My transfer from Wenara Bali to airport wasn’t so smooth as planned. An employee of the guest house forgot to book my taxi, so there I was again fixing my things on my own. In Asia, you have to double-check everything. Read: EVERYTHING! People are very nice, but they can’t get really anything done. I got a little bit mad with them and finally got a nice driver to take me to the airport. I didn’t want to pay any extra fee because of their mistake and that’s always hard in Asia, because they never return any money or give refund. But once again my background in law was useful and I got out of the people what I wanted. You just have to be very calm and determined.
My flight from Denpasar to Kuala Lumpur went fine and then I waited through the night at the airport. I love airports, but waiting at the airport over 15 hours isn’t my favorite thing. Luckily airport in KL is superconvenient, so I found a sofa and I was able to sleep at least three hours.
At the airport I finished reading a book called Choke written by Sian Beilock. Writer is psychologist and her main research topic is choking or how to avoid choking, what happens in your brains, when you choke and how you can learn to control your behaviour, so that choking isn’t taking over. Writer is specialized in sports psychology, so she gave a lot of examples regarding sports and athletes.
Personally I found intresting, that Beilock found that meditation is very effective way to control and avoid choking. She wrote that: “Experienced meditators can clear their minds of unwanted information when practicing their ancient art, but new research suggets that, even when not meditating, people who practise this tradition are better than those who don’t at facilitating their brains’ return to a calm, cool, and collected state when stressful events come their way.” “A recent study by Davidson and his colleagues showed that only three months of intensive meditation (a practise in which you observe what ever thoughts and perceptions arise in your consiousness without making negative judgements about them) reduced people’s tendency to have their attention captured by unwanted thoughts or events.” Beilock mentioned on her book famous people among other Tiger Woods, Hilary Clinton, Al Gore and Goldie Hawn, who meditate and find it helpful.
Beilock’s book included in up-to-date data about different researches and technics how to handle choking in sports, business environment and in general. She gave tips, how to succeed in stressful situations like job interviews and exams, so that you can actually use the extra excitement for your benefit. This was again excellent book about the connection between body and mind. I think that all teachers should read a book like this to be able to go to a student’s level (who suffers choking) and learn ways to help him out this kind of like situation.
After I finished my book, I couldn’t resist going to airport’s bookstore. Books are my absolute weakness. I love bookstores and I can spend hours just wandering around bookstore, reading backcovers and holding different books in my hand. I bought a book, which is the No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller, called Not Without My Sister, which is a true story about three girls’ experience living in (and later escaping) a cult called The Children of God. I will write more about this book, when I will finish it.
Feeling very dizzy after my night at the airport I catched my next flight to Brisbane. Luckily I was able to sleep a little bit during the flight, because the seat next to me was empty. Food on airplane is always making me sick, so again after this flight I felt very swollen and couldn’t function normally. However I was happy to get my luggage and pass the border of Australia. I passed the border easily, not even a single question about my visa. Guards put me to walk next to a dog, which is searching drugs (maybe because of my passport including Indian, Thai and Balinese stamps), but I didn’t catch dog’s attention, so I am now officially Aussie baby. One more night at the airport waiting for my bus to Byron Bay and then I am at my new home.
28 Apr 2011
Power Yoga with Denise
Yesterday I saw my friend Danielle, with who I did the teacher training in Thailand. We met in Kafe and also her boyfriend Rob was there. It was so nice to catch up and also hear Rob’s experience regarding Thai boxing camp, which he did in Thailand during the time Danielle was with us. I know, that I would love Thai boxing. Just kicking and jumping around so that your pulse is at least 150 the whole time sounds fun for me…
My morning practices on my own have been surprisingly good. I don’t like to practice alone, I need other person’s energy around me, but I have been happy to notice, that I can do it. I have been going through in my head the advices and tips, which I got from Paul and it has been pretty ok. I am practicing on my balcony, so I have to move all the furnitures from there inside around seven every morning to have enough space to practice. My neighbours think for sure, that I am totally crazy.
