Omm-ing the past two days...

I haven't been doing Pump for quite some time. It's because of my left knee. Some time in December, I felt something and it worried me a bit. I stopped running and I stopped going for Pump and Combat. I even went and got an X-Ray but the result was normal. I'm wondering if I should go for a MRI.

Anyway, things are back to normal since I got back from Bangkok.

Even when I was in Bangkok, I managed to go for runs two to three times a week and it was okay.

I've also gone back to doing short runs since I didn't want to push myself.

What I've been doing mostly are runs and yoga.

Last night, I went for Vinyasa yoga. Tonight, I went for Yin yoga.

The former was a killer. The latter was more of an introduction to meditation.

Tomorrow, I think I'll go for another yoga class, possibly Gentle Flow.

Ommmm....

I came across this amusing photo while browsing through my Instagram feed.

It's amusing, isn't it? Hehe.

For the past few weeks (months), I've been able to go back to practicing yoga at least twice a week. Luckily, the FF next to my office has 7AM classes, which is just perfect. Dun be surprised. The class size is usually around 10 or so people, which is just right.

When PG Boy was still in Tampines, I get to practice three times a week. I would drag him out of bed on Saturday mornings so that we can attend the 10AM Hot Flow at FF Tampines. He was quite happy with the class (so was I) because the teacher was very good.

Now that he moved to a new place, I must check the yoga classes in the nearest FF branch (which I think is One George?).

Hmm, I'm glad to be able to practice yoga again. It does help in one way or another. I get to know my body more. I wish I'm more flexible. I have difficulty with folding poses. LOL. But maybe in time, it'll get better.

As Caroline, the Hot Flow instructor at FF Tampines, would usually say, "Okay, you try today. And if you can't reach it today, that's okay. You try again next time. And maybe one day, you'll be able to finally do the pose perfectly."

Keep calm and ommmm on?

Back on the mat...

After a year or so of not praticing yoga, I'm back on the mat.

I've finally found yoga class schedules to fit my schedule. Hehe!

So far, I've been successful at attending classes twice a week - one Gentle Yoga and one Hot Flow. However, I still have to get myself to attend the Thursday morning Hatha Yoga class.

Argh! So far, I have been unsuccessful. I would always wake up at 6AM and it is just too late to get to the gym by 7.

However, I am happy because I've been able to fit the morning workout on three out of the five work days. Monday morning is for Combat. Yeah, Combat at 7AM. Tuesday is for Gentle Flow. Wednesday is for Body Pump.

I have been enjoying the morning classes a lot because 1.) the classes are not packed at all. There is room to kick, to stretch, to lift; 2.) I feel energized almost the entire day (I would only feel sleepy when I have an unclean lunch. Haha!); 3.) I feel that I'm able to maximise my day.

Going to the gym for 7AM classes means zzz-ing by 1130 at the latest. It's okay though. Since I moved to SG, staying awake past midnight has always been a challenge. Hehe! And I tell you, PG Boy will tell you, I have no problems zzz-ing at 11PM or at 10PM. Hehe! It's a gift.

Back to yoga, I hope to be able to keep attending the classes. Being away from the mat for more than a year has made me less limber again. Huhu! I just want to be able to do a bakasana. I'm not even aiming for a headstand. Hehe.

Oh well...

The joint practice that waited for years to happen...

After a number of years, the plan to attend a yoga class with Bernice finally happened. Haha!

In previous yoga-relate entries, I'm quite sure that I already mentioned that it was Bernice who introduced me to the practice. Before she left for the Netherlands several years ago, she would almost always arrive at our get-togethers with a yoga mat slung over her shoulder. This got me interested, and I started asking questions about it.

Bernice left for the Netherlands for graduate school, and I enrolled myself to the gym thanks to a fantab corporate promo. It took a couple of months before I had the guts to attend the yoga classes. But after my first yoga class, I knew I wanted more. That started my yoga journey. I even have a favorite yoga teacher at the gym. Whenever I miss his Saturday class in Glorietta, I would try (very hard) to attend his Sunday class in Galleria. O ha! I was also able to attend one class facilitated by Bikram Manila's Tristan Choa when our HR department invited the guy to hold a session at the office. He's soooo good! When the Global Mala Project happened in Manila a couple of months ago, I was totally happy. That deepened the desire to be practice yoga regularly. I have to say though that I've still got a long way to go. I may know the asanas, but to understand the yoga philosophy is a whole different matter. I know that I have to get myself into a yoga studio outside of the gym for that. We'll see, we'll see.

