Is There Water in the House?

Today marks a year of no water during class. What started as a challenge after a fellow yogi mentioned that one can survive without water for 90 minutes turned out to be a win-win situation for me. Without having that "security blanket", I am no longer distracted by wanting to drink. On top of that, I no longer carry extra luggage in my gut, especially when doing backward bends and forward bends.

Sure, the room is hot, I am sweating buckets, I constantly lick my lips, but instead of water, I rely on my breath. It's just amazing how breathing continuously through the nose is all I need to refuel. When I fell dizzy after some postures, I breathe. It prevents me from panicking, from wanting to lie down. The two-minute Savansana is just pure heaven. It definitely is the refueling stage of the class.

The next time you feel like a refreshment, go have sips of air, JUST BREATHE. Namaste.

Good night, Mommy. I love you.

"We Need Some Energy..."

It's a Tuesday and it's my day off. Bonus. I seldom get Tuesdays off. So there I was, showing up for the 9:00AM class. After a glorious, sunny Monday, Tuesday greeted our beautiful city with the cold and damp. If it had been December, I would not have gotten out of bed. But I have the momentum back and I felt that it would be such a waste not to practice today.

In the change room, I was greeted by a familiar face, that of my neighbour down the street where I live. She said, "You have energy, please give us some energy, we need it today!" I'm not sure if I just happened to show up when she felt like saying that, but hey, it sure felt great that she had said that to me. THAT gave me energy, for sure! I replied, "Oh boy, the pressure is on!" :)

As much as we focus on ourselves for 90 minutes, little do we know that our fellow yogis do notice, do feel the energy in the room. Without our noticing it, we do help our fellow yogis when they're not feeling 100% by sharing our energy. We talk about how much this yoga has improved the quality of our lives. What could be better than knowing that, at the same time, it is also encouraging others not to give up on themselves. Namaste.

Good night, Mommy. I love you.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Today would have been my Mommy's 86th birthday. Sadly, she left us close to a year ago now. And we all miss her every single day that goes by.

When we lived in the Philippines, birthdays in our family were special events. Our big, extended family always got together for dinner, either at our favourite Chinese restaurant named Shantung, then dessert of ice cream at the Magnolia House on the way home. Before Mommy retired, her work family always feted her on her birthday. She was very well-loved, by her colleagues and staff, and her patients. She would come home with an assortment of gifts and flowers.

But as much as I know that she felt very appreciated by these gestures, nothing gives her more pleasure than spending time with her family. A simple birthday card with words of love and affection from her children will instantly bring a smile on her beautiful face.

Yesterday I spent some time at her graveside to wish her a Happy Birthday. My two brothers and our Dad were there too, and we shared our thoughts, shed some tears, oh how we miss her so! I've dreamed about her twice within the space of maybe 2-3 days last week. She was happy, and she was among her family. In the first dream, I gave her a big hug, so happy to see her, then realized that she wasn't meant to be there. Nevertheless, it appeared that she was meant to be there, with us. In the second dream, I saw her walking towards an adjacent building. When I checked on her, I saw that she was getting dressed in something special for her birthday party. When I told my sister about these dreams, she said that it was probably Mommy's way of making sure that she is not forgotten on her birthday. Ah, but she need not worry, because she will always be in our hearts, our thoughts. We know that she is always with us, wherever we are, whatever we are doing.

Good night, Mommy. I love you. Enjoy your special day with Lolo, Lola, and all our relatives who have gone before the rest of us. We will always hold you close to our hearts.

Could It Be?....

...that my tennis elbow is on a true mend after only 2 1/2 weeks? I've practiced twice without the brace, and although I could still feel some painful twitches, I am now able to position my arms underneath my body in Locust. The Rabbit Pose, which was the most painful, is now do-able.

Love it or hate it, in my case, it's true love that I feel for this yoga. I've read a few sentiments about it, both positve and negative. As much as I am an advocate--yeah, I was called Crazy Woman by a couple of friends--I do accept that it is not for everybody. All I can do is to continue practicing and be the walking proof of its benefits. The most notable ones that I could think of are: 1. I've never had a bad case of a cold or cough, or the flu since I started practicing; 2. I've had people compliment me on my good posture; 3. My clothes are fitting better; 4. I just feel damn GREAT!!!

Good night, Mommy. I love you.

