% of my life thus far and stepping up to be a swimming coach and subsequently a pole dance instructor has helped me develop body awareness over the years. This newfound knowledge about joint movements is very useful and insightful for me in understanding the way our bodies move on a much deeper level and will aid me greating in my teaching for each of my sports. Having been diagnosed with scoliosis since even before I entered primary school, I was always very aware of my body condition and could always tell when others had scoliosis as well. When I was in my secondary school cross country team, I had also been told that my left foot was pronated and my right was supinated; probably explains why I always fell down.. But I thought I was aware of the many problems my body had. When Jessica did a spinal check on every one of us, I was amazed that I still found out something new that I have yet to discover about my body. Things I didn’t know about my body until this weekend: 1. My knees are hyperextended, left more than the right; this could be seen from the puffiness at the back of my knees. 2. My hips are slanted, which means my shorts are always slanted – not sure why I have never noticed that. As we get on with our daily lives and activities, our bodies evolve continually as well. It is therefore important to know our bodies and be highly aware of the changes that our bodies may be going through. Melissa 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
My first community class
It was finally the day where I had to teach my first community class. Sure enough, my nerves were not cooperating and I was panicking beyond belief, pacing up and down the studio, recording a 140 heart rate while doing so. Public speaking was never really my thing, much less having to teach a full hour class. I guess it did help a little that those were my friends and family that I was teaching though. Nonetheless, I strong-armed my way through it and before I could even process and collect my thoughts, it was already over! Truth be told, I was pretty bummed after because I felt I fell short of my own expectations, and ended up entertaining all the “If Onlys” and “What Ifs” from the one-hour class that was, ironically, playing on an endless loop in my head. We all aspire to be that perfect versions of ourselves, and sometimes set such unimaginable standards for ourselves that when we fall, there isn’t anything left to catch us at the bottom. My biggest takeaway from my first teaching session was not how terribly I fell from this, but, as cliché as it sounds, that it is actually OK to fall and make mistakes, and to fully accept graciously that to grow, we must first learn to embrace failure. We all could afford to be kinder to ourselves, and in doing so, we can in turn be kinder to those around us as well. Emilyn 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Here’s to my teachers
In light of this being my last post and with it being hours (!!) away till the end of the beautiful journey we call YTT, my mind went to the wonderful people who have been pivotal in my journey as a student in yoga. In the 10 years I’ve been in and out of studios learning more of the craft, its always been incredibly intimidating to speak my truth to my teachers, but there are just some things that you never seem to forget… Thank you for reminding me to laugh By allowing me to let go, and not take myself too seriously, you’ve reminded me why I loved yoga to begin with – a mixture of calisthenics, gymnastics and a sprinkle of spirituality. Whenever I feel as if I need a break from the world, the mat is the first place I think of, and as soon as I am on the mat, the outside stresses of the world leaves my mind and I can be a kid again. You've allowed me an escape that I will be forever thankful for. Thank you for showing me my true strength. Not only physical strength, but more importantly mental strength. You've shown me that I am more than what others may think of me, and that I can rise above any obstacle that comes through my path. Thank you for speaking to me like a person I am not a calm person, I detect inflections and microagressions to a tee and it chafes me beyond the extreme when learning prevented by the ego. To all my teachers, thank you for speaking to me like a student, but also without BS. Here's the thing – you speak normally. In your regular voice, no velveteen, no dumb metaphors that make no sense, no fake sing song manner that I know you don’t have. Drives me nuts. I love all bits of you! Thank you for being patient with my questions and practice I am a slow learner. Admittedly, I stew and mince the teachings in my head and figure my way till it makes sense to me. But sometimes, I get the guts to ask questions and I recall embarrassingly looking at all my teachers as they patiently wait while I stumble through the ask. The thing is all the teachers I know most teachers are encouraging of their students but to dispel judgement for a few moments while my brain struggles to start…that ahimsa I need to learn, and for that Im eternally thankful. Thank you for introducing me to myself Having mindfulness is harder than it seems, especially in today's society and my line of work. Over the past couple years, I have learnt to listen closer to my gut, become aware of the thoughts and feelings in my body and hence, become more mindful to the world around me. Yoga and the teachers have always felt welcoming to the true me, and that’s pretty amazing. And lastly, thank you for allowing me to breathe. As simple as it sounds, breathing is the one thing that I carry around most with me off the mat. Deep breaths are what get me through the day. Throughout tough situations, emotional battles, and stressful times, I always know to come back to my yoga, to come back to my breath. Nurul 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
