My Transformation II

Occasionally a teacher asks you to move or stretch a certain body part, muscle or limp and explains how an asana can be improved by doing so. Those moments are few and far between as an hour long class is just not long enough to fit in all information. Having no prior biology background at all, most times I look at the region where the instructor is pointing at and try to guess which part he is referring to. Other times, different teachers give different interpretations of what an asana should be performed and it confuses me. Such an example is Uttita Trikonasana. I am never completely convinced that I am doing the asana correctly.
After 3 years of practise, I am at a point where I decide that not being sure is not good enough. I also want to know more about the origin and background of Yoga. In addition, I am also immensely addicted to inversions and handstands and hope to learn more.
Hence because of all of the above and more, I decided to take on the Yoga Teacher Training Course. Yoga originated from India so naturally an authentic Yoga Master from India would be the best person to impart the right skills. I signed up with Tirisula Yoga’s 200hr Yoga Teacher Training(YTT) course last January and had great expectations. Now few months into the course, I got what I expected and more.
The course consists of physical training, theory and philosophy of Yoga and sometimes peppered with interesting yoga mythical stories that only an authentic Indian yoga master, in the form of Master P can share. The other master teachers are also very knowledgeable and have answers to any question that we could possibly think of. It was almost too much for my brain to absorb. Through the intensive physical training, naturally my body was conditioned and I am stronger and healthier than before. I use to be constipated but now when I reach home after each lesson, the toilet would be the first room I visit! During 1 back bend practise, I actually thought it was going to kill me but it healed my long time lower back pain! The rest of my classmates were pretty amazing too. Out of a class of 20 students, almost all of us managed to get up comfortably on a headstand. I am so proud of us!
Each morning now as I stand in front of the mirror brushing my teeth, I can recognise the muscles I am engaging. My biceps, triceps and deltoids, I am rounding my back and stretching my rhomboids minor and major and I am also working a little on the latissimus dorsi, infraspinatus and trapezius, among other muscles…
Now towards the end of my YTT learning journey, I have achieved what I set out to learn and can honestly say I have a much better knowledge of what Yoga is.
Lois