SUN YOGA TRAINEE TEACHERS

Help for anatomy assessment

2012-02-12T22:38:00.001+08:00

From Amanda:

Thanks everyone for a great two weeks!

I want to share with you a blog that my friend Lisa (who is PT and yoga teacher) writes. I refer to it a lot because she gives a good anatomy analysis. It might help with the exam.

http://www.thepragmaticyogi.com/

I'll be in touch soon with updates from Tbilisi. Amanda

Mentors for your yoga path

2012-02-12T22:25:00.004+08:00

The 2012 Part 1 of the USA Yoga Alliance Certification Program at Sun Yoga Kuala Lumpur had just finished. The new cycle will begin in Sun Yoga Tbilisi in March. We have been doing this for 11 years, travelling the world to train amazing women and men from all walks of life to be Sun Yoga teachers. 11 years and 565 teachers later, Sun Yoga has outgrown me.

My main practice is Ashtanga and Bikram yoga. For those of us on the hatha path, we seek self-realization through our physical body. Unfortunately, being a former gymnast, I am stuck in that groove. I am inappropriately proud of my "perfect" body and the way I am still able to do many visually impressive postures at my age and to keep going for hours like a machine. Thus, because of these limitations, I have perhaps focused too much on body architecture, muscles of the human body and postural perfection. A large proportion of my students struggled with the physical demands I imposed on them, as well as the hard work of relating muscles to postures.

But there is another way to achieving beautiful postures.

Several years ago, I taught a beautiful man his first ever yoga class. I was blown away by his physical beauty. Though he had never been to a single yoga class before mine, Antonio's 35 year old body seemed to instinctively know what to do. There was so much grace, acceptance and quiet strength in the way he approached his first yoga class. Bare feet on hot sand, blue eyes steadily watching me, strong legs firmly rooted on the ground. Weak core and tight psoas muscles, but heck, his downward dog was beautiful, meditative and effortless.

Afterwards, when we rowed back to the main island, I desperately wanted to get to know him more. My desire sparked a long intellectual conversation on Fate and Destiny that lasted all night. Something wonderful and pure happened that night. We started going for classes together, and slowly I stopped being his yoga teacher and began to look to him for my spiritual development. And with him, I got there. I experienced the whole range of human emotions and found a comfortable place to sit within myself, to experience and to accept all of what I am. To accept that I am older, that I am physically imperfect, that I do not have a "proper" career, that I have opted out. I am able to accept and love all that I am because here's a wonderful person who delights so much in me, just the way I am.

*******

The vision of him meditating as we travelled through the snow-covered Italian countryside on the Milano-Balzano mail train will stay with me always. Here's the man who could find peace surrounded by noise; here's the man who has a yogi soul despite a high-powered career. He read to me the book that Ambrogio, his childhood friend, wrote and I found such profound meaning in that book, though the subject was war and Monte Rosa, and the book was written in Italian.

Thus, this was the reason why Antonio's postures were so elegant and lovely. It was a reflection of his spirit.

Sitting in the market today with Amanda Wright who had just completed the training with me, she asked me who my mentor is. I have a couple, but the one who walks by my side always is Antonio. We all need a spiritual mentor. He is mine, always, though he does not wear saffron robes or prayer beads. He is the pure light that guides me on, he is my Long Time Sun.

So for those of you who see me as your mentor of sorts, here's a message from me to you: love and celebrate all that you are today. The rest will come when bliss surrounds you.

Teacher training in KL (Part 1)

2012-02-10T20:50:00.004+08:00

Having fun on Day Three - what is the point of doing children's yoga? To fall in love with the innocence and fun of yoga, of course, instead of getting attached to allignment and architecture, which sadly all too many of us are. Yoga is all about relearning to see your body as a playground (above).

(Below): Party time! Tossing yee sang and shouting out OM to celebrate Year of the Dragon!

(Below): A moment of seriousness and Ramesh and Kee Hooi perfect a posture. To be a yoga teacher, one does not only need to be able to do the pose, but to adjust and offer suitable variations and modifications. These cannot be taught - they need hours of exploration!

(Below): Uh, serious work on anatomy. To be able to teach intelligently and consciously, a yoga teacher must know more than postures. If students merely want a fancy demonstration, they should just pay for seats in the Chinese State Circus to watch the acrobats. so, think!

A day of spirituality in the rainforest to experience the ancient art of pranayama.

Woooohooooo!!!!

journey of a thousand miles begins with...

2012-01-27T13:45:00.000+08:00

Namaste to all, as requested by JK, here's my short intro,

My name is Ramesh Arumugam and I'm 39 years old. Before embarking on this new journey, I was a cabin crew with Malaysia Airlines. Doing the job for 15 years allowed me to go to places, meeting people of different race, religion, language and etc. It's part of my life filled with lots of excitement and fun but in terms of career advancement I was heading nowhere.

Presently I'm involved in running an Ayurvedic Healing Centre which focuses on Panchakarma & rejuvenation treatments. It is entirely a different ball game altogether but I enjoy every moment of it knowing that someone can be helped with this knowledge. Why am I doing TTC? Yoga brings different meaning to different people, as for me it helps me to be well grounded, more focused, improve my patience and tolerance level. Further to that proper knowledge of the art can help me to help others in improving their wellness conditions.

As a person generally I'm cool, calm and crazy (fun loving), easy to be with, reliable, sociable. I love group activities over individual tasks. I always believe that every moment of our life counts, make it meaningful, as when they're gone you can't change a thing.

Hope this intro will provide some perspective about me..tq

Short Intro About Myself

2012-01-27T11:30:00.000+08:00

As required by JK for the new TTC batch, here it goes.

Name: Wendy Teo
Age: Above 30
Nationality: Malaysian
Status: Married, 1 son
Current Job: Pricing Analyst in Dell
Merit: ex KL swimmer
As a Virgoan, I am reflective and receptive to others' ideas, but typically a 'thinker' rather than a 'doer'. I have a talent in precision and details, yet a very bad memory for the same if they were not written down. A perfectionist in certain things, and thus highly sensitive to perceived criticism--which I am still learning to deal with. Therefore I think I might like Iyengar Yoga, which requires correct body alignment, sequence, and timing (and that's all I know about it!)
Lesson in life: To err is human, to forgive divine
Short term plan: To pass this course and become a Yoga Teacher instantly!

Adventure with Sun Yoga

2012-01-25T19:19:00.007+08:00

My life is full of various of adventure. Same as yours.

Last Summer, 2011. We moved to Malaysia from U.A.E.. I'm a mom, wife and new expatriate in Malaysia. After accepting invitation from Sun Yoga YTT blog, my old blog unexpectedly pop up. Wow! It was 5yrs ago when the last one was posted and I totally forgot it ever existed. I was amazed by all the old time memories and life in Canada that I had experienced. I savored few posts as few nice brewed cups of tea. Time flies like an arrow(光陰似箭).

I was planning sign up JK'S prenatal&Sun kids yoga when I was in U.A.E.. in 2011 but my son, Evan, was still quite young. The plan did not come true with some degree of regret at the time.

But fate or Karma pull this option even deeper when I moved to Malaysia. Evan and I was fortunately to observed previous YTT in Bandar Utama and met JK in person. My heart was pounding fast when I realized JK was actually the person whom I failed managed to met in U.A.E..

I randomly read few chapters of Jk's Sri Pantanjali. Lot of positive feedback and similar Buddhism teaching that I learned when I was a little girl, (my mom was a buddhist). After comparing few YTT studios in KL. The button of my heart tells me that Jk shares her belief in Yoga with life honestly, humorously, truthful and wisely. That's what attract me to decide start my adventure of Sun Yoga YTT with her.

New tattoo

2011-11-07T14:05:00.002+08:00

My partner dislikes my tattoos. He thinks it is against his religion (Orthodox Christian) because it defiles the body that God gave us. We should be as the Good Lord makes us, he thinks.

I light-heartedly tell him that I don't wear make-up, so tattoos are my way of adorning my body, the way Maori warriors and my ancestors (I am part Malay) still do.

But on a serious note, my tattoos is about me, and my journey in life, where I am at the moment. Each tattoo tells a story, and is my tool to give me strength and inspiration. As a lifelong student of Vedanta, I would like to present this analogy to you: your body is the car and your soul the driver. Vedanta teaches us to keep our 'car' in good condition (hence the physical practice of yoga) so that it can take the driver where the driver (your soul) wants to go. So it is the driver that matters, not the car.

Going deeper into this analogy, my first car was a cute yellow Spitfire. It had a soft top, and on summer days, we would fold down the canvas roof and cruise across southern England with baby in the small rear. But all convertibles are dangerous, because if the car flips upside down, the passengers will be crushed by the weight of the car. My Baby Daddy allowed me to drive this car on the condition that a roll bar is fitted over the top, so that in the event that the car turns upside down, we would be saved by the roll bar. So Design Change #1.

