Yoga Partner

I was pleasantly surprised by today's class as Lily suggested that we do yoga partner. Lily asked us to carry each other on our back, and initially I was apprehensive as I didn't want to break anyone's back. Lily being a petite,assured me that it is ok & I kept asking her "are you sure??? really sure I won't break your back???". It was an uplifting feeling, wow I can't believe it that petite Lily can carry me up to a level that high. I could hear every vertebrae stretched by the crackling sound. (the lady in the pic is not me)

Partner assisted forward bend.
I went down at ease with the help of my partner as her weight presses my back downwards to my knees.

Being on top, we did feel a really good stretch from the armpit to the upper arm. I did feel it was a good stretch for the back & it was very relaxing at the same time.

make sure your back is resting on each other comfortably & with the legs stretched out.

Is yoga measured by the years??

Recently, my yoga teacher asked me "the question" that I find it embarrassing to answer, "so how many years have you been doing yoga"? ehmmmmm, how many years??, ermmm, I was shy to say that I have been practising yoga for about 4 years now. Why embarrassed, you may ask. Its because I still can't do the head stand??? Therefore, I asked myself, is yoga practise measured by the number of years or is it the essence of practising yoga is more important?

Though I can't do the head stand or many other asanas, which I think only "super human" can do, I somehow feel contented with what I can do, as I think that we should respect our body & not push it to the limit or beyond its capabilities- listen to your body. I learnt do understand the goodness of doing the asanas by breathing right, enjoying the breathe, enjoying the asanas by understanding the purpose doing it, e.g. whether its to strengthen the arms, the legs, the core or just to increase your flexibility. I stopped competing with myself!! Just go with the Flow. But of course, someday I hope I am able to do the head stand.

There is only 1 class scheduled for this week as Friday is Labour Day, I guess the teacher would also require a rest day.

1) Monday, 27/04/09

Class : Hatha 2

Teacher : Lily Yap

Time :4.30pm - 5.45pm

Classes for the week of 20/4/09

classes scheduled for this week as follows :-

1) Mon (20/04/09)

Class : Hatha,ending with Yin

Teacher : Lily

Time : 4.30pm-5.30pm

2) Fri (24/04/09)

Class : Flow

Teacher : Keane

Time : 4.30pm-6.00pm

Classes for the week of 13th April 2009

Classes as follows :-

1) Monday 13/04/09

Class : Hatha

Instructor : Lily Yap

Time : 4.30- 5.45pm


2) Friday 17/04/09

Class : Flow

Instructor : Keane

Time : 4.30pm - 6.00pm


Please bring your own mat, towel & water & most important, your yoga body & mind!

Lazy.......

I have been tooooo lazy to update the blog with pictures & also missed out on updating last week's schedules. Its just that sometimes when you are in the pose, you just don't reach out for the camera & start snapping pictures. Its only possible to take pictures when you can't do the pose & just watching your neighbour do it or a pose that requires teacher's personal attention, where he goes to individual to guide you to the pose or when the teachers' are demonstrating some ultra impossible posses. Sometimes, when the teachers ask us to do certain poses, we ask them, is it even humanly anatomically possible???? Then, of course they would have to show us, that's when I would quickly reach out for the camera. YES, its possible! Isn't our body wonderful? Learn to love your body & appreciate its functions, flexibility, strength & take care of it like you would love with all your love. Stay healthy with exercise, whether it is the gym or yoga or any other form of exercise, eat right, sleep well & love well and spread your love & radiance to everyone around you and make the world a better place.

Classes for this week :-

1) Tuesday (07/04/09)

Class : Pilates

Instructor : Felix

Time : 3.00pm-4.15pm


2) Friday (10/04/09)

Class : Flow

Instructor : Keane

Time : 4.30pm-6.00pm


3) Sunday (12/04/09)

Class : Yin

Instructor : Felix

Time : 10.00am- 11.00am

It all started with Downward Dog :)

Before getting into the above position, we had to practice on all fours with distributing/balancing on one arm & one leg of the opposite sides, just to prepare the body & mind for what is coming next! Then we went into downward dog. Felix said "please get into your most comfortable downward dog and make sure that 4 corners are firmly grounded on the ground with equal weight distribution".

From the above to this, need good arm strength and balance.

This was tougher as besides the arm strength, balance, you also need flexibility to reach out the hand to bind your foot & when you can't see the back, plus all the other things on your mind, (hanging on there with the arm, keeping the balance) I couldn't reach it as I don't even know where my foot was bending to, I know it was bent towards the front, but somehow the foot & hand didn't meet.

