The Yogini from Manila

January 10, 2007
by Yogajane
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A Failed “See-Food” Diet

Never in my whole life have I dreamt I would ever say this (and my other girl friends will KILL me for saying so…)

I SO BADLY NEED TO GAIN SOME WEIGHT!

Probably half of those pounds lost can be blamed on my braces, I tend to think, but yoga has somehow brought my metabolism back into ACTIVE mode when, at this age of mine, it is already supposed to be slowing down.

I’m about 8 pounds away from my regular weight (pre-braces era). If you had asked me a year or two ago, I would have said that LOSING weight was more difficult than gaining weight. Not true! I have tried eating ice cream and chocolate cake (yummy Hungry Pac) as dessert. Snacked on chocolates brought in by a brother-in-law from Sydney. Ate a whole bunch of polvoron last Christmas. Finished off half a fruitcake all by myself. All I could SEE….all I could EAT…And still, I burn it up faster than I could probably digest it.

Sometimes I feel like I should NOT be working out at the gym as I will just burn away calories that I need to build up to 3,600 excess calories which will gain me that much-needed pound. But my body now looks for exercise. So…what to do?

Tried asking my yogamates how to gain weight but they just give me that look that says: “Hello!!! We are trying to LOSE weight!!!!”. So I have stopped asking them lest they throw their yoga mats at me. Sigh! I still have to find a kindred spirit….

So I am trying to look at the bright side of this whole situation by consoling myself that many people go on guilt-ridden food binges while I can do so guilt-free.

Now….my friends will REALLY KILL ME!!!!!

January 7, 2007
by Yogajane
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My “Killer” Asanas

As promised, I want to share with you the really MAJOR asana poses that I struggle with at every class. While I delight in the other poses that now come more easily, these are the ones I really and truly dread. The Yoga Journal, in one of their articles some months back, wrote that oftentimes, the poses that you hate are the ones you need. I want to believe that statement so much. So, despite my body groaning and aching every time I try these poses, I am praying that sometime in the future, I can scratch some or all of these off my “killer” list and add them to my “no-brainer” one.

Monkey Pose Now THIS is the ultimate killer. In ballet, we call it the split. And it is a bit frustrating now because this was a pose I easily did before. Now, it is near impossible to bring the groin area anywhere closer to the floor than 6 inches! Claudine shared with me that working out on a pilates machine would loosen up my frozen hip flexors. Now WHERE can I get my hands on a pilates machine?????

Pigeon Pose This pose is the predecessor of the Monkey Pose. Bending one leg in front, with the other leg stretched out at back is fine. Until Pio tells us to stretch both arms up and BEHIND our ears. Hello???? My arms can only go up but in front of my face! Somehow, my lower back locks itself stiff so bending backwards in that position and bringing the arms behind the ears is an impossibility. Not for some of my yogini-mates (we call them “aliens”) who do this pose as though they were missing some bones at the back. My idol, who does this so easily, is Priya (one of the yoga companions of Pio). Priya does the pose as shown here with such ease and grace!

Wheel Pose Again, this was a ballet stance I easily did as a kid. Where, oh where is that flexibility now? Just trying an easier pose like Camel takes 200% effort! Patience, patience!

Crane Pose We tried this maybe once or twice in class and I was fascinated by it. It does require strong arms as it will bear the entire body weight so I am working on my Chaturangas (4-Limbed Staff Pose) as often as I can in order to tone and strengthen my arms. I did get my feet off the ground for, at most, 2 seconds but more work needed to get that forward dip in just the right place to strike an equilibrium and allow the body to balance on both arms.

(picture taken from Yoga Journal — www.yogajournal.com)

January 7, 2007
by Yogajane
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To Meat…..Or Not To Meat!!!

Pio, our yoga teacher, is a strict vegetarian. Yup, totally meatless and eggless! And since we began taking yoga under him, he has emphasized, time and again, the benefits to the body of doing away with meat and becoming vegetarian.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!!

For all my life, meat has dominated the dining table at home, at restos, at parties, and just about everywhere. I do not recall a single meal that did not have any of the food that a strict vegetarian would consider “BAWAL” (off limits).

To yoga’s credit, somewhere down the road last year, for some reason, I suddenly lost my appetite for certain meat dishes, especially those cooked in artery-clogging cooking oil. That included lechon kawali (deep-fried pork), beef cubes or chunks, and to some extent, even lechon (roasted pig). And to the delight of my mother, who can never erase from her mind the impression that her daughter hates veggies, I have actually began eating more of the greens and even looking for them.

But having carnivore family members at home, it is still very hard to totally erase meat from the table. Guess I can’t expect such drastic changes overnight. But I am hoping that slowly, I can introduce more menus to the kids that have veggies (even if I have to disguise them in whatever way possible). Right now, junk food is definitely OFF my shopping list (and if the kids have a craving, the only way they will get them is to buy these with their allowance). And ON my list are health foods like tofu, yogurt and salad greens.

