Point your toes, point your toes.... hmm.. point your feet! :)
Time and time again we hear people say, Life Is All About Making Choices, but what many failed to demonstrate is the weight of responsibility that one has to also take in making the choice. Making choices in life certainly has its values, and the right ones come with rewards. Having said that, the choices themselves carry their own liabilities, which may result in serious consequences and ramifications. However, people do commit the crime by being utterly ignorant about it.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Its a FULL MOON, Ashtangis.
Lets watch our foundations. How we ground our feet or palms or elbows or sit-bones so that we will not be taken off or carried away by our prowess in our practice. Let the rooting quality of humility empowers us to be grounded and reminds us of who we are.
Namaste,
Azmi
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Power of Meditation
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8862275/Meditation-improves-the-immune-system-research-shows.html
Never underestimate the power of meditation guys.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Ashtanga Holidays
Namaste my fellow Ashtangis, here is Tim Miller's page telling us on the days Ashtangis don't practice and reason for it.
http://www.ashtangayogacenter.com/moon.html
Friday, October 14, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Saudi Arabia beheads Sudanese 'sorcerer' - Region - World - Ahram Online
How do you justify this? The stupidity and ignorance are just beyond me. If this is done based on religious beliefs, then its repulsive beyond words.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Interview with Matthew Sweeney and Sadie Nardini
Listen to insights from 2 different yoga methods Matthew (Ashtanga) and Sadie (CVY - Anusara). Both making sense and being down to earth about yoga.
The most advanced Ashtangi in the world next to Sharath Rangaswamy Jois, and also my teacher, Matthew Sweeney.
Interview with Matthew Sweeney
Monday, August 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
In Search Of Enlightenment – But really, are we?
A few days ago, as I was surfing the net for resources for my training manual, I stumbled upon an article on the search for enlightenment – the modern search, that is. The article breaks down the definition of enlightenment. It was interesting to find out how others define the same word in a variety of perspectives and in different contexts. One describes it as a freedom from feelings to feel fully without identifying with those feelings. Simply put, it means you do not suffer from any emotion and you are not governed or trapped by the nature of a certain emotion, say ‘grief’ as you are able to free yourself from the possibility of being drained by the emotion. Another one says that enlightenment is a readiness to surrender the ego to pure awareness. Those are the modern views that many can relate to. The traditional view backdates from Lord Gotama Buddha and was somewhat different, as in more spiritual.
Gotama Buddha explained that enlightenment is a state of Samadhi, a state of highest meditation where one removes the veils of ignorance, being aware of the huge, expansive and immeasurable feeling that knows no hatred. Gotama also had attained the 4 states of the mind; Metta – lovingkindness, Karuna – compassion, Mudita – joy, and Upeksha – equanimity. If you put those against the modern perspectives of enlightenment, the latter seems more achievable and the process of enlightenment manageable.
I say it is manageable because it can be found in a yoga practice. Then again, is that what the modern seeker is searching for? This is because yoga has been proven not to be just a spiritual practice but also a practice that offers more graspable goals of firmer abs, lower blood pressure and reduced stress levels. Yoga Journal says those are okay because practical goals can provide the essential foundation of sound body and mind. However, those goals need to be altered if one is earnest about finding that modern version of enlightenment as those gym-like intentions would eventually lead us into a lot of forcing, pushing and showing off in our asana practice. The Yoga Sutra mentions that, “numerous skills arise, but none are necessarily see by another (III:20) because the transformation takes place within the experience of the yogin.”
In this modern society where it is common to have many issues under one’s belt, it is important for one to have goals that are not overly idealistic so that one may be less likely to cling to what one wants or become deluded about one’s achievements. In general, the world has become a race of grabbing stuff and owning things. Letting go is a process that majority lack to foster. What many don’t realize is in reality, the more we let go, the more we benefit from the process.
Exploring the above, “ the enlightenment process is much more of getting rid of stuff than grabbing hold of it.”, says Richard Miller, P.H.D. Clinical Psychologist and founder of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Consecutively, it is illuminating to hear when B.K.S. Iyengar said that in “enlightened moments, one experiences instances in which one sees clearly and chooses wisely. Each moment is new and one responds to it anew. It is the first time that moment’s ever happened.” Now, have we yogis not experienced those instances before, especially after a really good practice? Because I know that when I have a strong practice, there is no moment in life that is not juicy. To me, that is enlightenment, as juicy and as simple as bliss is.
