The Yogini from Manila

February 24, 2013
by Yogajane
6 Comments

Hell-Bent by Benjamin Lorr: a personal take on Bikram Yoga and a book giveaway

Several friends I know take Bikram Yoga. And they love it. For many of them, it was a way to lose weight. With the room heated up to about 38 degrees and kept at about 60% humidity, it is believed that Bikram yoga –

– protects the muscles for deeper stretches

– detoxifies the body

– increases the heart rate, providing the cardiovascular stimulus

– thins the blood and allows it to freely circulate around the body

– reorganizes the lipids (fat) in the muscles

– strengthens the body’s muscles

When Benjamin Lorr stumbled upon Bikram yoga and began his first class, he was overweight and in need of losing pounds and inches. From overweight, he is now a Bikram practitioner who has trained for the national yoga championship. Not everything was sweet. His favorite yoga teacher suffered a stroke, making Ben start research on hot yoga and Bikram Choudhury. Ben recounts his two-year sweaty, sometimes painful journey in his book, Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Bikram Yoga.

Not being a Bikram yoga practitioner, I was surprised and delighted that Ben had stumbled upon my blog, contacted me, and eventually sent me a copy of the book (which is NOT YET AVAILABLE in our local bookstores). So you, my dear readers and Bikram Yoga lovers, have a chance to own and read this book before anyone else!

Here’s a brief description of Lorr’s book:

It “explores the fascinating, often surreal world of Bikram or ‘Hot’ Yoga, a style taught to millions by very living guru, Bikram Choudhury. Bikram Yoga is distinguished by the extreme heat it is practiced in (105 – 110 degrees), an overt focus on pain, and the materialism of its founder. Lorr walked into his first yoga studio on a whim, overweight and curious, and quickly found the yoga reinventing his life. He had slimmed down and toned up, when a run-in with a master and competitive yoga champion convinced him to take his practice to the next level: to train for the national championship. So begins a journey. Populated by athletic prodigies, wide-eyed celebrities, legitimate medical miracles, and predatory hucksters – Hell-Bent follows Lorr as he grapples with his obsession, researching the history and health claims, pushing his body to its limits, and ultimately bringing him to the feet of maniacal guru, Bikram Choudhury. A guru who – aside from being charismatic, hilarious, and occasionally profound – also turns out to be a raging and rage-filled narcissist. The culmination of two years of research, featuring hundreds of interviews with yogis, scientists, doctors, and scholars, it is a nation-spanning trip. A look at the science behind a controversial practice, a story of greed and corruption, and a mind-bending tale of personal transformation, Hell-Bent will first challenge your conception of yoga, then change the way you view the fragile, inspirational limits of the human body itself.”

Whew! That is quite a controversial description. And I am sure over here in the Philippines where Bikram yoga is loved by its practitioners and is popular as a weight-loss option, you can either agree or disagree totally or in part with Lorr’s yoga experiences, research findings, or descriptions of Choudhury. And despite what he may have said for or against the practice, what is notable is that he still practices Bikram yoga.

Benjamin Lorr (from his website http://www.benjaminlorr.net/bio/)

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January 14, 2013
by Yogajane
0 comments

Free ebook: Meta Health (3 days only)

I’ve been accumulating all these health emails for some time now and friends have related how they have gone through natural health treatments for certain medical conditions. But it was only lately when I personally began exploring more and more articles on modes of treatment and wellness other than the usual Western medicine and treatments.

Many concepts are new to me. One of the newer concepts is the use of enzymes extracted from plants to combat certain diseases. I first heard of this when I attended Mona Lisa’s raw foods workshops. She spoke of our body needing to process food consumed in order to get at the enzymes. But the quicker way is to get directly to the enzymes from plants by eating the right kind of foods and preparing them the right way.

Then in a recent yin yoga workshop with Victor Chng, I got an introduction to the concept of life energy, called chi by the Chinese and chakras by the Indians. Blockages of chi, running through the meridians of our body, cause us to get sick around the blocked areas. Yin yoga was a way of helping unblock these “passageways” and allowing chi to circulate freely.