Anyway, going back to the get-together with Bernice. When she messaged me last month that she'll be in town for the holidays, I brought up the idea of attending a yoga class together. It's only right that teacher and student do that, right? Hehehe! I told Bernice I could probably get her into the yoga class session. We just agreed to meet up at the coffee shop right outside the gym in Galleria. We were both excited.

Fast forward to yesterday. After giving Bernice a big hug, we made our way to the gym. I gave my membership card to the guy behind the counter and told him that I'd like to have Bernice as a guest. The guy hesitantly tells me that my membership does not have that kind of privilege. Toinks!

What do I do? I do what every Pinoy does in similar situations - pakiusap. I gave the guy my sweetest smile coupled with a pa-awa effect and said, "Sir, my friend came from abroad and we'e been planning this for the longest time. We're not even going to work out. We'll just attend the yoga class." If needed, I was ready to make up a story that we came all the way from Alabang or some other area far from Galleria just to attend the class. Hehehe! I know, I'm evil.

Thankfully, the guy was nice enough and let us in. I kept on thanking him and I told him that this would be a one-time thing. (I hope!)

Bernice and I then made our way to the yoga studio, and I'm glad we agreed to meet up at 9 because the gym pushed the class to 9AM instead of the usual 9:30AM. For the next 90 minutes, Bernice, I, and some 10 to 12 people followed the lead of our teacher Pio. What I love about Pio is that he goes beyond the allotted time. Usually, it's just a 60-minute class, but he extends his class and I'm really thankful for that.

After greeting each other "Namaste," Bernice and I stayed behind. We waited for everyone to get out of the studio before I took out Hanschen and Tey's very reliable mini-tripod.

I set up the camera. Bernice and I agreed to do the easier poses - vrikshasana (tree), natarajasana (dancer pose), eka pada rajakapotasana(one-legged king pigeon pose). Wish we could have done some more complex poses but I only had 10 seconds to prepare for the photo. Haha! (The dancer pose could be waaaaay better.)

When we were happy with the photos, Bernice and I got ready to spend the entire day together. We headed to Shangri-la Mall, which I'm starting to really like after all these years. The day included brunch at Penang Hill, coffee at Figaro (why is there no Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Shang??? Why???), window shopping, and of course, a very good conversation.

I realized that I'm blessed to have a number of people in my life who I always find so easy to talk to. Bernice is one of that. We could spend the entire day, and we would not run out of things to talk about.

It was already late in the afternoon when we parted ways. We took the MRT together. I got off at Cubao station. Her station was GMA-Kamuning. We agreed to meet up again this Saturday. It'll be just as fun because we're going to meet up with former Magsaysay colleagues Noreen and Carol. Yeeey!!!

10 Ways to Know when Yoga is Working for you. ~ Cherie Lathey

Came across this amusing list while blog hopping. It made me laugh. Haha!

Would you agree Bernice, Allen, Theena? :P

Found via elephantjournal.com.

You know yoga is working for you when:

1. You don’t have tantrum when your usual teacher can’t teach your class and you don’t know the cover/substitute teacher.

2. Your usual spot in class has been taken and you don’t give the unsuspecting person in it the hairy eyeball.

3. You no longer clock watch when doing your 5th Sun Salutation.

4. You don’t notice your toenails need painting in Paschimottanasana.

5. You no longer try to keep pace with “Mr./Ms. Go-Fast” practicing next to you.

6. You can miss your yoga practice without berating yourself or sticking pins in your eyes.

7. You no longer flick the V sign when someone cuts you up on the way to class (or, at least, not on the way home).

8. You don’t leg it to the toilet when your most feared pose is coming up (pose runner).

9. You no longer think about what you’re cooking for dinner in Savasana.

10. Your body no longer aches when you practice yoga, it aches when you don’t.

At the Yoga Asana Championships...

I went to the Philippine Yoga Asana Championships at the RCBC this afternoon to be "inspired" by the dedicated yoga practitioners.