In a class practice, the practice of awareness and mindfulness play such a major role in our quest to find peace and harmony. Enlightening moments begin when we are constantly aware of our breaths, the one entity that has kept us alive till now. Being mindful of how our body moves, how amazing we feel with every correct step that we take are all enlightening moments that we can attain in class by simply being present, being focused in how we do what we do and yet aware of the things that surround us.
As a teacher and practitioner, I have observed how many people tend to be too dependent on their teachers or even their asana practice in their search for enlightenment. Although this is common among practitioners, ultimately, for the seasoned yogis, we find that a teacher cannot enlighten us but a gift a teacher can give is to reveal our deepest truths and aspirations. Then again, that can emerge from the depths of our own solitary practice. And like most gifts, enlightenment remains a mystery until we receive it, until our hearts are open and do not close.
In a nutshell, no matter how we define enlightenment or however much we want it, practice is utterly necessary. “Practice, practice, practice. All is coming.”, a famous advise from the late Guruji Sri Patthabi Jois. So lets enjoy our practice, make every posture count and each moment an enlightened one.
Namaste.
Azmi
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Practice with Intention, NOT with Tension
Taking the cue from the previous topic, I would like to share what I found in the Yoga Journals that was pinpoint perfect, which also happens to be the insight of my own practice.
It says that approaching our practice with thoughtful intention is one way to receive the benefits of yoga that go beyond the physical. Its identified as part of what separate yoga from pure exercise. It is also a way to practice being more conscious and aware of our actions - a lesson we can take beyond our mats.
When we start to set an intention, it starts to unravel why we practice. When you have identified why you do what you do, you can emphasize and take ample care as to how you do what you do. Consecutively you can move on to bringing considered understanding and focus to every action you take.
Let us cultivate this 4 states of mind in setting our most honest intentions ;
Lovingkindness - METTA
Compassion - KARUNA
Joy - MUDITA
Equanimity - UPEKKHA
Namaste,
Azmi
Why Do You Practice? UTMOST IMPORTANT!
Of late, I have been very disturbed by how people practice and their way of approaching yoga in general. Practitioners are getting complacent about their practice, dependent on the techniques and deluded about "higher" intentions and goals. I thought as yoga evolves to better fit human lives and to merge with modern societies, shouldn't it be more convenient and comfortable to arrive at certain goals and attain balance and equanimity in a shorter period? However, what I have observed was actually the opposite.
I found out that the general intention was to alleviate back pain, relieve from stress or become flexible but along the way, people tend to move away from their intention and start to join this ridiculous race of who have the longest hamstring or the most open hips! Instead of searching in our own bodies and understanding its capacity, we end up pushing, fighting, forcing our way to be who we are not. Then we ask our teachers why we get injured, why are we in pain and why we cannot come into a certain pose after a long time. Do I really need to answer this question? Yes I actually do. I started to do my research, called my teachers, looked up in the internet on yoga news, reflected on my teachings and delved into my students profile.
Eventually, I got the answers. Its our own honest intention and the yearning to learn. I mean common, you don't have to be told "spread your fingers wide" in downward dog 10 times to get it right or "don't bring your knees further than the line of your ankle" 20 times to feel that its right do you? There is so much that a teacher could share in his class but are our intentions enough for the teacher to see to deemed right to share more?
That is when a workshop manifests itself. When the teacher finally decides it is time to unravel more in a more personal environment where there is more time and capacity to focus and learn. Workshops are investments for those who are willing to learn and passionate about the practice. Workshops are the only time for both teachers and students to go deeper into the aspects of yoga, apply the techniques immediately after getting them and feel and experience the joy of the new revelation.
It is natural to assume that our practice and our life are totally separate, that we practice for an hour or so day and forget about it. But after a while, the two inevitably begin to merge. Like Kali Ray, founder of Triyoga said at the Asia Yoga Conference, "What is not Yoga? Nothing. Everything is Yoga."
Its no secret that we often do things for reasons we're totally unaware of. Sometimes our unconscious motives become clear only after a great deal of self reflection. So it is important to realize that questioning the intent of our practice inevitably leads to inquire about the meaning of life as well. We might as well be asking one day, "WHY ARE WE ALIVE?".
Namaste,
Azmi
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sharath Rangaswamy - Ashtanga Led Primary Series.. where everything applies.