Many years later, as our family grew, we bought a Land Rover. The Land Rover is rugged and meant for country use and rough terrains. It looks tough and I felt great in one. But it also has a bull bar in front. The reason for the bull bar is to protect the car from rampaging wild animals. But the bull bar is also dangerous if the car runs over small children because of its height, hardness and the way it sticks out. So reluctantly, we took the bull bar off. Thus Design Change #2.

So back to tattoos and my body. I love my body and all its imperfections. It is a canvas of my life's journey. My latest tattoo is the Sanskrit word Svasili. It means breathe. Why breathe on my left wrist? Question for my next group of trainee teachers :)

New Sun Yoga

2011-10-18T20:34:00.002+08:00

...onboard LANGANO, Monaco

Yoga...anywhere!!

2011-10-18T20:28:00.002+08:00

Goes to show that one can do yoga anywhere. In this case, Duncombe Park Estate in Yorkshire.

Karma Yoga

2011-09-20T15:22:00.000+08:00

Taking time to serve children of Bodhi Home, Penang

A breather...

2011-09-20T14:54:00.002+08:00

A breather....such an apt word for yoga teachers and yogis :) We all need to take a break now and then to get a better perspective of reality and look at life with fresher eyes. As my trainee teachers should know, it is all about manas, cit-citta, citta prasadam, ananda, sukham, all beautiful words that make up our reality. And svadhyaya will show us the way to a better world, namely one that is within us when our vrttayah are stilled.

Show-off adjustment

2011-09-11T21:36:00.001+08:00

Hey Dante, you get the same effect if you asked Ken to bend his knees and you pull his hips back to straighten out his back. No need for this acrobatics :)

Fine details

2011-09-11T21:31:00.001+08:00

What's the difference between straight spine and concave spine? What are the anatomical benefits and set-backs of each? (Exam questions)

Basics....

2011-09-11T21:27:00.001+08:00

To do a good downward dog, start from the basics. Do a good table. What are the six checkpoints????

Sexy legs

2011-09-11T21:20:00.002+08:00

Legs are important because .... they take us where we need to go in life. Also something about philogeny recapitulates ontogeny....(yeah, can't spell).

It never looks the same in books....

2011-09-11T21:07:00.003+08:00

Yes, it can be difficult to make the leap....especially if one is visually challenged. Gianinna trying to draw Raymond's subscapularis and having difficulty in visualizing Raymond's scapula from the inside of his body rather than the more familiar superficial back piece...

So we made 3D models with mahjong paper. Ken said he felt like he's in a design course. And I said that if I had been the one to design the human body, I would have done things slightly differently....

More anatomy fun

2011-09-05T22:15:00.003+08:00

Relating what you see in textbooks with what you see in your yoga students' bodies is a HUGE leap. So we practice on each other.

SURFACE ANATOMY

(1) Locate the landmarks: eg occipital bond and mastoid

(2) Move to activate the muscle groups you are interested in

(3) Trace the outline of the bunched up muscles.

(4) Consult a textbook (Netter's is a very good one) to see if you are on target (roughly).

Most important is, do the asana associated with the muscle group you are interested in and FEEEEEEL it.

2D and 3D

2011-09-05T22:08:00.002+08:00

Above: Kai Li's sternocleidomastoid

I often wonder how people learn anatomy from textbooks. 3D is so different from 2D. Like the trapezius muscles, for example. Do you know the upper fibres over the shoulders like a shawl, to finish on the clavicle, around 1/3 to the edge? Beautiful! (Though in the pages of a book, they look flat like a diamond shaped pancake).

As for serratus anterior and posterior, the actual layout get even more complicated.....what fun! Is it necessary, I hear you ask. Of course! Because if you pull your serratus, it hurts when you breathe, and it feels like heart attack.

I love anatomy!

Yogic holiday

2011-08-25T17:57:00.003+08:00

People often think that they have to go on a 'specialist' holiday (eg retreat) to get the benefits of a spiritual R&R. Indeed, we at Sun Yoga have organised some wonderful yogic retreats in the past, where acharya are woken up at dawn for sadhana, followed by yoga and more yoga and more yoga.

But really, anywhere can be a yogic holiday, it's all to do with attitude and intention....that's me exploring Northern Cyprus, living the humble life, eating traditional peasant food cooked in clay ovens and spending lots of time in reflection and giving my thanks for having so many kids and so much love in my life. There is no nightlife or fancy places here, but life is so much more meaningful in the absence of modern artifice. Life is so much better without the trappings that traps us in this sometimes mindless reality.

Try living simply, wherever you are.....start today

2011-08-04T21:55:00.005+08:00

"Me-sa okay!" - Jar Jar Binks (Star Wars)

I came to yoga on a complete whim late one weekend afternoon – it had been only 6 months since my 21st birthday (and my initiation into the world of corporate-whoredom, doing in-house legal advisory for a local bank), and already I was looking for something more in life, something a little less ordinary.

I was welcomed into Sun Yoga’s bright and warm interior by Erin – and as luck would have it, the 30-day challenge was scheduled to start the very next weekend.

I remember what struck me the most during that first familiarization session conducted jointly by JK and Erin was the treatment given to the individual body parts which I had never previously given too much attention to before. Cues like “give each of your knees a kiss”, “let the eyes of your elbows always look to each other”, and especially “lead with your heart” during the Sufi grind brought my attention to thinking about these parts as being more than just parts.

I was lucky to become reacquainted at this time to a friend of mine from college – previously a wild-child party girl and now turned full-time yoga instructor – who further piqued my interest in yoga when she said to me: “Your body is the sum of how you think, act, and live.”

And that was when I became aware of my body and the self residing inside it, how each was so interconnected with the other. I have good flexibility almost throughout with the exception of maybe my hips and ankles. However, I am severely lacking in muscular strength - in the lungs, the legs, upper and lower back, pretty much everywhere there should be muscle, I’m lacking in it.

And my body – in its own complex language and composition of bend, flex, tension, release – reflects me as a person, my personality and outlook in life – I’m easy going, not-fussed, comfortable in almost every situation and at the same time lazy, apathetic, and easily swayed. I often find it difficult to stand my ground in tough situations, preferring to just pack it in and adapt to the circumstances, thinking “Well, why not try this other thing, I could possibly get into it eventually!”

And while I would like to have the strength to hold a balancing pose for more than 3 seconds a time, to have the conviction to stick to one thing for once in my life, I realize that I don’t have to feel bad for where I am right now, for what my body is capable of doing physically, or for what I’m mentally and emotionally able to bring to the table in a relationship.

So to put it simply without forcing you too much into a self-absorbed in-depth tour of my inner workings, my yoga journey thus far has been eye-opening – and it’s set the tone for what I’m seeking on the many, many miles yet to come: I want to be okay at every step of the way. Not good, not perfect – just okay will be just enough, thanks. :)

Travels with my yoga

2011-07-18T01:18:00.002+08:00

I always preach to my students, don't leave your practice behind when you go on holiday. Take your yoga with you. And this is me doing what I preach: practising yoga everyday whilst cruising the Mediterranean on my friend's yatch, Langano...as well as having lots of fun. In the end, I got my crewmates hooked on yoga too!

Journey to class

2011-07-18T01:10:00.005+08:00

En route to my yoga class in Kensal Rise:

On becoming a yoga student

2011-07-18T01:01:00.002+08:00

I resonate strongly with what Jessie wrote about being a student. I love being a student, and this is one of the main reasons why I love being back home in London or New York (apart from my family!).

The first thing I did was I headed straight for the Bikram studio in Fulham and signed up for the 30-day challenge. It's a good excuse - Fulham is so close to my home in South Kensington.

However, I decided to do something new too this time. I signed up for 10 consecutive days of yoga in a strange part of town, that required me to take two underground trains and a bus to. I gave myself an hour to get there, and was early for once in my life. As I lay in savasana in the studio, it gave me time to reflect on my journey. I never had this luxury as a teacher!

And despite the carbon miles I burned up to get here, it was worth it. When I got out of the studio, invigorated, I was hit by the sights and sounds of a new place. Kensal Rise is so different from South Kensington! There were Middle Eastern and Asian supermarkets selling exotic fruits and vegetables that I take for granted in Asia but cost a bomb in England. So I bought lots and did an italian antipasto for dinner, as well as luxurious mango lassi.

A yoga student's life is glorious!

I hope my new recruits are looking forward to the August training as much as I am.

Love from London
jk

Thoughts of " Learning Yoga "

2011-07-06T00:12:00.001+08:00

My beloved teacher, I'm waiting for Georgina's burger :P !!! She is just so real; real at the moment she told you that. Hahahahaha!

Ya, truly agreed that learning ain't happen only on the mat and should not only be applied on the mat. When we are eager or craving for something in life, there is always a possibility that we may losing the peace in our mind, in our heart, in our life.

Always be a student in life and reborn through every breath.

Yoga keep us CONSCIOUS, help us to equilibrium our strength and flexibility which enable us to live, to love, to learn, to let go and then reborn again consciously yet unconsciously...

"Let Go" does not equal to "Give Up".

