the yoga path

Farewell to Vincent Tham

2011-02-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

This morning I was informed that Vincent Tham, founder of Jiva Yoga has left this world.

Meaning of Beauty

2011-02-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

During my recent trip back, I observed closely at people passing me in the airport to see how healthly and youthful the average Malaysian looked. I was in for a shocked at what I saw. Out of about 100 people, only a handful looked healthy and had healthful appearing skin. In short, almost everyone looked like they are aging before their time.

And this morning in The Sun, Monday @ Feb 7^th, 2011 – Page 21, Beauty Section. 'Retailer targets 8-year olds. US retailer Walmart will release an all-natural, partially “anti-ageing” beauty line for tweens, called GeoGirl. Targetting 8 to 12-year-olds blah....blah.....'

I have nothing against make-up/cosmetic but isnt it too much to burden 'a small young girl' with 'the concept of beauty and not growing old'?

I am a strong advocate of 'beauty from within'. Aging is the natural process and we can age-gracefully by making wise choices about the food we eat and drink, what we think and how to respond to life's events.

Any thoughts?

Ahimsa

2011-01-31T16:57:00.000-08:00

Ahimsa basically means "do no harm" - in actions, words and thoughts. As a yoga practitioner, most of all do no harm to ourself and then to others - that is including all living things, physically and mentally.

So as the bunny new year is approaching, let us all remember to practice ahimsa by observing the amount of the food we put into our body.

Happy Bunny New Year to all.

Happy Belated New Year 2011

2011-01-24T01:09:00.001-08:00

Happy belated new year to everybody.......new resolutions??????

Mine? still the same as the year before and year before..... just want to be a better person than i was yesterday. And my god, its hard infact very hard. My mum used to say - its hard to be the kind person than the nasty person.

Choices......we made everyday....

2010-09-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

A dog........ or
children.........

Whom to give..... Man.... Dog..... Cat?

To eat or not to eat?

Liu Bolin...invisible man....

2009-09-30T02:47:00.000-07:00

This guy paints himself, no kidding, no trick photography he just paints himself... Thanks Karen A.

Why ME?

2009-09-22T23:54:00.000-07:00

Most conversations seem to be carried out on two levels, the verbal and the emotional level. The verbal level contains those things which are socially acceptable to say but it is used as a means of satisfying emotional needs. Last week a friend related something that someone had done to her. I told her why I thought the person has acted the way he had and she became very upset and started arguing with me.

Now, the reason is clear. I had been listening to her words and had paid no attention to her feelings. Her words had described how terribly this other person had treated her but her emotions had been saying, ‘Please understand how I felt. Why me?’

Yes, why me? Each time whenever tragedy strikes or something bad happens, the question will always be ‘why me?.’ I learn not to ask the question anymore in fact I embrace everything let it be good and bad. How? My girl friend told me this - Just imagine this, one day you strike RM5 million lottery. Wow, great! At this very moment, are you going to ask ‘Why me?’ In most cases, you won’t as you are too consume with joy and thinking on how to spend or what to do with the money. So do not ask ‘why me?’ in dire straits if you are not able to ask the same question in the opposite situation.

Just be grateful for every small thing in life.

How was your DAY?

2009-09-11T18:35:00.001-07:00

Anything and everything can go wrong will go wrong......first had trouble getting out of bed.

Then had a stiff neck ......f%&#@*&^....

A very bad hair-day, washed hair and couldn't do a thing with it.

Promosing new diet really doesn't seem to be working out at all, look.......

OK, let's exercise! What a wonderful idea. Pulled a muscle when tried to exercise.

Got chewed out by the boss at work!

Got caught in the rain at lunchtime.

Then the lunch didn't seem to agree with the stomach.

Feel trapped.

Uninvited guests showed up at dinnertime!!!!

On top of that coming down with the flu .....

And finally, alone in the house at night when hear a noise in the basement.

Let's hope TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER!!

Handle every stressful situation like a dog . If you can't eat it or play with it, Just pee on it and walk away.

What Charity Means......

2009-09-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

Charity means to name a few, the following :
Charity (practice), the practice of benevolent giving
Principle of charity in philosophy and rhetoric
Tzedakah, the Jewish concept of giving to worthy causes or people in need.
Sadaqah, the Arabic concept of alms-giving, often translated as "charity"

When I first started to be ‘charitable’ few years back, it’s all started with Karma Yoga. Still remember, every Saturday 3pm I’ll teach for free and it’s open to public and in return they contribute whatever amount preferred by each individual. The responses were amazing, people from all walk of lives attended the class and the experience has taught me how to be a better charitable person!

After a year, Karma Yoga comes to an end with a total collection of RM1,800-ish RM1,500 was donated to a young man for a kidney transplant and balance to Precious Home (a home for abandoned children). I was devastated as I expect more. Yes, my expectations exceed everything! Although I did mentioned Karma Yoga – ‘whatever amount’ but I was too carried away with the word ‘Charity’ and I’ve forgotten what Karma Yoga really means -‘a selfless service to others, by not thinking of own personal needs and desires’. Took me a while to place my feet back on the ground, where I stand!

Now I am doing Karma Yoga, in its true meaning with sincere heart – thanks to June Khaw for opening the door of my heart and showing the way. A Big thank you to Ho’s family, Alice Low, Susan Kho, Tay Che, Karen Tan, Karen A, Sunandhini, May Key, Janice Poon, Georgina Wong, Gilbert Wong, Amanda Yap, Mrs Lee, Pauline Warneck, Hancis, Jamie Bell and the rest of kind hearts out there that I did not mentioned here.

If kindness is imagined as a beautiful dove, then wisdom is its wings. Compassion without wisdom never takes off –Ajahn Brahm.

Gift of the Sea

2009-08-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of love of relationship - we leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb - we are afraid it will never return.

We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity, when the only continuity possible in life is as love is in growth, in fluidity.

Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what it was in nostalgia, or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. For relationships, too, must be like islands - one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands surrounded and interrupted by the sea, continually visited and abandoned by the tides. One must accept the security of the winged life, of ebb and flow, of intermittency.

Each cycle of the wave is valid; each cycle of the tide is valid; each cycle of a relationship is valid.

From Gift of the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindergh.

Horse-ing

2009-08-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

As soon as I managed Surya Namaskara without any difficulties namely NO headache, NO pain in left ear and left base of the skull and most important NO MORE dizziness - I knew I am ready to ride again.

It’s felt so good to be able to do ‘normal’ things that I used to do before the accident – riding is one of my greatest joys. I love the feeling of the ‘wind’ blowing onto my face, it’s closest to flying and gives me the sense of freedom. It became apparent to me that my fitness was important at this point due to long absence of any kind of physical exercises.
Body awareness and conditioning will not only make a difference in my approach to riding but it will made a tremendous difference in the way the horse approaches his time with me. If I am tight or rigid, unfit and out of balance and rhythm with the horse’s movement, both of us will wear out much sooner than necessary. The position and ability to remain flexible and rebalance with movement can change the amount of density and pressure the horse feels on his back. Riding is one-on-one communication, a working, moving lasting partnership and I love every single minute of it.

Personally I believe the best way to ensure longevity in riding is through stretching and strengthening exercise on a regular basis. Stretching regularly will greatly decrease the overall soreness while strengthening is key to the female rider’s upper body protection.

Areas specifically need to isolate and stretch for best results are the inner thighs, hamstring, quadriceps and back. Gaining strength in upper torso will improve posture and balance while in motion.

I will be

2009-08-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

Today I want to do things to be doing them, not to be doing something else. I do not want to do things to sell myself on myself. I don't want to do nice things for people so that I will be 'nice'. I don't want to work to make money, I want to work to work.

Today I don't want to live for, I want to live.

My prayer is - I will be what I will be and I will do what I will do.

All I want to do, need to do, is stay in rhythm with myself. All I want to do is what I do and not try to do what I don't do. Just do what I do. Just keep pace with myself. Just be what I will be.

I will be what I will be but I am now what I am, and here is where I will spend my energy. I need all my energy to be what I am today. Today I will work in rhythm with myself and not with what i 'should be'. And to work in rhythm with myself I must keep tuned in to myself.

I have been given another day on this beautiful place. Another day to hear, read, smell, walk, love and yoga-ing. I am alive for another day.

I think of those who arent.

Learning to Listen

2009-07-13T02:33:00.000-07:00

Yoga starts the time you step out from the Studio, not the time you step in. Learn yoga in the Studio to practice outside, in the real world. Most of us, we know a lot of things but how about put it into practice?

The Vertigo attack on April 24th changes my life, entirely. I was not able to do a lot of things, which most of us take it for granted including myself. How true what people said – you’ll only appreciate when you’ve lost it.

I was not able to walk my normal pace, not to mention rock climbing.
I was not able to dash out from the bed every morning.
I was not able to bring Beanie for a walk.
I was not able to drive and ride.
I was not able to hear properly thus can’t play Er Hu.
I was not able to read for 20 mins continuously.
I was not able to practice most of the asanas.

I believe in nature’s cure and our brain is capable of adapting to problems involving senses. For example, blind person often find that their other senses, especially hearing, improve tremendously to make up for their eyesight.

In my case, my brain can adjust to the new situation and after a time, could be months or years before the Vertigo gradually disappears. For this to occur, however, my brain must be regularly exposed to the misleading messages from the inner ear. If this doesn’t happen, it cannot adapt and there will be no cure.

Because my Vertigo occurs only during certain movements, and because the symptoms are unpleasant, there was almost irresistible temptation to avoid those movements and so avoid the symptoms. But I knew by doing so, I miss the opportunity for a natural cure.

Since I refused medications, yoga-ing is the only way for me to get my life back. It wasn’t easy but not impossible. As I always said in the Studio, listen to the body and I am learning to listen all over again.

Good Laugh in the MID-Week

2009-07-09T03:59:00.000-07:00

While filing my old e mails, can’t help laughing out loud when reading this mail, from Karen A. Well, everybody, let's have a good laugh.