When I opened my eyes at 5.00am on the third day, I thought I was going to feel so sore and wasn’t able to attend Sharath’s class. But as it turned out, I felt brand new and could not find the soreness in my low back, which I expected from all the classes and workshops in the past 2 days. I figured the heat patch worked on me! I had put 2 patches on the effected area the night before and felt great that morning!! So I got all worked up and excited to attend Sharath’s class with much enthusiasm.
As preparation to the class, I had done a 30 min Yin class on my own and also a session of nauli as part of the cleansing practice prior to the Ashtanga class. It usually makes me feel so much lighter. And it did. I arrived at the convention centre 30 minutes earlier. At first there were only a few of us there but in just 5 minutes, throngs of practitioners arrived and already making a bee line at the entrance. As much as I didn’t want to make any expectations out of the class, I did want to make the best out of this one, especially after paying so much money for it, a bad thought.
So much distraction was going on before the class actually started. What with the photo taking, people asking for autographs, and warming up into contortions beyond disgust. Luckily for me, I had a front row seat where there was nothing between me and Sharath. Meaning, NO distractions.
I was mending my own business and trying not to be bothered by all the fracas when I heard Sharath said ‘samasthiti’, which basically means Standing or in Sharath’s words, class begins. And so it began, the tradition of almost a century old, the culture of Sanskrit counting, the flow of ASHTANGA Vinyasa, right before you presented by Sharath Rangaswamy. Hearing him brought me back to Mysore when I was practicing with Guruji Sri Patthabi Jois. The flow, the energy went like a soothing river coming down from a mountain. I don’t remember him having us stop to catch our breath, but then I felt I was jumping back and through with a lot of ease.
That day I was determined to lighten my practice and to step back a lot more than I would usually do. I wanted to find out how its like not to be intimidated by all the other ‘super Ashtangis’, not to force anything and just go with what your body needs than what it wants. Gosh, how wonderful it was to practice humility and be able to retract back when you listen to your own body and without having this distraction of seeing and looking at others with judgment. One thing that Sharath did that was so enlightening was to emphasize the practice to bandhas and drishtis. It worked wonders for me that day.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Evolution - DAY TWO, Pt. 2. Jason Crandell Releasing the Spine
Before I bore you with what could be more lengthy stories of my daily accounts on the incredible experience and amazing journey at the conference, I thought I’d sum up the rest and put them altogether on this final account.
After that journey in Paul Dallaghan’s class, which had me thrown back with all the sensible new information about the Ashtanga system, I continued the journey and entered Jason Crandell’s “Releasing the Spine with Sidebends, Twists and Forward Bends” workshop. Having learned from previous lessons that expectations would just ruin and disappoint you, I came into Jason’s class without any and psyched myself to take everything in and allowed my body to analyze and experience it myself. The discussion and changing of notes I had with my student, Karin who like me, blessed and fortunate to be at the conference, confirmed the greatness and beauty of Jason’s classes as our notes were to be the same!
The first thing Jason did when he came on stage was, he addressed the class in reminding us not to over power in coming into a posture, not stretching the hamstrings, not jamming the sides and not crunching the belly but everything was to be done with the sense of awareness towards the spine. In fact, he urged us to do that in everything we do because the spine affects everything we do and everything we do affects the spine. He also told us that advance postures does not impress him so before we come to an advance posture, check on the intention first. If ego is involve, then best not to do it.
His way of lengthening the sides, lifting the diaphragm to open the ribcage, opens the heart in order to feel long and spacious in the spine. And that space will keep us open in our minds and receptive in our thoughts for us to go further in our journeys. He prevented us from going further than we should at the present because he wanted us to feel what was happening right here and now and just be happy with the present moment.
Many times when we practice difficult postures, we have this tendency to push and think that if we were to bend a little further, to twist a little tighter, to fold a little deeper, we would reach the final and perfect posture. Those actions represent our own demons that we need to battle with. And the way many of us do is by over stretching ourselves to a point of losing our breath, which is the only thing that protects us from harm other than our awareness. It’s almost like taking off our battle-suits and going naked against our enemies. So we need to have our breath and awareness always close to our minds before we do everything in our lives. With that, Jason closed the class with a soothing chant of OM to draw everyone back to their intention. What a beautiful class that was. The passion and dedication showed in every single thing he said.
I know I said at the top I want to make this ONE final account? But after writing on it, I figured that we could use a moment to assimilate all that is written and sink it all down to our system and make sense of it through our practice. Enjoy the new information and have a wonderful practice. Stay tune for the rest of the amazing notes coming up soon…
Next.. Sharath Rangaswamy – Ashtanga Led Primary Series (Where everything applies…)
Friday, June 10, 2011
Evolution - DAY TWO Pt1, Second Series is NOT Second SERIOUS!