Thought for the day for trainee yoga teachers and yoga teachers

2011-07-05T19:11:00.001+08:00

"The true purpose of life is to open your heart, purging it of negative influences so that you become a pure channel of God. The burning candle that illumines the path for others serves and uplifts humankind. The true idea of life is to serve and uplift others from the power of your heart."
Dr. Joseph Michael Levry, (Gurunam)The Code of the Masters

I, Me, Myself

2011-07-01T16:02:00.000+08:00

What a glimpse and now it's 1st of July...3 days later is my 28th birthday. Time passes so fast.

I am going to step into my first and only 30's soon. And I'm still very clueless what is my path going to be then. I had worked as graphic designer & visual merchandiser. I always ask myself, "Will those be the job that I am still going to work as in future 10 years times?" My answer is "No." I do not consider myself someone who is very creative. And every year, there are bunches of design students graduate, well equipped with all sorts of design knowledge and ideas. How am I, a 30 plus old guy going to compete with them, while I'm growing older? Sure my ideas aren't going to be as fresh as them.

I know I can design out something good and nice. But that is when I am having the "good mood". I am not someone who is very confident. When I got credit for my work, I will feel shy and just reply "oh"...but on the other side, if I am not doing well, I will start to lose that "fire" in me and tend to switch to "give up mood". I do admit that I'm quite a emotional one compare to guys out there(I am a Cancer), my emotion do control a lot of my actions.

I used to realize that working is where you keep climbing up and earn tonnes of money. So I climb slowly to a certain stage with quite a decent paid. But it's then when I start to feel unhappy. I know money isn't something that can fulfill the emptiness within me. Every time I spent fiercely, I just had that moment of excitement. But after that, I get nothing!

I got this favorite singer who had gone through depression few years back then. She shared her experience in her book. She refused to admit she is 'sick'. She is so defeated and stuck in "shadow", can't get herself out. She got the fame and wealth. She is unhappy.

I do had this kind of feeling sometimes. Am I a depression victim? I can't give a clear answer. I am a bright and drama guy while on the other hand, I can be so unhappy with everything around.

I attended my first ever yoga class last year in a fitness center. At first yoga for me is just some movement and jumping on a mat. My first class is such a torture, as a 27 years old guy who having all muscles and hamstring that been tighten all the years. I was just following instructions and do the poses. After sometime, I realize that yoga gradually changing my mind and my thinking. The moment I got onto a mat, I can automatically switch off my working mind. Sometimes it does malfunction. Haha. All my work stress and pressure will be left outside the mat.

So I had crush on yoga so much since then. At the very beginning, my mere thoughts of taking yoga TTC is to learn all those difficult asanas, trying to earn some extra income while doing yoga. But things are going to be as easy as i thought.

After some classes with JK, I had a new ideas what yoga is. Yoga isn't you just jumping on a mat. That 2 classes really given me some sparks what I am going to go through. I am sure it's a tough path. I think it's a must for me, myself. Like I always tell my friends, "If you are sick, please let it sick all the way, you will be recover in a better way compare to you fall a small sick."

"Should I get myself all defeated by the darkness, and get up stronger?"

Who knows what had God prepare for me?

I am joining yoga TTC this August. I hope I will discover myself. No more Nidra(sleep walking), kill those suffering Vrtti, living just for myself without caring those perceptions people had on me.
Besides that, I hope I can enlighten someone too. Just like JK and Zen,my beloved yoga instructor.

JK sure is a cool lady :D

Love y'all ^^

Yoginomics

2011-07-01T08:38:00.005+08:00

I will be on radio today.....and today I will talk about yoginomics.

YOGINOMICS = I help you, and in some unfathomable, convoluted way, long after we forget our association, I will be rewarded. If you grow and do well generally, I will benefit too from your success. This is super-macro economics, the new generation economics. I am so excited and passionate about it. This is huge, and not widely understood. But look at Wikipedia: everybody contributes anonymously and freely to the community, and everybody benefits. Scientists who studied the improbably astronomical systems like Stephen Hawking is now mainstream – in time, yoginomics will too. It’s mind-boggling. Believe it, it’s happening. I know someone who is building Ze Villages, to link together communities that are already practising this. This spiritual revolution thing I am banging on is actually bigger than one woman’s crazy ideals. It’s just that we don’t go around marketing it and promoting it like zealots.

Let me give you a personal example. When I graduated from Oxford, I lived a terrible life for a while. We could not afford to live in London, where I was working. I commuted and worked crazy hours. I was permanently exhausted and bad tempered. My kids never saw me and my personal relationship was at rock bottom. So we began shopping for a place in London, near my place of work. We looked and looked, and could not find anything. The flats were either too small, on a busy road, on the top floor with no lift or on a high floor which were a danger to small kids. To find a home for 4 young children on a very low budget was sheer impossibility.

The young estate agent showing us round was as disheartened as we were. Then one day, as we were driving around furtilely, she said, “This one just came in, it’s in your price range, not suitable for you but let’s have a look anyway, since we are in the vicinity.” It was advertised as a two bedroom flat in need of complete modernisation. How to fit 4 kids in?

But it was mis-advertised. The place we walked into was old, yes, but a sumptuous family home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two reception rooms. Its high ceilinged rooms were as grand as a ballroom, and it had lovely chandeliers. Our neighbour, with whom we share a courtyard, was the Sultan of Oman, no less. We sometimes see him contemplating the peaceful stone fountain outside our window.

The agency gave it to us at the advertised price. We rented it very happily for two years, renovating it and decorating it with love. And then, at the end of the two years, the owner wanted to sell up. She was a Lebanese lady who wanted to return home and was selling up to simplify her life. She gave us first right of refusal to buy the property.

Of course we couldn’t afford it. We started looking for a new home, very depressed. The owner phoned us and asked us why we were looking for a new place. Didn’t we like her flat? I told her we couldn’t afford it, not even if she dropped the price by 50% or a few hundred thousand pounds.

“What can you afford?” she asked. I was too embarrassed to tell her.

Then she just said, “Just give me what you can afford.”

NO WAY! We gave her a week to change her mind, but she came back a week later to say, “I am an old woman, I don’t need more money. This flat is very precious to me, because it was a gift from my late husband. So I often stand outside here. And I see your family, how happy you all are here. So please, it’s yours if you want it.”

Isn’t that amazing? We sold that flat when we moved out of London, and with the proceeds, we bought a historic house with its own river and island. But I still have great love for the place, and often walk the pavements of Prince Consort Road remembering one stranger’s kindness and generosity to my family. Yoginomics at work!!!

Last batch

2011-06-30T23:38:00.003+08:00

The previous batch
(front, left to right): Nadia, Karina, Jasper. (back, left to right): Suesan, Sue and Susanna.

From the other side of the table

2011-06-30T23:25:00.001+08:00

At the grand old age of 43, my yoga trainee teachers are sometimes closer in age to my children than to me, though I often have a large age spread in my groups. One evening, we gathered together to discuss yoga philosophy; there is more to yoga than jumping on the mat.

“You can’t find self-realisation, long lasting happiness and all those goodies from just jumping on the mat,” I often tell people. “There is another little piece of yoga that gives you that. And not many people know about that piece.”

That little piece is found in the 186 lines that the sage Sri Patanjali collated from the collective spiritual teachings of his day.

As an introduction to yoga philosophy, we dissected the main concepts of Sri Patanjali’s work. Central to Sri Patanjali’s writings is using to meditation to find our True Self. This is big deal, as the ‘Seer’ is often confused by what he perceives as True Self because of the distortion of his field of vision by the vortex of his mind. Even in the modern Western world, we talk about ‘finding ourselves’.

This is Patanjali 101: Put a coin in the bottom of a glass. Fill the glass with water. The water in the glass is our individual mind, called citta. Citta, the water in the glass, may be coloured by our perceptions and prejudices; often, this water is churning about in the glass because it is agitated by our mental monkeys. Colouration and swirling both have the effect of distorting the image of the coin, so that the Seer often mistakes the distorted image for the real coin. Hence the path of yoga is stilling the flux through practice and meditation so that the Seer can have a clear view of the True Self.

I urged my trainee teachers to find their True Self and to serve the True Self within (as in my princess-lawyer friend taking the brave path of being a yoga teacher), because that is our mission in life.

“What if being my True Self displeases my parents?” asked one. Three years ago, I was asked the same question by another.

I didn’t answer immediately, because the answer is brutal and I wanted to sleep over it before unleashing it. And here is the answer: you have to be true to your True Self, because it is who you really are. You cannot live your life pretending to be someone else, just to appease your parents. And if you hurt your parents by being your True Self, then it is their karma to be hurt for burdening you with their expectations. Your True Self will never hurt your parents’ True Selves, because their True Selves would not have expectations (unconditional love). It is the miscommunication of the Seer and Seen (going back to the coin in the glass analogy) that is causing the angst.

