Boy, isn’t the 200 hour TTC intensive… I never knew I could perspire so much.
There are salt deposits on my mat after every asanas class.
This coming from someone who has not been known to sweat much.
Now that I am at the mid-point of the course, what aspects of my life outside asanas has changed?
A very positive change that came about after 5 days of classes, was that my nose stopped running every morning. This is a big achievement from someone who used to soak up entire tissue boxes in one meeting. Mucous has somehow reduced, not through diet, as I have not altered my diet very much. I attribute this to breathing exercises such as Kapalabhati, and a reduced exposure to air conditioning.
Whilst my hands and feet remain cold, a typical trait of Kapha and Vatta doshas, I notice a gradual increase in tolerance to cold. I have also discovered that just performing Ujayi breathing in a cold air conditioned setting warms the body up. I am now exploring mudras that will keep me warm when I move to a country with cold winters.
With the introduction of the daily 20-minute morning ritual, a previously unknown wakefulness has entered me in the morning. I used to only wake up after Netra Snaan (eye cleansing), but now I leave the bedroom alert and awake. No more walking into closed doors, I hope.
After gazing at the flame at night, I also enjoy a more restful sleep. I believe meditation is the way forward to train my ever fleeting mind.
Although I do not have any asanas to be extremely proud of, I feel my body getting less wobbly with each practice, and my brain more usefully engaged in absorbing new information than when I was working a desk job. Granted that one day I will have to return to the rat race of 9-to-5 again, I believe that keeping to the good habits will help me deal more confidently with future worldly challenges.
– Teo Zhe Hui (200h YTTC, Sep 2017)