Why do women have two Hands?

Why do men have two Hands?

THis will make you smile!

How was your cereal this morning?

How to handle a problem neighbour.

The Ass Family.

Boy Genius.

Good reason to wear pyjamas to bed!

Tatoo of the Year.

Latest Grill Accessories - These are a must have!

Fettuccine Aglio Olio

2009-07-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

My first cooked complete meal since April 24th, 2009. It’s good to be in the kitchen again.

The ingredients - olive oil, crushed garlic, cut dried & fresh chilies, chopped coriander.

Saute olive oil & garlic, later add in chopped coriander.
In a separate skillet, pan fry salmon (rubbed with black pepper & corse salt) - 3 mins each side.
Tomato puree with oilve oil and mixed herbs. Wholemeal pita bread, halved into 4 pcs.

Colourful salad - finely shredded red cabbage, sliced red onions, sliced yellow pepper, sliced cucumber, carrot, romaine lettuce & lettuce leaves, spinach leaves & cherry tomatoes with vinegar, ginger and thousand island dressing.

Table setting.Non-vegetarian for Gilbert. Full vegan dish for moi.
And Swiss choclates for dessert!
Having tough time to decide but at the end go for Mahony, Latee and Pistachio.

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois

2009-07-03T02:09:00.000-07:00

July 1915 - 18th May 2009

The Yoga community has lost a great Guru, Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois. May 18, 2009 at 2.30 (Indian Standard Time) Guruji, father of Ashtanga Yoga passed away. He was 94.

60 Going 40!

2009-06-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

The Venue - Look Out Point, Hulu Langat. Bread & Olives Rest.

Birthday Angpow!

Birthday Carrot Cake from Celicakes, Desa Sri Hartamas.

Birthday Boy, Gilbert.

Thank You speach.

Cake cutting.

Vegetarian Pizza.

The children, June & Leroy.The siblings.

The ladies.

Are you HAPPY? Am i HAPPY?

2009-06-17T02:41:00.000-07:00

The number of things just outside the perimeter of my financial reach remains constant no matter how much my financial improves. With each increase in my income, a new perimeter forms and I experience same relative sense of lack. I believe that I would be happy if only my earnings were increased so much and I could then have or do few things I cant quite afford, but when my income does increase I find I am still unhappy because from my new financial position I can now see a whole new set of things that I don’t have.

The problem will be solved when I realize that happiness is a present attitude and not a future condition. I don’t need a reason to be happy. I don’t have to consult the future to know how happy I feel now.

I don't want to be Perfect and I am NOT.

2009-06-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

Perfectionism is a slow death. If everything were to turn out like I would want it to, just like I would it to, then I would never experience anything new, my life would be an endless repetition of stale successes. When I make a mistake I experience something unexpected.

I sometimes react to making a mistake as it I have betrayed myself. My fear of making a mistake seems to be based on the hidden assumption that I am potentially perfect and that if I can just be very careful I will not fall from heaven. But a ‘mistake’ is a declaration of the way I am, a jolt to the way I intend, a reminder I am not dealing with the facts. When I have listened to my mistakes I have grown.

So, don’t try to be a perfectionist. Just be human, we all are.

Rainbow, my best MAID.

2009-06-04T03:51:00.000-07:00

My current maid is called ‘Rainbow’, best maid anyone can ever have! Rainbow keeps my house sparkling squeaky clean, from bathroom to the kitchen, bed and pillows, curtains to walls, sofas to carpets, glass doors/windows to wooden blinds and not forgetting all the books.

Rainbow not just cleans the house but act as ‘air purifier’, especially after heavy cooking, although with kitchen hood, aroma does escape; switch on Rainbow just for 5 mins and voila, all gone! Not just that, instead of conventional burning aromatheraphy oil, few drops of aromatheraphy oil (must be alcohol free) in the water, and the whole house smells good. My favourite is Siberian Pine. Can you imagine it can blows balloon as well, so when come birthday party, to blow 100 or 200 balloons no more an issue!

Light, easy to handle and the best is no spare parts required, YES NO SPARE PARTS required at all. Just water, only water will do. The only maintenance is to clean the ‘head’ with toothbrush once a month, depending on the usage.

Its like building from a huge lego parts, everything can be dismantle and connect back using the ‘lock’ system.

Rainbow can be divided into 3 sections, namely - the brain, the body and the mouth.

The brain consists of wheels, bowl and the brain.

Two different trunks - for normal cleaning (length can be adjusted accoding to one's height) and for bed and sofa.

Variety types of mouth (and sizes) – for flooring, for dusting, for curtain, for bathroom, for glass and for ballooning.

Now cleaning the house is another theraphy for me.

Ever ready to vaccum the floor.

Ready to clean the bed and sofa.

For storage, view from the back.

Life

2009-05-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes and I am left the same as I began. The more things change the more I am the same. It appears that my life is a constant irony of maturity and regression, but my sense of progress is based on the illusion that things out there are going to remain the same and that, at last, I have gained a little control. But there will never be means to ends, only means. And I am means. I am what I started with, and when it is all over I will be all that is left of me.

What do I want?

2009-05-17T22:46:00.000-07:00

Most decisions, possibly all, have already been made on some deeper level and my going through a reasoning process to arrive at them seems at least redundant. The question, ‘What do I want to do?’ may often be a fearful reaction to the subconscious decision I have already made. It seems to be quite a different form : “What do I really want to do” to “What am I really feeling?”. These questions acknowledge that at any given moment I am experiencing a variety of feelings and that what I want to do is get at the one feeling which is most central to me. If I can get in touch with that then what to do will be obvious and will probably follow naturally. On the simplest level, if I feel ‘I am thirsty’ I don’t have to ask ‘What do I want’ but I may contemplate ‘Water, fruit juice or hot nescafe’. Does it make sense to you?

Sometimes the only way for me to find out what it is I want to do is to go ahead and do something. Then the moment I start to act, my feelings become clear.

Friday @ April 24th,2009 – 8 hrs of my memory being wiped out!

2009-05-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

What supposedly to be a normal enjoyable Friday, April 24th turn out to be the opposite. It’s the day I had a bad Vertigo (in my case, it’s my middle ear) attack and I fainted at Kedai Mesra, Petronas, Bukit Antarabangsa. Thanks God for the kind and caring strangers (which at least give me hope for the future) that called a doctor, an ambulance and somehow managed to contact my family members.

Due to the fall, I suffered a hair-line crack at the base of my left skull, hospitalised for a week and on medical leave until May 18th. Fainted at around 1.30pm and by the time I fully regained conscious it was 8.30pm, in SJMC! Up until now I’m still trying to fix the jig-saw puzzle in my head. My neuro-surgeon, Dr Ben of SJMC said this is common in head injury, time heals everything – crack as well as memory.

Vertigo, or dizziness, is a symptom, not a disease. The term vertigo refers to the sensation of spinning or whirling that occurs as a result of a disturbance in balance (equilibrium). It’s the feeling that the surrounding is moving or spinning or sometimes known as illusion of movement. There are 2 types of Vertigo, subjective and objective. Subjective vertigo is when we feel ourselves are moving while objective vertigo is when the perception of the environments are moving. Mine was objective vertigo.

Hopefully by next week or so I should be running about doing my normal things.

Alone

2009-04-17T03:21:00.000-07:00

It has been said that each of us is ultimately alone. I prefer to think of now and there as the only ultimate, but what is probably meant is that our moments alone seem somehow truer, more real. The word ‘God’ only begins to have meaning for me in a discussion. I don’t think religion is an attainable subject for the intellect. I can only believe when I am not talking about it.

I need solitude like I need food and rest, and like eating and resting, solitude is most satisfying when it fits the rhythm of my needs. A regularly schedule aloneness does not nourish me.

Solitude is nearly a misnomer. To me, being alone means togetherness – the re-coming-together of me and nature, of me and being; the reuniting of me with all. For me, solitude especially means putting the parts of me back together – the unifying of myself whereby I see once again that the little things are little and the big things are big.

I believe that solitude is a profound and needed act of self-love and self-appreciation.

White and Shout Wipes

2009-04-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

Ahhh… we all do love white. It’s the symbol of cleanliness, purity and goodness. I have loads of Indian cotton and linen shirts and pants; off white as well as pure white.

But my main problem is staining. Whenever I wear white shirt or white pant, that is the day I choose to ‘stain’ my clothing. From curry to noodle soup, sandwich to fruits, ‘tong shui’ to nescafe, somehow it got to be on my ‘white day’! If any of you do your own laundry, you can imagine how difficult it is to wash away any old stain without using any bleaching component, not to mention soaking it overnight and worst of all, hand wash. Honestly I am not keen at all.

A Johnson product called ‘Shout Wipes (Instant Stain Remover)’ came to my rescue. Its amazing and I always have a few in my bag; individually packed, a box consists of 12 wrapped pouches. Easy to use - apply Shout Wipes starting at the outside of the stain working towards the center, if possible place dry towel (tissue paper will do) under the stain while treating to remove excess moisture by blotting with it. Don’t go out without your Shout, thats what written on the box.

Checked it out at www. SHOUTITOUT.com. I have not seen the product in our supermarket, normally Jamie (one of my practitioner) would replenish my stock whenever he’s back to San Francisco.

My Papa

2009-04-15T02:40:00.000-07:00

When my papa was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease in 2004, I felt resentful, then angry, then nothing at all.

Resentful because he’s making a demand on me I can’t fulfill (I can’t quickly fix things up); he’s using up my precious time; he’s making a messy situation. Then I felt angry because I think I shouldn’t be resentful when someone is sick. Then I resign myself and my emotions shut down altogether. But in the middle of this I pause long enough to look inside myself, I find that these negative feelings seem to be going on, on the surface and that deeper within me are more positive, loving feelings.

He passed away peacefully on June 3rd, 2006 at 86.