My eldest son is academically gifted. He has a law degree and a Masters in International Relations. Of course I secretly dream of him joining a humanitarian organisation as a human rights advocate (if anyone can win an unwinnable battle, it is he) and perhaps starting his own movement to address the injustices of this world. Maybe run Amnesty International one day, maybe even the United Nations.

But what is he? A shameless capitalist working for an investment bank, whose Key Target & Objective is to be a millionaire by the age of thirty (and he is right on target). And the second boy? He is a soldier with right-wing views, who is totally absorbed in climbing mountains, drinking and general hell-raising. What can I do but to love them, celebrate them and be proud of them, just the way they are?

And Georgina: “When I am the boss of Sun Yoga, I will sell burgers here.” (What to do lah.)

In time, when the mental monkeys have been silenced, their True Selves will emerge, whatever they may be.

Finding A True Self

2011-06-29T13:18:00.002+08:00

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who always proud of herself believed that she was the happiest girl in the world. She has great supportive lovely parents who always think monies and social status are everything. She has what she wanted, she travelled frequently with her parents, she stayed in a beautiful house, the richest among her relatives and she loved the feeling of being top of the world. She listened to her parents and thought all pre-arrangements were the best for her. She always wanted to be no 1 for everything just to please her parents and herself, to proof to the world she can do it! However, thing doesn’t work well as she growing up even in her university life. Her circle of friends shrunk! None of her friends willing to talk or listen to her stories when she needed a pair of ears. No one willing to know neither her happiness nor sadness she has gone thru. Her inner world turned into darkness; she couldn’t find light shine on her, no more in her life! She became timid, fear, hesitant, lack of confidence and closed her heart to anyone including her parents. She was living in pain and lost her direction to find her own true self!

***

Yes, I was the little girl and now an “old” lady! (According to young Jasper’s theory! I might be same age as his beloved mum or dad! =.=”””””)

***

Yoga was first introduced by my buddy Paggie. I remembered there was once she brought her yoga mat to my apartment and started practising Surya Namaskara in my living room. I was laughing non-stop! At that time, I was thinking “What the heck are these poses about? Turning a human into animals?” Well, Paggie did an excellent job on brain-washing me about Yoga. Slowly, I changed my perception on Yoga.

I begin my Yoga journey when a tragedy happened many years ago. I told myself no more tears at night, get yourself off and start doing something that could change your life. The stiffness of my body became major barrier of practicing yoga. I was the only one in the class dragged by the instructor to use the wall to align my body! I felt uncontrollable shame, remorse and embarrassment each time I attended the class! But thanks God, I never give up due to my nature attitude strongly planted in my mind, I will get it RIGHT one day! The satisfactions in the latest stage slowly build up my confidence towards Yoga. From Yoga, I branched out to BodyBalance® and Pilates. The greatest surprise gift I get was I met new friends that share the same interest of mine. I met Mei, an inspired Yoga and Pilates instructor who shared a lot of her views not only on Yoga and Pilates but also on religion. Thru Mei, I met Ginny who is now my greatest big sister, an awesome Pilates Instructor Trainer and ex-Yoga instructor who always guided me move towards the correct pathway to be a better person. Her words touched my heart and changed my thoughts. She is the angel God sent helping me to enlighten my life. Since the day I met Sis Ginny, the lights again shine on my head under her supervisions with all the steps I move forward.

Thru Yoga and Pilates, I know my body better. Sad news was, orthopedic surgeon confirmed I have scoliosis after X-ray and assessment which actually limit me from doing certain asana. I discussed with Sis Ginny, how do I become a Yoga instructor where I had limitation in my body movements? I can’t even do headstand and I can’t even do a simple roll up. The answer was, none of the instructor in the world has all the perfect postures. One day, Sis Ginny words again strike my mind, “Kai Li, taking Yoga TTC is not about asana, alignment, how beautiful of your postures, Yoga also teaching you how to control your emotion and find your true self! Take these opportunities and learn as much as you can and see how much Yoga can change you!”

I am now joining Yoga TTC. Soon I hope I could be a qualified Yoga instructor. I always ask myself, what do I really want in the rest of my life? At time being, I am still doing things that please someone surrounding me, my beloved parents and family members who always support me! My mind always telling me, the purpose of my life is just to please people and making them happy! - (Is this a Virtti? How do I kill this virtti?) I asked Jacqueline yesterday, how do you find your true self when you always doing things that please someone? That is not a real you!

One thing for sure is I am joining Yoga TTC not to please anyone! I am doing it for my own self, to find a total brand new Kai Li that could smile truly from her inner heart all the times. J

All the best to the upcoming August 2011 SunYoga teacher trainees!

Hello my Newbies

2011-06-22T13:26:00.002+08:00

New batch starts in August, but a few showed up for intro to Patanjali (summer reading assignment before theory classes begins in earnest).

"Waaah, so much to learn!" said Ken with a shake of his head. Actually not, because Patanjali is about the wisdom that is already in you. No need to learn more. It's just the roadmap to tap that internal fountain of knowledge. Unfortunately, the roadmap is in Sanskrit, and not very detailed either. So that's why we 'study' Patanjali (study is such a wrong word when it comes to Patanjali) - to figure out the cryptic clues that Patanjali put together for us all those years ago.

Is it worth it, all this studying, instead of spending time perfecting our postures?

Yes, definitely. My favourite analogy is if you want to be a priest, you must know the Bible. If you want to be an imam, you must know the Koran. If you want to be a yoga teacher, you must know Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. If not, how are you going to guide your students? Jumping on the mat on its own won't get them to the path of enlightenment.

Another of my favourite sayings: some of the most unhappy people are the thin, flexible, successful and rich ones. Just getting them jumping on the mat will not help them find bliss, which is supposed to be the original reason why people do yoga.

Young Afia asked, "Why are so many people so unawake?" (this is the mudah state of mind).

I don't know, but maybe it's because their light has been dimmed with the burden of everyday living. Going to work in a dead-end job, the burden of responsibilities and obligations, stress, looking after kids, trying to compete with neighbours, chasing material goods - Jeez, that's enough to put out any light. You see sleepwalkers everywhere. Even last evening. As I was going to my car, I spotted a dead cat lying on the pavement, not terribly injured but his body was already in rigor mortis (grotesquely twisted). Yet, no more than three feet away were a table of men, eating and drinking, totally oblivious that they were sitting so close to a dead animal. Maybe they just didn't care, but I found it quite perplexing that they were happily tucking into curried meat when there was dead meat just beside them on the road.

So how do we wake people up to start this spiritual revolution? Sun Yoga, of course :-) I shared with the Newbies some of the emails that I regularly received from former graduates telling me that they themselves are now in the position of awakening people. For me, that's justification of doing what I am doing.

Ot course, what I am doing felt a lot better at 9.15pm after class when Sanaz brought some amazing cakes she baked. Err, can't see how cakes fit into the Sutra yet, but bring 'em on, Sanaz!

New Teachers

2011-06-22T13:09:00.003+08:00

Jasper Sim teaching karma yoga in the Park and Suesan Leong doing a class on arm balances.....way to go, yogis!

We passed!

2011-06-22T13:02:00.002+08:00

Suesan Leong and Karina Cox. Two on the same day!!!

Susanna & Co sweating it out, slogging it through and having fun!

2011-06-22T12:55:00.003+08:00

A little bit of me ....... Suesan (new trainee teacher march 2011)

2011-03-11T19:42:00.001+08:00

My first encounter with Yoga was when I was nine. “eee…just some stretching class.. slow and boring. Like tortoise doing exercisezzz. Not interesting at all..” was my first thought. My love has always been dancing. Ballet in particular. I practise my ballet until my early twenties. Stopped when I had to concentrate on my fashion-designing course.

Without realizing, my affinity with Yoga, I presume, has always been in me. Strangely, it was also my ballet teacher who introduced yoga to me. She started with the asanas, and along with it, the principles of yoga. It was then that I started to fall in love with yoga.

Yoga taught me to look inward. After being too ambitious on certain poses, I suffered a bad injury on my knee. That has caused me to reflect inwards. It allows me to contemplate if it was my ego in trying to attempt every challenging pose that has resulted in my injury.

Unfortunately, other than my ego, the incident has also damaged my confidence. Though I have been practicing yoga for 7 years, my belief in my capability has never really bounced back.

I realized what my ballet teacher had taught was correct. Yoga isn’t about having ability to do challenging and compromising poses. That’s ego. Yoga is about flow and harmony. Ultimately, peace and bliss. And to be able to practise and share these is a gift from yoga. I hope to be able to learn to share this view and energy with everyone.

Namaste.

satsang

2011-03-09T20:30:00.001+08:00

SATSANG

Teacher training session begins in Sun Yoga. And as this Foundation of mine grows (in its 11th year now!), passing on the mantel becomes very important. In corporate terms, it is known as ‘succession planning’. With each new teacher that emerges from Sun Yoga, the light grows that little bit more. Sun Yoga is my legacy. One lifetime is not long enough for me to change the world into a better, happier, and more joyous and fair place; today, there are 550 Sun Yoga teachers worldwide sharing the same vision.