Explore First Into Second Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa (Paul Dallaghan)
I decided to skip Jason Nemer's The Art And Science of Handstands workshop after finding out that it would be an Acroyoga class. Too circus-ish for me lah. And having registered for Paul Dallaghan's 2nd series class after that, I figured I needed more rest to prepare myself for it.
So I slept in and got up at 9.00am, did a short Nauli (stomach churning for cleansing) or what I considered as Nauli, 30 mins of Yin before getting myself ready for Paul's class. I don't know why I got myself worked up for this class, well... actually i did. It was because that was to be my first LED class for 2nd series, let alone being led by a world revered Ashtangi, Paul Dallaghan!
My egos and fears started to outdo each other inside me and it started to make me feel sick! Eventually when I got to the class, there were people who expected showing off their prowess, which made me felt sicker. Well, an Ashtanga class is nothing if not intimidating. But as soon as Paul walked in, all these stopped. He started to emanate grace by humbly smiled at everyone making me feel so much at ease.
It got better when he started his introduction by being so down to earth about his approach to the practice and by not regarding 2nd series as an intermediate practice as was previously regarded. He also explained the meaning of Nadhi Shodana (2nd series - cleansing of the nervous system) that requires breathing and stillness using a series of asanas to enter its purification process. Only then the body can emanate radiance and connect to whats happening inside. Thus, he told everybody to stop regarding Second Series as (squinting his eyebrows) "Second SERIOUS...".. LOL!!
We need to feel the connection and understand the relation between Asana and Vinyasa. Paul also emphasized the difference between 'compromise' and 'modify'. In a posture, one should NOT compromise by adjusting it by forcing to a point where one thinks one reaches a goal while the breath loses its comfort and the heart struggles to open. Instead, one should modify by humbly moving out of the struggle without losing the breath and to keep the heart open and yet staying with the principles of asana and vinyasa. He said, the point is NOT to push through but be patient.
With that, we moved through the practice and with Paul's guidance, I felt so liberated and did not at any point feel intimidated or forced. I stuck with the said principles although it was so hard to ignore this acrobat circus act next to me who was flying everywhere! Paul also said if we were to set a long time goal for our practice rather than a couple of months, we would achieve a better success rate than pushing through as that would actually make our practice worse. His way of recounting his own practice when he started out in relation to our practice brought such conviction that everyone can get to where they want through patience and perseverance.
In 90 minutes, Paul managed to carefully choose and integrate postures of the 1st and 2nd series and led everyone to the profound experience of Nadhi Shodana. At the end of the class, a girl shouted "Namaste!" from across the room, Paul looked up at her and said, "I prefer Goodbye. Its more professional, so Goodbye!" LOL!
Goodbye!
Azmi
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Evolution - DAY ONE
0710 hrs - Arrived at the Convention Centre after just 20 mins walking from Star Street, where I am staying. Registration was pretty easy and straight-forward. Could do better with the badge, it think, instead of just a printed plain white sheet of your time-table. After all it WOULD be a souvenir people want as a memorabilia. Even YogaZone did a much better one!
I took some time to get familiar with the layout of the conference, see where my classes are located so that I won't waste time looking for them after one another. I did have back to back classes today. Silly.
0800 to 1100 hrs - Yoga Anatomy for Teachers (Continued Education for Teachers) PT1
First class started on time. Martin Kirk went around to introduce himself personally, which I thought was a humble thing to do. His energy was nice. Always smiling and speaking with so much passion and dedication. Finding out only recently that Martin is an Anusara Teacher, made that my first Anusara workshop - something that I would NOT have chosen due to its conflicting techniques to my more familiar Ashtanga but I thought, what a heck, why not? The information that was divulged to us that first part was incredibly insightful as I learned the evolution of life from its inception form of a single cell DNA to what we are today! The part that I still dont appreciate is even after 20 mins, there were still people coming in!! What a distraction!! I am also NOT keen in finding a partner to work with but this IS an anatomy class and some parts we do have to feel it on others. And the horrible horrible spiritual ego that thrived in that class was making me sick. What with people unnecessarily coming into some contorting stretches with a face expression of a prima ballerina. Geez, GET OVER IT DARLING.... YOu'RE BLOCKING MY VIEW! Nonetheless, I enjoyed the class cos Martin covered my most favorite muscle - the Illiopsoas and he also came up with some kewl moves that would certainly help me with my Ashtanga practice, which was coming up next.