Looking back I am glad that I’ve told him how much I love him when he’s alive, when he still remembers me as his daughter, apple to his eyes. I guess that’s why I didn’t cried much when he passed away, neither regret nor anger were inside me, only love.

Male or Female?

2009-04-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Male or Female? You might not have known this...but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples:

FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in...but you can see right through them.

PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off...it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed...but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong Buttons.

TIRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated.

HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object... Because to get them to go anywhere...you have to light a fire under their butt.

SPONGES: These are female...because they are soft.....squeezable and retain water.

WEB PAGES: Female...because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

TRAINS: Definitely male... Because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because...over time...all the weight shifts to the bottom.

HAMMERS: Male... Because in the last 5000 years.....they've hardly changed at all...and are occasionally handy to have around.

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male.but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it.and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push...he just keeps trying.....

New Law: With the high rate of attacks on women in secluded parking lots...especially during evening hours...the Edinburgh City Council has established a 'Women Only' parking lot at the Tesco shopping center. Even the parking attendants are exclusively female so that a comfortable and safe environment is created for patrons. Above is the first picture available of this world-first women-only parking lot in Edinburgh !

Thanks Karen A.

Toothache? Anybody?

2009-04-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

A toothache hurts a lot. It hurts when you smile, frown, eat, drink or not doing anything and its killing me since last week.

The dentist told me that I had a very good set of teeth and with proper care it will last me this life time! Riiiiinng…. an alarm in my head. What? Wait a minute. Proper care? What am I doing all these years? Brush my teeth after each meal; never go to bed without flossing, what have I done wrong? I feel like kicking myself for not paying attention to the dental nurses when I was in secondary school on how to brush the teeth properly.

Take your fingernail and scrape it gently across the inside of one of your teeth. Now look at your finger. See the white stuff under your fingernail? That’s plaque, my dear.

Plaque is a sticky film of living and dead bacteria grows on your teeth. When plaque isn’t removed, it can harden – 50% within 48 hrs, becoming rock hard after just 12 days and commonly known as tartar.

You can’t remove tartar, ‘it’s much stronger that elephant glue’ and requires professional help. But good news is that you can remove plaque and by getting plaque off your teeth, you’ll prevent a lot tartar. Removing tartar is easy, so wipe your finger off and read on.

Brush, brush, brush. Think of your toothbrush as your sword and plaque as the enemy. What you want to do in this case is rub the bad guy away.

Friction of a toothbrush disrupts the bacterial plaque growth on the teeth – as long as you do it correctly and most people don’t (that people including me as well).

Up and down or back and forth isn’t correct. Open the mouth slightly - 1st step is upper teeth, start from the gum all the way down, lower teeth all the way up from the gum. 2nd step very gently wiggle your brush in small circle, covering 1 or 2 teeth at a time, downward for upper teeth and downward for lower teeth. 3rd step only brush back and forth, remember gently. Lastly inside out of the teeth!

Buy a brush that fits. Think small when choose your toothbrush. You want to reach all sides of your teeth, including those at the very back of your mouth, a giant brush won’t.

The white colour toothbrush is being recommended by my dentist compared to my existing, blue colour.

Choose soft, rounded bristles. Soft nylon bristles are easier on tooth enamel but as tough on plaque. Sculpted bristles are often sharp and may slice into your gums.

Floss it right. Whoa, don’t snap the floss up and down, in and out of your gums if you were popping the plaque to death. You’re whipping your gum tissue too. Slow down and take your time.

Try baking soda. Baking soda is an old standby that really works. Dip your brush directly into the box or mix a tablespoon of baking soda to a pinch of salt in a cup.

Try Listerine. Listerine has been shown to be effective in reducing the plaque when used alone or used to supplement regular toothbrushing.

Make sugarless gum your last bite. When you can’t brush after a meal, pop a stick of gum and chew your way to cleaner teeth, about 20 minutes. As you chew, your saliva will wash your teeth and neutralize the acid in the plaque before it attacks your teeth. Moving the gum around your mouth may also dislodge food stuck between your teeth.

Go swish, swish, swish. After every meal, especially when you can’t carry a toothbrush, dash to the bathroom and swish a mouthful of water around those teeth. One good swish will remove debris and may save you from spinach-in-the-teeth embarrassment

Straight Lines, In All Directions

2009-03-28T03:32:00.000-07:00

Sharing

2009-03-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sharing what we have is a beautiful way of relating to others
Our friendships are much enhanced by the quality of generosity
Even more significantly, the cultivation of non-greed becomes a strong force for liberation
What keeps us bond is desire and grasping in our own minds
As we practice giving we learn to let go

Kedgeree (from Khichuri)

2009-03-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

The original Khichuri is easily digestible dish (no fish, meat or egg) that is beneficial for all constitutions. Westerners call it Kedgeree. Nigella replaces the earthier Indian flavours with the sharper ones of Thailand. A subtly spiced rice dish, almost original if I may say, but with extra vegetable, Mackerel and egg (my improvised version).

2 cups brown unpolished rice
4 cups water
1 small handful coriander leaves
½ tsp mineral salts (organic)
2 tsp ghee
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 big onion, finely sliced
5 shallots, finely sliced
½ tsp fresh turmeric (grated)
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp whole cumin seed
½ tsp whole mustard seeds
½ tsp mild curry powder
1 pkt baby Kailan (organic)

2 pcs Mackerel
2 large eggs (free range)
4 stalks Coriander leaves

Wash rice and set aside.

Saute shallots, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, whole cumin seed, whole mustard seeds with ghee for a few minutes. Add rice and stir so that it’s all well coated. Transfer into the rice cooker with 4 cup of water and add salt.

Steam the Mackerel and flake it with the fork.

The eggs required for this dish need to be what French wall mollet – hard enough to peel but with a soft, oozing yolk. In order to achieve this, you must not harshly boil the egg but gently simmer them, then turn off the heat and leave and leave it in the water for a while. Mine did not turn out as expected!

Use clean pan, sauté sliced onion until soft with olive oil and add curry powder, cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Add in baby kalian and flaked Mackerel, toss quickly.

Add the rice and serve hot with eggs and coriander leaves.

A healthy meal in a pot, my dinner for last night. Very delicious actually. Try it out.

Jackie, My Friend

2009-03-11T02:07:00.000-07:00

It is not always easy to know when someone will have a great influence on us. The best way to handle this is to be nice to everybody.
When I first started teaching Yoga (moon-lighting) at the fitness clubs/spas, Jackie was one of those few people that gave me a chance, a chance to prove myself. How we met was totally unexpected. When asked, she always said we met ‘at the roadside’! I saw her ‘ad’ on the tree trunk. Yes, she posts the ‘ad’ for Yoga teacher onto the tree trunk, along the busy main road of Jalan P. Ramlee. Called her and manage to fix an appointment for the very next day.

To my horror, she’s forgotten about our appointment - I waited for almost half an hour before she sees me. What supposedly to be half an hour ‘interview’ turns to almost 3 hours of chit-chatting. She even sends me to LRT station! And I got the job as well. My friendship with Jackie blossoms into something very special up until today.

She’s always there for me – when my business in trouble or when my relationship with my ex crumble. If I need a kick in the ass, she’s the one I’ll turn to. She made me think outside the box, to look at life from different perspective and do something that I am not good at, be out of my comfort zone!

And I must say, she brings the best out of me.

Surya Namaskara

2009-03-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

STEP 1 - EXHALE
Stand up straight, keep rooting your feet firmly onto the mat, both arms at the side, alive and energise, palms facing inward. Pull the top of your shoulders back and relax them. Keep your head centered and your neck neutral. Be aware of the spine, especially lower lumber, remember to tilt the pelvis. Feel the abs.
Exhale and bring your hands to the heart center, in the middle of the chest, pressing the palms together.

STEP 2 - INHALE
Inhale slowly, raise the hands up until upper arms are next the ears or behind the line of the ears. No tension to the shoulder, lift torso forward with a straight spine, hinging at your hips, reaching up to the ceiling.
The legs should be firm and straight.

STEP 3 - EXHALE
Exhale slowly and swan dive forward with a straight spine, hinging at your hips.

Your arms sweep down sideways, stopping when your fingers reach the mat on either side of your feet or the lowest allowed by your body. Ideally, palms should be flat on the mat, if possible.

Focus on drawing the crown of your head down toward the mat. Feel the stretch the back of the legs and lower back.
Thumbs are next to the baby toes, spread the fingers with middle finger pointing forward.

STEP 4 – INHALE
Inhale slowly, without moving your hands, pressing both palms onto the mat (bend the knees, if required), stretch the right leg backward to maximum, on the toes. Drop the right knee on the mat, point the right toes, soften the right hip (hamstring), slowly stretch the head up and gently lift the palms off the mat, until only fingertips touching the mat.
Front knee and ankle are in one straight line.

STEP 5 – HOLD THE BREATH
As you hold your breath, tuck in the right toes, straighten the right knee and lift if off the mat, lunch the left leg (front leg) to the back, next to the right leg.

Both hands directly under your shoulders, stacking shoulders, elbows and wrists in one vertical line. Shoulder blades are spiralling down your back, away from your ears and tailbone is scooping down toward your heels. Engage the quads and lift the front of your thighs, lift your belly to your spine.

STEP 6 – EXHALE
Rotate the elbows facing the back, tucked both arms close (elbows point to the back) to torso and squeeze inner thighs, press toes down to the mat, exhale slowly ; bend elbows and lowered face and chest toward the mat.

Do not crunch the neck and upper back by allowing the mid-torso to sag.

STEP 7 - INHALE
Inhale slowly, pressed the toes and knees onto the mat and gently move chest and head forward. Keep elbows pointing to the back, tucked in both arms closed to the torso. Let your navel and thighs come down to the mat, pressing the toe nails down onto the mat, straighten the knees.
DO not look up, your view should about 10 – 20 inches infront. Maintain and lengthen the spine as ONE. Feel the stretch at the lower abs as well as ‘good’ stretch at lower lumber.