To train a Sun Yoga teacher, it begins with Satsang. Satsang means “in the company of the wise”. Like Upanishad (“sitting close at the feet of the teacher”), it is very much a part of the ancient tradition of yoga. However, not many yoga teachers are aware of satsang, let alone lead it.
Recently, I held a satsang at a Rainforest retreat. More than anything, it is to get me in the right frame of mind for inspiring my new teachers-to-be. The 19 participants had never experienced satsang before, though all have attended yoga classes. My satsang was a tribute to someone who had inspired me very much and who had shown me how to fly to my dreams.

“For one hour, one month, the eternity, may I have the strength to take the risks when those magic moments occur, enjoying the happiness and growing from the suffering that go with them.”
- Antonio Castellano

Whatever our external façade there is fear (which can be a crippling emotion) in each and every one of us, that holds us back and stops us achieving our best. We make excuses rather than show others our fears; we make excuses rather than face up to our fears. Even in selecting the six for the final cut, I see several who let fear hold them back. I also see many who inspire me, and these are the six who made it to my list. Susanna from Finland who is travelling to this distant part of the world with her young son, Karina who strongly stuck to her path despite the many obstacles back in the UK and also Malaysia, Suesan who had waited for Sun Yoga, Sue who lost her husband and trying to make a new life, Nadia who is 33 weeks pregnant and Jasper (so young!) who refused to be frightened by me. I already see Sun Yoga in my six.

Like I saw Sun Yoga in Antonio Castellano when he attended his first ever yoga class with me: quiet, composed, fearless as he went through the strange postures calmly. And then later, by my side, as fellow students of yoga as we sweated on the mat at Bikram Yoga Jakarta. And then, unwittingly, I became his student, learning to be more inwardly focused and learn more about myself, the ever-changing landscapes in inner me.

I admire Antonio very much not because he is perfection but simply because he is always consciously working towards resolution of his fears and issues. He looks like a risk-adverse accountant, yet fear had never held him back from reaching for his dreams and going for what he believes in his heart (as far as I know).

This is a noble trait, because we are all born fearful, fearful of change (death of what we know, fear of death of identity), which is one of the main causes of suffering. This is something that even the wise are afflicted with:

Avidya asmita raga dvesah abhinivesah klesha [Yoga Sutra Pada 2, 3]

So really, we are all work in progress, born with so many fears. Some of us are courageous enough to be honest and admit to them, others make excuses opting for the coward’s way rather than growing spiritually by facing their fears head on. And in the words of Antonio, we grow from the suffering, therefore never be afraid to suffer! Make the best decision you can for the moment, and run towards your dreams full on! You can be a brave warrior without heroic deeds but by quietly facing off your fears every day.

Thus this man is a shining example of someone who is living in full awareness, rather than be oblivious, unawake, timid. This Sutra is embodied by him:

tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam [Yoga Sutra Pada I, 3]
tada = then, at that time
drashtuh = Seer
svarupe = one’s own nature
avasthanam = abides

New Trainee Teachers March 2011

2011-03-09T18:35:00.002+08:00

KARINA COX
Karina graduated from UCL (London) and has lived in London most of her life, teaching English as a foreign language to Japanese, Korean and Chinese people. She has always been fascinated by holistic therapies and natural methods of healing and so studied for a Diploma in Holistic Clinical Aromatherapy, Therapeutic Massage & Oriental Medicine Diagnosis in 2005 and now professionally practises a variety of therapies, including aromatherapy, maternity massage, reiki healing and facial rejuvenation. She has been practising yoga for about 15 years and was introduced to Iyengar yoga by a wonderful Greek teacher. She later discovered Hatha yoga, along with pranayama and meditation and has attended numerous workshops and retreats in Greece, France, Spain and the UK. She now hopes to bring all her passions together, by training as a yoga teacher at Sunyoga and being able to offer a variety of classes, workshops and retreats focussing on a holistic and more spiritual way of life, incorporating yoga, holistic therapies, meditation and relaxation.
___________________________________________________________________

NADIA ZUL
"In search of my own true self, I find seclusion every time on the yoga mat. Every 60 minutes I spent in class, I find peace that I longed for. I am one with myself. I have much to understand to what really this experience has done for me, but it has been life changing. Yoga is a gift in my life, and in this journey, I now have all to be grateful for."

____________________________________________________________________

SUE PARMAR
Fondly known as Sue. Sue has 30 years of experience in the aviation industry in various disciplines of management ranging from Planning and Budgeting, Human Resource Management , Corporate Governance, and Public Relations.

She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing/UK, Masters in Business Administration in Strategic Marketing & Management from the University of Hull/UK, Executive Masters in Business Administration in International Marketing from University of Berne/Switzerland and Masters in Logistics & Transport/UK.

Sue is a qualified Trainer who specializes in Grooming, Deportment & Protocol programs and workshops. She is also the Exclusive Distributor of anti-aging products.

Maritial status : widow. Has 3 adult children – 1 daughter and 2 sons – residing in Australia.
Favorite past times : brisk walking/ reading & traveling

_____________________________________________________________________

SUSANNA SIERLA-PETERS
Originally from Finland, Susanna lived in the UK for 5 years before moving to Abu Dhabi where she lives with her husband and 17-month-old son, Taavi. A qualified Finnish lawyer, Susanna undertook a career change to study psychology and then to pursue her passion of many years, dancing. Her dance styles include jazz, hip hop/jazz funk and Cuban dances. Susanna first started yoga to facilitate her dancing by increasing flexibility. However, she soon found out that yoga has many more benefits. In her yoga practice, Susanna draws from her dance technique and adds exercises and stretches used in dance classes to complement the yoga postures. She pays great attention to understanding the benefits of postures and to achieving the right alignment and avoiding injuries. Having already completed Sun Yoga Prenatal and Kids Yoga teacher training, she now looks forward to learning more about yoga, improving her own practice, sharing her own knowledge and ideas as well as meeting many new yogis as part of her 200 hour Sun Yoga Teacher Training programme in Kuala Lumpur.

____________________________________________________________________

SUESAN LEONG

___________________________________________________________________
JASPER SIM

Teacher training 2011 - KUALA LUMPUR

2011-02-21T16:48:00.004+08:00

Coming back to KL to teach!

Welcome onboard, the six new brave souls!

It's going to be a rough road ahead for you all, and as with all parts of life, preparation makes the journey easier! Therefore, I would like you to start on the following before you step into the Lioness' Den on 14th of March:

Sutra

I want you to start your Sutra studies immediately (this is often considered the most difficult part of the course). Read Live Patanjali from cover to cover, highlight all the aphorisms. You are required to know Pada 1 and Pada 2 in its entirety, but you are only required to have a working knowledge of Pada 3 and Pada 4.

Philosophy

For PEL, I would like you to study with the Brahma Kumari in KL (because to be honest with you, we are not ‘hardcore’ when it comes to spirituality). The Brahma Kumari course takes up 5 evenings, a couple of hours each evening (I think you can change the days around by arrangement with your teacher). This course is free, and is in Bangsar. Perhaps you can internet-search Brahma Kumari Kuala Lumpur and liaise with each other when you’d like to start (2nd week of your arrival, I should think). There is also a Vedanta study group going on in KL which is run by my friend – you are more than welcome to join, it’s a By-Donation class.

Philosophy 2
Can you please google J Krishnamoorthy and Geshe Michael Roche. Have a rough idea whose teachings resonate with you because you need to lead a satsang on either one of these two with a partner. I just lead a satsang last weekend, and will download the summary on YouTube when i get around to doing it.

Teaching Methodology

When you arrive, our 30 Day Challenge will be in full-swing in Sun Yoga (it starts on the 28th). This is a wonderful place to start assisting because the same sequence is taught everyday for 30 days. So I would like you to start assisting straight away to build up your Practicum Hours. Attend a couple first as students to get a feel of it – and to kick start your fitness programme!

Techniques

You have to attend 10 classes at Sun Yoga for your Techniques. These classes are good for you J. Go to http://www.sunyogakl.com/ and check out the timetable for class schedule. You also have to write a Critique for 3 classes that you attend (refer to the big white teaching textbook that you both have).

Practicum

You have to recruit students (from the Sun Yoga regulars) and teach at least 2 classes that you design from scratch. So you might want to start thinking about your biography to go into a simple handout. I would also like to put up your profile in the shala – Sun Yoga KL is like a family home, the regulars would like to know who’s in their ‘home’. So email me a write-up introducing yourself and a photo too.

I need a photocopy of your passport emailed to me because you will be going to the Medical School at Universiti Malaya to do part of your Anatomy & Physiology. Please keep this blog lively - it would be a good way for your loved ones to keep in touch with what you are up to, since you will be disappearing from their lives for three weeks!

see you all at the shala, 9am on the 14th.

Anatomy Assignment

2010-05-02T11:57:00.001+08:00

Filming of Raymond to see muscles in movement during yogasana. Nice!