1130 to 1330 hrs - Universal Principles of Asana & Vinyasa
After a quick bite of a danish pastry, I went in for my second workshop. I have been looking forward for this as Paul Dallaghan stand as an authority of the Ashtanga Vinyasa system. And true enough, his teaching made sense of the system, teaching us how to direct our attention to the right issue. He touched on Udiyyana bandha, the part that is often neglected and boy did I go further, jumped higher and felt ever lighter!! Woo Hoo!! Paul was also a funny man showing if it looked cooler for those who always thought tucking the elbows in the ribcage for Chaturanga was absolutely necessary. HAH! there you go! A lot of old techniques were challenged by newly thought-out ones. It was amazing, true evolution of the yoga practice and vinyasa system. Although I know the ego in this class would be even more horrible but I didn't allow myself to get effected by not bothering to check out the others. HAHA!! ANd in the end, I learned more and absorbed more.!!
1400 to 1700 hrs - Yoga Anatomy for Teachers (CET) - PT2
The second part, we covered shoulders and knees but hardly absorbing as it was rushed through. At one point I fell asleep cos Martin spent too much time story telling and the point when he raved about how Anusara being bio-mechanically correct as opposed to other practices, I lose interest. As the workshop was drawing to a close, I got so restless and wanted to leave for my next class, telling myself - STICK TO ASHTANGA!!! Oh well, I gave anusara a try but it got egoistical on me. However, don't get me wrong, I did learn new things that were helpful, so i took whats necessary and dunk the rest.
1730 to 1930 hrs - Thai Yoga Massage
My last class today was almost missed cos I was feeling hungry and tired. But then, I thought, having a massage on an empty belly and feeling tired was perfect! I was initially skeptical about the teacher because her credentials didn't really impressed me. However, like all the classes, I went for the fun sake of it. Martina Lee not only had a nature of a true Yogi, she also made me feel at ease for being without a partner. I did eventually found a partner and a very good one at it, a Pure Yoga staff, Aida. She was very willing, skillful and receptive to information and feedback. A few times I fell asleep at her hands and if it wasn't for a really bad odor from this eastern european man next to us, I would be dreaming. Nonetheless, Martina's simple to follow sequence and technique has just put another skill under my massage belt.
2000 hrs -
Hurrah!!! What a day full of insights and incredibly amazing new information. I walked my way home with a big smile thinking and thanking my sponsors without whom all this evolution in yoga would not have evolved in me. (Eating his Napolitana pizza)......
Namaste,
A
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
In Search of Knowledge at EVOLUTION 2011.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
First Class got No Class
It seems like there's not going to be another X-Men movie that can beat The Last Stand (2006) where the Phoenix reigned. First Class lacks the class of the modern day X-Men and their authority to their own prowess. I mean Emma Frost should just lose that diamond look she could not carry and might as well be naked and blond cos what a BORE she was! Even the invisible girl was more memorable. The best of the lot? The villainous Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy). Thank god for them who were the most suave and happy with who they are and actually BE what they are.
With the rest, just close your eyes and imagine. You'll get more punch and excitement out of it. Until you re-pick and watch X-Men The Last Stand again, keep your eyes closed cos The Last Stand could literally live up to its name.
The Last Stand, Taking A Stand, As The Last Men. X-Men.
Die hard mutant,
A
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Find Your Anchor, Find Your Peace
Like an anchor that keeps a ship from drifting away from its dock, anchors in asanas keep us steadfast and grounded on the mat so we can be focused, thus enabling the mind to be still and calm.
Anchors also work in helping us to lengthen in certain poses while some help in finding space to go deeper. Irregardless of how they help us in our practice, the key purpose of these anchors is that they allow us to find equanimity (Upekkha) by aligning our body through the spine and our entire structure.
The ultimate purpose of the whole practice should not be forgotten and having an intention of being compassionate to the self will prevent us from being forceful or violent in doing the asanas. And if we were to ignore the importance of this purpose, it is like ignoring the principals of life, hence we become vulnerable and are likely to experience injuries.
When this preeminent is not adhered to, the body starts to retaliate by creating tension in the muscles and if that happens, the practice will become counter productive, which would make it a detrimental physical activity.