One of my resolutions for the coming year is to go to a studio, and I'm crossing my fingers that will happen. It's just that I have limited resources. A month's membership fee at some of the studios I looked at will give me three months at Gold's. We'll see, we'll see. Maybe I can combine both.

Anyway, going back to the event, this it the third year that the event is being held and it is my first time to watch it. I mentioned the event to fellow yoga buddies Allen and Theena, but I think they had prior commitments.

I arrived at RCBC 45 minutes before the start of the event just to make sure I got really good seats. Later on, I was happy to have arrived early because the Orchestra section was fully. I got to sit at the fifth or sixth (?) row of the orchestra center so that gave me a good view of the participants.

The rules of the competition are quite simple. Eeach participant must do thee five compulsory asanas and an additional asanas and the whole routine has to be completed in 3 minutes.

The five compulsory poses are Standing Head to Knee, Standing Bow Pulling, Bow, Rabbit, and Stretching.

Criteria for judging included the walk, movement, general appearance, gracefulness and performance of postures. The additional asanas were judged on the degree of the difficulty and performance.

The panel of judges were Bikram yoga teachers Rich Nichols, Ball Rattanapong and Yok Buakird.

There were 14 participants - 11 in the female division; ONLY 3 in the male division. That was a bit saddening. How come there were only three participants in the male division?!

Bikram Yoga Manila director Tristan Choa welcomed participants to the event, and he mentioned that the event was one way of spreading the gospel of yoga to a larger community.

Afterwards, the performances begin. Every time a participant walked to the middle of the stage, the whole room fell silent. Absolute silence was necessary since any noise or flicker of light or whatever could distract the participant and ruin the posture. But as soon as the three minutes is over and the participants stands up again and bows to the judges and the audience, there is tremendous applause in the audience. Family and friends of the participants cheered. I lauded the participants for just being able to complete the poses, for having the guts to challenge themselves.

From what I saw, many struggled with the Standing Bow Pulling. Jeez, that was really difficult and only one person was able to do it perfectly (and he's not even a participant. Tell you later who.). I was more excited about the two additional asanas because that was the "surprise." I was completely floored by the different poses that were performed.

Prior to the announcement of winners, the whole house was treated to a performance by Ball Rattanapong, one of the judges. The guy was a 4-peat(!!!) champ in the Thailand Regional Yoga Asana Championship. And yeah, he's the one who did the most beautiful Standing Bow Pulling. Gad, he's goood! I can only probably dream of of some of the asanas he assumed. I heard gasps of amazement from some of the audience, and I heard applause and deep appreciation from those who practice. Hehe!

After Ball's performance, the winners were announced. In the Men's Division, it was Dax Cobarrubias. For the Women's Division, it was Abigail Hasegawa.

I guess while it is a competition, the real competitor of each participant is his/her own self. Unlike other sports/fitness events like basketball or football where players are thirsty for the blood of their competitors even before the event has started, the Asana Championship did not have that air of competition in it. (Of course, I could be wrong. Hehe! But I believe that there isn't because that would defeat the purpose of the practice. Hehe!) I thought the participants were also there to help promote yoga to the audience, and I hope that it did.

I left the event feeling more inspired and more determined to continue with my practice. It seems to be improving. My Saturday hatha yoga class is a fave because our teacher goes around and checks on each one. Yesterday's class was particularly enjoyable because there were two binding/stretching poses I was able to do for the first time. Thanks to our teacher Pio for "pushing" me to achieve the poses.

“Yoga is not about doing what other people can do; it’s about understanding your own body and what it can do.” This is one of the things I read in a yoga blog I follow. And I believe it's true. If you think that yoga will require you to make headstands, splits or perform like a contortionist, it's not true. Those who do it do it because they know their body well enough and know that they can achieve it. Of course, you have other benefits aside from the physical - mental, emotional, and spiritual (if you believe in that).

You have to try it to find out for yourself.

How to raise 3000 euros for the "dream..."

I may have already found what it is that I wanted to do when I finally give up my corporate life.

Teach yoga.

Not sure if it's because I'm still on a high from attending the Global Mala Project, but I am secretly (and wishfully) contemplating about studying yoga full-time and becoming a teacher.

I come from a family of teachers. My Lola Chimang was a teacher all her life. Tita Rosie taught here before moving to the US to become a teacher. Cousin Lydia followed the footsteps of her mom and is also a teacher. Lolo Po is a respected faculty at a revered educational institution in Canada. TIta Cecil was the go-to person on labor and industrial relations.

