Jack of All Trade

Who you are and what you are. How do you label yourself? Does your job title defines who you are?  For many who work outside of the home, I am sure your job function comes with some kind of title. This title is so important to many of us and we mode and shape ourselves into that title over time even if we hated the job because it gives us a sense of who we are.  For some strange reason, the most dreaded title all woman hate is "stay-at-home" mom. Myself included.  The stereotypical view of what a stay-at-home mom makes this title absolutely dreadful to own.  So, today, I declare myself this title, "Jack of All Trades", as a modern day career woman, I too had my own glorified corporate years, but at this point of my life, I choose to do it differently. Today, I walk my baby steps into the yoga world of things.  I am a little braver today to walk beyond the cubicles. I am using all the skills that I have gained from years of corporate experience to plan my second act, because this second act requires me to be "Jack of All Trade" when the time comes.

Rest, Self Love, and more.

Today, I want to blog about the topic of self love. In almost any yoga class, the teacher always talks about self love; be kind to yourself, don't over do it, etc.  Well, my right hip area has been having this nagging discomfort for a while now and is affecting my practice, all the forward bend where it requires deep external rotation is not working properly and it's been there since December of last year.  This could be over use of the muscle groups, and I am trying all sorts of things to make it better or go away - like modifying my practice, massages, and anything to make it feel better.  It was not working!  Well, to make this long story short, I went for a vacation for the past 2 weeks and with it came was "zero" yoga practice.  This is when I notice my hip flexor area are having less discomfort! Yes!! So this is exactly what I needed, to be off the mat and let my body heal.  Two weeks with no yoga practice seems like a long time to me, and I feel guilty not maintaining my practice.  Hum, this is what "self love" means, to feel ok to be not on the mat.  There's no need to push so hard and allowing yourself to rest is a great way to heal and prevent further injuries.

Open up those hamstrings

I have been teaching for a month now.  Talk about seeing is believing, or maybe "seeing, I can't believe what I am seeing."  As a yoga student,  I practice what feels right for me, I am flexible, forward bending, side bending, twisting, not a problem for me.  I go to class just to be on the mat with teacher cueing me poses after poses. I know how to flow, according to my own body.  So now, I am on the other side of things, being a teacher, teaching body awareness to my students, most of them, beginners have been an eye opener.  I have been teaching yoga fundamentals, the mechanics of a downward dog, inhale/exhale with movements.  The most important, the breath.  The general population always associate yoga with "Flexibility" and "Zen".  But what exactly being zen means? Why we think flexibility is a prerequisite for getting on the mat for some yoga?

First, flexibility - where does flexibility come from in your body?! bones? tendons? muscles? Perhaps is a combination of things, since our body is a complicated networks of bones, tendons, muscles, fibers, and mind. 

Second, what does being "Zen" feels like? This is google search's meaning: Zen (noun) - a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition.  Geez, it's not even a verb.  This is urban dictionary's meaning: One way to think of zen is this: a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind. Zen is a way of being. It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts.

I am not feeling zen right now because I am not sure what is my point for this blog....Grrrrrr.

Long story short - flexibility, I am seeing a lot of tight hips and tight hamstrings. Maye we should focus on these muscle groups instead of that tight 6-packs abs.  The hip is an extreme complicated network of muscle groups which affects both upper and lower body.  If these muscles are not "flexible".  It can create bad postures that eventually will lead to back pains, forget about jumping into a flow yoga routine, your back is not going to like it.  So now, you know, the illusion of being "flexible" for yoga really comes from taking care of those hamstrings of yours. 

Experiment: 30 days challenge of hip/hamstring stretches for my soccer family: coach and my son. I look forward to see the effects.

The benefits of a private session

So today I finally had a chance to review the P90X- YogaX routine, I have been hearing about it, it's supposed to be Ashtanga yoga style inspired.  In today's fitness world, as soon as you put the word "yoga" to anything, it will sell like hot cakes. I have seen class descriptions such as 'Yoga Aquatics' or 'Yogalites' - the hybrid child of 2 hot trends: Yoga + Pilates.  In today's busy world, we want to squeeze in as much core/body workout into a 60 minute time frame.  P90X's first YogaX routine is 90 minutes long, insanely long according to some of the reviews I have read.  Hence the creation of YogaX3, shorter version of Ashtanga inspired 30 minute high intensity Yoga workout for the mass. 

I can't help but have to blog about what I saw with P90X's Yoga X and related videos on YouTube.  Yes, the wonders of YouTube, one person buys the DVD and shoots it up on web for the mass to use for free.  Why should I pay for yoga if I can get it for free? So, in MHO, please....do yourself a huge favor and find a good live teacher to teach you all the right from the wrong.  I am hesitant to say this, maybe if you are a seasoned yogi and have a solid practice, you could use this video for "flow" purpose, I guess. Actually, maybe I wouldn't suggest it. I am a seasoned yogi and have been practicing solidly for the past 4 years with a lot of good teachers, even I can't support the sequence of the YogaX routine.  Seven minutes into the sequence, they are in a humble warrior pose; another 3 minutes, a bound extended side angle pose.  Honestly, these 2 poses are considered advanced poses.  While you certainly can muscle your way into the poses because......for whatever reason, I would look at what are the different muscle strengths and flexibility are required to get into these 2 advanced poses;  you have to have extremely flexible hip flexors, hamstrings, and back muscles.  In a 60 minute class, these 2 poses would surface around 45 minutes into the class. If you are not warm up correctly before getting into these deep poses and you are prone for injuries.

