Lifelong Journey

A bucket list was defined by some as all the stuff you want to accomplish before you expire. Yoga used to be one of those items on my bucket list, for some reason…
Living in the rat race is part of being a Singaporean, no exception to me. Having worked in the advertising industry for more than a decade, I enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came with a fast-pace lifestyle. My fitness routine was no difference then, delivering the perfect jab or side kick at a body combat class and spinning at a high resistance were challenges that made me feel like I could conquer the world. Hot yoga sessions at the mass gym I was with did intrigue me to find out more about the practice but one careless hamstring injury sustained during one session left me wondering if yoga was for me. I continued to engage in high impact workouts at the gym until I joined a new company where my colleague reintroduced yoga into my life through corporate yoga sessions conducted on every Wednesday, the company’s so-called `Staff Wellness Day’. In a more personalised setting of a corporate class, I reconnected with the key benefits of yoga. The fact that it is not merely an athletic system, but a holistic one that works with the mind and the energy flow – which is the bridge between body and mind, still intrigued me. I decided that it was time I revisited my unfinished business with yoga, when my expiry date was still kept at bay…
After some research, it was back to the same studio which I had wanted to join five years ago but did not due to other commitments. The studio has since established itself professionally in the industry and was offering the 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Course. The timing was impeccable, I, eager to learn all about the holistic approach of yoga towards better ageing, was ready to get up at 6am every weekend mornings to do so – unheard of just a year ago when my typical Saturday out-of-bed time was nothing less than 10am.
Upon joining the course, I had a goal in mind, for the physical aspect, since I had not much knowledge about the spiritual side of things about yoga. My goal was as simple as achieving a relatively graceful forward bend/ Uttanasana. How difficult could it be you would ask, Uttanasana being the most fundamental pose/ asana within the Ashtanga Vinyasa primary series. Fast forward three months later, I am still where I was with Uttanasana (not any more graceful) but have gained more than I bargained for. I received positive energies and influences by the amazingly passionate fellow yogis, including the master trainers, I got to experience the high and peace of being in Salamba Sirsasana (supported headstand) and I learnt, as cliché as it may sound, that yoga is a lifetime journey for me, and no one else. I do not aspire to become a teacher whom students would love after 200 hours, but I do want to continue to master Uttanasana in time to come, at my own pace, savouring the process knowing that life is as such too.
For now, it’s one item off my bucket list and onto my lifelong journey list : )
Carolyn (200hr Yoga TTC 07/14 Weekend)