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

... Dalam Botol - TAHNIAH. CONGRATS!

Ok... to be honest, it took me a few days to decide if I would take the chance on this movie. Since there was not anything much to do at 11.30am at the Curve this morning, I thought what the heck. I am one that is not always turned on by a Malay movie, with the exception of those by the late Yasmin Ahmad. Since she left, there has never been a movie that could remotely match her boldness and audacity to put reality, honesty, and the most painful truth on the big screen. Until now.

I am not just saying this because of its theme in relative to my own life but solely because of Khir Rahman's ability to capture the essence of the character played tastefully by Azra Lee. Its like wow!!! I thought Khir must be one that has truly connected with Ruby AND Bidin. And for Azra Lee, who has obviously studied his character meticulously, it is kinda hard to imagine anyone who has not been a transgender to pull something like this off and come out tops! If you know me, I am very very stringent about crediting Malay movies. While others thought Merong Mahawangsa should be given an A for bravery, I think the only A I would give Yusri is for his effort in trying, the rest of it should be slaughtered off at the guillotine. But this movie, never mind its compromising title, should, no, MUST be put on TV, the stage, and into the very heart of a society that is still blind towards the existence of the transgender.

Khir Rahman has oh so took the incredible effort of choosing his characters well and it was such a treat to watch the veterans like Normah Damanhuri, Fauziah Ahmad Daud and Jalil Hamid played out their characters with such professionalism that their prowess showed in an engaging manner and left me wanting for more. I was so in delight that some part of me wanted to jump out and said YES!!

Even the sub characters Ghaus (Wan Raja) and Dina (Diana Danielle) who played Ruby and Bidin's partners consecutively were played out with such tenacity that I cannot even think at that moment could be played by anyone else. Kudos to all these characters. My high respect to all of you! Gosh, did I just say that?

Ok this movie MUST be made into a stage play, I don't care, it MUST! I think the presence of characters on stage would further enhance its intrepid message through strong delivery. Any takers? Common guys, stop taking on movies like all the superstitious and imbecile themes that all it does was to scare people thoughtless. And honestly, they always ended up a laughing stock. And to make people believe in those things is HARAM mak oiii!!! Tahyul!! Adus!! never stop. Ceh! Have you all not learned? More real stories from the very backyard of our lives like ...Dalam Botol should be brought out in the open. Or maybe it was just the amazing combination of Raja Azmi brilliant depiction and Khir Rahman that has brought this incredible true story to life! It brought tears to my eyes...

Truth be told, I am now for one that is going to be on the look out for movies by Khir Rahman. My highest and most honorable respect goes to him for effort, courage, dauntlessness, and sensitivity. You really make me miss the late Yasmin Ahmad, but yeah, now that you have arrived, I thank you. I wish I could say all the above to you and Raja Azmi myself.

Love,

A

EARTH HOUR - Mom needs a rest....

http://www.earthhour.org/Homepage.aspx

DONT pretend you have not and forgot about it. PLEASEEEEEE for the life of me, adhere to this and switch off at 8.30pm sharp. You can switch yourself off too for just an hour and simply observe. ITs BEAUTIFUL!! I will be onsite at LOT 10. So if you are a YTL Member, come meet me there ok?!!

ONE person can make a change, but if all of us come together, we can change the WORLD!!!! And YES, it needs a change!!

Love you all,

Azmi Samdjaga (a.k.a. Richard's boyfriend) :)

QUAKE - Quantum of Knowledge and Experience day

Venue - My Yoga Sanctuary @ 1 Bukit Utama Condo

Date - 23 April, Saturday

Time - 1400hrs

Participate in this regular impromptu event, where there will be no holds bar to the truth and sincerity. As participants show their utmost honesty on the subject they want to either share, demonstrate or reflect, this day could be your most important day, this event could be your life changing moment or MYS could be THE place to find your solace and to let go.