This morning I woke up, and my throat was sour. My belly was upset again, even if it has been better lately. I did my pranayama practice and after that decided to try something different today. One girl at Yogabarns recommended Denise’s power yoga class for me before and I wanted to try that. In the class description it was written among other things, that this class will take you out of your routine, and right into that sacred space between the external force of gravity and the internal force of the breath. Oh boys, it really did! I loved this class, we started with sun salutations, but then the rest of the class was mixed. We did quite many different balancing poses, which I like, because those are so tricky for me and I really have to concentrate maximum. We also tried some poses from Second and Thrid Series, but it was more playing around than being serious. This class was very rebel, but safe at the same time. My body felt great after the class, even when during the class I was shaking and sweating so much. Denise is excellent teacher and I would love to practice with her again. She did some demos for us and it was great to see, how easy it is, when you can…
I have been so happy with this experimental yoga period herein Bali. My last week with different teachers and different styles has been the best in Bali. It has absolutely done so good for me and my body. I think that it’s sometimes very good go out of the box and have some fun with different styles. It gives totally new approach to asana and you learn to use your body in various different ways. With other styles, there is not that much flow and meditation during the practice, but you can increase your body knowledge hugely. Personally, my body needs cooling practices and restorative classes too, so I am planning to continue this experimental yoga. And I have to get back to my stretching exercises. Those are just so beneficial for ashtangi.
Tomorrow is flight day again and I am heading to Kuala Lumpur. My flight schedual is terrible, but hopefully I will make it well to Byron. And yesterday it was published online, that Sharath will be teaching in Sydney, when I will arrive there, if they get his visa in order. So I am really hoping to get a chance to take one class with him. I can’t afford more (and even that one class is actually too much), but I just want to go, see the shala and practice with him once.
My morning practices on my own have been surprisingly good. I don’t like to practice alone, I need other person’s energy around me, but I have been happy to notice, that I can do it. I have been going through in my head the advices and tips, which I got from Paul and it has been pretty ok. I am practicing on my balcony, so I have to move all the furnitures from there inside around seven every morning to have enough space to practice. My neighbours think for sure, that I am totally crazy.
This morning I woke up, and my throat was sour. My belly was upset again, even if it has been better lately. I did my pranayama practice and after that decided to try something different today. One girl at Yogabarns recommended Denise’s power yoga class for me before and I wanted to try that. In the class description it was written among other things, that this class will take you out of your routine, and right into that sacred space between the external force of gravity and the internal force of the breath. Oh boys, it really did! I loved this class, we started with sun salutations, but then the rest of the class was mixed. We did quite many different balancing poses, which I like, because those are so tricky for me and I really have to concentrate maximum. We also tried some poses from Second and Thrid Series, but it was more playing around than being serious. This class was very rebel, but safe at the same time. My body felt great after the class, even when during the class I was shaking and sweating so much. Denise is excellent teacher and I would love to practice with her again. She did some demos for us and it was great to see, how easy it is, when you can…
I have been so happy with this experimental yoga period herein Bali. My last week with different teachers and different styles has been the best in Bali. It has absolutely done so good for me and my body. I think that it’s sometimes very good go out of the box and have some fun with different styles. It gives totally new approach to asana and you learn to use your body in various different ways. With other styles, there is not that much flow and meditation during the practice, but you can increase your body knowledge hugely. Personally, my body needs cooling practices and restorative classes too, so I am planning to continue this experimental yoga. And I have to get back to my stretching exercises. Those are just so beneficial for ashtangi.
Tomorrow is flight day again and I am heading to Kuala Lumpur. My flight schedual is terrible, but hopefully I will make it well to Byron. And yesterday it was published online, that Sharath will be teaching in Sydney, when I will arrive there, if they get his visa in order. So I am really hoping to get a chance to take one class with him. I can’t afford more (and even that one class is actually too much), but I just want to go, see the shala and practice with him once.
Yin Yoga with Denise and Back to Mysore Practice
Superyoga day today! I woke up early wondering, what I should do today. My belly was better, so I decided to start ashtanga again. I started with pranayama and it was ok. Also asana practice was good today. It’s interesting to see, how fast you actually lose strength. My arms never hurt, but today I noticed, that I had difficulties with Chaturanga Dandasana and also jump throughs were heavy. I had kept my flexibility well and also mind was surprisingly calm and focused.