Finding the right anchor point is almost as important as finding safety. It is like having a trustworthy support where you can rely on in times of trouble. One can find several anchors in coming to a pose. These anchors can be found in many forms. It could be in a form of binding the fingers or to a more complex form of a bandha. Irregardless of which bandha you choose to help you to get into a pose, the more you find, the more space you’ll create, thus, the deeper you are able to go.
Establishing anchor/s in a pose contributes into finding peace in your struggles as it puts you in your state of stillness. So move towards that stillness because it leads you into finding your centre. Once you are centered, you will eventually find balance, which will then create space. And when space is created, you will ultimately find peace and harmony, and that is when you feel like ABSOLUTELY NOTHING could go wrong until you lose it.
So let’s strengthen our sense of awareness by not losing our grips on what is supporting us, presented here as anchors in our practice. They form as important entities next to our breath and for that reason alone we need to keep finding them and remember them so we know where they are and how to find them the next time we need them.
Have a good practice and a wonderful journey in finding your own peace.
Namaste.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Ashtanga Yoga a Favorite for Madonna and Gwyneth
Beautiful isn't it?! And with madonna doing it!! Super fabulous!
Ashtanga Yoga a Favorite for Madonna and Gwyneth
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Applauding Yoga Teachers
Who are they?
When I first started doing yoga, I did not know anyone close who had a career in teaching it. My friends were all practitioners back then and there would not be any kind of banter in class as everyone would be serious about practicing. Teachers were regarded as spiritual leaders and were too highly respected that we do not want to socialize casually with them.
However, throughout the years of practice, along the way I discovered that a few of the people I started practicing with were now teachers. Later on when you find out the many different walks of life and the variety of traits of these individuals, you realized that hey, anyone could be a yoga teacher. They can come in various shapes and sizes having a similar intention of helping us to find balance and spiritually connect us with our lives.
In whatever way, yoga teachers have also been stereotyped as an absolute vegetarian, non-drinker, non-smoker and so forth. IN view of these, we soon find out that none of the above constitutes as qualities of a good person and life is about making choices and being responsible about the choices you make upon yourselves. Ultimately, I personally believe by being kind and having compassion are the real heartfelt attitudes that everybody can relate to.
Judging, stereotyping and assuming yoga teachers of the things we hear about and expecting them to be all-angelic are simply asinine. In all respect, yoga teachers are real people too. They have their own obstacles and challenges and they also require the necessities of life like everyone else. I believe one of the main intentions of teaching yoga is to have the awareness of Ahimsa – a non-violence attitude, which eventually leads to finding balance in life resulting in peace and harmony.
At the end of the day, as individuals, teachers are just ordinary people who could offer kindness and truthfulness in giving us the tools we require to face our demons. Having said that, he or she could be your friend, your mentor, your confidante or even your guardian. More than anything, yoga teachers are thinkers, philosophers; people who live their lives based on logic, wisdom and rationality.
What are their roles in society?
They have been universally regarded as being a spiritual and health role models. In general, I believe yoga teachers play a key role in building a society in the aspect of respect, kindness and social tolerance. Ultimately it affects people individually through the bestowal of higher thinking and self-improvement.
Commonly, I believe in walking the talk and practicing what you preach as they demonstrate passion in doing what you love and loving what you do. There is nothing worse than illuminating the essence and attributes of yoga just to be found cheating, lying and being irresponsible, contradicting yourself in many aspects. Society gives a relatively high respect towards yoga teachers, which ultimately gives yoga teachers a certain responsibility to uphold that honor. Fortunately as most yoga teachers are true to their beliefs and passionate about the practice, being on top of society is not hard to do.
How do they affect our lives?
The affect our lives by constantly reminding and teaching us about the profound meaning of life, about understanding the nature of our inner self so intense that we are awed by our own potential and competence. By helping us discover things about ourselves, by helping us connect with life and ultimately compelling us to realize our purpose and the reason for our existence. They show us the many paths life have to offer and their teachings of self-awareness and self-discoveries, assist us in making the right choice with those paths.
Personally, yoga teachers have somehow managed to teach us the art of detachment and letting go, where in the long run allows us to find freedom from our obstacles and predicaments. And they do this simply by putting us in a posture that requires us to execute using the tools we need in the form of instructions for us to stay in it for long periods of time. How we use the tools will show how we deal with life in the real world.
In a yoga practice, the postures that are being thrown at us to be executed represent the challenges that we face in our lives. In reality, we somehow lose the capability of how to handle our stress! However, stepping on the mat and using all the disciplines and techniques to execute the postures have become a logical practice, where people apply to their everyday lives!