The set up will be a class like type. The "Teacher" will be anyone of you and the participants. It is absolutely OPTIONAL. You can also decide if you want to do it on the day itself or simply be an audience or student. Once you have decided on your subject, let me know and I will arrange the slot for you.

Participants are free to share anything as long as its not insulting, vulgar, offensive or inconsiderate. I will tolerate anything as long as its diplomatic. I will NOT tolerate anything that is deemed to be offensive, rude or illogical. Any teachers are welcome to share their experience as well.

Participants may sing a song, read a poem or any poetry, dance, share their yoga experience/s, teach a new artistry on anything, share a recipe (I hope there will be cos i love this), share a new technique in an asana (yoga pose), demonstrate a yoga posture, perform a sequence (limit to 3 minutes) or divulge benefits / contraindications of a yoga posture.

A small donation box will be placed in the changing room and you can list down charities that you would like your donation to go to. Otherwise, we will keep the donation to any rescue mission charity like Japan or Haiti.

You can also bring your entire family if you wish and maybe want to sing to them or simply express how you feel towards them or to anyone for that matter. I hope I will not regret saying that.:) Oh yeah, you can bring snacks too! Healthy ones ok? Best is to prepare and share it among others.

So lets make a point to come down to this beautiful day in conjunction with the official opening of MY YOGA SANCTUARY. I will highlight the event with my own Yoga Demonstration of a familiar sequence.

Thank you yogis and hope to see you there!

Namaste everyone,
Be Nice, Be Kind, Be Compassionate. Just BE.
Azmi

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts Official Video

A Walk with Above and Beyond

Yesterday morning, I had the chance of walking 2 kilometers from home in Damansara Perdana to Bukit Utama, where I teach. I tell you, it opened some insights that we sometimes failed to see. I don't normally walk to work but due to a financial crisis, I decided to walk, and what a walk I had.

Time - 0746 hrs (kick-0ff)

Temperature - a cool and crispy 25 degrees celcius. Cloudy sky. Very cloudy.

Wind chill factor - moderate.

Humidity - 88%

I started walking shortly after a breakfast of Roti Canai and mineral water. The cool weather brought some enthusiasm to my plan. My ipod was playing a podcast series 361 of the trance group Above and Beyond entitled - Trance Around The World with Above and

Beyond. Trust me, if you guys need any wift to move your booty, this is the sound to tune in to do just that!

I noticed that there were very few cars on the road, but then again, it WAS a Sunday when people would rather stay in bed. However, my travel was not one without stopping. At least to capture the sights of my walk.

My first stop was after 20 minutes, arriving at the junction of Persiaran Surian and Jln Kota Damansara. The best thing was, despite the high humidity, I have not broken into a sweat yet. It actually felt nice, especially when gusts of that crispy cool breeze caressed my warm face. Whenever that happened, closing my eyes to briefly enjoy it seemed like the perfect thing to do.

Even after 30minutes, the area still appears like a ghost town. By then, my legs started to feel tight, especially my feet walking on uneven terrain in those Converse sneakers.

However, as I watched a group of foreign workers walking from their respective apartments to shopping malls around Mutiara Damansara, which I gathered where they would be working, I thought twice about my complains. These people walk everyday to work, some as far as a kilometer away and yet they still broke into a smile when they glanced past me. I began to wonder about their lives, how they left everything they've ever known in their lives to travel all the way way here, far from the people they love just to find work in order to support those people they left back home. With the little money they earn from their back breaking job in the service industry and making our lives convenient, little would be left for them to survive here after sending most back home to their families. This would be their lives in years to come. How trivial my problem is compare to the throes of their lives..

0831hrs - The view of Bukit Utama condominium appeared in between the trees as I looked up at this point. I have been cautious on the pathway as there were some parts which were unfinished, and there were a few manholes that could have been a disaster for anyone who might fall into it. The walk had in a way reminded me of life itself, its never a smooth road. Along the way you would meet people from all walks of life, and as you move on with your journey, serious disaster awaits if you are not vigilant enough.