STEP 8 - EXHALE
In this step, exhale, press both palms onto the mat, shoulders relax, tucked in the toes, bend the knees, and bring the head and chest down; slowly raise the hips up. You are in an inverted V.
Both spine and legs are straight.

STEP 9 - INHALE
Inhale and by pressing both palms firmly on the mat, launch the right foot forward, next to the right palm; if not possible, drop the let knee on the mat and then walk the right foot slowly until baby toe is next to the thumb.

Drop the left knee on the mat, point the left toes, soften the left hip, slowly stretch the head up and gently lift the palms off the mat, until only fingertips touching the mat. Lengthen the spine.
Front knee and ankle are in one straight line.

STEP 10 – EXHALE
Exhale and bring the left foot forward next to right foot, straight spine, hinging at your hips.

Hands either side of your feet or the lowest allowed by your body. Ideally, palms should be flat on the mat, if possible.

Focus on drawing the crown of your head down toward the mat. Feel the stretch the back of the legs and lower back.

Thumbs are next to the baby toes, spread the fingers with middle finger pointing forward.

STEP 11 - INHALE
Inhale slowly, upper arms next to the ear or behind the line of the ears, lift torso forward with a straight spine, no tension to the shouler, hinging at your hips, reaching up to the ceiling.

STEP 12 – EXHALE
Exhale and slowly lower both arms back to step 1.

The Yoga Path

2009-03-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

Yoga, in Sanskrit, can be translated as ‘union’. It originally comes from the root word yuj, which means ‘to yoke’, to attach yourself to task at hand with ox-like discipline. And the task at hand in Yoga is to find union – between mind and body, between individual and her God, between our thoughts and the source of our thoughts, between teacher and student and even between ourselves and our sometimes annoying friends.

Today, mainly people come to know Yoga through Madonna or its pretzel exercises for the body, but this is only Hatha Yoga, one limb of the philosophy. The ancients developed these physical stretches not for personal fitness, but to loosen up their muscles and minds in order to prepare them for meditation. It is difficult to sit in stillness for many hours, after all, if your hips is aching, keeping you from contemplating, your intrinsic divinity because you are too busy contemplating, “wow….. my hips really aches”.

But Yoga can also mean trying to find God through meditation, through scholarly study, through the practice of silence, through devotional service or through mantra – the repetition of sacred words in Sanskrit. While some of these practices tend to look rather Hindu in their derivation, Yoga is not synonymous with Hinduism, nor are all Hindus Yogis. True Yoga neither competes with nor precludes any other religion. You may use your Yoga – your disciplines practices of sacred union – to get closer to Siva, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha or Yahweh. During my stay at the Ashram, I met devotees who identified themselves as practicing Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and even Muslims and at the same time others who would rather not talk about their religious affiliations at all, for which, in this contentious world, you can hardly blame them.

The Yogic path is about disentangling the built-in glitches of human conditions, which I’m going to over-simplify define here as the heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment. Different schools of thought over the centuries have found different explanations for man’s apparent inherently flawed state. Taoist calls it imbalance, Buddhism calls it ignorance, Islam blames our misery on rebellion against God and psychologist explains it ‘desire is the design flaw’.

Yoga is the effort to experience one’s divinity personally and then to hold on to that experience forever. Yoga is about self-mastery and the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from the endless brooding over the past and your nonstop worrying about the future, so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with noise. Only from that point of even-mindedness will the true nature of yourself be revealed to you.

It’s about the journey, not the destination. Self journey. Self discovery. The Path. The Yoga Path was conceived based on that foundation.

Namaste.

Latest addition to my Garden

2009-03-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Everybody loves lilies, and today's hybrids are a snap to grow, unlike some of the more difficult ones of the past. What I have in my garden is called Spring Lily (Oriental Hybrid Lily Bulbs) - slightly pinkish with very light sweet scent.

How to forgive your loved (Ex?) ones and yourself

2009-02-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been in love – song by Celine Dion, my favourite song. Have you ever been in love with someone who doesn’t love you anymore?

If you arrive at this point, there are very different ways of finishing a relationship; it can be very nasty or amicable, whether or not you’re the one who is instigating the split. It can be very hard, with feelings running so deep, to behave as well as we should. So, how do you move on from here? How to forgive – not just your ex but most important is yourself.

Listen to your own internal voice – dragging things out will only make it worse. When people look back on relationships that didn’t work out, how often do you hear them say, ‘You know, deep down I knew it was over when she forgot our fifth wedding anniversary’, or ‘Looking back, when he took that job even though I begged him not to, that was the beginning of the end’?

Actually we almost always do have foresight. We just don’t realize it. There’s a little voice inside us but we just don’t listen. Of course there are times you have to work and you can still reclaim a great relationship. But deep down, if only you listen, you know when the relationship has passed the point of no return.

Recognise that it takes two. Its takes two to tango, that what people used to say. There has to be responsibility on both sides when things fall apart. I’ve been through a divorce myself and although it took me a while to admit it – I now freely accept that we both played a part in allowing the relationship to deteriorate to the point where it couldn’t be salvage.

This is important because you’ll both cope with the break-up more amicably or at least less bitter if you both admit a share in the responsibility (even if you only admit it to yourself). And if you don’t recognize where you could have done things differently, you risk making the same mistakes next time you fall in love.

Keeping the moral high ground will taste a thousand times better than revenge ever would. Oh boy, is this a simple one to say and a really difficult one to live up to. No matter how rough it gets you are never going to take revenge, act badly, be very, very angry, hurt anyone, act without thinking, act rashly and be aggressive. You are going to behave honestly, decently, kindly, forgiving, nicely (whatever that means), no matter what the provocation. No matter what challenge they throw at you. No matter how unfairly they behave. No matter how badly they behave. You will no retaliate in kind. I know revenge is tempting but you don’t have to go there, because revenge is for losers. You’ll be the one with the beasts instead of the angles.

Learn what you can from what went wrong, and then get over it. I know a person whose husband left her with the children about 20 years ago, and went off with another woman. She still hasn’t forgiven him and she’s still bitter, and it’s still eating her up.

The main person she’s hurting is herself and also her children. She’s miserable and of course, single because she hasn’t let go of her marriage from all those years ago ad she can’t move on and find a happier relationship.

The important thing is learn to forgive and remember- times wait for no man. We’ve only got one life – get on with it.

Green Salad Rice

2009-02-22T01:44:00.000-08:00

Last night, I prepared very simple and healthy meals for few friends. I enjoy being in the kitchen, not just cooking but the whole process itself – from choosing and buying the ingredients, cleaning and preparing the vegetables, of course the cooking, up to table setting, eating the food and all the way to clearing the table plus washing up the plates and utensils.

In Thai language it is known as ‘Khau Jump’ (Pronounce as cow-jump), literally translate as ‘rice with sliced vegetables’ but I re-branded it as 'green salad rice' because the rice is green colour.

Very simple to cook but the main ingredients are very difficult to find, almost impossible to buy over here in KL. It contains of about 15 – 20 different types of leaves, pound and juice. Cook the rice with the juice and add in ‘daun pandan' and 'limau purut’ leaves.

Mix all sliced vegetables, 'kerisik' plus dash of black pepper, fish sauce with the green rice and ready to go!

Slice the raw vegetables - daun kelsom, long bean, cucumber, serai, angle bean, big onion, bunga kantan & ulam raja. I love to add bean sprout as well.

My improvised organic version of 'bubur cha-cha' - tapioca, Japanese sweet potatoes, black-eye beans, sago, ? (the coloured stuff?, not organic at all) and cocunut milk.

Table set for 5.

One for the album - Jamie, Kae Ling and Ming.

Chilled Sake, home-made apple dessert wine and fruits end the evening.

The Secret of ‘The Secret’

2009-02-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

Most of us still remember how ‘The Secret’ (book as well as DVD) swept our shores (not to mention the rest of the world), such a phenomena, big time, not long ago, and probably still is. Everyone wanted to know The Secret – how to be have everything you ever wanted!

So many people are missing the whole picture because it is so simple. The bottom line is if we can relax our body and mind enough to focus our thoughts and use vivid visualization, we can perform miracles.

Lets put it this way, everything has a frequency, vibration, beat or cycle. Mother Earth goes around the sun every 365 days, 6 hours. The Moon goes around Earth every 28 days.

Human heart beats about 70 times a minute. According to my research (and my personal understanding) human brain also has a frequency, beat or cycle. The brain frequency is separated into 4 parts – Delta (0.5 – 3 beats per second), Theta (4 – 7 beats per second), Alpha (8 – 14 beats per second) and Beta (15 beats and above per second).

In energy healing, Delta and Theta are known as the ‘Land of the Shaman’, Alpha is the ‘Land of the Spirit’ and Beta is the ‘Land of the Living Dead’.

In our normal state during the day, our brain is emitting about 20 beats per second – Beta state. We can be in Alpha state by relaxing the body and mind – doing meditation.

The basic idea is the future is composed of thoughts not yet materialized. We have the choice to create our future or let it be created by our indecision. We have created our present thought, decisions and actions or by their absence. By the same method, or lack of it, we create out future. We have a choice of which future we create. There are probably infinite possible futures for us, all dependent upon our thoughts and actions.

Speaking of Love

2009-02-10T23:50:00.000-08:00

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself;
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say ‘God is in my heart’ but rather ‘I am in the heart of God’.
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, direct your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires;
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Stretching

2009-02-08T06:36:00.000-08:00

THE SUN SALUTATION – SURYA NAMASKARA

2009-02-05T21:16:00.000-08:00

An excellent general warm up exercise, consisting of 12 different positions; full-body warm-ups that build heat and set the pace, breathing rhythms and flow of your yoga practice. They bring your focus further inward and ignite the healing heat inside.