It is still a struggle and everyday, I have to make a conscious decision about what to pop into my mouth at mealtime. That will be the day when I get to win the “BATTLE of the BAWAL”.

January 6, 2007
by Yogajane
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A Pose Worth Celebrating

A year ago, or close to a year ago, I realized just how UNFIT I was. Having studied ballet until my teen years and even getting to the point of being able to dance on toes, I knew the kind of poses I could do as a flexible kid. But last March 2006, I bent down and could only touch the floor with the tips of my fingers — barely. Yikes!

Years of sedentary lifestyle had taken its toll, especially since most of my work had me either sitting at a desk, sitting in front of the computer, sitting in meetings. Whatever it was, it was SIT, SIT, SIT! So my joints were frozen in just one position….for sitting down!

Fortunately, yoga is slowly reversing this and I find myself surprisingly being able to do poses (asanas) more easily now than I did in that first yoga class.

So to celebrate my upcoming yogini 1st anniversary in March 2007, here is a pose I can now do. Wait for my next blog to find out which poses are still MAJOR, MAJOR challenges up to now and which I look forward to doing in the future (near future, I hope!).

For other wanna-be-yoginis like me, if this pose is still an impossibility, don’t lose heart. As our yoga teacher, Pio, says: we have to accept our bodies and their limitations and continue to rejoice in the progress we make. We need not compare what we can or cannot do vs what others can but be content with our own bodily progress.

(picture taken from Yoga Journal — www.yogajournal.com)

November 16, 2006
by Yogajane
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A Carnivore Goes Veggie

Just last Saturday, our “Yoga Addict Class” (our close-knit group of yoginis — who can’t seem to get enough of yoga), held a simple birthday feast to honor 2 of our own who turned another year this month of November — Lara and Therese.

It was a spontaneous plan: we would all go for classes at 6:30pm that Saturday; Pio (our yoga teacher) gamely volunteered to roll up his sleeves and show off the culinary skills he is also known for to prepare vegetarian spaghetti, veggie hamburgers and his much-sought-after, mouth-watering “eggless leche flan” (strict vegetarians do not eat egg). The rest of us were to bring potluck food but mind you….ALL VEGETARIAN !!!

It was a FIRST for me. I have never, in my life, eaten a meal that was all vegetarian. Surprisingly, the mini feast was not that bad. In fact, it was VERY GOOD!

So, for the rest out there who are still squeamish about trying vegetarian meals, here is a photo of what we partook of that evening (not in pic: pistacchio and strawberry FIC ice cream, to boot!). Am actually looking forward to another such healthy pig out. The great bonding that evening among the yoginis and our teacher was, as they put it, icing on the “eggless” cake.

November 6, 2006
by Yogajane
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Namaste!

I now have a new passion — yoga!

It was really by chance that I got into yoga. Benjie, my brother, had long been egging me to get into it when the kids were a lot smaller. Back then, I used to tutor them and often found myself climbing walls.

Last March 2006, the boys’ school opened up their HUGE sports center and offered various fitness programs including yoga. On a whim, I tried out the yoga class (primarily because the first class was FREE!). And I slept like a log that night! Next day, I resolved to enroll for a month, once a week!

Soon after, when the body gets used to the muscles being worked, it craves for more. An opportune time, too, since Pio (our yogi teacher) and Minna opened up the Vinyasa Yoga Center at the Ortigas Center, not far from home. The once a week sked soon turned into twice a week and after bonding with a great set of yoga mates who turned out to be YOGA ADDICTS like me, we found ourselves getting into a 3rd class on many occasions.

It feels great! And the bonus is all the new girl friends I have made. We are a support group unto ourselves. We text each other when we go to class, exchange books and websites on yoga, share our difficulties with some poses (asanas), celebrate improvements, encourage each other to press on, and on the less serious side, we are just a funny bunch of girls who enjoy each other’s company….

We have earned the monicker “ADDICT CLASS” — a name given us by Atom who runs the Center together with Pio in the absence of his sister Minna (who has gone on extended vacation in Europe while searching out yoga retreats there).

Yoga is not only slowly shaping our bodies. It is slowly shaping our lifestyles as well. I am more conscious of what I put into my mouth (as in….less meat, more fruits & veggies!!! To the delight of my Mom!). I sleep without pillows now and my normal breathing is mostly the yogic way. But I am still a L-O-N-G way from being truly fit. Years of taking in toxic food and generally unhealthy living has taken its toll. While the effects are reversible, they will take time to undo.

But Pio teaches patience and acceptance of self — and we are eager to learn. My yoga mates are true treasures as we journey together to test our bodily and mental limits. But more than that is the real appreciation of the body given by the Lord which we need to take care of as we are going to be held accountable to Him for it.

Namaste! (I bow to the Light of God in you)