Dining in Yoga

Appetiser

My first taste of yoga was back in 2005 (9 years ago!) when I received a complementary pass to True Fitness.  They had a plethora of group exercise classes – BodyCombat, BodyPump etc but I find myself coming back to Yoga classes. Perhaps, my interest was piqued as yoga was akin to Facebook back then as everyone was talking about it.  True enough, yoga does not go out of fashion as I am writing this today.  Just twist, turn, bend then get into a pose. That’s yoga? Pretty easy! (Boy, was I so wrong reflecting back on my thoughts now) I promised myself that when I start earning my own money, I would sign up for yoga classes! I didn’t comprehend the meaning of yoga at that time but I remember vividly loving the feeling of serenity and renewed energy that I came out of the class, which made me feel on top of the world!

 

 

Main Entrée

Five years down the road, after obtaining a degree, a wild ride of internship and moving to Singapore, I kept to my promise =) I look forward to the weekly yoga classes held near where I lived in Clementi. I learnt the dynamic and elegant movements of Warrior 1,2,3 , tree pose, extended side angle, just to name a few. The biggest motivation for me to come back over and over again was because I loved the experience of the uplifting sensation, feeling of rejuvenation and relaxed state of mind after each class. The whole experience was levelled up after a replacement teacher taught and she ended the class with a breathing exercise, which was a pivotal moment for me because it was the very first time I felt a sense of centeredness – mind, body and spirit. Wow! That blew my mind.

Overtime, quite unfortunately, my weekly classes has begun to show inconsistent attendance due to increasing responsibility at work. It was an on and off relationship. I know, there is absolutely no excuse because if you want to make this work, you will find a way. As they say, health is wealth and as a health professional, I am well aware of the repercussions of not taking care of the body well. Having to see sick patients coming in and out of the hospital, having to see them take so many medications and some patients even joked- these medications are their daily meals, are forms of reminder for myself not to take health for granted.

Robin Sharma, the author of The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari, a huge advocate of the habit of exercising said when you transform your fitness, your transform your business.  When you have world class fitness, you will have more energy as exercise generously releases beautiful neurotransmitters like serotonin (happy hormone), endorphins, dopamine that make you feel good, increases your productivity and you will need less sleep. That really motivated me to start moving my butt and I knew I want to rekindle my relationship with yoga. That is when I googled to search for a serious avenue for me to learn the right techniques for yoga self-practice purposes. I chanced upon Tirisula Yoga and decided that this is a long term investment for my health. My journey has only begun.

 

Dessert

The biggest change for me since the course is I have learned to take a calmer approach to life, work and situations happening around me. I used to have high level of patience however working life has hardened this part of me and now, regular yoga practice has brought it back to me, to my very delight.  As someone puts it very eloquently, the rhythm of life comes from the rhythm of breathing.

Another significant change is that I feel the progress of being stronger physically and mentally. I know this because I used to be able to only hold a plank position for 10 seconds tops, before crumbling down on my knees, feeling intense burn all over. Headstand was way beyond my capabilities and I could only dream myself doing it.  How can my little arms bear the weight of my body in Bakasana? The process of asana practice has really taught me a lot of patience and increased my willpower capability.

Additionally, I noticed myself eating clean after a practice. I almost always ask myself, “Do you really want your system to process all the junk after putting so much effort into practice?” The answer is immediately obvious to me and I am now exploring creative ways to include more sattvic foods in my diet.

 

“Change is hard in the beginning, messy in the middle and gorgeous in the end”

 

It has been an incredible journey and yoga is still a discovery process where it opens up like food servings in restaurants, opening new parts of potential in me that I never knew I had. That to me, is magic! ;D 

 

 

Veron. T July ’14 200 Hr Weekend TTC