Surya Namaskara mobilise the musculature of the body, get the heart pumping, boost circulation and prepare the body for the entire practice by taking each joint thorough its full range of motion.

Very often the first 10 minutes of Surya Namaskara will be filled with resistance. They may feel hard and uncomfortable but if you keep moving through the poses and breathing in a conscious way, something will suddenly shift and you will enter a flow, a zone! At certain times you just don’t feel ‘into it’, but if you do it anyway, the energy shift. You move to a new place and space, and suddenly you forget all the reasons why it was so hard at first and just start flowing.

If you get an attack of doubt, just remember : You don’t have to like it right in this moment, you just need to it. Yoga practice is not always easy, but it is always necessary.

The 'Needs' and 'Wants'

2009-02-05T00:56:00.000-08:00

What I want? What I need? Do I want what I need? Do I need what I want?

I want to be healthy.
I need to watch what I eat plus daily yoga dosage.

I want to be happy.
I need to discover who I am.

I want best friends.
I need to be with good company.

I want to love and to be loved.
I need an open heart.

I want to relax.
I need to meditate.

I want a holiday.
I need to slow down.

I want to be beautiful.
I need self confidence.

I want more money.
I need to be more prudent with my money.

I want to be free.
I need to learn how to forgive.

I want a house at Janda Baik, big compound with 1 dozen of dogs and cats.
I need a sanctuary, a home, with Beanie and Missy.

I want a silver SLK.
What I need is a kind of transportation, Kelisa will do.

Love = Cinta = Sayang

2009-02-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

What is TIME

2009-02-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.

You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.

Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness.

And knows that yesterday is but to-day's memory and to-morrow it to-day's dream.

And that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of the first moment which scattered the stars into space.

Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?

And yet who does not feel that very love, through boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not from love thought to love thought, nor from deeds to other love deeds?

And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?

But if in your thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons.

And let to-day embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.

Tension = Backache

2009-02-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

Why does tension attack the back? And why does tension take up ‘residence’ in the very specific place (between the shoulder blades up to the base of the neck)? After so many years of practising and teaching Yoga, what I can say that emotional, physical and postural tensions are the main culprits.

Tension can be emotional. Tension in the back is directly related to the state of MIND. Automatically, when we’re upset, we curl up. This posture takes a lot of effort, straining and fatiguing the muscles in your upper back and neck. The longer you despair, the more strained and tired those muscles get. And worse, the muscles in front of your chest will begin to shorten, pulling you even lover. It’s no accident of language that I refer to an unhappy person as being ‘down’.

I’m going to tell you something shocking – unhappy people are prone to injury and illness. Nearly 80% of all the physical problems I encounter are related, directly or indirectly, to tension and pressure. No matter what I do to unlock the body or show how successful I am in restoring function, sooner or later, she/he are going to come back unless she/he gets a handle on life. I’m not saying that getting happy will guarantee a lifetime of health and injury-free, but it helps. Big time.

Tension can be physical. The emotional aspect of carrying tension between the shoulder blades is not the only culprit. Fitness or lack thereof, plays an even bigger role.

When your back is pain, your abdominal muscles are the suspected cause. Weak abs cause the pelvis to be unstable, so the back (all the way from sacrum to the skull) has to compensate to keep our body balanced and erect in posture. But without the assistance of supporting abdominal muscles, your struggling back becomes very unstable.

While the problem originates at your pelvis, it qualifies as a full-blown disaster by the time it reaches your head. Weighing between 3.6 – 5.4kg, the head is pretty heavy! When the abdominal muscles are weak and the back is struggling to compensate, that heavy head pulls the spine forwards. Shoulder follow suits as the front of the shoulder foreshorten and collapse. This sag may be subtle at first, but it doesn’t take long for the upper back, designed to stabilize, to become fatigued from trying to support weight.

A strong, fit body ensures that all your muscles are doing their jobs and that they are sparing your back from having to compensate.

Tension can be postural. People can even make tension between shoulders worse by postural mistakes.

When you sleep on your side with a pillow that fails to support your head and neck, you collapse your lower shoulder, folding it towards your chest and straining the muscles in your back for hours.

When you work at your desk, you sit and pull all your action in front of you, so that you reach out and down towards the desk – and your upper back is stressed.

When you drive, you reach forwards and up to steer – and your upper back is stressed.

When you eat, your plate is on the table in front of you, so you reach down and towards it – and your upper back is stressed.

Add personal tension to biomechanical mistakes and long-term fatigue, and you have a knotted, cramped upper back.

When those muscles between the shoulder blades become fatigued, they begin to shut down in a process that is like strangulation; the area were deprived of oxygen, as blood flow is slowly squeezed off when tissue constrict. Fresh oxygenated blood not only carry oxygen to muscles but it also helps to carry away metabolic waste generated (like lactic acid) when muscles fire.

While many back problems originate in that upper back zone, they don’t necessarily stay there. Just when you thought you couldn’t be more locked up and incapacitated, this pain sneaks down to your lower back to hobble your step, creeps up your neck to inflict a world-class tension headache or radiates down your arms in an exhausting ache or shooting pain.

Back and shoulder problems aren’t always the result of a postural imbalance or an incorrect performed exercise; sometimes the root cause can be a lot deeper.

To My Beloved Papa

2009-01-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

As a flames blown out by the wind

Goes to rest and cannot be defined.

So the enlightened man freed from selfishness

Goes to rest and cannot be defined.

Gone beyond all images -

Gone beyond the power of words.

How to EAT SMARTER

2009-01-21T04:25:00.000-08:00

Well, Chinese New Year is around the corner and as we all aware, its eating time! Let's eat smarter this year, the year of an OX.

For many people, learning to energy test the food changes their relationship to what they eat. Test to see if your body is going to like a particular food, not based on taste but either its increases or reduces your energy level.

Because preconceptions can affect an energy test, it is better not to try to guess what the results will be. Subtle energies are responsive to our thoughts, so clear the mind as as well as you can prior to conducting energy test. Drink water before the test as water conducts electricity, and dehydration inteferes with the flow of energy in your body.

1. Both of you take a deep breath.

2. The person being tested place one hand straight down the side of the body with thumb touching the outer thigh, palm facing to the back and fingers pointing down and the other touching/holding the food that she/he planning to eat.

3. The tester slips her/his palm (facing out) between the body and the arm, just above the wrist.

4. The tester then asks the person being tested to hold her/his arm firm, elbow straight (I often use words such as 'don't let me pull your arm away from your body').

5. With the hand and with pressure from one to two seconds, the tester slowly pulls the arm away from the body.

With neither person straining, the arm will either pull away relatively easily or it will feel locked in place. Do not struggle as this is not a competion nor it is about muscle strength; it's about energy flow.

If the person being tested feels she/he is losing her/his strength upon touching the food, indicates that her/his body vibration is not in harmony with the food vibration. This may mean :

a. the food is never good for you;

b. the food is not good for you right now or

c. you have an allergy to the food.

Always remember, one person's vitamin is another's poison.

Perfect Posture – The Yoga Way

2009-01-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

Posture is body language, an asana (pose) that tells the rest of the world how you feel – about others, about your life, about yourself. Posture is personality.

So what does your posture say? Are you slouching, facedown on the world? Do you walk with a resigned, round-shouldered look on life? Is your back so straight that people think you are unbendable? Or do you strut, head up, back straight, like a peacock – adventurous, outgoing, ready to meet all challenges?

Maybe your posture isn’t an intentional stance, but the simple result of bad habit. Even so, it can give people the wrong message.

Good posture is practical for other reasons, too. It’s the perfect way to prevent backaches. Your backbone – 33 bony segments called vertebrae – is your body’s foundation. The vertebrae column is what enables you to stand upright. It surrounds and protects your spinal cord, and it is where muscles and ligaments attach to your back. It works as a weight bearer, yet allow flexibility in movement, so you don’t walk stiffly, like a zombie.

Muscles are the key to good posture. Back muscles in proper working order support the spine from the rear. Stomach muscles help to support the spine from the front.

Poor posture wears against the disc – the shock absorbers – in your spine. Poor posture strains and loosens ligaments and it pushes and pulls unevenly on all your muscles. A lifetime of slouching can cause chronic headaches, fatigue and sometimes body disfigurements. Here’s how to make your posture perfect.

Start each day in balance. Begin each day by putting your skeleton in alignment, basic stretches to help you find proper balance. Full extension of the spine, side flexion, hyperextension of the spine (forward bend) and reverse forward flexion of the spine (roll up) – part of warm up in all my hatha classes.

Tadasana (Mountain pose). Relax and practice standing up straight, not the stiff military posture. Distribute your weight evenly on both feet, shoulder away from the ears, hold your chest high, stomach will pull in naturally as you tilt you’re lowering pelvis slightly back. Notice that your buttocks will tuck under and lower lumber will have a very slight arch.

Release tension in the shoulder and neck. Release the tension with shoulder rolls and head circles – warm up in my theraphy yoga classes.

Tilt your pelvis. You can adjust and strengthen the lower lumber with ‘pranayama’ (breathing exercise). Standing too straight without ‘tiny little’ curve called flat back and too much curve called lordosis.

Slouch no more. Stand or sit with both arms at the back, clasp your hands and away from the back as far as possible. This will stretching muscles across your chest, pinching shoulder blades together and contracting those in the back.

Uncross your legs. Crossed leg will throw your body out of alignment. A good hairstylist or barber will tell you to uncross your legs before they cut your hair – they do not want their work to come out lopsided. Keep both feet flat on the floor.

Sit squarely. Sit up straight until you can feel the ‘sitting bones’ firmly on the chair or mat, when you cant feel those bones, you’ve probably rolled down in your seat and are slumping.

Keep your distance. Don’t be tempted to lean your arms and elbow on your desk or table. Sit 6 to 8 inches away from it when you aren’t working – too far to succumb to sound-shouldered posture.

Get good sleep. Sleeping on your stomach is the worst thing you can do because it accentuates the curve in your back. Choose a mattress firm enough to keep you from sinking into it when you lie down and you and your partner do not roll together in the middle!

