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!!