After almost three hours practice, I had a little swim and small breakfast and then it was time to go again. I walked to Yogabarns to try Yin Yoga with Denise. Denise was one of the recommended teachers, when I spoke with the people in Little K before. And I liked her a lot! She was active, exact and her demos were good. She knew many of the students by name and talked to everybody at least something. Most of all she was very natural, beautiful and I was able to feel her experience regarding yoga.
Denise was teaching Yin yoga, which is according to her a cooling practice and so opposite for many other practices. During the class focus was on connective tissues and we started with a tennis ball. We kept the tennis ball under back, butt and shoulders. Practice was powerful and painful, but in a good way. It was possible to feel, how the pain was melting away. In Yin yoga class you keep the poses for long time and the duration of the poses increases towards the end of the class. Some of the poses are easy stretching moves, but when you have to keep those poses so long time you can really feel your body opening. Last forward bend was really long and I could feel it in my back, but my whole body felt good after the class. Tomorrow my muscles will be so sore, but all in all it’s just good for my body and practice.
After class I headed to Kafe, because Little K was closed. Kafe was packed and busy. I was lucky to get a table and ordered vegetarian sandwhich and cappuccino. Next to me came Australian Emma, who did the same class with me. I didn’t recognize her from the class, but she remembered me. It was nice to talk with her, because she had travelled and worked in India a lot and now her work with international health had brought her to Bali. Her home base is now Melbourne, where she stays three weeks and then she travels three weeks in a row. It was nice to share experiences about constant traveling. Also she thought that it’s really demanding for your private life to travel all the time. And our experiences related to India were pretty similar. She said that working with Indian male ministers isn’t the easiest task for a young woman. Indian culture is very male-focused and white girl trying to change things is facing difficult moments for sure.
I had this morning difficulties to turn my head to left again, so we will see, what I am able to do tomorrow. This problem is related to my back, which actually feels quite ok now. During the yin class we kept block under belly for a while and Denise said, that back problems are often related to tension in a belly. That pose was so hard for me, I felt literally sick. Yin yoga really forces you to breath, because that’s the only way to release your pain and tension. I liked yin yoga and got a feeling that it could be a nice, supportive practice for ashtanga.
After almost three hours practice, I had a little swim and small breakfast and then it was time to go again. I walked to Yogabarns to try Yin Yoga with Denise. Denise was one of the recommended teachers, when I spoke with the people in Little K before. And I liked her a lot! She was active, exact and her demos were good. She knew many of the students by name and talked to everybody at least something. Most of all she was very natural, beautiful and I was able to feel her experience regarding yoga.
Denise was teaching Yin yoga, which is according to her a cooling practice and so opposite for many other practices. During the class focus was on connective tissues and we started with a tennis ball. We kept the tennis ball under back, butt and shoulders. Practice was powerful and painful, but in a good way. It was possible to feel, how the pain was melting away. In Yin yoga class you keep the poses for long time and the duration of the poses increases towards the end of the class. Some of the poses are easy stretching moves, but when you have to keep those poses so long time you can really feel your body opening. Last forward bend was really long and I could feel it in my back, but my whole body felt good after the class. Tomorrow my muscles will be so sore, but all in all it’s just good for my body and practice.
After class I headed to Kafe, because Little K was closed. Kafe was packed and busy. I was lucky to get a table and ordered vegetarian sandwhich and cappuccino. Next to me came Australian Emma, who did the same class with me. I didn’t recognize her from the class, but she remembered me. It was nice to talk with her, because she had travelled and worked in India a lot and now her work with international health had brought her to Bali. Her home base is now Melbourne, where she stays three weeks and then she travels three weeks in a row. It was nice to share experiences about constant traveling. Also she thought that it’s really demanding for your private life to travel all the time. And our experiences related to India were pretty similar. She said that working with Indian male ministers isn’t the easiest task for a young woman. Indian culture is very male-focused and white girl trying to change things is facing difficult moments for sure.
I had this morning difficulties to turn my head to left again, so we will see, what I am able to do tomorrow. This problem is related to my back, which actually feels quite ok now. During the yin class we kept block under belly for a while and Denise said, that back problems are often related to tension in a belly. That pose was so hard for me, I felt literally sick. Yin yoga really forces you to breath, because that’s the only way to release your pain and tension. I liked yin yoga and got a feeling that it could be a nice, supportive practice for ashtanga.