The Vedanta students

2010-05-02T11:55:00.001+08:00

Weds 7.30pm meet-up. Come!

Vedanta part 2

2010-04-29T16:29:00.003+08:00

Poster on the wall of Sun Yoga KL:

Sweet, strong words from my three Sun Yoga men re my previous Vedanta posting!

I have been studying more (Patanjali, who else!) and spending time contemplating and meditating. You know, when I was sick, I was studying another kind of Patanjali :-). Try comtemplating and meditating on this:

the beautiful the frozen
hour of our other lie
temple lost music
just later from
shouting while
in doomed nothingness
was

Sometimes, it's beauty is so poignant that it takes my breath away.

Vedanta

2010-04-29T07:51:00.002+08:00

Believe or not, it was a night of philosophy and deep conversation and, ok, un peu de vin! That's Marie-Do, Margot, Alex and I converging on Carol's to study Vedanta Philosophy with Sri Vinay Kumar. Carol has been studying with Guruji for 2 years every Wednesday night. It was a deeply interesting evening that has led me to some soul-searching questions. We talked about Destiny and Karma, two of my favourite subjects! And then Law of Causation and the Supreme Law, which appealed to the scientist in me.

Sri Vinay Kumar said "Vedanta begins where Science ends", which resonates with me, but really, the greatest piece of wisdom he gave me was "You always get what you deserve and not what you desire".

It sounds like a bad thing, right? Actually not, if you stop and think about it, and I thank Vedanta for this lesson. I have a desire which has led me to great pain and needless suffering, one which, according to Vedanta, I will never get, because we never get what we desire. But what I deserve is actually truly a blessing: five beautiful children with their wonderful father, David who showed me that impossible is nothing ten years ago (and hence the birth of Sun Yoga), Adam, Katya, and all other Sun Yogis who keep that pure love alive. From a conversation in a restaurant in Mayfair to this big loving, global family of over 500!

So I must have done good somewhere along the line to deserve all this! I continue to count my blessings from this verdant tree. Everyday, almost without exception, I get something on the email everyday from some Sun Yogi somewhere, sweet messages that lifts my soul. Today, it was from Sandra and Alverd (thank you, you both - and the 20 emails from your group!).

Counting my blessings for what I deserve, jkX

Vedanta

2010-04-29T00:06:00.001+08:00

Iyengar Yoga

2010-04-29T00:03:00.003+08:00

Hey, Zerina, you frightened us Ashtanga yogis with your stunt. X

Vritti

2010-04-28T23:57:00.002+08:00

Margot's gâteau de chocolat. Hey Alex, we are waiting for your tarte tartin.

Family Day at Sun Yoga

2010-04-28T23:33:00.004+08:00

Fun was had by all, especially Carol and crew! (well, I had a good time!)

backbending asanas

2010-04-21T01:44:00.003+08:00

Does anyone have any experienced techniques to share in backbending asanas for both seated and standing series? Is it due to tightness of pectoralis major, rectus abdominis and psoas muscle? Or could it be the tightness in hip and quadriceps muscle?
Namaste.

Amazing Yoga Mind Maps

2010-04-13T15:00:00.003+08:00

These were made by Alverd, and yes, they did help him pass his Anatomy & Physiology with flying colours! Hey Alverd, what about a Sutra and Philosophy one????????????

200 Hours Timetable

2010-04-12T18:02:00.002+08:00

The next instalments:

14th, 15th and 16th April (9.00am - 5.00pm)
Sanskrit and Philosophy

17th and 18th April (9.00am - 5.00pm)
Kids

20th, 21st and 22nd April (9.00am - 5.00pm)
Classical Hatha

Weds 22nd April (2.00pm - 4.00pm)
Sun Yoga Kids praticum at Garden International School

26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th (8.00am - 12.30pm)
Contemporary & Kundalini Yoga

3rd - 4th may (9.00am-5.00pm)
Foundation 3: Preparing to teach

FOCUS FOR APRIL
Attend regular yoga classes
Brahma Kumari
Wrap up anatomy

FOCUS FOR MAY
Preparing to teach
Class critique
Assignment

Anatomy & Physiology

2010-04-12T17:54:00.003+08:00

Congratulations to Fion, Raymond, Angeline and Lily for surviving three days of quadratus lumborum, iliocostalis, longissimus, etc.....the work is not over yet....

Karma Yoga

2010-04-11T20:20:00.003+08:00

Jesy and I went shopping to buy food for old folks home and orphanage. She told me not to buy Ginger and Mint Tea or mango tea for old folks, but I sneaked in Ferero Roche for the kids :-)

TTC

2010-04-11T20:09:00.002+08:00

Here we go, another year, another batch! Mr Sun Yoga this weekend was Raymond - gorgeous bod, but his scapulae are not symmetrical.....otherwise perfect, and we had fun (and the usual headache with latin names). Well done, people

2010-04-04T21:05:00.005+08:00

Congratulate to all my coursemate. OOOOOMMMMMMMMM i must be very cool now. when is my turn ?????? OM

Jac I will have to arrange to see you one of this weekday too because I need to pass u a card together with some last year (sorry.... so late) x'mas gifts too for the home. The card were the wishes that I collected from the kids of my first yoga kid class (replacement only :) The souvenirs (most of it are key chain. I think they will like it to be put on their bags :) were collected from my ex-colleagues before I left the company. I put them separately into some gift bags. So, if we can make it in the evening then we do the groceries also, if not see who can help for the groceries ok??

Gaik Pin's Anatomy & Physiology 4th & 5th April

2010-04-04T14:10:00.004+08:00

Photo captions:

(1) After passing, Miss Ong here is seen sweeping the shala floor as her karma yoga

(2) Her face immediately after being informed that she passed after 2 days

(3) Alverd's Mind map which she was studying right till the end

(4) A stressed out Gaik Pin at halfway stage.

Well done, Gaik Pin. Now can I have people ready for Sutra and Philosophy!!!!

2010-04-01T13:21:00.002+08:00

Hi. this is JK. I'm excited to be starting again with my new group, but I want to take a moment to reflect on the Sun Yogis in my life far away in the US but always in my heart, who gave so much to me. See you in May!

200 Hours Timetable

2010-04-01T13:16:00.001+08:00

Hi, this is Katya, your yoga mamma.

I propose the following dates and times:

APRIL 10th, 11th and 12th (9am - 5pm)
for Foundation 1 (Anatomy & Physiology)

APRIL 14th, 15th and 16th (9am-5pm)
for Foundation 2 (Sutra and Physiology)

APRIL 17th, 18th (9am- 5pm)
Sun Yoga Kids

20th, 21st and 22nd (9am - 5pm)
Classical hatha yoga

You all should bring your diary and fine-tune the dates.

KAx

200 hrs TTC

2010-03-23T22:11:00.002+08:00

Hi Sharon, Jocelyn, Pei Ling, and Alexandra (new comer!)

I am Margot, I live in KL, I am French, 34 years old, married with 3 kids (5 1/2, 3 1/2 and 15 months). That's for a quick introduction!

I am available mostly on weekdays, knowing that I will be less available between the 19th and 30th of April (kids holidays). I would then rather have foundation II anytime in May. But let's see what are everybody's preferences, I can make arrangements of course. (Sorry Jocelyn, I did not realize this before writing back to you.)

Foundation I and SYT are fine for me on 10-11-12th and 17-18 April. Do you have the times for these 5 days?

Happy to do this training with you!

Margot
Hp: 017 2436 808

200 hours TTC

2010-03-20T09:27:00.003+08:00

Hi, I'm Sharon from Kuala Lumpur. And i will be taking the Foundation 1 and also SYK, not sure for the remaining foundation. I was told that the Foundation is on 10th April and SYK is on 17th And 18th April. So pls update me with the latest schedule. Thank you.

200 Hours TTC

2010-03-19T20:29:00.002+08:00

Hey Sharon, Margot & Pei Ling,

Just want to say Hi to all.

I'm available for the next 200 hours Foundation I on the 11th - 13th April. Have confirmed with Margot. How about the others? I would like to know if (10-4pm is good for those dates?

I can do the Foundation II on the 28th - 30th April, (10-4pm)

Jocelyn

Sun Yoga Kids Teacher Training Weekend 30-31 Jan 2010

2010-01-31T20:56:00.004+08:00

Sandra's assessment....

2010-01-27T21:23:00.005+08:00

At halfway point (1 hour 30 minutes), things are looking shaky........borderline.....

Her yoga coursemates must have been praying hard, because......

SHE PASSED!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ0dgJqp90M

reborn....

2010-01-25T00:01:00.001+08:00

we are reborn through every breathe... we are reborn from here... sunyoga. with the light from all surround us... with the light of our guru ~ Jac ~ namaste ~

She PASSED!