So when the desire to teach at the University came, I wasn't surprised. I taught for a semester at my own University but had to give it up due to some stupid policies. I've always been drawn to the academe. Many of my happy years were the times spent in Faura and later on in Plaridel Hall.

When I met a grade school teacher and went out with him a couple of times, it was awesome. Unfortunately, the guy turned out to be a complete … okay, let's not finish this sentence. Hehe! I do respect him for being a teacher. That's one of the things that I really liked about him.

Anyway, so yes, I know that I'd like to teach. I'm open to the University, but after having attended the GMP and the what? a hundred and yoga classes at the gym, I am reaching a point that I ask myself, "Why not?"

One time (and until now), I keep bugging my work colleague Judee who's also into yoga that we should just quit and open a yoga studio in Cagayan de Oro.

Everything's good with the corporate life, but there are very few moments when I look for a reason to continue slaving away. My youngest brother is on his last semester in college. I'm pretty sure that my responsibilities to him will no longer be that huge when he starts working. My younger brother lives his own life. He has a job and has a very nice girl. I neither have a kid nor a partner to work extra hard for (yuck, pinasok talaga ito! LOL!), and if I could just save enough and free myself from credit card bills (ugh!), I think I would be more than happy to give up the corporate world to do what I really want to do.

After studying and getting certified, I could come back and teach outside of Manila. My heart belongs to the countryside. That's what I always say. This may be my ticket to a life outside of Manila and start one in Iloilo. Wouldn't it be great to be a traveling yoga instructor? Hold weekly classes in Iloilo, Cebu and Bacolod?

That would be awesome.

I asked a yoga teacher who was at the GMP where yoga instructor classes are held. He told me that Foundation classes are usually 200 hours. He told me that there will be one in Boracay this October.

He also told me that the fee is about P200,000.

What the?! For a moment, I lost my center and fell forward. Kidding.

India would definitely be ultra expensive then. I checked out a school in Thailand, and the Foundation course costs 3000++ euros. Haven't really checked out if there are scholarships, but I doubt if there are.

Man, it just sucks when the only thing keeping you away from your dream is money, huh.

How to go around this roadblock? What jobs to take to raise the amount?

Peace, good vibes, positive energy at the Global Mala Project..

When was the last time you felt at peace despite the worries that you have? When was the last time you felt calm detached from the noise caused by your surroundings? When was the last time you felt positive carrying a light feeling amidst the daily chaos of the city?

At peace. Calm. Positive.

This was how I felt yesterday after having spent the entire day at the Global Mala Project Manila 2010 in Rockwell. And I'm quite sure the other participants of the awesome event share the same feeling, if not better.

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon the tweet of Teresa Herrera about the Global Mala Project. I clicked on the hyperlink on her tweet and that brought me to the ClicktheCity page, which had more details about the event.

After reading about the event and watching some event videos on Youtube, I knew that I was definitely going to attend the gathering. Yoga buddy Allen was supposed to go with me, but work came up. JB wanted to go, but the class he wanted to attend was the same time as Xanadu. Carlo V. wanted to attend but it slipped my mind until he reminded me.

So I ended up going by myself.

Always the early bird, I arrived at Rockwell a couple of minutes before 9. The event was scheduled to start at 10, but I wanted to be there early to register already and to get the vibe. And yes, I was just plain excited.

When I walked up to the registration, there was already a small group of people by the registration. The lovely Teresa Herrera was right behind the registration and welcomed guests. It was my first time to meet her and positive energy is flowing right out of her.

At 10AM, the doors to the Tent opened. The event followed the schedule and I thought that was just really, really fantastic. The organizers did a wonderful job in transforming the venue into a place conducive for yoga practice.

After Teresa welcomed the participants, the whole day affair began. Participants formed a circle around a group of four people sat in the middle of the room that was going to lead 108 rounds of Gayatri Mantra. From what I read Gayatri is one of the most known mantras. The purpose of the mantra for the event was to purify the place and to prepare it for the practice.

