Hello, world

Yoga had me at my first downward-facing dog pose. I was suddenly curiously aware of my beating heart and screaming muscles. As melodramatic as it sounds, I was suddenly awake and staring at my weird toes (whoops, wrong gazing point).
I realised I’d been going through the motions in life with a muddled head and little self-worth, hunched over the school desk, then work desk. I almost always felt tired, anxious and breathless. But I was lucky enough to have someone constantly remind me to sit up straight and stand up tall. With these simple adjustments to my posture, I found I was breathing a little easier and feeling better about myself. So I decided to go for the whole package — and yoga it was.
Though I’ve only been practicing a few months, I’ve never felt better. Asana not only helped me become physically fitter, it restored belief in myself and my abilities. It’s also teaching me the value of balancing the optimism of potential with the reality of limitations. The strong emphasis on body alignment has definitely improved my posture, energy levels and clarity of mind too. I think oxygen is finally getting to my brain!
Pranayama has been such a tension reliever for me. I’ve always heard about the wonders of deep breathing during anxious times, but never fully understood it until now. With just five minutes of Nadi Shodhana practice a day, I’m sleeping so much better and feel much less agitated when having to cope with stressful situations.
Yoga has planted the seed of my self-confidence and I’m working towards building that connection to my inner self. In a funny way, yoga was basically the big stretch I needed to get myself out of bed and into the world.
Hui Yan
200Hr YTT (Nov)