Now comes another concept that somehow connects my strong belief that the mind, body and spirit are closely intertwined and imbalances in one manifest negatively in the others.

There is an upcoming launch this Jan. 15 of an ebook by Johannes Fisslinger called Meta Health: Decoding Your Body’s Intelligence.

This book appears to challenge what we know about what factors cause diseases. The author describes his book as one that advocates prevention of diseases. Fisslinger calls it a “new health paradigm. It will help you understand your symptoms; identify stress triggers, emotions and beliefs connected with your illness and use awareness and conscious actions for self-healing.”

Here is a screenshot I took of the book’s synopsis as found on the Meta Health site:

Before we get ahead, please bear in mind that I have not yet read the book nor do I endorse the book’s contents as a potential cure for any medical conditions readers may have.

The reason I am blogging about it is because, from January 15-17, the author is providing 75 pages of his e-book FREE for downloading. On his site, the author is also offering the full 200 pages of his book at a discounted rate of $9.95 instead of the usual $11.95 when ordered from Amazon. He is also offering bonus gifts for those who buy the entire ebook.

Curious myself as to how Fisslinger will connect stress and our emotions to different organs of the body, I will be downloading the free 75-page ebook tomorrow and will decide afterwards whether to get the entire ebook or not.

To read more about the ebook launch on Jan. 15, click HERE

To download the free 75-page book sampler or order the $9.95 200-page full version, click HERE

Remember that the free ebook is only available for 3 days, from Jan. 15-17, 2013. If you are one of those who will download this ebook (the free or entire version), feel free to come back and post your reactions and insights. I am very interested in readers’ feedback.

January 1, 2013
by Yogajane
0 comments

Revisiting my First Love

It’s been a while now that I’ve been doing yin yoga, the quiet and passive style of yoga that has become my healing and restorative sanctuary.

The past couple of months when I’ve had to deal, as a caregiver, with family illnesses (including my own bout with mild flu) and 2 family deaths has been stressful and quite depressing, to say the least. Yin yoga somehow was always there to catch me on the emotional way down and would lift my spirits enough for me to have energy to keep on with tasks and chalkenges ahead.

But months of yin yoga coupled with quiet caring days for my house patient and the absence of blogging-related events Christmas holidays has kept me less active than usual and house-bound.

Tonight I felt the strong urge to go back and revisit my first love – vinyasa yoga. It felt good to don my yoga clothes again, knowing I’d get a good sweat this time. As I began my sun salutations, the familiar sequence that I often did in class rushed back and I eagerly did each one with purpose – staying in the pose as long as I wanted.

Yes, some unused muscles complained as each asana woke them and reminded them of how engaged they should be. I know I’d wake up to almost forgotten aches tomorrow as these muscles struggle once again to gain strength. But it felt good. My body was looking for it and I simply responded.

Truly, yin and yang go hand in hand and depending on one’s present state of body, mind and spirit, one form will be more appropriate than the other.

I am grateful for tonight’s vinyasa practice and I give thanks for all my yoga teachers who shared their vinyasa practice with me over the years.

Love and light to all…namaste.

For an idea of what yin yoga is, please read all about my first encounter with yin yoga HERE.

December 22, 2012
by Yogajane
5 Comments

Mates Memory Foam Pillows – a health and comfort discovery

I had been meaning to buy a bolster for the longest time. Ever since doing yin yoga, I always longed to do restful poses with a bolster, not a soft pillow. For one reason or another, I never got around to doing so.

Last week, I was doing the groceries and ended up in the aisle where they sell pillows. I normally do not pass this section but who knows, the universe probably conspired to steer me to this part, haha. I looked up and the sign above read “Mates Memory Foam Pillows”. There were neck pillows, squarish pillows and…bolsters! The first time I took one bolster in my arms, I was hooked. HUGE difference compared to bolsters I’d seen at the malls! This one was covered in suede cloth but what got me was the foam. Cuddly soft and comfortable! The saleslady told me that memory foam depresses wherever pressure is applied but as soon as the pressure is lifted, it goes back to its original shape. Curious, I zipped opened the suede cloth covering the foam, began pressing down on the yellow foam and true enough, it would depress where I’d press down but would lift back up when I’d take my hands off. The feel actually reminded me of a much more expensive brand of pillows and mattresses — Tempur.