Inspired by the Book: Healthy at 100 by John Robbins
I am going to cite a couple of things, which I found so fascinating in Robbins’ book (btw his dad is that icecream Baskin-Robbins and he is writing about him in this book, too), so don’t read further, if you are planning to read this book later…
“In the modern world, when people are feeling down they are often told to “take it easy” to simply lie in bed and relax. --- So great is the recognition of the healing power of walking to visit a friend that there is a saying in Vilcabamba that each of us has two “doctors” – the left leg and the right leg.”
“In Okinawa, elders tend to stay remarkably fit and healthy until the last year or two of life, but in the modern Western world, the prevailing lifestyle takes a toll far earlier in life. In the United States and similar countries today, most of us hit our peak between twenty and thirty and gradually decline after that. By the age of seventy, most of us have lost 60 percent of our maximal breathing capacity, 40 percent of our kidney and liver functions, 15 to 30 percent of our bone mass, and 30 percent of our strength.”
“If you eat until you experience yourself to be 100 percent full, you actually go about 20 percent over capacity with every meal. And if you do that regularly, your stomach will stretch a little bit each time to accommodate the extra food. Then you have to eat more next time to get the same feeling of fullness.” What is written on that page before: “..it takes the stretch receptors in your stomach about twenty minutes to tell your brain (via the hormone cholecystokinin) how full you really are.”
“We must treasure tradition, but we must also embrace change.”
“Many studies have found farmed fish to be far higher than wild fish in toxic chemicals and other pollutants that affect the central nervous system and the immune system and can cause cancers and birth defects. --- The study found that the levels of PCBs, dioxins, and banned insecticides such as toxaphene in farmed fish were so high that, based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, no one should be eating farmed salmon more than once a month.”
“…muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest. A pound of muscle burns roughly 15 more calories a day than a pound of fat. If you lose ten pounds of fat and gain ten pounds of muscle, you would thereafter burn 150 more calories a day without increasing your exercise level…”
“When the study was published in The Journal of Pediatrics in 2004, Professor Lloyd said that “although calcium is often cited as the most important factor for healthy bones, our study suggests that exercise is really the predominant lifestyle determinant of bone strength in young women.”
“One study found that subjects who ate meat as their main source of protein were nearly three times as likely to develop dementia as their vegetarian counterparts.”
“And now modern science is recognizing that loving and intimate relationships also keep us healthy. It is a striking fact that mortality rates for all causes of death in the United States are consistently higher for divorced, single, and widowed individuals of both sexes and all ages.”
This book includes in so many modern studies related to health that at least I got so many things to think about and pay attention to. The cover of the book is pretty self-help oriented and sometimes the text is pretty creamy, but if you can get over those things, you can learn a lot from this book. Nutrition and exercise matter a great deal – wanted or not!
“In the modern world, when people are feeling down they are often told to “take it easy” to simply lie in bed and relax. --- So great is the recognition of the healing power of walking to visit a friend that there is a saying in Vilcabamba that each of us has two “doctors” – the left leg and the right leg.”
“In Okinawa, elders tend to stay remarkably fit and healthy until the last year or two of life, but in the modern Western world, the prevailing lifestyle takes a toll far earlier in life. In the United States and similar countries today, most of us hit our peak between twenty and thirty and gradually decline after that. By the age of seventy, most of us have lost 60 percent of our maximal breathing capacity, 40 percent of our kidney and liver functions, 15 to 30 percent of our bone mass, and 30 percent of our strength.”
“If you eat until you experience yourself to be 100 percent full, you actually go about 20 percent over capacity with every meal. And if you do that regularly, your stomach will stretch a little bit each time to accommodate the extra food. Then you have to eat more next time to get the same feeling of fullness.” What is written on that page before: “..it takes the stretch receptors in your stomach about twenty minutes to tell your brain (via the hormone cholecystokinin) how full you really are.”
“We must treasure tradition, but we must also embrace change.”
“Many studies have found farmed fish to be far higher than wild fish in toxic chemicals and other pollutants that affect the central nervous system and the immune system and can cause cancers and birth defects. --- The study found that the levels of PCBs, dioxins, and banned insecticides such as toxaphene in farmed fish were so high that, based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, no one should be eating farmed salmon more than once a month.”