When a teacher points out how relevant your yoga practice is to your own personal life, you discover that you can improve the quality of your life just by being consistent in your practice. Eventually when we start to apply its philosophy and discipline in our everyday lives, we experience a shift that enables us to feel great and reborn. Gradually we find that yoga serves and nourishes us at every level of our being and spontaneously contributes to greater wellness in all domains of life. Ultimately we realized that yoga helps us discover gifts within ourselves that have remained unopened since our childhood, gifts of peace, harmony, laughter and love. And when all that happens, our yoga practice will be a necessity and a practical way of life to guide us joyfully till the rest of our days.
In a nutshell, as a guide to living life with a positive attitude, yoga teachers have become ambassadors for optimism and positivity. After more than 5000 years, yoga has come a long way towards how humans think and analyze life, and most significantly with its role in the process of Evolution.
Namaste,
Azmi Samdjaga
10 Tips For Beginner Yogis Before Taking That First Step
I would like to post the following tips with the intention of giving those with the intention of practicing but have been skeptical about it do to several issues. I hope, with these tips, they will be more motivated and confident in taking that first step to this invaluable practice and experience the ultimate joy.
1. There are so many things in the world that you can be nervous about. Yoga is NOT one of them. Remember that the main benefit of the practice is to reduce stress, not create one. So just take it easy and have fun in class!
2. Know that although the class you attend would be a beginner's class, not necessarily that everyone is going to be a beginner. There would be people of all levels. The important thing is NOT to follow what they are doing. Try to listen carefully to the teacher's instructions. Trust your ears, not your eyes.
3. Bring with you an open mind to try new challenges and an openness in receiving new information. This is because you will be given a lot of instructions about movement, which you have never done before. And you need to be able to trust it and execute it.
4. Have high respect for your breath and give it your utmost priority over the postures. Your breath represents your life support and your practice represents your life. Thus if you do not have a good life support, you will not have a good life. Always be conscious about your breath. Keep it smooth and long. Never hyperventilate or hold it unless otherwise instructed.
5. Honor your own body and 'listen' to your body's needs rather than it's wants. When executing the postures, and in adjusting it, always find a position where there is a balance between comfort and effort, then move towards stillness and allow the body to simply feel and adapt to the pose.
6. If you have to look at others to check on the pose, never see whats happening from the waist up. BUt copy your neighbor from the waist down as you want to see their foundation, which is made up of the core and the legs. See their positioning of the feet/foot and how they ground them firmly on the mat.
7. DO NOT FORCE or over exert yourself in the execution of the pose. You need to acknowledge the limits of your body and work with your own level. Doing things that is over-exerting is just risking yourself to injuries. That would in turn, pull your muscles and even stress your entire structure, which defeat the whole purpose of reducing stress.
8. The best attitude to cultivate when in practice is to be tolerant and accept your limitations and not become enraged by it. Everyone has a bad day. Honor the things you can do and do not fret about the things you can't .
9. Practice your asanas with an intention, not with tension. Have the intention to be kind to your own body and trust your breath to keep you safe.
10. DO NOT BE SHY about coming to a resting pose and not being bothered by how people would judge you. If you don't take care of your own body, who would?
I hope those are useful for you and helpful when you go to your next practice. If 10 is hard to remember, just choose 1 or 2 of the above first and remember them well and choose 2 more after that and repeat what you did and so forth with the rest. Once you have , put it to practice the next time you come to class, I can guarantee that you will experience a lot more awareness towards your own body and discover new things about your body's potential.
Have a great weekend peeps.
Namaste,
Azmi
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Possible Yoga Retreat before Portugal
Dear Yogis,
http://www.losaricoffeeplantation.com/
Some students and I have been thinking about this resort in Magelang, Indonesia for our next retreat. I used to work here for 7 months in 2005 as a spa consultant and resident yoga teacher. It is the ultimate sanctuary to find stillness and tranquility. 6 active volcanos majestically stand around it in a distance to form its 360 deg view of the surrounding. If we were to have 5-8 people, it would be great. Please do share your insights on it and revert back your thoughts to me. Thank you!
Namaste,
Azmi
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Yoga ban for Malaysian Muslims
Common peeps, its been almost 3 years and incredibly massive amounts of post have been published in internet and social networking sites about this. I mean are people THAT asinine to think that Yoga is banned? I am not even talking about the ban lift because the so called 'YOGA BAN' didn't even get past the Council of Malaysian Rulers, so it wasn't banned in the first place. Yes the word is 'TRIED', the council tried. But embarrassingly failed.
