I was back from my yearly Taiwan trip last night and back to the Mysore room this morning. It's been awhile since I practiced in the room. I missed the vibe and energy there. I took it easy today as it was my first day back from vacation. I only practiced the Primary Series to ground myself. It was a great practice, exactly what I needed after 11 hour flight.

​I was more than ready to get into my regular practice with awesome backbends (aka Kapotasana) and Eka Pada Sirsasana preparation. It's been too long since I got assisted in Kapotasasa and I missed it.

Today was one of the longest practice I've ever done, more than 2 hours long. To be honest, I wasn't really practicing the full 2 hours; instead, my teacher came and helped me quite a bit. She gave me lots of tips and advises on how to self correct certain asana alignments or deepen the postures. A lot of the focuses were on backbends and hip openings.

For backbends, She put lots of emphases on why I should keep my neck long, not to drop my head until the last minute, etc. When dropping the head too early in a backbend, I could easily lose the front body engagement and missed the opportunity to open shoulders. I felt a great shift in my backbend when keeping the gaze up until the last minute.

Since I have been prepping for Eka Pada Sirsasana for a while, she said to me today that the only way to learn the pose was to DO IT. So she came and helped me get into Eka Pada Sirsasana A & B. I was helped to get into variation A once and today was my first time to try B. Even with her help, I couldn't get into the full pose, but at least I got the sense of the asana. It wasn't easy and I had a long way to go.

Yoga is a lifetime practice. I don't expect to nail all asanas in a day or I will miss the joy of this journey.

I woke up 20 minutes earlier than usual today. Maybe I still had some jet lag. Since I was already up, I decided to start my practice early.

I have been practicing Pasasana for almost 10 months using a 2" thick block under my heels. I could bind on the first side most of times, but struggled on the second side. Today, the assistant came and told me that it was time to get rid of the block. I was thinking in my head that no way I could do it. Little did I know, she was right. I was able to bind and balance with my feet on the ground on the first side and with some help on the second side. I was shocked. I didn't think I could do it, but I DID it.

Sometimes, we are just too comfortable to stay in our comfort zone and refuse to step out.
Often times, we underestimate our capability and make no progress in our practice or at work.
Always, we'd be amazed by the outcome if we are willing to make the change and acknowledge our abilities. 

​I pulled my left QL muscle over the weekend. As a result, I had to be careful with my practice today. I went to see the Physical Therapist yesterday and he helped ease the pain quite a lot. Luckily, he didn't think there was anything major and suggested me to practice with caution. 


So I went to the Mysore room this morning. I felt the pain mostly when I did twist asanas or poses required me to life the left leg. Other than that, I was fine. Besides modifying my practice, I also skipped some asanas including jump back and jump through, Bhujapidasana, Kurmasana, Supta Kurmasana, Garbha Pindasana and Kukkutasana in the Primary series. I did practice the Intermediate Series up to Kapotasana. Of course, I didn't do the full Kapotasana. I was surprised that my back loved back bends. I thought my bad would disagree with Salabasana, but it turned out my back felt great while in back bends. I had a small chat with my teacher about my injury. Apparently, her back was similar to mine, which our backs loved back bends but not so much for twisting. She asked me to really engage my core while doing twisting poses as well as back bends to protect my back. She made me realize how little did I engage my core. Even my Physical Therapist suggested me to do my deadlift so strength my back muscles and tighten my core to stabilize the lumbar spine.


After finishing my practice, my back felt amazing. It was definitely not as painful as it was before the practice. I am glad that I did the Intermediate Series. Those back bends really help a lot.

Way overdue on publishing my Sept practice journal.

Atsuro Chiba was in town this week. My friends highly recommended him, so I decided to attend his Mysore classes these two days. Recently, I am more open minded about taking other teachers' classes. I believe every instructor has something to offer and I can learn things from them. 

Atsuro seemed to be a very calm person. I could sense his passion about yoga. He was knowledgeable in anatomy of asanas and great at adjusting students to take them deeper into poses safely. I did my normal practice these days, Primary Series till Baddha Konasana B and Second Series till Eka Pada Sirsasana preparation followed by finishing poses. His adjustment was one of the bests I've ever received. The way he adjusted students was different to what I used to in a good way. He definitely pushed me further and took me outside of my comfort zone. If he adjusted me on one side, he stayed next to me and waited the second side so that I wouldn't be "lopsided."