From the above position, we also turned sideways, like a side plank.

Beautifully done! Opposite leg & hand up the air/on the floor

This is just another pose for the release of the deltoids. Try it, you will feel a release of the shoulders. Go on all four then thread left arm under the right shoulder with palm facing upwards, then lift right leg up to bind with your right hand & straighten left leg.

But just be cautious of the neck, you should not put the weight on the neck, but on the shoulder instead. The back leg should be straighten.



Classes for this week :-



1) Tuesday (24/03/09)

Class : Yogilates

Instructor : Felix

Time : 3.00pm-4.15pm


2) Friday (27/03/09)

Class : Hatha

Instructor : Keane

Time : 4.30pm-6.00pm


3) Sunday (29/03/09)

Class : Flow

Instructor : Felix

Time : 10.30am- 11.30am

Doing the Split!!!!

During the 90 mins, Keane started us with Sun Salutations A, B & maybe C and there were lots of stretching of the hamstring, the quadriceps, the hips and low lunges. Of course none of us know what was in Keane's mind was that he was warming us up for the SPLIT in the last 20 mins of class!!! Luckily for some of us that attended Sunday's Yin class has already done lots of stretching of the quadriceps (pls see earlier post, pigeon pose would also prepare you for the split).

Still lots of stretching required here as flexibility is the key to doing a split. But I must say that its awesome that she can get to this stage as she has improved tremendously in her flexibility. They kept insisting that Caucasians are not as flexible as the Asians??? Is that true???

And it if gets painful, use the block to support your back thigh.




Still need more flexibility on the hips, as a perfect split is with the hip square. Keane was trying really hard to rotate the back thigh inwards to square the hip. It was an ordeal, very, very,very painful. But at least I hit the floor, LOL

I've a slight tan, that's why I am a little late in posting this week's schedule.

Classes for the week :-

1) Tuesday (17/03/09)

Class : Yogilates

Instructor : Felix

Time : 3.00pm-4.15pm

2) Sunday (22/03/09)

Class : Gentle Flow

Instructor : Felix

Time : 11.00am - 12.15pm

Yin with Felix

It has been ages since anyone of us had a yin class & Felix is a really good Yin teacher. Therefore, all of us woke up to a early Sunday for some Yin.

Pigeon pose with a more intense stretch of the quadriceps.

Yin Yoga is the relaxed practice of floor postures for three to five minutes at a time. It is the ideal complement to more muscular or “Yang” forms of Yoga. A Yin practice emphasizes the connective tissues of the hips, thighs, pelvis and lower spine. In this way it prepares the body and the mind for longer meditation practices. By drawing the student’s awareness away from the muscles and deeper into the bones a deep level of relaxed focus is achieved.Yin Yoga is the relaxed practice of floor postures for three to five minutes at a time. It is the ideal complement to more muscular or “Yang” forms of Yoga. A Yin practice emphasizes the connective tissues of the hips, thighs, pelvis and lower spine. In this way it prepares the body and the mind for longer meditation practices. By drawing the student’s awareness away from the muscles and deeper into the bones a deep level of relaxed focus is achieved.

Classes for week of 09/03/09

1) Tues (10/3/09)

Time : 3.00pm - 4.15pm

Class : Yogilates

Instructor : Felix


2) Friday (13/3/09)

Time : 4.30pm- 6.00pm

Class : Hatha 1.5 (for practitioners in between, LOL)

Instructor : Keane

Classes for the week of 2nd March 2009

There goes another month and it seems to me that days flies by quickly.

Yoga at the poolside is still in existence, thanks to all the support from keen practitioners whom has been attending since classes started & also to those "newbies" joining the class. And not forgetting the dedicated teachers that travels into the hub of the city sometimes during the peak hours just to share their passion of yoga with us :), as without them, I'd most probably be stagnant at my practice. I said that because, it takes someone with more experience to guide you thru the proper use of muscle groups, or guiding you how to stretch with the right twist & turn of of your legs, arms, spine, etc. In my personal opinion, it makes a lot of difference, when you are doing it correctly, I am able to open up more, in every single way possible, (grinning) mentally, physically & emotionally.


