Samasthiti

Date : Monday, October 28th, 2013 Day: 25 OK boys and girls. This is the end of the journey (on the board). Technically though from just the number of days I have gone to class, I have 5 more days to go. And ok, I skipped a few here and there. How many you ask? well, hmm, 3 :) I can blame it on that nagging pain in my right thigh, but it's a combination of many other factors. But I'll tell you this, my body needed that rest. And voila (!) the pain has vanished.  So I finally went for the evening Ashtanga class by Michelle on Monday. And putting that last dot on that chart, man oh man! What accomplishment. OK self praise stops here. I am still beating myself for missing 3 days on a row.  So there you go, my lovely smilies on the board :) What shall we talk about today. Let's talk about the Vrksasana or the tree pose. It comes from the Sanskrit word 'Vriks' meaning plant or tree and asana means posture. This asana as easy as it seems requires imme...

Date : Thursday, October 24th, 2013 Day : 24 OK people, let's do this! With this class logged in, I have only one more class to complete that board. Wow. I cant seem to take straight pictures EVER! A very sleepy day. Fortunately a Thursday, which means I have another night of getting up and going to work and then weeeekeeeend! My post is called "Monica, oh my darling" because today's class was Hot hom by Monica and there's this really popular hindi song   called that ! Like, it's a cult song. If you are watch bollywood movies and don't know that song, well, umm, you should be a little ashamed at yourself :| So I also asked Monica what is the cause for this pain on the right thigh and back leg and what I should and shouldn't do. She said I should be careful when stretching, and that I should always always always suck my stomach in, and push it towards the spine, because that makes sure that I don't compress my spine and i'm stretc...

Date : October 23rd, 2013. Wednesday Day : 23 O.M.G.  I'm getting there, well, at least on the above board i am! So I decided the last three stickers to have the letters : O, M and G and the last last one to have an exclamation "!" mark. Yes, as you can see, I am very excited. I realized, I never shared the Week 4 theme. It's "Triumph". With the hot journey nearing completion, this week turns celebratory as we explore the theme of triumph. Every class you have taken, every plank pose you have held and every time you have turned away from mental distraction and back to breath is a personal victory! No matter how you feel, your challenge is complete, it's time to reflect and appreciate all that you have done in the last 30-40 days. We also explore how the jubilant energy of triumph can also act as a catalyst for greater change - it maybe the end of this journey but should you choose to accept the challenge, the beginning of a lifetime of self-disc...

Date : October 22nd, Tuesday Day  : 22 Finally a class where i don't have to do a vinyasa, was looking for a break! My schedule from a timing point of view is quite fixed 7am and 6pm. By the time i get back home from the 6pm on the force ts 7:40-8:00 and i don't like to push it further!  My class this morning was Hot Hatha with June. the class was good except that i found myself a little stiffer than usual and rather unbendy. That could be my continued soreness from 108 Or it could be that muscle i pulled resulting in that acute pain in my right sit bone. Whatever, it did hamper my movement a bit and i realised i should REALLY listen to my body now instead of pushing it. Like in the Standing bow pose i couldn't lift my right leg up because the pain in the sit bone was just too much to even try.  So after class i asked June and she suggested resting and if it getavworse going to a medical specialist orba traditional medicine practionner. It was then tha...

Date : 21st, October 2013, Monday Day : 21 With the start of week 4, I'm towards the end of my journey. Time has flown indeed! Because I do more than 1 class a day, I am on day 25 on my lovely board. I love my smilies ! haha. Ok so Monday morning, instead of the pain in my arms decreasing, it only got worse. But that's true of any big exercise you do. And I love Daphne's flow and I hate the train crowd at 8. All these factors combined, made me go for the class. So I go to class and find out that Daphne is out for the week and Lily is taking the flow class this morning. I was disappointed for a bit, but then was looking forward to how Lily will teach flow. I haven't spoken about Lily, in this blog have I? She mostly teaches in Orchard, which is why I don't get to do too many classes of hers. But I find her classes extremely tough for some reason. She really pushes you to give your best. When I say pushes I don't mean it in a bad "forceful" way...

Date : October 20, Sunday Day : 20 Wow. I can't believe I've been on this journey for 20 days already. October has indeed gone by really quickly. It's going to be Diwali soon! Diwali is a popular Hindu festival and is celebrated in a lot of countries, including Singapore. Diwali, is the shortened version of Deepavali : which literally means a row of lights. Lamps are light throughout the night and houses are cleaned to make Goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of wealth. (Image Courtesy : cocreatingourreality.com ) People wear new clothes and wish each other with sweets. Crackers are burst to keep evil spirits away. This will be my first Diwlai away from India and I'm going to miss home FOR SURE. Thankfully, I am not too far away and Singapore makes me feel right at home. In fact some sections of the city are already being decorated to welcome Diwali on November 3rd! So, in the spirit of Diwali and to celebrate 108 surya namaskars, I bought myself some really c...