0856hrs - I finally arrived at my destination drenched in sweat! Nevertheless, I felt immensely happy to have completed the journey. Shortly after opening the studio, I took a few moments to reflect on that eventful walk.

In a nutshell, Life has its ups and downs and living through it means you HAVE to take that road no matter what. Its not about trying to avoid it but its more about choosing the best way t go through it. And whatever your decision may be, rest assured you WILL arrive at your final destination. Everyone arrives at their destination differently. Some may arrive in a sweat, others may arrive in a peaceful state. The rest may either arrive early or very late. Irregardless of how you arrive, The Destination IS where you want to be after a long long walk.

Above all and beyond everything, lets honor and respect our lives by being kind to others because as it happens, it's the only one we've got and we do not want to live it by being bad.

Om Shanti,

Azmi Samdjaga

Are We Ever Going To Wake Up?

It is 16/3 - 2.36 am and I cannot sleep after watching the heartbreaking news of the catastrophe in Japan and especially after watching the attached video footage. Just cannot get the sense of the devastation. The heightened emotion of loss, the gripping stories of survival and the horrible thoughts of the worst that is yet to come, have glorified my awareness of how vulnerable we are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dQDWmuNV_Y

Just in the last 20 years, mother earth has unleashed her pent up emotion with her wrath of some of the most ferocious and vehement natural disasters recorded in history.

- Mount Pinatubo Eruption - 1991 measuring 6 out of 8 on the VEI scale,

- Hurricane Katrina - 2003 measuring the highest category 5,

- Bridge Creek Tornado - 1999 measuring the highest category F5 which lasted for 3 days!,

- Aceh Earthquake - 2004 measuring 9.1 on the richter scale and triggered the worst tsunami in the 21st century effecting the entire shorelines of the Indian Ocean killing half a million people and completely wiping a civilization of the Onge Tribe and now,

- Japan Earthquake - 2011, and we are still bracing ourselves for its aftermath.

And yet we still see or have seen demise among humans, what with the recent chaos over political dominion in Libya and others like it, we still have or had people like Gaddafi, Mubarak, Mugabe, AL-Bashir, ALL Ayatollahs and George Bush in our wake to rule mankind with their ridiculous ideologies?

Last weekend my housemate and I had the honor to sit with Dhyan Vimal who said something that hit the spot in the wake of all that is happening; "We are the missing link between the apes and humankind. We are still evolving towards being human. We are just still man because we can still eat when we see people begging for food and we can still be obese while 2 billion people are starving. We keep the routine of telling our maids what to do that we eventually forgot that they are people too." Are we ever going to be human?

And after all the heartbreaking loss, I still hear utterly annoying complains and whines of people for the most trivial issues like not having enough food, not having the right shirt to go with the skirt, not having enough money to go on lavish holidays, and not having the right Manolos to walk down the aisle. Gosh!!! Please pass me the sick bag now!

Having said that, the things that really get on my nerves are really the mean attitudes of the ignorant selfish individuals who live their lives being unkind to others. Why do they have to hurt people by saying nasty words? Is it really necessary to be malicious and insensitive? They are not responsible for the existence of others, so what gives them the right to judge and be intolerant? I sometimes wonder how these people have been brought up? And please, don't even bring God into this. Its IRRELEVANT.

As of last night, my ears have developed an allergy towards bitchiness, insensitivity, intolerance and nastiness. If any of these were to pass through my ears, a reaction in the form of the same attitude will be returned to the source, ten fold. So if you find me being unbearably bitchy or mean, you know that you have caused an allergic reaction and totally deserve every bits of it.

People are dying, families are losing, children are starving. Hopes are running thin with these people in the god forsaken countries. How many wretchedness do we have to see, how much pain do we have to hear and how long the despair do we have to bear until we open our hearts and let kindness seeps through its vents?