1) Tuesday (03/03/09)

Class : Hatha

Instructor : Felix

Time : 3.00pm - 4.00pm


2) Friday (06/03/09)

Class : Gentle Flow

Instructor : Keane

Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm


3) Sunday (08/03/09)

Class : Yin

Instructor : Felix

Time : 11.00am-12.15pm


Please rsvp by e-mail or text me. Kindly bring your own mat, water & towel. See ya!

Classes for the week of 24th February 2009

Classes lined up for the week :-


1) Tuesday (24/2/09)

Class : Hatha

Instructor : Felix

Time : 5.00pm - 6.15pm


2) Friday (27/2/09)

Class : Gentle Flow

Instructor : Felix

Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm


3) Sunday (29/2/09)

Class : Flow ends with Yin

Instructor : Felix

Time : 11.00am-12.15pm

Please rsvp by e-mail or text me. Kindly bring your own mat, water & towel. See ya!

Classes for the week of 16th February 2009

Happy belated VALENTINE'S everyone :-

Classes lined up for the week :-

1) Tuesday (17/2/09)

Class : Yogilates

Instructor : Felix
Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm

2) Friday (20/2/09)

Class : Gentle Flow

Instructor : Keane

Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm

3) Sunday (22/2/09)

Class : Flow & ends with Yin

Instructor : Felix

Time : 11.00am-12.15pm

Please rsvp by e-mail or text me. Kindly bring your own mat, water & towel. See ya!

Pigeon by the Wall?

Perfecting the pigeon pose with the back foot pressed firmly against the wall, rotating the thigh inwards. With the foot pressed against the wall, we are able to align our hips and feel the pose deeper.

Pigeon with a twisted tale.

If you can't place your elbow just right beside your foot to deepen the twist, you could then place the elbow on your knee. I like this pose, as I can feel the twist to the max!

Pigeon with the leg extended to the side.

This is just a warm up for the next pose.

Tah-dahhhhh. this is the pose, press the right foot firmly on the floor and the left arm extending out to open up your chest. Phew, I had a good excuse not to do the pose as I've not recovered from my wrist injury (not due to yoga though, it was the pressure cooker filled with ribs!)

Is this the 8 angle pose ? with a variation?

It is easier when the foot is hooked firmly to the other calve (well, according to those that did the pose).

Classes for the week of 2nd Feb 09

Gosh, how time flies, it's already Feb & I've not been yogaing since CNY holidays, except for Sun but requested for a gentle class as most of us have not been yogaing. With all the indulgence in the sugar, lunches & dinners after dinners, & I do have a tendency to over indulge, I ought to get back to my normal mode of exercise & practice mind control (over cookies, LOL!).

Therefore, the classes lined-up for this week :-

1) Tuesday (3/2/09)

Class : Yoga Core

Instructor : Felix Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm

2) Friday (6/2/09)

Class : Gentle Flow

Instructor : Keane

Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm

3) Sunday (8/2/09)

Class : Flow

Instructor : Keane

Time : 11.00am-12.15pm

Please rsvp by e-mail or text me. Kindly bring your own mat, water & towel. See ya!

Classes for the week of 19/1/09

Dear All,

Schedule for this week are as follows :-

1) Tuesday (20/1/09)

Class : Hatha

Instructor : Felix

Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm


2) Friday (23/1/09)

Class : Flow

Instructor : Keane

Time : 4.30pm - 5.45pm


With CNY round the corner, there wouldn't be any class this weekend. Teachers will be out of town & some got to spring clean the house, put out the sugary flour based cookies, put up some bright red decorations ready to welcome guests. Oh yah, forgot about getting the angpows ready.


Please rsvp by e-mail or text me. Kindly bring your own mat, water & towel. See ya!

of Hips and Backs

This is a great hip opener, legs in full lotus pose. The pose looks simple, however, it requires good balance, strong core to hold the legs close to the body & flexibility to have your arms in front of the legs. Some warms up pose before getting into this pose as below:-

You could also do the pigeon pose or the cradle, which I like or whichever pose that you favour that opens up your hips.

Ouch, ouch, ouch!

Before attempting to do the Bow pose, we had to warm up our spine, hence the flexibility. The warm up poses includes camel pose to open up the back, single leg lifts (1 legged bow pose, with opposite hand holding the leg.). But then of course, perfection in the pose is important to Felix that he had to pull our legs to the back as we aren't strong enough to kick our legs to the back to help us raise our body higher. Gosh, it hurts, and I was just holding back my facial expression as I know pics are being taken.

I would say that her bow pose is beautiful. But wait till you scroll down further to see Felix, the rubber man.



Rubber man showing off to us, LOL.