Since all I needed was a bolster for my yoga practice and for resting my back while blogging, I decided to spend P988 and happily carried the Mates Memory Foam bolster home.

My bolster with a gray suede cover

The memory foam inside looks very much like Tempur foam

What do you know. Hubby loved its feel and even tried it out. The bolster though was too big for his needs; what he really needed was a neck pillow (called Trav-Mate). So next day, I was back at the supermarket to get him one. Price: P788. The neck pillow comes in 2 variants: firm and soft. The firm one is best for traveling, like in vehicles, when you want to sleep but want your neck to be held firmly in place while vehicle moves. But for sleeping on beds or at home in lounging chairs, the soft one is more comfortable and follows the outline of your face and jaws.

Trav-Mate neck pillow (PhP 788)

More discussions with the saleslady and here’s what I found out. The memory foam is imported but is made into different products locally. Many doctors recommend these to their patients who need comfort and support in various forms. I was told that local hospitals have also ordered memory foam products.

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November 23, 2012
by Yogajane
0 comments

When the Caregiver Needs Care

Have you ever stopped to think about how difficult a job it is to be a caregiver? To be physically, mentally and emotionally drained each and every day caring for someone who is sick?

This really hit me when I became one for over a month.

A bit of background

Just last month, my husband was found to have a fairly serious medical condition. I can only speak in general terms here about his illness, knowing how private he is. But suffice it to say, he had to undergo several medical procedures and tests, be confined two weeks in a row, with me being his primary caregiver.

Staying in a hospital is no stay in a hotel, despite all the modern amenities. While many hours are spent almost leisurely, you are constantly barraged by nurses and resident doctors coming in for all sorts of questions and examinations. Then, because the patient is on an intravenous (I.V.) drip, the need to go to the bathroom becomes a fairly regular thing. At night, at least in the room we were assigned to, the strong blast of cold air from the centralized airconditioning kept me shivering despite a comforter.

Just as we were being discharged from hospital, my own mother was being checked in by my siblings. As it turned out, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to stay several days in confinement. She was discharged to the care of one of my sisters as we refused to have her operated or opened up in any way but after another two weeks, she turned for the worse, was hospitalized once again, and passed away last November 10.

The wake was short but definitely still tiring and stressful for my family. I already felt a threatening sore throat but took to vitamins to stave it off. After my Mom was cremated and things began settling, I went back to caregiver mode for my husband. That was when my body gave out. What started as pollen allergies (from a flowering tree in our frontyard) became fullblown cough and colds, upper respiratory congestion, an achy body and night chills.

I’m currently on antibiotics and feeling like the worst is over. I believe I am on the road to recovery quite soon.

This is my realization. Many times, a caregiver falls ill AFTER taking care of a patient.

When members of the family take ill, everyone is so focused on the patient. We forget that it is also taking a toll on the caregiver. If that caregiver is you, you need to take extra care of yourself.

Despite my own personal precautions like taking vitamins and resting whenever I could, I still got sick. Why? Because I think two sick people to be concerned about plus a wake afterwards was just too much for one body to take in the span of just 1 month.

So what if something does happen in your family. Your child gets sick. Or your husband. Or some other member of the family. And you end up as the caregiver. What steps can you take?

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November 1, 2012
by Yogajane
1 Comment

Book Launch: Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi by Brian Leaf

I loved Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love” book, read it from cover to cover, watched the movie, did my mini version of an Eat Pray Love out of town weekend with a yogini friend, Ria. And once I get over the mound of started-but-still-unfinished books on my night table, I’ll begin reading its sequel book.

But guess what. There’s a male Eat, Pray, Love kind of book just out.