Following immediately was the 108 rounds of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) led by a group of yoga teachers. I thought this was really awesome. Rebecca, the lead teacher demonstrated one round of the sun salutation, and then we started. I couldn’t tell who the long-time practitioners were from the newbies and the intermediates. I don’t know who was familiar with the whole round of Surya Namaskar, who was learning it completely for the first time. What I found really amazing though was seeing how we all began to move as one united by our breathing and our movements. It was an experience. I have to be honest, By the time we reached the 80th round, I had to take short breaks. My arms started to feel sore that I couldn’t do the chaturanga properly. Plus, I wanted to take photos of the wonderful movement. I did join the group in finishing the last few rounds.

There were different yoga classes the entire day. I chose to attend Hatha Yoga by Corey Wills ad the Bhakti Urban Flow by Roland Dela Cruz. I would have wanted to attend the Bikram Yoga by Tristan Choa, but it was the same time as Jeanie Javelosa’s talk on Chakras. I chose to attend the latter.

This was one of the other good things about the event. In addition to the classes, there were also talks. Among the talks mentioned in the program were Healthy Living by Arthur Tanco, Art of Living by Denise Celdran and the Chakra Workshop of Jeanie Javelosa.

I thought this was really good because it gave non-yoga studio practitioners like me an opportunity to learn more about yoga.

One of the key messages I learned was yoga is not just about doing the asanas. The asanas are a way of preparing the mind, the heart, the body, the spirit for something higher.

It’s the Chakra Workshop by Jeannie Javelosa that I have to thank for that. Another example, only then did I learn that the corpse pose wasn’t really about resting the body after an hour of yoga practice. It was really about bringing everything back to your center. I definitely wished our yoga teacher at the gym (who I’m sure is certified) would share these kind of info while we practiced. (Or maybe I can go grab a book and do some own reading?)

The Chakra Workshop was the only talk I got to attend but I learned a lot from Jeanie. She spoke beautifully about the chakras and other related aspects. There were about us 7 of us, which made the activity very intimate. I loved it that Jeanie said she would still have given the talk even if just 1 person came, because it was an opportunity to share and because that person had a reason to be there.

Then it was time to head back to the Tent for Hatha Yoga led by Corey Wills. I was interested to see Corey again because I met him during his modeling days when we got him for a fashion shoot. The Corey I saw that afternoon was quite different. I saw a yoga teacher and not the model I remember. But it still is Corey because he was still as calm and as focused just like I remember him from the photo shoot.

Still feeling energized from Hatha, I decided to attend Bhakti Urban Flow by Roland De la Cruz. I was interested to see the different classes. Roland’s class was pretty familiar. It was similar to the class I attend at the gym. I would’ve wanted to take a photo of the class but I was too absorbed in the flow. I hope photos of the event would be uploaded somewhere.

I thought of checking out the other classes like the Anusara Inspired Yoga and Yoga Trance Dance by Teresa, but I had to leave early to meet up with Carlo.

I left just after Trees for the Future finished their talk on their project in the country. Proceeds of the event were to be given to the said NGO. This was also one of the reasons why I wanted to join the event. Because there was a cause it was supporting. I got to practice yoga. I learned more about it. And I even get to help a bit for the environment. Is that great or is that great?!

I've been attending yoga classes at the gym for more than a year now, and I want to have further understanding. The Global Mala Project gave me that, or at the very least, it opened the doors to having that understanding. And what I saw beyond the door was a bigger body of knowledge to be learned.

Though it was only for a day, I definitely, definitely left the event with a lot of learning.

When I was reading the details of the Global Mala Project, it said that all the participants bring was a yoga mat, a towel and a spirit of peace. I came with those, and I left the event with so much more - a spirit of peace, a new perspective on certain things, a light heart, and some new friendships. I know it doesn’t end there. Practice is needed. Discipline is needed. And I think I will check out one of the yoga studios in Makati. Who knows? I might even go crazy and just quit the gym to pursue yoga.

For now, I’m sure that I’m definitely going to join next year’s Global Mala Project. Congrats Teresa and the rest of the team for a successful event!

Om shanti shanty shanti. :)

P.S. It would have been really, really awesome if my friend Bernice was there. We all have someone or something that led us to the yoga mat. For me, Bernice was the one who got me interested in yoga. Before she left for the Netherlands to pursue further studies, we would talk about her yoga class whenever we meet up. When I finally decided to sign up for the gym, I was extremely happy to have found a yoga class that was perfect for my schedule. The funny thing is we’ve never gotten to attend a class together. That we must do.