“…muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest. A pound of muscle burns roughly 15 more calories a day than a pound of fat. If you lose ten pounds of fat and gain ten pounds of muscle, you would thereafter burn 150 more calories a day without increasing your exercise level…”
“When the study was published in The Journal of Pediatrics in 2004, Professor Lloyd said that “although calcium is often cited as the most important factor for healthy bones, our study suggests that exercise is really the predominant lifestyle determinant of bone strength in young women.”
“One study found that subjects who ate meat as their main source of protein were nearly three times as likely to develop dementia as their vegetarian counterparts.”
“And now modern science is recognizing that loving and intimate relationships also keep us healthy. It is a striking fact that mortality rates for all causes of death in the United States are consistently higher for divorced, single, and widowed individuals of both sexes and all ages.”
This book includes in so many modern studies related to health that at least I got so many things to think about and pay attention to. The cover of the book is pretty self-help oriented and sometimes the text is pretty creamy, but if you can get over those things, you can learn a lot from this book. Nutrition and exercise matter a great deal – wanted or not!
24 Apr 2011
Yin Yang Yoga with Malika
This morning I woke up without alarm before six. My stomack was still hurting, so I couldn’t really think doing my normal practice. At Yogabarns was a class called Yin Yang Yoga at seven o’clock, so I decided to try that. According to class description, this class was supposed to explore the body’s polarity activating yang energy through movement, and yin energy by relaxing both body and mind to attain inner balance and harmony with nature.
According to Wikipedia in Chinese philosophy the concept of yin yang, normally referred to in the West as yin and yang, is used to describe how polar or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only exist in relation to each other.
Traditionallay yin is female and yang is male. They fit together as two parts of a whole. From a philosophical standpoint, practitioners of Zen Yoga see yin-yang as a flow. In Wikipedia it’s mentioned that the Taijitu is one of the oldest and best-known life symbols in the world, but few understand its full meaning. It represents one of the most fundamental and profound theories of ancient Taoist philosophy. At its heart are the two poles of existence, which are opposite but complementary. The light, white Yang moving up blends into the dark, black Yin moving down. Yin and Yang are dependent opposing forces that flow in a natural cycle, always seeking balance. Though they are opposing, they are not in opposition to one another. As part of the Tao, they are merely two aspects of a single reality. Each contains the seed of the other, which is why we see a black spot of Yin in the white Yang and vice versa. They do not merely replace each other but actually become each other through the constant flow of the universe.
The teacher of the class was called Malika and her English was very hard to understand because of her really strong Asian accent. She was obviously aware of this problem herself, because she apoligized her English a couple of times. Her opening mantra was totally wrong, but never mind. Quite in the beginning of the class she advised us to do a deep twist (where you sit in half-lotus, turn and take a grip of your big toe with your fingers so that your hand is behind your back), which was ok for me and for one other girl, but the rest of the room couldn’t even do half of the asked rotation. I was a bit afraid, that the class will be too demanding based on the beginning, but then Malika started to show modifications and the class got better.
I liked the class, but some of the asanas were too demanding for that group. Malika herself was superflexible, but clearly pretty unexperienced teacher, because she was teaching so demanding poses for that group (for example twisted variation of Ardha Chandrasana) and sometimes it felt like she was reading a speech aloud and not actually teaching something she has experienced. I enjoyed the class anyway, because I was able to modify the poses and my focus was good. Many poses were good for my back and my lower back felt good after the class. I enjoy so much practicing at Yogabarns upstairs, where you can see rice fields, everything around you is green and you can hear monkeys as well as birds. After class my mind was still and I walked to Little K to have my morning cappuccino. Oh, how much I liked that coffee!
I am so glad that I decided to try different yoga classes. I have already learned so much about different teaching styles and this experience will be beneficial for me specially, if I start to teach later. After these experimental classes here I feel that I could teach those classes and maybe even do better. On the other hand I have noticed that ashtanga easily becomes serious and the joy of yoga disappears, when people start to be too fixed getting new poses and making physical progress. It’s nice to try different styles, modifications and poses and then get back to your own practice.
