Asanas. Keep trying. We will get there.

As of 26 March 2018, my group had already completed 8 YTT classes over the past 3 weekends & I had learnt many new concepts about yoga. The new information had been beneficial to me, and I believe to the other participants in the course as well. 

Previously, my concept of yoga was limited. Therefore, I thought that yoga referred to the asanas that I had been doing. Through the classes, I had learnt that these asanas are only part of the tools & techniques to help our mind, body and spirit to align and be balanced.

I had been practicing asanas with different instructors during my group classes in various studios. As the group classes tend to have many students, the instructors may not be able to fully explain the proper techniques, benefits & contraindications of the poses that I had been doing. 

For example, previously, I did not know that practitioners with high blood pressure or female practitioners who are having their period should avoid inversions. For other poses like Paschimottanasana (forward bend) & Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana (extended hand to big toe pose), I had learnt the other variations of these poses that can further strengthen my muscles. With the new information that I had learnt, I will be able to prevent injuries and gain much more from all the poses that I had already been practicing.

When I signed for the class, my main intention was to improve on my asanas. Now that I do know more about yoga and especially on the asanas, I should definitely put the knowledge to use to benefit from them. It can be a great joy to share with people around me who are also keen with yoga. Since I had embarked on my yoga journey about 2 years ago, I had benefited tremendously in numerous ways such as getting fewer sick days, the sharp shoulder and lower back pain that bothered me for years disappeared, and being toner which enabled me to fit into smaller pants.

I can see that within this short period of time during the YTT, my body had been improving with the more intense training with the proper techniques. I was previously unable to lift my legs up even against the wall during a headstand. Now with more practice, I am able to bring my legs up. Hopefully, I will be able to work on my shoulders and prop myself up without assistance from the wall. Achieving some of the poses that I haven’t been able to do previously is worth the effort as it is something that I look forward to complete by the end of the course. With just a month left, I wish to do some of the asanas that I had been unable to do for years. I will keep trying! 🙂

Chang Rui Fen

March 2018 (Weekend class)

2 April 2018