The road to nirvana... chos!

Just because I can't think of something lengthy to post. Haha!

After my usual Thursday gym routine, I waited for work colleague and yoga buddy Allen to finish her spinning class. When she was done with the class, I asked her to help me out with practicing the bakasana aka crow pose.

Allen can do the pose. I, on the other hand, am just determined to be able to do it. I've been attending yoga for almost a year now and I love, love, love it! Even if the activity doesn't require ultra-fast movement, I still sweat a lot during class!

Anyway, I can do most of the basic poses, but I want to challenge myself more. The bakasana seemed to be one of the achievable difficult poses. I was inspired more when I saw that sub instructor Melvin was able to perform the pose, even if he had a bit of a Chanelya. Hehe! Pero naman, ang arms niya! Pwede na kong mamatay kakatitig sa arms niya. Haha!

Inside the dance/yoga studio, I got two thick rubber mats. Once Allen and I found a spot, I asked her to show me how to assume the pose. After getting some pointers from her, I tried it out.

Kamusta? I fell flat on my face a million times. I already expected it though. That's why I decided to get two rubber mats. The good news is I was able to hold the pose for about three seconds a couple of times, before I fell on the mat. I got to work on my stability! My friend Ian's reco, work on my core! Ugh!

The other poses I want to do nicely are the shoulder stand and the plough. The shoulder stand is the next achievable pose to the head stand, I think, and that's why I wanted to learn it.

Hay, obviously, I need to work on it more. Ugh! My problem is I always fear that my lower limbs would fall the other way and I might end up in a bad position.

But if that does happen, at least I can do the plough already. Hehe! It's another pose that's extremely challenging for me. Argh! I really got to work on it. Allen said she couldn't do the pose too before. With practice, she became limber and found herself more flexible.

For now, I can only do the slightly bent shoulder stand. I wasn't able to ask Allen to take a photo of the crow pose because I can't hold the pose long enough anyway. Obviously, I have a lot more work to do. But I'm glad because I seem to be getting somewhere. Hehe!

I'm planning to make an FB album similar to what my good friend Bernice (she got me into yoga!) did. It shows some of the basic yoga poses. I have yet to find a nice loc for it though. Haha!

Uhm, that's it really. Nothing more to post tonight.

Namaste.

30-Day Tumblr Challenge: Day 10 — A photo of you taken recently

Uhm, this has to be one of my recent fave pics. Hehe! It was taken during a trip to Calatagan after an office team planning in Tagaytay.

I dunno. We were walking along the cliff. It was past 4 in the afternoon. The sound of the waves crashing. The afternoon sun which always looks beautiful outside of Manila (Haha!). The panorama that surrounded us.

It just seemed like the perfect backdrop for an asana. Wahaha! I've been attending yoga classes for more than six months now, but this was the first time I did something like this outside of the yoga studio. Hehehe!

Thankfully, colleague/friend Judee was game enough (and patient enough) to take my photos. Haha! It was difficult because the ground was rocky and therefore, uneven. Hehehe! It was difficult to ground myself. Hahaha! And I'm sure the pose (dancer's pose) needs so much improvement (though I like it). But out of the so and so number of shots, at least there was this one shot which I think is decent enough to be posted. Hehe! The only thing I adjusted was the lighting. Hehehe!

So there.

Namaste.

Asana Saturday... just because...

It was one of those situations where you do something just because you have to, even if a huge risk of humiliation may be involved. Hahaha!

A bunch of work colleagues and I climbed a nearby cliff during our Nasugbu beach trip over the weekend. While the rest of the guys walked further to check out what else there is on the other side of the cliff, some of us stayed behind to take photos of where we are.

I dunno what happened. It must be the panoramic landscape, the sentimental afternoon sky, the slow dance of the cogon grass, the sound of the waves hitting the cliff, but the whole situation just seemed like the perfect backdrop for an asana.

Hahaha!

Thankfully, work colleague Judee was game enough to take photos of my stupid attempt to do two poses. Hehehe! She made me promise to post the photos as a “payment” for her creatives. Hehe! The first pose that came to mind was the vrkasana (more popularly known as tree pose) and the most favorite pose by yoga practicitioners and non-yoga people. (Probably because it’s quite easy to achieve.)