According to Wikipedia in Chinese philosophy the concept of yin yang, normally referred to in the West as yin and yang, is used to describe how polar or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only exist in relation to each other.
Traditionallay yin is female and yang is male. They fit together as two parts of a whole. From a philosophical standpoint, practitioners of Zen Yoga see yin-yang as a flow. In Wikipedia it’s mentioned that the Taijitu is one of the oldest and best-known life symbols in the world, but few understand its full meaning. It represents one of the most fundamental and profound theories of ancient Taoist philosophy. At its heart are the two poles of existence, which are opposite but complementary. The light, white Yang moving up blends into the dark, black Yin moving down. Yin and Yang are dependent opposing forces that flow in a natural cycle, always seeking balance. Though they are opposing, they are not in opposition to one another. As part of the Tao, they are merely two aspects of a single reality. Each contains the seed of the other, which is why we see a black spot of Yin in the white Yang and vice versa. They do not merely replace each other but actually become each other through the constant flow of the universe.
The teacher of the class was called Malika and her English was very hard to understand because of her really strong Asian accent. She was obviously aware of this problem herself, because she apoligized her English a couple of times. Her opening mantra was totally wrong, but never mind. Quite in the beginning of the class she advised us to do a deep twist (where you sit in half-lotus, turn and take a grip of your big toe with your fingers so that your hand is behind your back), which was ok for me and for one other girl, but the rest of the room couldn’t even do half of the asked rotation. I was a bit afraid, that the class will be too demanding based on the beginning, but then Malika started to show modifications and the class got better.
I liked the class, but some of the asanas were too demanding for that group. Malika herself was superflexible, but clearly pretty unexperienced teacher, because she was teaching so demanding poses for that group (for example twisted variation of Ardha Chandrasana) and sometimes it felt like she was reading a speech aloud and not actually teaching something she has experienced. I enjoyed the class anyway, because I was able to modify the poses and my focus was good. Many poses were good for my back and my lower back felt good after the class. I enjoy so much practicing at Yogabarns upstairs, where you can see rice fields, everything around you is green and you can hear monkeys as well as birds. After class my mind was still and I walked to Little K to have my morning cappuccino. Oh, how much I liked that coffee!
I am so glad that I decided to try different yoga classes. I have already learned so much about different teaching styles and this experience will be beneficial for me specially, if I start to teach later. After these experimental classes here I feel that I could teach those classes and maybe even do better. On the other hand I have noticed that ashtanga easily becomes serious and the joy of yoga disappears, when people start to be too fixed getting new poses and making physical progress. It’s nice to try different styles, modifications and poses and then get back to your own practice.
23 Apr 2011
Slow Flow at Yogabarns
My belly is still upset and it’s Saturday, so I decided to take slow flow yoga class at Yogabarns. Teacher was Donna and I was immediately able to see that she has done her training at Yoga Thailand. It’s so funny, how I just knew, that she has been practicing with Paul. I spoke with her shortly after the class and I asked, what is her own practice. I found out that she is ashtangi, too and actually she normally practices with Prem and Heather. Ashtanga world is so tiny…
Donna’s class was actually modified ashtanga class, but really slow and more focused on meditation. This was good class for me today, because I noticed, that I am not in shape. When your belly is upset, you can’t use bandhas and the whole practice is very compromised. Almoust all the poses came from Primary Series, but in different order and modified. We did for example Sun Salutation A, Utkatasana, Prasarita Padottanasana A & B as well as Uthita Trikonasana A. When the pace is so slow, I should really keep my breath strong, but it’s so hard. That’s why I feel very cold during the practice and I am stiff. We stayed in poses for pretty long time and I noticed that once again my hip flexors are killing me. I am wondering, are those ever gonna open… The class started with light meditation on ended with Shitali. Donna’s voice was nice, so I didn’t mind her speaking through the class. She also used music, which I found suitable for a class like this.
After practice I spoke with Australian-British couple, who did the same class. They were quite typical yogi tourists: done yoga some years ago and now wanted to practice a little bit during their holidays. They enjoyed the class, so I think that Donna’s style was good for holiday yoga. Donna was recommending power yoga with Denise for me. I might try that, when my belly gets better. She said, that Denise is very experienced yogini, who teaches ashtanga based practice.