2010-01-22T20:15:00.003+08:00

1 hour 30 minutes of sweating it and Cass passed her Anatomy & Physiology. Well done, dear. One of the few who passed first time round!

shilpa's class

2010-01-12T13:40:00.002+08:00

it was amazing. she is so precise yet so sharp. thank you preet for the arrangement. btw, should thank all of you (alverd and gaik pin very fierce huh) because im able to do half shoulder stand on my own ald without wall (^o^) but, on the same morning (10.01.2010), my indian tortoise that i kept for 3yrs plus gone..... om shanti. i knew i should not have raise it within the sharing session, but i just couldn't help it. thank you all for the tolerance....luv,jc

2009-12-13T01:17:00.001+08:00

Sutra : Samadhipadah

1.12 abhyasavairagyabhyam tannirodhah

The mind can reach the state of yoga through practice and detachment.
or
Practice consistently but learn to detach in order to stop the vacillation

Artwork Illustration :

The little angel moves the second indicator that link to the minute & hour indicator (practice consistently) in order to maintain correct timing (stillness). However, the actual timing (svarupe / trueself) will run (vacillate) if the indicators cling onto each other (attachment) during the cycles.

Also, here is some personal view for sharing….

Attachment & Egoism

“love” that exists for “light”
- might lead to attachment

“light” that grows by abundance of “love that exists for light”
- might transform into egoism

Bliss & Shanti

“light” that exists for “non-attachment love”
- bliss

“love” that grows by abundance of “light that exists for non-attachment love”
- might transform into another “light that exists for non-attachment love”
- shanti

dear cass, sandra - discussion of assignment

2009-12-12T01:49:00.002+08:00

i will be at jb or spore from dec18-20. might be at ipoh from dec25-27 or Jan1-3, either one weekend. therefore, can we tentatively fix on one weekday iso weekend.
Luv,
Jc

Physical Weaknesses - Jc

2009-12-12T01:37:00.004+08:00

- weak arm strenght
- weak core strenght (big issue now, feel most when i was trying on those inversion poses)
- weak back muscles
- tight gracilis muscles
- tight hip rotators
- weak quadriceps
- weak ankles
- poor balancing
- weak stamina (improving now :)

Teaching analysis - Jc (source : bikram 26 poses templates)

2009-12-12T01:25:00.006+08:00

- non-organized dialogue
- dull
- robotic
- poor english
- inappropriate time management
- no confident in class control
- nervous

sandra's work

2009-12-08T19:26:00.003+08:00

analysis on teaching a class

1) the class is boring & not lively at all

2) instructions not clear

3) tone & pitch not consistent

4) not paying attention to students

5) no adjustment

6) no motivation

7) have to improve on pronunciation

Sandra's weaknesses on doing Birkam's 26 asanas

1) poor stamina

2) alignment not so good

3) unable to balance

4) not able to do certain asanas due to tight hamstring and lack of flexibility

5) need to improve on arm strength and core strength

6) also to improve on adductor and hip rotators

Cass's work

2009-12-08T19:23:00.000+08:00

Cass's teaching Analysis :
1. Boring , unlively , dull comparing to Bikram which is lively and energetic.
2. No eye contact and communication with the student
3. No adjustment done to the students
4. Dialogue not motivating comparing to Bikram
5. Untidy appearance with hair flowing around , distracting
6. No personal character on teaching , no style.

Cass's weaknesses :
1. Improve on flexibility on adductor , hamstring, hips.
2. Build up core muscles with better abs
3. Weak arm strength
4. Need to loose fats on tummy in order to do better twisting asana

Dear Jac,
I will not be coming on 13/dec as my cousin is in town. Will try to drop by after lunch if she leaves earlier.

JC:
Please confirm timing for discussion on assignment. Other than 18/19 dec , we are free anytime.

Preet ric : I cant see u on 13/dec. Will get sandra to advise u on the pure yoga passes.

Assessment date :
Jac, me and sandra decided to do our assessment on 23/24 Jan, 2010. Kindly let us know if this date is fine for u.

Love and peace,
cass

200 Hours Admin

2009-12-07T14:34:00.003+08:00

Nice photos, people....and lovely comment from Erin (very profound and deep). So the rest of you read what Erin wrote and practice Sat Nam and leave your ego (asmita) behind.

OK, for more boring stuff:

(1) Next weekend 12-13 December
We meet for Classical Hatha. So we will be putting together muscles and classical yoga postures, some yogic medical science and sutra.

This is technically the last weekend before Christmas holidays, but I would like the following:
1. meet up with you all one evening on the week of 14 December to do Bikram (again!)
2. Meet up with Lilian and Alverd for missed classes, probably two full days with Lilian and half with Alverd. Can you please co-ordinate, both of you, and give me a morning that you both are free.

(2) Outside things going on
i. Get yourself organised for Brahma Kumari
ii. Check out yoga classes for Critique
iii. Your social (Brickfields for hare Krishna and cheap CDs)

(3) Assessment
JC, Sandra, Cass and Preet: ready when you are

(4) Things I am owed:
i. Comparison of your teaching standards with other established teachers (Cass, Sandra, JC and Preet)
ii. An honest analysis of your own weakness when it comes to yoga (ALL OF YOU)
iii. Read Live Patanjali (Lilian, Gaik Pin and Alverd)
iv. Study of the rest of the sutra in pada 1 and 2 (Cass, Sandra, JC and Preet)

Jocelyn, when are you back?

Seeing that there are a lot of new faces, can you all please write a little hello on this blog so that the others will know you?

jkX

my first " Padmasana " !!!!!

2009-11-12T22:27:00.006+08:00

I know this sounds a bit funny to those that naturally can do it and to those that already can do it. But, I am really very very very happy yesterday evening(11Nov2009) when I finally did it. This is not the perfect one but this is FIRST padmasana in my life ^_^
let us keep practising! staying alive! Namaste!

Questions answered while sitting in today's TTC

2009-11-08T20:41:00.006+08:00

I am glad that I get to sit in today's TTC with JK and the trainees. Feels like old time once again. It helps answered some questions that I have been asking myself. The topic today were the type of Kundalini teachers.

I have been questioning my teaching. I know my limitation as I am unable to teach anything hardcore or complicated asanas. Although yoga isn't all about asanas, but I feel compel to push myself to be able to do all that as I feel I should do more.

`Learning complicated asanas will come at my own time and at my own pace.

`There is much to gain from feedback

`Be who I am, not who I think I should be.

So when I left shala, I was feeling lighter. Thank you, thank you :*

Preet & Jc as at 07-Nov-2009

2009-11-08T00:57:00.010+08:00

this is the day whereby our teacher "CABUT"!!! well... because we are lateeeeeeee.... sorry.... we take it for granted that it should start at 10am :p
here's our "sincere photoshot" after we do some revision on samkhya philosophy, sutra and practicum (only on surya namaskar A&B :-)

PREEEEEEEEEET! Don't forget to BREATHEEEEEEEEEE!!!! pleaseeeeeee.....

hmmmm... am i resting my hand on my knee??? we shouldn't do that right?? because it will hurt our knee...

i think the day for my ring to reach the floor coming soon... then follow by my heart ^_^

My first day teaching kids yoga :)

2009-11-01T21:47:00.000+08:00

First of all , will like to thank Sun Yoga . Thank u ( Jac , indra, erin ) for sharing the experience and knowledge with me. Indra , thanks so much in introducing me to B yoga and other yoga center on order for me to start off journey in teaching and sharing yoga with all. I am touched with the support and encouragement that all of you have given me , and trusting me.

My first class went on smoothly and it was a good class. It was challenging teaching kids , but i guess i made it . There are more to learn along the journey , but i believe i will be able to bring joy and peace to their life :).

Namaste.

2009-10-25T16:29:00.002+08:00

Cassandra & Sandra only free on 31/10 morning session (as they are going to replace a KID'S YOGA CLASS at Kepong ^_^ and I might start in Dec.. will have to call the person incharged again :) Added Sandra need to go back to home town on 01/11 too. if the class still on, can I suggest to do the physiology that I missed out few weeks back....jc

2009-10-25T16:23:00.001+08:00

hi! Jac,
just want to re-confirm teaching methodology class on 31/10 & 01/11. is it still on??
Jc

Gayatri Mantra

2009-10-21T13:01:00.004+08:00

Came across Gayatri Mantra chant by Deva Premal ... I love it!
I play the chant in the background while reading 'Live Patanjali'. :-)

GAYATRI MANTRA

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA

TAT SAVITUR VRENYAM

BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI

DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT

This is the "lyric-version" for your convenience while learn to "sing" along:

Aum-Bhoor Bhuwah-Swaha

Tat-Sa-Vitur Vare-n-yam

Bhargo-Deva-Sya Dhee-Mahi

Dhiyo-yo Na-ha Pra-cho-dayat

"May the Ultimate Wisdom illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path" - "Live Patahjali" by Jacqueline Koay (pg. 153)

:-)

Daily Cooking now for 30 days challengers!

2009-10-17T00:43:00.005+08:00

It feels so bizzare to me now when I started cooking for others. But it is so much fun now...thanks for enjoying the food.