Date : 19th October, 2013. Saturday Day: 19 O.K. The day has come. When I signed up for 108 surya namaskars, I didn't realise that I will also be doing the hot journey. But what a coincidence! So I woke up at 7:30 AM this morning. Wanted to get some coffee and breakfast and settle my sleepy head getting rid of it's heaviness before I stepped onto the mat! The alarm rang, I woke up, played a nice song on my speaker and got up and made coffee. Chilled and watched the news and got ready and left for class.  When I reached the studio, I saw Daphne and Deb's smiling faces. Went and changed into my yoga clothes and filled my water bottle and entered the room. Picked a mat right next to the big window overlooking orchard road, if I die, at least I'll die looking at the the big baby blue sky! Haha. I lay down, stretched my arms and thighs. There was a weird pain on my left upper thigh. It was tight and I wanted to loosen it before we started the vinyasas. Daphne a...

Date : October 18th, Friday Day : 18 Keeping with the Restorative theme of the week, I gave my body a break from two classes yesterday and I am glad I did. I got home early and cooked a nice meal, tried a new recipe and feel very well rested today. When I woke up this morning, i wasn't groggy and sleepy, but up and bright. Of course, Friday's always make me happy :) I did two classes today both with Daphne : Hatha in the morning and Flow in the evening. Well, to be honest, I wanted to go for an easier class in the evening.  I was planning to catch June's Hom at 500pm. But something came up at work and I got delayed. So flow it was for me. Evening flow classes are always tough. I've said this before. After a full day's work, it is really tiring to go into vinyasas and asanas you don't know. As with everything in life, it is always easy to stick to what you already know. :) My morning class was usual, no big surprises with the body. The final savasana how...

Date : 17th October, Thursday Day : 17 Ok, so my phone is still broken and I don't have pictures of that lovely looking board. But I will get one today for sure when I go for my evening practice. For Sure.  The class this morning was Hom with Monica. I'm always a little scared in Monica's class. Haha. But I was looking forward to the class. I slept at about 11 PM last night, and was still very very very very sleepy in the morning. I got ready with my eyes closed and almost walked to the station with my eyes closed as well. When I finally reached the studio, I quickly kept my bag in the locker and went to the room and got down to the mat and slept. haha. So much for the I'll do 10 surya namaskars to prepare for 108 this Saturday. Obviously i WAY behind my prep and I hope my daily regular practice will help me this Saturday!  The class today was really really good. I was in a zone or still in sleep maybe. Haha. But my focus was unwavering. Of course, Monica help...

                         (Image courtesy : hom yoga )  Date : 16 October 2013, Wednesday Day : 16 My second class for Wednesday was Anton's Hatha. After loads of twists and turns and ups and downs in a flow, Hatha, looks like a breeze. Haha. I know loads of folks in the studio who shy away from turning a flow class or an ashtanga and religiously go only for Hatha and Hom. Mostly because they are "Bikram" classes and assist in weight loss. :) I don't know about schools of yoga too much, but  I know that yoga is universal and no one can claim to own it. But that's my opinion and I might be wrong. But if weight loss is your objective, I can guarantee you, a flow or an ashtanga is 10X more intense than Hatha. So i try telling as many people as I can to try flow, I love the uncertainty it brings and how each teacher has their own different style. But to each his own, as long as you enjoy your practice, it does...

Date : Tuesday, October 15th Day : 15 OK so i signed up for Anton's Flow class at 9:30. And I had my day planned accordingly. But I woke up in the morning and was really really sick. So after 30 mins of "Should I or Should I not" I decided against going for yoga today. The decision actually came when I got off my bed and didn't have the strength to stand! Obviously I would faint mid way through a vinyasa. As soon as I made that decision, it started to pour in Singapore. There was ferocious thunder and lightening and the sky pour for an hour before calming down. I made myself a cup of tea and got back into bed.  So I made it up with one extra class on Wednesday. Wednesday morning was Flow with Michelle. I thought my body will be a little stiff with a day of inaction in between. But it surprised me with its flexibility and stability. Maybe the day off in between did in fact do my body some good. I'm glad I listened to it. I just remembered that I have not sh...

Date : October 14, Monday Day : 14 OK. So after that grand promise to myself that I am going to do 10 surya namaskars before every class to prepare for the "108 Surya Namaskars" this Saturday, I discover on Sunday night that it is that time of the month for me. Now usually I do not practice yoga during these days, but this month was different, I was doing the hot journey. I read up in a few forums and realized that it is not bad to practice yoga when you are having your periods. So I didn't cancel my flow class with Daphne and slept with the alarm on for 6 AM.  Almost changed my mind in the morning, but made it to class. Either it was sleep or laziness or pain ( I would like to believe the last excuse), but i didn't stick to my 10 surya namaskars promise. I instead slept a little (20 mins) before Daphne walked into the class. Surprisingly, I didn't find it tough at all. No no, what I mean to say is, not tougher than what I find a flow class to be. It was ...

Date : Sunday, October 13th Day : 13 My Yin weekend continues with the 12:30 PM class with Anton in Orchard on Sunday. I was a little upset on Sunday after a weird political, emotional, national discussion with a couple of friends at a potluck on Saturday. More my fault than theirs actually. I'm pathetic at debates and cry very easily. Which is exactly what happened. Well, I didn't cry, but I was write close. So I wrote a post about it on Google +  And then went to sleep quite late. Woke up in time to make a cup of tea and then head out to yoga at 12:00. I was still a little emotional and I guess it showed in my practice. Because as soon as I stepped out Anton told me he thought I was very "emotional" and "involved' in my practice today. I looked at him as if he had something astonishing and then I smiled. :) That was my magic moment for the day. The practice was indeed very deep and I immersed myself completely in it. Anyway my eyes were closed and that ...