This Week in Retrospect

Great, great, great! It feels so good to be back on a regular basis, that is, a 3-days-a-week practice. I would love to practice EVERYDAY, you know, make it routine like taking a shower and brushing your teeth, but unfortunately, the way my life is right now, I can only manage 3 days and depending on how my work schedule is laid out, 4 days tops. I would love to raise my hand whenever our teacher asks who among us is doing the 30 or 60 Day Challenge. Fellow yogis have been asking me if I am doing the challenge. Well, I am aiming for April and making it an annual April 30 Day Challenge. The significance of April is that I did it in April of last year, and that my Mom passed away on Day 29. I missed Day 30, but I somehow, miraculously, managed to practice on May 1st. It was surreal. I was in tears for the most part, but I pulled through. I thought of making it my personal tribute to her, as she is very special to me. No, she was not a yogi, but she lived her life with honesty, integrity, and grace...virtues that I hope I will emulate and impress upon my daughter one day.

How has my practice been? Well, I am happy to report that it has "kickstarted" into gear after being on hiatus during the Christmas holidays. Instead of feeling reluctant to get up and go, I now couldn't wait to get back to the hot room again. I have been called "crazy" by some friends, crazy for loving this yoga, crazy for spending 90 minutes in the heat and humidity (well, I do have the advantage of being born and raised in a hot and humid country, though), crazy for not minding the body odours, crazy for not minding being sometimes hit by sweat beads flung by other yogis, the list goes on. Oh yeah, and crazy for not drinking water for 90 minutes. Oh my friends, you have not discovered the power of being able to master your monkey minds. I was reading Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class book and he pointed out the saying, "The mind is willing, but the body is weak" as not true. Rather, it is the body that is willing, and the mind is weak. I do agree with him. During conversation with a fellow yogi after class, she wondered how I could "survive" not taking water during class, and eyes got even wider when I told her that it has been 11 months of doing so. All I said was, pointing to my temple, "It's all in the mind. Personally, it is a distraction." I will say it again. Anything is possible, if you just put your mind to it.

Good night, Mommy. I love you.

Four Classes After the T.E. Incident

So far so good. I've had 4 classes tucked under my belt since injuring my right elbow last Sunday. Full arm extensions are still painful in Half Moon and Locust. Eagle and Rabbit are still not "there", but I am still thankful to be able to last 90 minutes.

At last! I survived Trikanasana (Triangle) at class today! And the forehead also touched the floor in Separate Leg Stretching once or twice. I guess my hips are opening up and the hamstrings are waking up. It is such a great feeling to experience even a centimetre or two of progress.

I have a couple of days off from practice so I hope that this won't set me back. Well, even if it does, one just has to start again. Even with all these setbacks and challenges, nothing beats coming to the torture chamber, being "killed" for 90 minutes, then feeling like a million bucks afterward.

Good night, Mommy. I love you.

A New Challenge: Practicing with a Tennis Elbow

I am not a tennis player. My Dad was, and an avid one at that, until he reached his 80s and realised that he could no longer run as fast as he should in order to return the ball. When I was a teenager, he would take me with him to the courts on Sundays. I didn't get the chance to watch him play competitively, though. Basically, this Sunday ritual was his way of keeping fit. He also hoped that I would take on the sport. I was not made for tennis, rather, I preferred to play volleyball.

Last Sunday, while preparing supper, I acquired this tennis elbow. That really hurt. I've never had an injury this bad before, considering that I was a very active kid. I was worried that my yoga practice will be put on hold during the healing process.

I saw my doctor and he advised me to wear a brace. I also asked my yoga buddy/instructor B. if I could still practice, and she said that it's okay to do so as long as I take it easy. I felt so relieved! I can't imagine myself not practicing, and I do know that I will terribly miss it.

I practiced yesterday and today, wearing the brace. I took it really easy yesterday. The postures I went easy on were the Half Moon, Eagle, Locust, and Rabbit. The Rabbit posture hurt the most. Today, I decided to push myself a little bit, and I made some progress with these postures. I listened to my elbow, and backed off when I had to.

When we were in Savasana today, our instructor C. said that we kill ourselves for 90 minutes in the hot room so we can feel great AFTER. Yeah, she hit the nail right on the head. No pain, no gain. It's all good. I've never been more inspired to continue practicing. Even with this injury. Anything is possible. Namaste.

Good night, Mommy. I love you.