A couple of months ago, a guy named Brian Leaf contacted me. Did I know Brian? No. At least not till he introduced himself to me in his email. As it turns out, Brian is a yogi (a Garden State yogi, to be exact) who is launching his book “Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi: My Humble Quest to Heal my Colitis, Calm my ADD, and Find the Key to Happiness” this month. Brian asked if I wanted to check out his book and introduce it to the yoga community here in the Philippines. Of course I said yes.

I’ve began to read Brian’s book and what a hilarious, un-yogi kind of book it is. In just the few pages I’ve read, I’ve broken out laughing at some of his misadventures which he describes with such clarity, you can almost visualize the whole scene. This is definitely not my usual yoga book (and I have quite a number of them on my bookshelf, mostly the theory and practice of yoga) but I am learning that yogis are not just serious practitioners; there is a fun, wacky, spirited side to us. At the same time, Brian touches on health aspects that all of us can relate to.

It’s a true story, written in Brian’s hilariously light writing style. He opens a window into how he signed up for a yoga class back in 1989 (and back then, you were an oddity if you were a man signing up for a yoga class) without knowing what he was really in for. Twenty-three years later, he is a teacher of yoga, meditation and Ayurveda and is the founder of a holistic tutoring center, New Leaf Learning Center, which helps students with ailments similar to his once upon a time. He helps them manage ADD and overcome test and math phobias.

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October 26, 2012
by Yogajane
0 comments

Yoga Anatomy app is currently free

This is a very short post just to announce that the Yoga Anatomy app for the iPhone and iPad is currently FREE!!! If I’m not mistaken, this used to be a $1.99 app. Yay!

It actually looks very similar to the Yoga Anatomy book I have by Leslie Kaminoff which features several illustrated asanas showing which muscles are being worked in each asana.

Sixteen of the more common asanas are featured in this app. When you click on one of the poses (given in English and Sanskrit), it brings up the illustrated asana which is then rotated 360 degrees so you see it from all angles. Contracting muscles are shown in blue while stretching muscles are in red. Their scientific names are given as well – a fastbreak anatomy lesson, actually. Here are some screenshots from the iTunes page of Yoga Anatomy app:

The 16 asanas featured are:

Bow
Bridge
Camel
Cobra
Downward-Facing Dog
Headstand
Plow
Scorpion
Seated-Forward Fold
Shoulder Stand
Side Plank
Staff
Toe Hold
Tree
Wheel
Wide-Stance Forward Bend

Whether you’re just starting, been practising for some time now, or a certified yoga teacher already, I think you’ll find this app an interesting introduction to how the muscles are worked by each of the asanas.

This app was made by Gabriel Vicente and is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod Touch (3rd to 5th gen), and the iPad. It requires iOS 5.0 or later.

Get it now before it becomes a paid app again.

September 6, 2012
by Yogajane
2 Comments

The Yogini from Manila lands in the Top 100 Best Yoga Blogs

An email took me by surprise this week. My blog is included in the Institute for the Psychology of Eating‘s 2012 Top 100 Best Yoga Blogs!

HOW COOL IS THIS!

I mean, this listing counts among the 100 listed those which I read often because either they are blogs of yoga teachers or practitioners that I have already touched base with, or are awesome yoga sites I personally use as references. In this listing are sites like Yoga Journal, Daily Cup of Yoga, The Everything Yoga, My Yoga Online, Elsie’s Yoga Kula, Gaiam, YogaDork, Elephant Journal and Lululemon Athletica and so many more awesome blogs that I will be including in my yoga blogroll.

Mr. Perry Malowitz of The Institute for the Psychology of Eating describes the institute as “the world’s leading school in nutritional psychology and focus on providing students and professionals with a certification in Dynamic Eating Psychology and Mind Body Nutrition”. In his email to me, Mr. Malowitz explained: “We wanted to provide our audience with a curated list of what we believe are the top blogs on women’s empowerment that align with our philosophy and provide added value to the Internet.”

Here are screenshots showing parts of the Institute’s blog post as well as the one showing my blog’s listing.

