Next month (May 2014), my yin yoga teacher from Singapore, Victor Chng, will be coming again to hold a series of workshops in different places.

My first encounter with yin yoga was in 2011, with Dona, the very first yin yoga teacher in the Philippines. Dona had trained with Victor in 2010 and her background as a stress management consultant and integrative nutrition counselor combined very well with her yin yoga practice. While my first introduction to yoga was via the practice of vinyasa in late 2006, I never had a strong urge to share my practice — at least not until yin yoga came into my life. Its healing properties aligned with the Taoist concepts and traditional Chinese medicine that I was beginning to read about more closely around the time my hubby fell ill and we were pursuing naturopath remedies. I had a strong feeling that I had found the practice that I needed for myself, for my loved ones and for the greater community circles I was in.

Read about my first yin yoga experience here.

Victor Chng came to the Philippines for the very first time in 2012 (a year after my first encounter with Dona) and every year since then, around this time, he returns to continue teaching his students (including me!). Of course, in his absence, Dona continues the practice of yoga through her own classes and workshops. But Dona is good for another, separate post that I want to do later.

 

 

In 2011, there were just a handful of us practising yin yoga with Dona. That community grew when Victor started coming to the Philippines. Today, there are so many new yin yoga teachers (many of whom trained under Victor in Singapore) and the community of yin yoga practitioners continues to grow.

In this coming 2014 visit, Victor will give several kinds of workshops. One will be a lay forum that introduces yoga as a healing practice. Another workshop is for all levels of yoga practitioners of all styles so that they can try yin yoga. Another one will focus on health practitioners and caregivers. And he ends with a weekend of intensives for those with a regular yin yoga practice.

I’ll post his May 2014 schedule at the tail-end of this post.

Meanwhile, I want you to meet Victor IN PERSON (virtually!!!). I had the privilege of interviewing him on his first visit to Manila in 2012. I’ve chopped up that interview into smaller bits and by topic.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into yoga.

 

 

Q: What kind of people would be interested in practicing yin yoga?

 

Q: Would yin yoga be beneficial for those approaching their senior years or are already there?

 

Q: Is it advisable to only have a yin yoga practice or just a yang (dynamic) yoga practice?

 

Q: When is the best time to practice yin yoga?

In the video below, Victor differentiates yin and yang energy, relates it to heaven and earth and to our own lives. It’s a good foundation for understanding the concepts of yin and yang.

 

If you are still contemplating whether to start a yoga practice or not, or if you are already steeped in the dynamic styles of yoga, I strongly recommend that you attend Victor’s workshops. Remember, the yin-yang symbol is precisely a symbol of BALANCE in our lives. So we cannot be completely yang (active) or completely yin (passive) in everything and that includes our yoga practice.

Here is Victor’s schedule from May 6-11, 2014:

In addition to these classes, he will hold classes in the following places:

May 7: Yin Yoga Workshop: Stretching from the Yin-Side Out

White Space, 6/F Regis Center, Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Mobile: +63917.577.0345; Tel: +632.577.0345