Lets STOP all these pettiness and trivial immaterialities right now. Just imagine, if the world ends tomorrow, will all these matter today? So think of others and just be nice as it costs ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Love All,

Azmi,

16/3 - 4.06 am

A Great Weekend

After a harrowing day of tears and heartbreaks watching the horror of Japan's Quake, I intend to have a good weekend dedicating it to my friends in Japan, whom I have heard news of this morning.

7 malaysian hottest bloggers are coming to the 2.30pm hatha class today. This was conveyed to me by my boss, Alex. I don't really know what this really means in scale but I hope these bloggers would put My Yoga Sanctuary on the bigger map with a good write up of my class. Pressure pressure... haha. What pressure?

However, the highlight of today would be attending Dhyan Vimal's talk. In Conversation with Dhyan Vimal happening at 6pm at MAPS, Solaris Dutamas. Can't wait to hear what he has to say about relationships in general... I want to hear more on LOVE..

Have a great weekend people!! Love you all!!

Making A Practice YOUR Practice

I had the opportunity to teach 4 private classes today. From a married couple who does yoga to find stability and flexibility, a girl who are highly motivated in pursuing her Ashtanga practice, a woman who is paralyzed from the waist down and who just want to continue doing yoga, and lastly to a girl who wanted to gain strength of the core.

Although I gave different classes to different individual, one common advice I gave was to follow instructions exactly and to stay with their breath. It has become a common thing for me to list down the things that a practitioner needs to bring with them upon coming to a class.

The list below might be helpful to keep note to have a safe and enjoyable practice.

1. Come to class early to settle down easy before starting the class

2. Be open about your injuries to the teacher as he could help you move appropriately

3. Remember to NOT try and copy other people as you will never look the same

4. Trust your ears more than trust your eyes

5. Practice at your own level and know how to listen to your own body, listen to instructions well

6. Having the right intention for practicing yoga

7. Having the humility to except your limitations

8. Not losing awareness to the breath and the entire body

9. Not letting your ego take the best of you

10. To listen to your own body's needs that catering to what your body wants

When you have practiced all these, you realized that the practice will become your practice and soon you will have a much better understanding of your own body and experience some shift in your life, be it emotionally, physically or mentally.

Having a consistent practice was also one of the advise I gave to them. In reality, something that you do naturally like cooking, eating and drinking are all actions that do not require prompting. We do it when we feel like it. The more we do it, the natural in become, thus consistency in your practice it pretty important in order to experience a change in physical, mental or emotional prowess. Having said that, we must take this practice of yoga to a higher level other than just asanas.

Namaste

Azmi

A Practice with more focus and awareness

Of late, My Yoga Sanctuary have been getting new members. It was motivating to see new people signing up with the intention of taking care of their health, be it physically, emotionally or mentally. In the practice of yoga, eventually it teaches you how to stay calm and compose in a challenging situation.

Since last week, I had from only 1 to 11 students in a class and they ranged from the absolute novice to the most advanced practitioner. Those that came alone benefitted the most as they would have the privilege of turning it into a private class. This way, they can personally work either with a particular injury or other physical issues. Some would want to work on a pose that they have not been able to do after many practices. But one thing for sure, I will not cancel any classes unless it is necessary.

Every yoga class has its different feel, different intensity and different levels of energy. To me, even if there is only ONE student, I will still rather to have a class then canceling any of them.

In a nut-shell, never ever skip your practice as you may never know what you'd achieve in that particular class. Also being consistent in your practice is important for us to monitor progress and to have a routine practice allows us to see our weakness id and particularly observe our bodies , our heart to fix the particular issues.

NAMASTE,

Azmi

Yoga Retreat - Albufeira, South Portugal 2012!

This is where its all going to happen in July, 2012 (NEXT YEAR!). Save your money guys!! 10 days! Stop over for ONE night in AMSTERDAM on the way up. Get READY!!