And this following article shows that either the Fatwa Council's chairman had not done a complete research or he blatantly lied to the public about Singapore and Egypt's non-existent yoga ban.
One of The Star's columnists have written an article about being a Muslim and Mu'min. In his article, he wrote about the 3 most destructive unjust deeds. They are:
1) LYING
2) BREAKING A PROMISE
3) BETRAYING A TRUST
But all comes down to THE most destructive - LYING. And there are 3 different degrees of lying:
1) Lying in speaking
2) Lying in not fulfilling a promise
3) Lying by breaking someone's trust
He also wrote that as far as Islam is concerned, "Dishonesty is simply antithetical to true belief, real faith, and conscious submissions to GOD who has confided trust in human beings." - (QURAN 33: 72-73 - Al-Ahzab)
A Mu'min or a Muslim can never be a habitual liar nor a betrayer of trust as far as his ethics and morality is concerned. The Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. said that the one, who does not possess faith, and the one who does not keep his pledge, IS NOT A MUSLIM.
La imana li-man la amanata lahu wala dina li-man la 'ahdalahu.
So, if Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor is lying, would The Prophet recognize him as a Muslim? No no.. I didn't say it. The Prophet did.
Believe in yourself everyone. God is in each and everyone of us.
Love,
Azmi
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sucker Punch.. A Story About Life. OUR Life.
The story of Sucker Punch is one of which is not to be dismissed as a child’s play, a mere video game or some chick flick of an American girlie prank. This is one story that packs a punch! It’s a story about love, lust, betrayal, courage and about making choices. Sounds familiar? Definitely. Sucker Punch is about life, in all its glory. As light as the audience seems to want the movie to be, this is a serious story about our very existence and the world that revolves around our lives.
The story began with a harrowing death of a beloved mother of Babydoll, the main character, whom life almost ended with the passing of her beloved mother, poisoned by her evil stepfather. Her hatred for him just escalated when he tried to rape her soon after the funeral. After failing to get past her retaliation when he tried to rape her, he turned to Babydoll’s baby sister. Her life ended when she accidently killed her sister trying to kill her stepfather with his gun.
In here, many of us could relate as to how life could get worse when we tried to revive it, when we’ve summoned our very last hope to savor whatever’s left in our power to step up our life, just to get deeper into our mess. This is the part when we gave up, when Babydoll gave up and put herself in the hands of the evil monster, her stepfather, whom having no use of her, trashed her in the dungeons of a mental institution ran by the biggest monster, Blue.
In reality, Blue represents this ultimate evil that is our obstacle, a person, a problem, a task; that we thought we could never overcome. As hopeless as we thought our life might then be, there will always be an angel who would eventually remind us that we are not alone. A Madam Gorski, whom in our lives, walk by those who love us, a friend, a confidante who opens windows, draws up the curtains, kicks locked doors, and gives us all the weapons we need to fight our own battles.
In the course of fighting our battles, sometimes we are faced by an even bigger monster, ourselves, our choices in making a stand, who stays and who moves forward? Do we look back to save our own souls or do we make that sacrifice to save our love ones? Sucker Punch unravels the bigger picture when her friends were killed, while collecting the weapons of freedom in a bid to escape from the dungeon of evil. In the end, only Sweet Pea and herself were left to complete their ultimate mission of finding freedom, a total emancipation to lead on with their lives.
Eventually the 2 girls were walled with the unforeseen guards who stood between them and the outside life. This was when the biggest sacrifice was made, the sacrifice that was told by her angel, who promised her of the total freedom. The sacrifice that was herself, to save Sweet Pea and allow her to escape for she was the only one worth living for, the only one who has life waiting for her out in the world. In the end, realizing all this while that the story was never about hers, she sacrificed herself to save one that mattered, Sweet Pea.
How close this story is to our hearts, our lives? Have we asked ourselves enough to walk our lives? Who draws the curtains? Who fights our battles? Who whispers in our ears to help us get up and carry on walking? Who decides why we live and who tells us to shit on lies? Who are our monsters and who are our angels? Why do we fight to survive and what is worth living for? Do have all our weapons? Do we fight for our freedom? So let our angels whisper in our ears, for we need them to teach us how to fight.
Just remember that we are never alone. Watch the movie peeps, its one that is going to stay in our hearts for a very long time.
Love,
A
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