I ate my lunch at Little K again. Today I had vegan sandwhich and apple/cucumber/ginger shake. My dessert was raw blackcurrant pie and latte. I couldn’t resist coffee, even when my belly is upset. I am trying different meals to get ideas, what to cook in the future. I am missing so much my own kitchen, so that I can cook, whatever I like and I know what my meals include in. When you travel, you eat what you can get and often it’s not so pleasurable. Food in Bali has been good, but it’s expensive to eat out all the time. When you can’t boil your water for tea at home, you end up paying ridiculous amount of money just for a cup of tea or coffee.
I did my pranayama practice this morning before asana class and it helps me to concentrate for sure. I have been also swimming here everyday. Pool is the best thing with this guest house. And also the monkeys on my backyard are entertaining. I have my own monkey, who comes to my balcony everyday. And last night I had my own frog, too. I was going to bed, when I saw a little frog jumping around my room crazily. I was trying to show him the way out, but he went under the bed and I couldn’t reach him. So I gave up and went to bed. Then I was listening, when he continued to jump around the room. I couldn’t see him this morning, so I think that he found his way out. So I have jungle pets now: monkeys and a frog.
Donna’s class was actually modified ashtanga class, but really slow and more focused on meditation. This was good class for me today, because I noticed, that I am not in shape. When your belly is upset, you can’t use bandhas and the whole practice is very compromised. Almoust all the poses came from Primary Series, but in different order and modified. We did for example Sun Salutation A, Utkatasana, Prasarita Padottanasana A & B as well as Uthita Trikonasana A. When the pace is so slow, I should really keep my breath strong, but it’s so hard. That’s why I feel very cold during the practice and I am stiff. We stayed in poses for pretty long time and I noticed that once again my hip flexors are killing me. I am wondering, are those ever gonna open… The class started with light meditation on ended with Shitali. Donna’s voice was nice, so I didn’t mind her speaking through the class. She also used music, which I found suitable for a class like this.
After practice I spoke with Australian-British couple, who did the same class. They were quite typical yogi tourists: done yoga some years ago and now wanted to practice a little bit during their holidays. They enjoyed the class, so I think that Donna’s style was good for holiday yoga. Donna was recommending power yoga with Denise for me. I might try that, when my belly gets better. She said, that Denise is very experienced yogini, who teaches ashtanga based practice.
I ate my lunch at Little K again. Today I had vegan sandwhich and apple/cucumber/ginger shake. My dessert was raw blackcurrant pie and latte. I couldn’t resist coffee, even when my belly is upset. I am trying different meals to get ideas, what to cook in the future. I am missing so much my own kitchen, so that I can cook, whatever I like and I know what my meals include in. When you travel, you eat what you can get and often it’s not so pleasurable. Food in Bali has been good, but it’s expensive to eat out all the time. When you can’t boil your water for tea at home, you end up paying ridiculous amount of money just for a cup of tea or coffee.
I did my pranayama practice this morning before asana class and it helps me to concentrate for sure. I have been also swimming here everyday. Pool is the best thing with this guest house. And also the monkeys on my backyard are entertaining. I have my own monkey, who comes to my balcony everyday. And last night I had my own frog, too. I was going to bed, when I saw a little frog jumping around my room crazily. I was trying to show him the way out, but he went under the bed and I couldn’t reach him. So I gave up and went to bed. Then I was listening, when he continued to jump around the room. I couldn’t see him this morning, so I think that he found his way out. So I have jungle pets now: monkeys and a frog.
22 Apr 2011
Hatha Yoga Class at Yogabarns and Some Future Plans
Yesterday I ate something bad (I think it was my breakfast papaya) and got sick. My stomack hurts and I am tired. So this morning I was thinking about my ashtanga practice as well as pranayama and didn’t really feel like it. I decided to be nice for my body and took a hatha yoga class at Yogabarns instead. I bought a card, which entitles me to take five classes there, so today I wanted to try hatha yoga.
I have never done hatha yoga before (I mean a class which is only hatha), so I was pretty excited about the class. My teacher was called Uma. We went through different elements: ground, water, fire and air/space. Ground was mostly about hip opening, water about feet and stretching, fire about vinyasa / movement and air/space about hands and upper body. We also did quite much sort of sound meditation, where we did poses, when repeating some syllables. The class started so that we were observing, which nostril is more open. According to Uma, if it’s right, you are thinking logically and using your brains and if it’s left, you are more grounded. So hatha yoga is about searching balance between these two sides of you, balancing your moon and sun.