Keep in tone. Stretch your muscles daily; posture is only as good as the muscles that keep you in line. Keep your muscles strong.

Get maximum relief. At the end of the day, rest your back and improve your posture at the same time. Viparita Karani – lie on the mat with both legs up against the wall.

Chinese New Year Closure

2009-01-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

The Studio shall be closed from the Jan 25th to Jan 30th, 2009. We will reopen for classes from Jan 31st, 2009 @ Saturday.

We would like to wish all our practitioners Happy Chinese New Year.

Criticism

2009-01-13T15:09:00.000-08:00

I have two principal ways of discovering the areas where I fail to see myself. The 1st is acknowledging the qualities in others which irritate me, 2nd is recognizing the comments that make me defensive.

All I have to do to discover what annoys me in other people’s behavior is to review my latest encounters, but I have more difficulty recognizing when I am defensive.

I can identify it best by the following syndrome :

I answer quickly;
I feel in need of talking at length, and impatient when interrupted;
I explain;
I try to persuade;
But I feel frustrated even if I appear to be succeeding, as if the damage has already done;
I think hurriedly and I feel a strong resistance to pausing and considering as if something will be lost if I do this;
My face feels fixed and serious;
I usually avoid eye contact immediately after hearing the comment;
I am incapable of taking the comment any way but seriously; the words never seem light or funny to me.

When my reaction becomes apparent to the people present, they often take the situation lightly. I feel somewhat misunderstood and misused.

Now that I know that when I critise other I am seeing my own fault, I like to be very honest and very specific in my criticism. After I get it straight how I think this fault works in someone else, I can then look at my own behavior with a surprising new clarity.

This way of critising works best when I do it SILENTLY!

My Garden

2009-01-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

Arthritis – Alternate Route

2009-01-08T00:11:00.000-08:00

I am not going to tell about new miracle cures or what arthritis is, but how to bring about pain relief without getting a prescription filled or making a trip to a doctor.

Lose weight, gain relief. More stress and pressure are placed on the joints of an overweight person compared to a person with normal weight. This increases the stress on the cartilage, which interferes with the bone, thus increasing the incidence of inflammation, swelling and pain.

Stretch gently for strength and mobility. Incorrect moving harms but intelligent moving heals. Don’t baby your joints. Moving hurts but not moving destroys.

I keep that philosophy in mind when teaching yoga for my arthritic practitioners. Yoga teaches movements with proper joint alignment which helps bring deformed joints back to normal position as appropriate muscles are lengthened and strengthened.

Find relief through less stress. Childbirth is very painful but women learn how to deal with that pain by learning how to relax thru’ breathing. If you are hurting and you tense up, you hurt even more.

Use ice to prevent pain and use heat to reduce pain.

Copper bracelet. Studies showed that some people with arthritis seem to have difficulty metabolizing copper from the food they eat, leading to increased pain. The dissolved copper from a bracelet bypasses the oral route be entering the body through the skin (refer to ‘The Copper Bracelet and Arthritis’ by Dr Helmar Dollwet, Ph.D).

Fish for relief, not everyone but some.

Master massage. Work the muscles that are attached to the tendons leading to the painful joints, using a compression technique.

Boost Vitamin C intake. Studies have shown that people with rheumatoid arthritis are deficient in Vitamin C.

Practice food avoidance. In most cases, nightshade family (white potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and all peppers, except black pepper) and milk products.

Cut back on vegetable oil. Known to contain high levels of Omega-6 fatty acids, which have shown to cause inflammation in those with rheumatoid arthritis. 2 oils are low in Omega-6 are canola oil (made from rapeseed) and olive oil.

Carry on with vegetable juice. Ahhhh…. My favourite.

Energy Medicine and Me

2009-01-07T00:20:00.000-08:00

I have been asked for years about the nature of energy medicine - what is energy medicine? What benefits doeas it offer a person that he or she cannot gain from conventional medicine?

Energy medicine is safe, natural and accessible. It is both contemporary and ancient. The term being used in many ways todays, ranging from the introduction of 'shamanic healing practices' in modern cultures to the use of power electromagnetic and imaging technologies in modern hospitals. It embraces lawful principles and mysteries; routine procedures and artistry; matter and spirit. Energy medicine is the best term I know for describing the growing number of approaches where an understadning of the body as a system of energies is being applied for promoting health, healing and happiness. The belief that repressing an illness through drugs is of use to the healing process will come to be seen as harmful rather as beneficial.

And when shall we expect such changes to occur? Dramatic shifts in medcine and healing are happening all around is now. Our society has shown respect for the holistic movement and energetic medicine by it growing interest in learning more about this field and choosing to engage in alternative healing methds for diseases.

18 years of yoga practice has help me to take my first small step into the energy medicine world and I enjoyed every moment of it. It’s a gift; every gift comes with a heavy responsibility.

Body Odour

2009-01-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

Never before in my entire life have I perspired as much as I did in Yogyakarta and Bali recently. Where does BO come in? BO is most often caused by a combination of perspiration and bacteria.

Yes, we all suffer from it, one way or another.

Being a Yoga Teacher demands a fair share of physical ‘work out’ especially if we are teaching beginners. We are our own walking billboard! Simple basic ways that help me stays clean (and smells good) through-out the day.

Scrub. The most basic way to hold BO at bay; particularly in those areas of the body that are most likely to smell, such as armpits and groins. Remember that perspiration and bacteria both work night as well as day shifts, in my case, I always shower and change clothing (yes, including inner wear) before class starts.

Wash more than the body. We can wash till our skin puckers like a prune but we’ll still smell bad if our clothes aren’t clean.

Choose natural fabrics such as natural cotton absorb perspiration better than synthetic materials. The absorbed sweat is then free to evaporate from the fabric. Indian unpolished cotton is my favourite; rarely (almost never) wear branded attire such as Adidas or even Nike.

Anti-perspirants work for some people but I totally avoid it as they are basically ‘drugs’. Many anti-perspirants combine anti-perspirant with deodorant but deodorants themselves cannot control perspiration.

Le Crystal Natural is a chunk of mineral salts, formed into crystal, that helps keep bacteria under control without irritating the skin. I remember my mum used this and still using it!

Watch what we eat. Extracts of proteins and oils from certain food and spices in our body excretions and secretions for hours after eating them and can impart an odor. Fish, cumin, curry and garlic lead the list! Fish? Yeap, hard to swallow but its true.

Once a month, I pamper myself with ‘mandi rempah’- pandan leaves, limau purut, crush old ginger, rose and ‘bunga cina’ petals and a cup of Epsom salt.

The Day I LETTING GO

2008-12-18T02:40:00.000-08:00

Still fresh in my mind when one of the practitioners asked me “what is there to let go?”. Yes, ‘what is there to let go’, rather than ‘how to let go’. If we know WHAT then HOW is no more a question.

My journey of letting go starts almost 4 years ago in India, but too soon, it was forgotten until June 19th, 2008. Here they are………….

Everyday without fail, for the last three years till this very day, I end all classes with saying ‘Let us free ourselves from egoism, anger, lust, hatred, greed and jealousy and let us fill our hearts with love, compassionate and understanding.”

And that's my Christmas wish as well as my new year resolutions.

Mother Earth SPEAKS

2008-12-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

TBU Operations Centre on the last day @ Dec 15th, 2008.

Stefanie and Mrs Ong manned the TBU Ops centre.

MPAJ issued tags for residents; we are required to carry it with us at all times.

The hugemangous destructions....

Jalan Wangsa 9 - its all begins here.....

Lessons Learned in the LOSING

2008-12-15T01:15:00.000-08:00

In our culture, of course, is all about wining. Let’s face it, at any point of the time, in any year, the importance of finishing first is drummed into us daily, even hourly. From kindergarten, secondary school, primary school, college, university and working, it’s all about scoring more As or being no 1 or own the biggest car or house .

Losing, in the other hand, is a source of shame and bitterness. People who lose are, by definition, losers.

We tend to frame things in terms of contests or wars must be won or lost. Many challenges, however, are about hanging in there and managing a bad situation. What don’t kill us will make us stronger.

Losing prepares us for the slog that is life. The world doesn’t give us many finish lines, but it does give us the long run.

I didn’t always win. But I’m sure a winner.

Aftermath....

2008-12-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

One week later ......
Skali Relief Center, Burger King on their last day
@ Friday Dec 12, 2008.

Smart Team

Syabas

Polis DiRaja

Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat

Persatuan Bulan Sabit Merah

Bomba & Penyelamat

Media Center

SPCA

Pasukan Rela

DESIRE

2008-12-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

As I look back on my life, one of the most constant and powerful things I have experienced within myself is the desire to be more than I am at the moment, an unwillingness to let myself remain where I am. A desire to increase the boundaries of myself, a desire to do more, learn more, express more, a desire to grow, improve, accomplish and expand.

I used to interpret this inner push as meaning that there was some one thing out there that I wanted to do or be or have. And I spent too much of my life trying to find it. But now I know that this energy within me is seeking more the mate or the profession or the religion, more even than pleasure of power or meaning. It is seeking out more of me; or better - for me to be a better person each day.

The 4th Day

2008-12-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Impiana Selatan & Taman Bukit Jaya - the furtherst anyone can go down ......

Landslide area. The furthest anyone can go up.....

Main Operations Centre

Local coverage by 8TV

Internaltional coverage - Al-Jazeera TV

Taman Bukit Utama (TBU)

Dr Rafik - TBU resident doctor.

Notice Boards at Skyline Promenade for residents.

2nd Day - Journey To TBU

2008-12-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

Sunday @ Nov 7th, 2008. Giant hypermarket.

Outside Burger King.
For latest updates skalicentre.blogspot.com

En Nizam and En Norazam. Thanks guys. You are great.

Heading to temporary ‘route’ for TBU; a path along the hillside, next Atheanium Condominium. Registration required - check down and check up.