Thank you, Institute for the Psychology of Eating, for giving me this honor. I am now even more inspired to make my yoga blog better in so many other ways.

Namaste.

August 13, 2012
by Yogajane
0 comments

Yin + Vinyasa = YINyasa

Yoga means to unify — and it unifies everything that represents us to make a whole. And if our wholeness consists of a yin (passive, serene, quiet) side, surely the other half is yang (active, flowing, moving).

For many, many years, my practice almost always was yang — vinyasa (consisting of fluid, flowing motions that transition from one to the other. It was only in the last year and a half that I got introduced to my new love – yin yoga.

I’ve been doing nothing but yin yoga for many months now. Whether in class at Beyond Yoga or at home, I would always choose to attend yin yoga class. I felt I needed it. It nurtured me. It quieted noise inside me coming from many circumstances beyond my control. Monica’s words were always like balm for my soul. Many times, I would end up in tears while in class and I knew that many of the negative energies surrounding me were being cleansed and detoxed from my body.

Tonight, I did home practice again but for some reason, although I had practised yin yoga the other day, my body today said it wanted something more energetic. So for the first time in so long, I did a vinyasa practice.

I was psyching myself up for difficulty. After all, vinyasa meant I had to do several chaturangas. Surprisingly, all went well. I lacked strength in my arms, definitely. But it wasn’t as bad as I expected. In fact, I enjoyed my return to vinyasa.

But you know what? When I did the heart opening exercises like the Camel, tears flowed for a short while. And I remembered that my tears during vinyasa practice years back always happened when I was in a heart-opening position. At this point in my life, I know that many hurts and pains related to the heart are like open wounds across my soul and these are brought to the surface by yoga, most especially during the heart openers. But tears have a way of healing, cleansing and preparing me to let go, let go, let go. One day, I will learn to totally let go. And just be.

After I was done with my vinyasa practice, I had time to think about how I could customize and innovate on my home practice.

If yin-yang were indeed 2 equal parts of a whole, why can I not combine my practice to incorporate yin and vinyasa in one session? YINyasa!

“Yang cannot exist by itself; it can exist only when it is supported by yin…” ~ Shao Yong, philosopher

Excited, I began to google and found out that in the U.S., there are indeed a few classes that combine these 2 styles.Yeah, why not?

I think I will experiment with YINyasa both ways. One day, I will do yin first (to stretch tissues, open up the hips, create spaces and remove blockages to energy flows) in preparation for the active vinyasa. Maybe 30 minutes of yin followed by an hour of vinyasa would do. And then in another session, I might start with vinyasa and end with yin so that my end-of-day can be quiet, relaxed and meditative.

If you are a yoga teacher who has done a combination of yin and vinyasa in one class, I would love to hear your thoughts and inputs for my practice.

Love and Light….

Om Shanti…

August 10, 2012
by Yogajane
1 Comment

A Day of Yin Yoga, Smoothies and Bonding

The strong rains could not dampen the enthusiasm of some bloggers and runners who came to the Beyond Yoga studio last August 3. Ria and I had organized a free yin yoga class for them with Dona as teacher but as it rained cats and dogs that day, we were trying not to be anxious wondering who would actually show up.

Well, 10 of us showed up. We had a class!!!

I was actually eager for bloggers to try yoga because our blogging lifestyle is just the complete opposite of what yin yoga is. You find bloggers hunched over a laptop practically the whole day. We’d be sitting for hours on end (bad, bad for the back and hips!). And attending blogging events could be hectic as we’d rush from one event to another, all the while busy taking pictures. Our bodies and minds were always active. We sorely need yin yoga to balance all these movements with something still, quiet and meditative, in a way.

The serious look of everyone got more serious (or anxious) when Dona started the class by saying: “Okay, let’s all get into a headstand!”. Waaaah! Of course she was kidding. And that was the icebreaker.

Dona prepared yin yoga sequences that were particularly suited for bloggers (and runners). Most of these pictures are courtesy of Ria who was our photographer for the day. Thanks, Ria!