The majority of us are not conditioned like the 3 fitness celebrities from the YogaX video, case in point, I then clicked over to another video with a big guy demonstrating his Yoga X workout.  I applaud his effort for trying yoga.  The word "Yoga" sounds intimidating, but he's doing it.  15 minutes into the routine, he is struggling big time. There is no correct alignment cue for posture setup, his back is hunching over in forward fold, his hips are out of alignment for standing postures. Basically, he's just going thru the motion without the guidance of a live teacher.  To further drive the point home, another lady with the same video on her couch and begin.....only she doesn't even know where to stand on the yoga mat to begin her sequence, foot placements are all out of whack!  YIKES!! 

If you are a beginner to yoga and have been wanting to try yoga but intimated by the whole idea of yoga, this is where a private sessions can be helpful. A few sessions with a qualified teacher is the best investment that you can do for yourself.  When my younger son first started swim lesson at the age of three, he was not liking the idea of putting his face in the water, we went thru a couple sessions of small group class, but his confidence in the water was still not there; to get him over that hump, I enrolled him in a few one-on-one lessons,  it is in the private lessons that he gained the confidence to put his face in the water.  The best bang for my dollar!  He now thrives in his small group lesson and enjoys swim lessons very much. 

Yes, a video at home is good, but only good enough to cue you from one pose to the next.  A good teacher will see you, hear you, teach you the fundamentals and help set you up for success as you step foot into any group classes.

Same Goal, new intention.

New year, new goals? How many of us continue to carry same or smiliar goals year to year? Loss weight is probably on everyone's list year after year.  Perhaps, we should look at goals as intentions.  Perhaps for this new year, instead of a goal of "lose weight", you may want to set it to "eat clean". By setting the intention of eating clean, let it manifest into making the right choice of food that you will consume to help you achieve your goal of losing weight.  Once you start thinking about your goals as intentions,  they become more achievable and practical to practice for the next 365+ days.
One of my personal "goals" have been the same for the past couple of years. One being "hug more", while this is not a specific goal that can be measure by numbers, it is an intention that helps me to stay focus to anything and everything that will allow me to practice "hug more". This has manifest into improving my own behavior of being more compassionate and having more patience towards others, especially to the people whom I take for granted everyday.  By having this intention of "hug more", I notice myself being less critical of others, less Type A and more at ease when shit hits the fan.  Granted, I am still not perfect in all of these, but with the help of a little note on my bathroom mirror, I am making progress towards my goal.

Grounding my yoga ego

It is with the Ashtanga primary series where my practice grew stronger. After many power vinyasa classes, my then yoga ego said, “yes, let’s do this!” How difficult can this be?  First, I was pretty amazed by how much heat I can generate with 5 sets of Sun A and B, the series is challenging, but doable. Thinking to myself, "I've got this."  I was fascinated by it, especially all the jump back and jump thru transitions!  The set sequence is the same every time I am on the mat, it leaves no room for creativity, but room for a quiet mind so I can listen to my breath, and observe my practice.  This practice opened my eyes about the importance of foundational work, breath work, bandhas, and dristhi. I loved that each posture is hold for 5 breath count, it allows the body to get deeper into the posture by using the breath. But going to class once a week, was not going to progress my jump back and jump thru transition skills!  The teacher suggested that I should start to remember the sequence and have a home practice, talk about self-motivation!  As I continue my once a week class, I slowly started to experience the grounding and calming feelings of all the Prasarita A, B, C, and D.  This practice has also opened my heart and made me think about the possibilities beyond my mat at this phase of my life, it made me want to explore the possibility of becoming a yoga teacher. 

 

In the beginning of this year, I finally buckled down and established a home practice with the primary series. Between practicing at home and class, working up to a 4 days a week practice, I began to discover many things about myself.  Each time I am on the mat, I began to have a mind shift about yoga.  With each asanas, I noticed these things: Upward facing wheel pose: I thought I've got it, but I was not even close!  King Pigeon: one pose I was working toward last year, taught me to be patient.  Tortoise pose: taught me about patience and why forcing myself into a pose is not a good thing, even with the teacher's adjustment. I learned to listen to my body, when to back off a pose even when my yoga ego wanted to move forward.  Sure, one day, but not today.  Little did I know, the slow and steady approach made me realized the importance of a consistent practice.  I am still working on jump back, I think it will take me another X number of years, no idea.  But today, I am enjoying the progress of my jump thru. It is so beautiful to see the intention I have set for my practice moving forward.  The ability to stay present, to work with my "today's" body.

Teaching Yoga

My desire to teach has been with me for many years, and it was through my love of practicing the Ashtanga Primary Series that I found the right subject. I wanted to spread the joy and benefits of yoga to others. Leaving my high tech career of many years behind, I took the leap of faith and completed my 200-hour teaching certification with Linda McGrath at YogaSource Los Gatos in 2014. 

 

Just as we are unique in each of our own life experiences, yoga serves different purpose for each one of us. When teaching, my aim is to help my students discover their own meaning of yoga. Through my own practice, I have learned that patience, foundational work and consistency is vital to a sustainable practice. While I love the constancy of the Primary Series, I also love the freedom of creative flow sequence of Vinyasa.  These two styles of yoga practice heavily influence the way I teach my classes.

In class, my goal is to teach body awareness and movements, one of many important aspects of yoga that we can bring into other areas of our daily lives. My role is to help facilitate the process of your practice with kind intelligence – being safe, preventing injuries while having fun on the mat. Hopefully, along the way, we will together learn to discover more of ourselves and experience the transformation this practice has to offer for each of us.

 

Namaste.