Finally arrived HOME. TBU serves as a Relief Centre for the rest of tamans after Taman Bukit Mewah, which access was totally cut-off.

Skyline promenade is Operation Center.

The playing field is now helicopter landing pad.

Activities along the main road leading down to Taman Bukit Mewah.

Around the disaster area.

Landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa

2008-12-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

Massive landslide occurred at Bukit Antarabangsa this morning (Saturday @ Dec 6th, 2008) around 4am, a place I called home for the last 7 years. I am safe; my home is intact, however access to my taman – Taman Bukit Utama (TBU) was blocked by the earth. No electricity, no water and no land line - telephone. So far, confirmed 4 dead, 15 injured and 14 bungalows were buried.

Later today I will try to ‘scout’ on any trail along the hillside available that leading to my taman as my two babies, Missy and Beanie are at home. Janice and her family are helping me taking care of them temporary.

Let’s us pray for the dead, salute to the brave men and women who work around the clock since the tragedy occurred to find more survivors and let us not forgetting the surviving families and friends, be strong.

To all practitioners and friends, thank you very much for your concern.

Holidays

2008-12-03T01:41:00.000-08:00

The studio will be closed on 22nd Dec – 31st 2008, inclusive of both dates. All classes shall resume back to normal on 1st Jan 2009.

Happy Holidays to all Practitioners.

May 2009 brings Peace, Joy and Prosperity.

Speaking of Teaching

2008-12-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness;

If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind;

The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding;

The musician may sing to you of the rhythm of which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it;

He who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither;

For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.

And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.

From 'The Prohpet' by Kahlil Gibran.

The Pavement Artist

2008-11-30T02:57:00.000-08:00

Money, Money and Money and more Money..

2008-11-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

What can money do or not do?

While our culture says money is the answer to all our problems, we also hear that money is bad. Money is the root of all evil. Money corrupts! And yet can't live without IT!!!! So let’s take a look at what can money do or not do.

It can buy a house but not a home;
It can buy a bed but not sleep;
It can buy a clock but not time;
It can buy a book but not knowledge;
It can buy a position but not respect;

It can buy love but not sincerity;

It can buy diamond but not happiness;

It can buy friendship but not loyalty;
It can buy medicine but not health;
It can buy blood but not life!

New Year Resolutions??

2008-11-27T03:20:00.001-08:00

Something for us to think about ....

1. Take 10-30 minutes gentle exercise (i.e. walk) every day and keep smiling.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Let thoughts/emotions go..... and just be.

3. Live with Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

4. Play more games & Read more books.

5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer*.

6. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6 and realise how enjoyable it is.

7. Dream more while you are awake. Visualise what you want as if it has already happened. Think only about what you want. (never what you don't - please try this).

8. Eat more foods that grow on trees and that are natural. Eat less foods that are processed. Work towards 90% of food that grows / are produced naturally and drink plenty of water.

9. Make at least three people smile each day. Smile and laugh more yourself. Each day do / give something good to [at least] an other.

10. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, lies and ill will.

11. Never remind you, your partner or your friends of their "mistakes". Forgive and forget issues of the past.

12. Don't have negative thoughts on things you cannot control. Work onwhatyou CAN control - it will increase.

13. Drink less booze. Don't smoke cigarettes at all.

14. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

15. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Never hate.

16. Don't take yourself too seriously. No one else does.

17. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. It's only game.

18. Make peace with your past ("let go") so it won't spoil the present.

19. Don't compare your life to others'. It's not a race, it's your journey, so YOU should enjoy it.

20. No one is in charge of your happiness except YOU - choose happy, you can.

21. Forgive everyone for everything - that includes you. Love all - that includes you too!

22. What other people think of you is none of your business. It's what you think that counts (see 21)

23. However good or bad a situation is. It will always change.

24. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. Call your family often.

25. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

26. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. You will always get what you deserve - be of service.

27. The best is yet to come. Always.

28. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

29. Do the right thing! You always know what it is.

Your inner self is happy, all powerful and all love. Start to recognize this.

*Prayer is the simple action of giving thanks for what you have and requesting what you want. We are all part of the whole and the whole is magnificent.

Thanks to Karen and Ian MacAndrew.

Standing, Sitting, Sleeping & Eating in KB

2008-11-27T02:37:00.000-08:00

Guru, Teacher, Instructor = PRACTITIONER

2008-11-20T01:47:00.000-08:00

A guru (Sanskirt :गुरु) is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and uses it to guide others. The word comes from Sanskrit Gu, darkness, and Ru, light (prakash); literally a preceptor who shows others knowledge (light) and destroys ignorance (darkness) – ‘who holds a light in the darkness’.

A teacher is an acknowledged guide or helper in processes of learning. A teacher's role may vary between cultures; academic subjects are emphasized in many societies, but a teacher's duties may include instruction in craftsmanship or vocational training, spirituality, civics, community roles, or life skills - the teacher is defined as a specialized profession on the same level as many other professions.

An instructor is one who instructs or teaches a technical skill or subject.

Gurus, Teachers or Instructors, we all are practitioners not preachers.

Thank you to all especially Maggie, Ming and Kae Ling for giving me such honour.

Learning And Practicing

2008-11-18T19:40:00.001-08:00

I have been bombarding with questions of why I did not attend any workshops or seminars. How are you going to improve yourself? Go and try new things, different things to get new ideas or be inspired, at least! Day in day out, teaching the same things, don’t you ever get bored?

My guru-ji always said ‘an ounce of practice worth a ton of theory’. A goal is implied but the need seems to be for direction – to feel in the process of becoming.

That's what I am trying to practice.

Missy, my Baby

2008-11-17T07:05:00.000-08:00

Missy turns 18 this year and she is going bald due to her food. How can that be? Since day One she ‘adopted’ me, the only food she takes is Science Plan (remembered was known as Science Diet then), supposedly ‘superior nutrition for life long health’.

By nature cats are carnivorous species; their diets consist of meat and fish. We, human are trying to convert them into vegetarian by adding maize, soy, rice and other vegetables into their food (I mean processed food). The manufacturers believe that as cats grow older they need less and less protein; therefore they are adding more and more vegetables into their food. Less protein means less amino acid and somehow it upsets her hormones and it caused hair drop.

I have the choice of being right or being human. How about Missy? Does she have a choice?

Be thankfull....

2008-11-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Something for us to ponder about.....

I am blessed, very blessed in so many ways. Thank you.

I am what I am - SOHAM

2008-11-09T01:47:00.000-08:00

Keith told me something that he remembers reading about it, long time ago, by an English philosopher “there are 3 persons living inside each and every one of us – 1st is someone who we think we are, 2nd is someone who people think we are and 3rd is who we actually are’.

I love myself when I am myself. I think of those who aren’t. I am what I am. Soham.

Why Yoga Works - for me

2008-11-01T02:18:00.000-07:00

Every day of my life, just as I eat, just as I sleep, just as I work, just as I love – I practice yoga.

Yoga is simple and in tune with how the body is designed to move and operate. It builds functional fundamental strength rather than superficial strength, empowers them to purposeful use and conditions my body the way nature intended it to be; for day to day life – bending, stretching, lifting, reaching, twisting and etc. On top of that Yoga pays due attention to both the physical and mental wellbeing, can you imagine that? 2 in 1 or 3 in 1….…should I say

All of us are very well aware the benefits of yoga; we read about it the newspapers, magazines, internet, books and even discussing it with our friends. But, hey …. what stopping most us from practicing yoga? Lazy? Too tired? Next time? No mood? I am not flexible! Backache! Heard all of them and the most popular is ‘no time la’……..

It’s about feel good, when I feel good I look good, and honestly I am feeling much better now than I was in my 20s…… spiritually and of course, physically.

There is no such thing as ‘best’ in a world of individuals.

What is DIET

2008-10-24T02:41:00.000-07:00

Diet. Yes diet. What is the real meaning of DIET? Watch what you eat? Starve yourself? Watch your weight? Cut down the food intake? Which one?

There are many different types of diets available but the million $ question is, does it works? And many superstars; local, Hollywood or Bollywood, all swore by either Atkins diet, South Beach Diet, Cambridge diet, Blood type diet, G.I.Diet, Gluten Free Diet and etc. And somehow, we tend to follow what these superstars do or say; they get paid to ‘endorse’ each product and we buy the products just to look and be like them! Take good looks around us……..

The food that we eat supposedly provides raw materials and energy to power our extremely complex internal workings and the constant growth, repair and regeneration of our cells. But not anymore…..most people eat for comfort, yes ‘comfort food’.

I do not believe in living a life of total denial. I don’t feel guilty if I take a bite out of a Ramly burger; I don’t reprimand myself if I eat a bowl of bubur cha-cha; I haven’t vowed that a pack of RM2 nasi lemak will never pass my lips. Yet I do believe that eating any of these things excessively or regularly can be harmful to my body. My theory is that if I leave out the ‘very bad foods’, occasionally eat the ‘questionable foods’, and try to concentrate on eating the ‘healthy foods’, I’ll be ahead of the game by far. The secret – the key – is moderation and balance.

Eat to live and not live to eat.

Vegans? Vegetarians? Flexitarians?

2008-10-20T02:38:00.000-07:00

Who are Vegans? Vegans are individual who eat no animal products whatsoever; eat strictly plant based food only. No to eggs and dairy products, as well as processed foods containing these or other animal derived ingredients such as gelatin. Most vegans also avoid the use of all products tested on animals, as well as animal-derived non food products, such as leather, fur and wool, whenever possible.

How about Vegetarians? Vegetarians, on the other hand eat no meat but take animal products such as eggs and dairy products.

Flexitarians? Flexitarians are semi-vegetarians, eating mainly vegetarians food, but do not entirely eliminate non-vegetarians food (such as meat/fish/seafood) from their diets.