Chickpea and Olive salad on mix lettuce and watercress

Ing:
200gr chickpeas
50gr pitted black or green olives, slice it
150gr cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp chopped parsley
50gr watercress and mix lettuce to serve

Dressing:
1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped
100gr natural yogurt
Juice of ½ lime
Pepper

To make dressing, mix together the garlic, yogurt and lime juice in a small bowl. Season with pepper.

Mix together the chickpeas, olives, tomatoes and parsley in a large bowl, add the dressing to the chickpea mixture and toss well to coat evenly/ serve the salad on a bed of watercress and mix lettuce.

Serves: 4

Enjoy it...and if you would love to have this as well, we are making this every Thursday AM and PM :)

Support your practice from the food you put into your system and mind....

Paravertebral

2009-10-13T09:31:00.001+08:00

Visit to Anatomy dept

2009-10-12T19:20:00.003+08:00

Sun Yoga Kids Teachers (Kuala Lumpur, 3-4th October 2009)

2009-10-05T19:46:00.004+08:00

find yourself in the picture :)

Photos from demo class

2009-09-29T21:36:00.006+08:00

In utkatasana, the quadriceps are strengthened (this is one of the most under-utilised muscles!). The back muscles are also strengthened. The focus is on dropping the tailbone to the earth and keeping the back long.

In this modified bhujangasana, the focus is on strengthening the back muscles, in particular, the erector spinae. The hands on the gluteus focus the attention on engaging the legs and lifting of the torso with the back muscles rather than pushing up with the hands.

The strong back muscles are for balancing out the strengthening of the rectus muscles of the front ('six pack'!).

Timetable for Teacher Training

2009-09-28T23:14:00.002+08:00

3rd - 4th October
Sun Yoga Kids

10th, 11th and 12th October
Anatomy & Physiology

17th - 18th October
Hatha Yoga
(with Tony Wong - revision of Sutra, Sun Salutation and classical postures)

31st October - 1st November
Foundation Module: Teaching Methodology (YogaSense, key adjustments, safety)

7th - 8th November
Foundation Module: continuation

14th - 15th November
Foundaiton Module: wrap-up
(NOT for Jesy, Cass and Sandra)

21st - 22nd November (tentative)
Kundalini Module

28th - 29th November (tentative)
Contemporary

Please note that you should expect to spend at least 1-2 evenings per week at Sun Yoga either in Techniques classes (you need to chalk up 10) or starting your Practicum.

When is Prenatal Course?

2009-09-16T13:08:00.001+08:00

Hi,

Just wanna check on the dates for Prenatal course. Need to make some dorm arrangement. Thanks :)

2009-08-28T09:15:00.003+08:00

alright, noted. we will work on it, no worry...
u all take care.
jc

2009-08-27T18:03:00.002+08:00

We can reschedule. I want you people to get the Foundations solid first.

Well done for doing two classes back to back yesterday. YOU MUST IMPROVE YOUR FITNESS, all of you. You have to be physically fit to teach, and that means putting in practice time!

TTC 2009

2009-08-27T12:49:00.001+08:00

Hi! Jac,
did we missed out "Lifestyle & Ethics"? initially, it was scheduled on Sep12-13.
Jc

Tentative dates for 200 Hours Module

2009-08-25T21:38:00.003+08:00

October 3rd and 4th
Sun Yoga Kids

October 10th, 11th and 12th
Foundation 1 (Anatomy & Physiology and Yoga Sutra)

October 24th and 25th
Basic Hatha and Yoga Sutra

November 21st and 22nd
Foundation 2 (Teaching Methodology and Yoga Sutra)

Please note that in the meantime, you are expected to come in for 10 Techniques classes in the evenings (as well as do your assigned project).

Tip rated by YouTube!

2009-08-25T21:34:00.003+08:00

Keep watching (and forward this YouTube) to family and friends! On the 24th August, we reached #65 under the Top UK Education category (it's at #80 now).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhO2YsdeAAo

2009-08-25T14:21:00.003+08:00

2009-08-23T19:31:00.014+08:00

Photos from this weekend's anatomy module:

Tony (last batch's star student) explaining the intricacies of the acetabulum and femoral head.

CHANGE OF MEETING DATE: 19 AUG, 09 @7PM

2009-08-16T10:20:00.001+08:00

Dear All ,

Next meeting date will be on 19 Aug, 09 @ sun yoga instead of 18 Aug, 09.

Jessy if u are reading this, please confirm if u are available.

Namaste

Next meet up - 18 Aug,09.7pm @ sun yoga

2009-08-14T18:48:00.002+08:00

Dear Girls ...

we shall meet up again on coming Tuesday, 7pm. We will be discussing the past chapters and also help each other on asanas.

I will be recover by then , i am getting better now :)

So, remember to do the 5 poses everyday ya!

Children's Yoga at an orphanage

2009-08-07T17:19:00.000+08:00

MESSAGE FROM INDRA

Dear friends,
this is a programme called DuniaKU, targeted to mid and lower income group of community in the society. what it does is, providing kids with programme that they couldn't afford such as art and yoga class. We believe (me and other mentors appointed), that children are the agent of change in the society. they learn how to make a change. Therefore when i was approached to join this programme, I was honoured, especially when the person in charge, Mr Sha'in, mentioned that Yoga will be the base programme(foundation values), I was jumping inside me.

The 1st pilot programme will be started very soon, like tomorrow! to an orphanage home in Old Klang Road called Pure Life Society. the place is huge with a beautiful garden and I can see kids are having fun doing yoga and making connection to the nature. they could get back to their inner life and soul with yoga...after whatever they have through.

Having said that, I m now in Indonesia for my family gathering, therefore I couldn't start tomorrow with kids. Thanks to myh lovely friend Delphine with love and her patient, she will lead the 1st and hopefully the 2nd session too (as I will be away to penang for yoga workshop next week). She needs helper at least 2 persons to help her with 37 kids over there. I really wish whoever read this message can help her. the session wil start 5-630pm.

Please get in touch with me to my mobile 016 3614 888 and i can direct you to Delphine to arrange where to meet etc. if you can't help, pls try to think who might be able too.

thanks and i really appreciate your help.

FYI, for helping, you will also get paid.

Namaste

Thursday class

2009-08-05T19:04:00.000+08:00

ladies, you have a class on Thursday with Lily on Yin Yoga. I am sorry I can't make it - Malcolm flies to England on Friday and I have lots of family things to do on Thursday night.

Go for the class, and we can catch up next week, when Jesy is back from Ipoh.

Love you all!

MEETING 6 AUG , 09

2009-08-05T13:41:00.001+08:00

Dr. Jac will confirm if she is meeting us tomorrow.

If there is nothing on this blog on tomorrow's confirmation , me and sandra will be attending sat morning yoga class at 9am.

Namaste.

Journey to explore starts from daily life....

2009-08-02T18:20:00.005+08:00

I feel gratitude and happy about what is happening here. I would really wanted to say thank you to all of you that I met here @ Sunyoga. Ya, including the kids too (^_^) It's amazing! Such a good way to educate them beside text book. It's so comfortable, feel warm. We (sandra, cassandra and jc) started our journey to explore the philosophy of yoga yesterday. I felt good though its a long driving route that tooks me about 3 hrs yesterday (both way). I think the other two girls felt the same way I felt too. Initially we've scratched our head over the relation between Prakriti and Purusha as well as Prana. However, it was really fun as this is sort of learning of knowledge (jnana). I was chanting on my way home yesterday when i trapped in a terribly bad traffic jam (dare not to tell anyone except those from Sun Yoga "here"). Only today then I knew that "both sandra" did the same thing too ^_^

atha yoganusasanam

yogachittavrittinirodhah

Journey to explore starts from daily life....every single second, every single minute, be gratitute, treasure what we have now and what we had before and don't forget to embrace for all the uncertainty in life with love....

Welcome on board to TTC 2009!

2009-08-02T16:42:00.003+08:00

So Let me start the ball rolling!

I'm so happy to meet JK and her new trainees Jeci, Preet, Sandra and Cassandra on yerterday, the first day of TTC 2009 in the shala! Also the miss energetic Indra, and serene Erin!

Erin and I have agreed that the new batch TTC 2009 made us really miss our "old time" (the TTC 2008). Jo and Su, the Paschinottanasana incident, Brahma Kumaris visits (Who are You!?), sacred bowl and real muscle study in UM, get-together, funs, laugters and challenges with life & assignments..... and many more! That's all the great memories we have.

Ok, old timer's story apart. He he. For our new friends out there, please rest assured that you will have your very own and wonderful version! And your journey has started! I am just soooo happy for you all! :-D

Have fun!

TTC-2009

2009-08-02T16:41:00.011+08:00

Hello,

I started my first hours of the course with JK in July on the intro and philosophy. I attended the class without knowing what exactly to expect with TTC. However it was a real eye opener when we started to go into the nitty gritty of the philosophy of yoga. I love it! Makes me more aware of what yoga is all about. Also, did a couple of hours with Indra's class and it was a good session too. So I am really looking forward to joining you guys with the TTC course.

Have a good time with your course and we will meet soon!