I assumed the pose easily (Naks, yabang! But seriously, I dunno anyone who has difficulty with the tree pose.) After checking out the photos, it looked just wrong (read: Masyadong na-highlight ang aking pagka-plus size. Hehe!). The white shirt and the profile shot both didn’t work for me.

So off the shirt went. Hahaha! Kapalan na ng mukha. Anyway, it would be awhile before I go back to that place. Hehe!

The other pose that I was quite comfortable with is the natarajasana (also known as dancer’s pose). Aside from finding the pose a bit easy, I just really enjoy saying the word. Hehe! Try it. Natarajasana, natarasajana.

Judee did a great job taking the photo I think, and directing me so I can hide the chanelya. Wahaha!

It was difficult. The ground was uneven, the rocks hurt my feet. It was difficult to balance myself. Colleague Reena was worried I might fall forward and hit the rocks below.

But I just had to have the photo. Wahaha! The sunset background was really nice. I had to do the pose several times because it was difficult to hold the pose, and I’m just thankful Judee was patient enough to take the photo from different angles. Haha! (When I was checking the other photos, I saw the one photo that Sir Darwin took from where they were.)

So there. And then with a little lighting effects filter from Photoshop, the photos above.

I’ve been practicing yoga for eight months now I think. I’ve still so much work to do. For now, I’m just happy I’m able to reach my toes. Hehe!

My friend Bernice was the one who got me into yoga. We never got to do yoga together before she left for the Netherlands, but it was really her who inspired me to start attending yoga. Check out her tree pose in a Moroccan desert! Awww, I’m envious!

Namaste.

Yogirl for yoguy....

I finally decided to get a yoga mat. Haha!

Since I've been attending yoga classes regularly at the gym for the past six months now (I think), I convinced myself that getting my own yoga mat wouldn't be a waste of money. Hehe!

So, yesterday afternoon, I passed by a Nike store just to check out the yoga mats available. Kamusta naman? I ended up getting one already. It seems like a good buy. The material claimed that it provided good traction, which is what I really need. Having the most active sweat glands in the world makes some asanas difficult to do when I just use the generic mat available at the gym. Haha! Plus, I liked the color combination of the mat I got - it's like buttercup and dark grey. One side says, "I'm tough," and the other side says, "But I'm really a softie." Hahaha!

And then the character doing the triangle pose just really caught my attention. Whoever was responsible for coming up with that character, congratulations because it's cute enough to call . Of course, I then find out that the character's name is Yogirl, which probably means that Nike's line for yoga are really meant for girls. Wahaha! I wish there was a guy version too and they'd call him Yoguy, or Yoboy, or something similar. Hehe! I've seen of the yoga apparel with Yogirl designs, and if the cut of the shirts were meant for ladies, I would've gotten one. Haha!

I have to thank my friend Bernice for getting me into yoga. We didn't really attend yoga classes together, but she was sort of my inspiration. Before she left for the Netherlands to do grad school, Bernice would always be coming from her yoga classes before we meet up. Because she's doing yoga, she's also an influence to healthy eating. As a semi-vegetarian, our get-togethers are always, always sure to be dining of the healthy kind.

When I started going to the gym, it took awhile before I attended the yoga class. Initially, I thought I wouldn't be able to do the stretches and that I would just be embarrassing myself. However, after attending one session and seeing that I could sweat a lot, really a lot, during an hour of ohms and hums, I told myself that it's worth doing.

Since I've started, I think my flexibility has improved. I could reach my toes comfortably, something I couldn't even when I was really thin more than a decade ago. Haha!

One thing I also like about yoga is the challenge to do the poses. Gawd, I know I still have a long way to go but right now, I'm loving it that I can do a decent natarajasana (dancer's pose) and warrior's pose (all three version… yuck, yabang! As if they're difficult poses Haha!), and so on. I'd like to be able to do the bakasana (crow pose) and a proper shoulder stand though someday. Haha! We'll see.

I hope that by the time that happens, my yoga mat would still be alive. Hehe! For now, the yoga mat will just have to help me with my tree pose, half-bow pose, king pigeon pose, and missionary pose. Ooops, the last one is not really included. Hahaha!

Namaste!