Most of us are not aware that according to yogi diet, mushrooms are not in the menu, whereas the Chinese substitute mushrooms for garlic and onions. The reason being mushrooms do not received direct, primary energy from the sun, they grow in the shadow of others.

Most people think that a person must be a vegetarian/vegan to practice yoga, well the answer is no. But most yoga practitioners are either vegetarians or vegans or flexitarians. Why? Because we observe Ahimsa. What is Ahimsa?

Ahmisa basically means do no harm. Do No harm to ourselves. Do No harm to others. Mentally and Physically. Thoughts and Intentions. Words and Actions.

We can make a choice, and yes, we can make a difference.

Reflection of the Sun

2008-10-16T02:08:00.000-07:00

A must visit to Cambodia is Angkor Wat, which structures represent one of humankind's most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements; more than 100 stone temples in all, are the surviving remains of a grand religious, social and administrative metropolis whose other buildings - palaces, public buildings, and houses - were built of wood and are long since decayed and gone.

I’m sure for everyone that has visited Angkor Wat will not miss the spectacular view of the sunrise and sunset. Remember the walk up, narrow and tall steps leading to the tower, all for the magic of the sun!

Most captured this….. the panoramic view of sunset...yes, its beautiful.

But how many captured this….the reflection, the magic, the secret ..... In everyday life, we, are sometimes too focusing on just one thing that we’ve forgotten to turn around and look at others.

The importance of yoga practice is beyond the body, it's about uniting the mind, body and spirit as one pillar, only then we can unlock and learn the secrets of Yoga.

Surya Namaskara/Sun Salutation

2008-10-13T16:27:00.001-07:00

Very often the first 10 minutes of Surya Namaskara will be filled with resistance. They may feel hard and uncomfortable but if you keep moving through the poses and breathing in a conscious way, something will suddenly shift and you will enter a flow, a zone! At certain times you just don’t feel ‘into it’, but if you do it anyway, the energy shift. You move to a new place and space, and suddenly you forget all the reasons why it was so hard at first and just start flowing.

If you get an attack of doubt, just remember : You don’t have to like it right in this moment, you just need to it. Yoga practice is not always easy, but it is always necessary.

My Organic (?) Breakfast

2008-10-10T18:42:00.001-07:00

Vegetables juice starts my day. This morning - Green Pepper + Tomato + Bitter Gourd + Green Apple + Celery +Carrot + Cabbage; and it’s delicious!

No rule on how to juice, depending on what’s available in my fridge. But I always prefer vegetables than fruits because of less acid and sugar, use green apple or pear just to improve on the taste! I am not able to choose the air I breathe but at least I can make a choice on what I put into my body.

Green Pepper – boost immune system, provide energy, help deal with stress, lower risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer

Tomato – thin the blood, lower the risk of heart disease, cataracts and stroke, reduce the risk of cancer, particularly prostate cancer, improve digestive system, strengthen immune system, reduce liver inflammation.

Bitter Gourd – contains vitamins A, B1, B2, C, minerals like calcium, phosphorous, iron, copper and potassium, helps purify blood tissue, enhances digestion and stimulate the liver.

Green Apple – reduce cholesterol, cleanse the digestive system, provide many vitamins and minerals, notably beta-carotene, vitamin C, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, iodine, phosphorus, potassium.

Celery – reduce high blood pressure, calmness effect, clears uric acid (especially painful joints in arthritis and rheumatic problems), antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and zero calorie.

Carrot – may lower risk of cancer, boosts the immune system, soothe respiratory and digestive problems, help to heal ulcers, strengthen teeth, hair and bones, benefit lactating women, improves skin, detoxify the liver, promote healthy blood cells, heart and circulation.

Cabbage – has anti cancer properties, boosts the immune system, fights bacteria, improves skin, tones liver and digestive system, improves digestive function, heals stomach ulcers.

Happy Deepavali

2008-10-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Pleased be informed that Studio will be closed on Deepavali Day, Monday @ October 27th 2008 and resume back as usual on October 29th, 2008.

Happy Deepavali to all our Hindu practitioners.

Promise Yourself

2008-10-07T04:44:00.000-07:00

Read this somewhere "Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind,
Talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet,
Make all your friends feel that there is something in them,

Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true,

Think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best,
Be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own,
Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future,
Wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile,
Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others,
Be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble,
Think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but in great deeds, Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best in you."

Are we living life to the fullest?

Sensible is Best

2008-10-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

It’s this time of the year again, holiday and makan time! And most of the practitioners will be complaining of too much food and too little yoga……..

I consider my body my most valuable possession – a machine, if you will and thus the food I put into it has to be the best of all possible fuels and nutrients. I choose to give my body nourishing food (of course with only an occasional sinful dish) rather than pollute it with what I consider to be ‘poisons’. After all, what’s the point of practicing yoga daily, making it look and feel the best it can, if I then ruin it with unhealthy food?

The food I digest affects my health, my energy, my temperament, my outlook on life. It also affects my body – how it looks, how it works, how it feels and how long it is going to be around.

We really are what we eat, in more ways than one. The choice, after all, is ours.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri

2008-09-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

We are open on Hari Raya Aidilfitri @ October 1st and 2nd, 2008. Classes are as follows :

October 1st, 2008 @ Wednesday
8.30am – 9.30am Theraphy Yoga
10am – 11am Hatha Yoga

October 2nd, 2008 @ Thursday
8.30am – 9.30am Hatha Yoga
10am – 11am Theraphy Yoga

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all our Muslim practitioners.

What is Yoga

2008-09-26T02:09:00.000-07:00

What is yoga?

Some says "Yoga is an over 5,000 years old practice of cleansing the body, quieting the mind and uplifting the spirit through asana (pose) and pranayama (breathing), relaxation, meditation and any other techniques."

And others say "The term yoga is usually described as 'yoke' or union referring to the connection between body, mind and spirit that can occur with right practice."

Yoga has come to mean many things over 3 millenia but what clear is, yoga is not a simple physical practice alone.

What yoga to me? "A path to find myself, my true self, by looking deep inside for answers not outside, embracing those hurting me, forgiving and letting go. Learning without boundaries."

So simple? Trust me, no. What is yoga to you?

Classes Offered

2008-09-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Theraphy Yoga : The healing science of Yoga. The Signature Class, a Yoga practice incorporating creative movements, stretches and breathing techniques that concurrently promotes a body alignment that supports the physical body, touches the emotions and keep the body free of pain, charged with energy and the mind focused.

Single Session RM60-00
15 Sessions @ RM675-00
30 Sessions @ RM1,325-00
60 Sessions @ RM2,480-00

Hatha Yoga : Traditional Yoga. Combines physical postures (Asanas), with breathing techniques (Pranayama) to strengthen both body and mind creating increased level of health and wellbeing; leads to a deeper level of calm, opening the path of meditation and inner peace.

Single Session RM40-00
15 Sessions @ RM525-00
30 Sessions @ RM1,025-00
60 Sessions @ RM2,000-00

Customised Class : Designed to suit individual needs such as Spine Therapy (Back Spasm, Deep-muscle Bruise, Degenerative Disc Disease, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, Kyphosis, Lordosis, Whip Lash, Sciatica, Scoliosis, Spondylolisthesis, Sprain, etc), Weight Management, Stress Management, Sports Conditioning, Flexibility Improvement, Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis, Prolaplsed Ankle, Pain Management, Knee Rehabilatation, Hip Rehabilitation, Wrist Rehabilitation, etc.

- Spine Theraphy - 45 mins to 1 hr session of One to One.

Single Session RM150-00
15 Sessions @ RM1,200-00
30 Sessions @ RM2,400-00

- Neck & Shoulder Theraphy - 45 mins to 1 hr session of One to One.

Single Session RM100-00
15 Sessions @ RM1,050-00
30 Sessions @ RM2,100-00

- Weight Management Class - 1 ½ hrs session (Max 5 students per class).

Single Session @ RM150-00
15 Sessions @ RM1,125-00
30 Sessions @ RM2,250-00

- Stress Management Class– 1 hr session of One to One.

Single Session RM150-00
15 Sessions @ RM1,125-00
30 Sessions @ RM2,150-00

- Sports Conditioning – 1 hr session of One to One.

Single Session RM150-00
15 Sessions @ RM1,425-00
30 Sessions @ RM2,750-00

Validity
15 Sessions - 3 months from the date of 1st class attended
30 Sessions - 6 months from the date of 1st class attended
60 Sessions - 12 months from the date of 1st class attended

Published Schedule

2008-09-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

Monday
8.30am - 9.30am Theraphy Yoga
10am - 11.00am Hatha Yoga
6.30pm - 7.30pm Hatha Yoga

Wednesday
8.30am - 10am Theraphy Yoga
10am - 11am Hatha Intermediate
6.30pm - 7.30pm Hatha Yoga
7.45pm - 8.45pm Theraphy Yoga

Thursday
8.30am - 9.30am Hatha Yoga
10am - 11am Theraphy Yog
6.30pm - 7.30pm Theraphy Yoga
7.45pm - 8.45pm Hatha Intermediate

Friday
8.30am - 9.30am Theraphy Yoga
10am - 11am Hatha Yoga
6.30pm - 7.30pm Theraphy Yoga
7.45pm - 8.45pm Hatha Intermediate

Saturday
10am - 11am Hatha Beginner
11.30am - 12.30pm Hatha Intermediate
12.45pm - 1.45pm Theraphy Yoga

Sunday
10am - 11am Hatha Yoga
11.30am - 12.30pm Theraphy Yoga

NOTE :
The Studio is closed every Tuesday.
Maximum practitioners per class : 15

The Power In You

2008-09-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

We gave our health to our doctor, our money to our banker, our soul to our preacher/priest/monk, our children to the school system, and in doing so, we have lost the power to control our own lives.

On top of that most of us buy things that we don't need, at prices we cannot afford, worst of all with money we don't have, just to impress someone who doesn't give a damn!

Is that me? Is that you? Think hard!