What I liked about this class was that she talked a lot about letting go and getting rid off your fears. I personally also like sound meditation technics, because it’s the easiest way for me letting go. When I have to only concentrate on creating a sound or listening to a sound, I can be still. This was a typical led class, where the teacher was speaking through the class, but she didn’t do any adjustments or corrections. The main purpose of the class was just to balance yourself. It wasn’t superathlete class, but I was able to warm up my back and also noticed some tensions in my body. I think that hatha yoga is so much about grounding yourself better and that way it worked for me. I wanted to take a hatha class to relax more and release the pain in my belly and for that it worked well.
After class I had an early lunch at Little K, which is the restaurant downstairs at Yogabarns. I had green mango tea and vegetarian wrap plus extra avocado on the side. It’s interesting to see, how I am a little bit nervous now all the time, because I have to make decisions regarding my plans in Australia. I walk fast, I eat fast, my mind is busy and my sleep is nervous. I really have to focus on calming myself down and being just here (and not yet in Australia). I am also very sensitive for traffic sounds, busy people and smoke. When somebody is smoking near me, I have to move a way and drunken people are making me almost angry. I obviously need my peace.
However, my Australian plans are now starting to be more in order. I will fly to Brisbane 28th of April and practice with Dena. Then I will fly to Sydney probably 26th of May and start my house sitting job. I will take care of a house and one cat during three months (June, July and August). At least for that period, I have to find a job. I might stay in Sydney for a little bit longer, but I don’t have to decide that yet. I heard a rumor that Sharath might be teaching in Sydney just, when I will arrive there, so I might have a chance to practice with him. Keep your fingers crossed, that I can do that and my life in Sydney will be a success otherwise, too!
I have never done hatha yoga before (I mean a class which is only hatha), so I was pretty excited about the class. My teacher was called Uma. We went through different elements: ground, water, fire and air/space. Ground was mostly about hip opening, water about feet and stretching, fire about vinyasa / movement and air/space about hands and upper body. We also did quite much sort of sound meditation, where we did poses, when repeating some syllables. The class started so that we were observing, which nostril is more open. According to Uma, if it’s right, you are thinking logically and using your brains and if it’s left, you are more grounded. So hatha yoga is about searching balance between these two sides of you, balancing your moon and sun.
What I liked about this class was that she talked a lot about letting go and getting rid off your fears. I personally also like sound meditation technics, because it’s the easiest way for me letting go. When I have to only concentrate on creating a sound or listening to a sound, I can be still. This was a typical led class, where the teacher was speaking through the class, but she didn’t do any adjustments or corrections. The main purpose of the class was just to balance yourself. It wasn’t superathlete class, but I was able to warm up my back and also noticed some tensions in my body. I think that hatha yoga is so much about grounding yourself better and that way it worked for me. I wanted to take a hatha class to relax more and release the pain in my belly and for that it worked well.
After class I had an early lunch at Little K, which is the restaurant downstairs at Yogabarns. I had green mango tea and vegetarian wrap plus extra avocado on the side. It’s interesting to see, how I am a little bit nervous now all the time, because I have to make decisions regarding my plans in Australia. I walk fast, I eat fast, my mind is busy and my sleep is nervous. I really have to focus on calming myself down and being just here (and not yet in Australia). I am also very sensitive for traffic sounds, busy people and smoke. When somebody is smoking near me, I have to move a way and drunken people are making me almost angry. I obviously need my peace.
However, my Australian plans are now starting to be more in order. I will fly to Brisbane 28th of April and practice with Dena. Then I will fly to Sydney probably 26th of May and start my house sitting job. I will take care of a house and one cat during three months (June, July and August). At least for that period, I have to find a job. I might stay in Sydney for a little bit longer, but I don’t have to decide that yet. I heard a rumor that Sharath might be teaching in Sydney just, when I will arrive there, so I might have a chance to practice with him. Keep your fingers crossed, that I can do that and my life in Sydney will be a success otherwise, too!
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