There were quite a few astonishing adjustments that I would like to share:

Janu sirsasana C - 
I had been struggling with this asana since day one. My ankles were never conformable in the pose. Recently, it started to hurt my upper calves where I could feel knots on both sides. Atsuro instructed me square my pelvis. Apparently, the side of the hip with the bent knee was further back than the other side. While he was helping me to square the hip, I found this pose became even harder and unapproachable. I felt the limitation of the ankle flexibility. With the squared hip, I could not really fold forward. Note, I've propped myself on a block. He made my realize that there was lots of work for me to do.


Marichyasana C & D - 
He sat next to me and helped me to get into a deeper twist with a deeper bind. In Marichyasana D, he grounded my non-marichysasa leg down and got me into deeper twist. It was such a good sensation. I wish I could express the feeling by words. He was able to take me deeper into the poses, where I've never been to in the past. He magically created more space between my vertebrae to allow deep twist to happen.

Supta Kurmasana - 
I got assisted in this asana a lot. My hips were pretty open, but for some reasons, my legs couldn't go behind my head. Either my hips lacked of mobility or outer thighs were too tight, or both. I have been rolling my outer thighs and I hoped it would help. As to the mobility, I started adding additional hip stretch toward the end of my practice before the finishing sequence to prep for Eka Pada Sirsasana. In the past, I've never been able to cross ankles and hook my feet in Supta Kurmasana, but Atsuro helped me to get there today. I had no idea how he did it. My ankles were crossed and feet were rested on a block. Though I couldn't clasp my fingers behind my back, I was very excited about the progress and achievement.

Pasasana - 
It was another asana that I needed help. One a good day, I could bind on the first side (I couldn't bind in the second side without help yet), but normally, I could only get my fingers to touch unless the teacher came and helped me. I wondered if it was because of Atsuro's adjustments in Marichyasana C & D, I was able to bind and clasp fingers with ease on both sides. And of course, he came and helped me to get even deeper into the pose. Another big break through for me.

Bhekasana - 
I didn't usually get assist in this pose, but I enjoyed it a lot when I did get help. Atsuro told me that my legs were too close to each other and I needed to separate the knees further apart. As he helped me to lift up the chest, I was surprised that there was so much more room that he could lift me up. I couldn't see how high I went, but I could feel it was VERY HIGH. I remembered my teacher told me to use the back muscles more to lift up. I tried, but there was so much I could lift by myself. Just another area that I need to work on.

Kapotasana - 
One of my biggest fear. I always took a deep breath before going into Kapotasana to prepare myself. There was a voice in my head saying "here we go." In this pose, I could touch toes by myself when I didn't get help. With help, I could catch the arches of my feet, which was deepest Kapotasana I've done. I was shocked when Atsuro took me to a much deeper Kapotasana today. When he came to help me, I thought he would help me to catch the arch of my feet at most because that was what I was used to. I was so wrong. He came with an intention to help me "cup" the heels. I was so not prepared for that. I could feel how deep that back bend was. Muscles, tendons and fascias were stretched out so much so that I thought I was going to break into half. That said, there wasn't any uncomfortable or disturbing pain. It was just a DEEP back bend. I didn't feel much of stretch on my back. most of the tightness came from my front body, psoas, hip flexors and quadricepses, in addition to shoulders. 

I might have mentioned before, back bend is not about the flexibility of the spine. The emphasis should be on opening the front body and improving shoulder flexibility.

Urdhva Dhanurasana - 
After Atsuro's help on Kapotasana, I thought he would leave me along in the wheel pose. No, that was not the case. He helped me open the shoulders while I was already in Urdhva Dhanurasana. He put his hands over my scapulae to lift my chest up and forward (away from feet). I thought my arms were straight, but he found room to further straighten my arms without hyper-extending them. There was tremendous amount of external rotation action in shoulder girdles. I felt the road block, shoulders, while he was assisting me in this pose. In a such deep back bend, I felt the tightness of shoulders preventing me from going any deeper.

I appreciated what Atsuro has taught me with his hands. He silently pointed out all the areas that I needed to work on. He proved what I was capable of. He helped me to reach another mile stone in the practice. It was amazing to see the progress I've made along my Ashtanga journey.

My body was so tight today. I wasn't sure whether it was because I ran yesterday for 3 miles or I haven't practiced yoga for 3 days. Or it could be both. I recently started running to improve my cardiovascular. Last time I ran regularly was more than 15 years ago. I was never a runner and disliked running. I wanted to get back to running to increase varieties of exercises. I have been doing Tabata, HIIT and strength training besides yoga for almost one year now. It was time for to try out new thing.

I felt low in energy when walking into the Mysore room. I could feel the soreness and weakness of my body. I was thinking of practicing the Primary Series only today. As I finished the Primary, I felt like I could still keep going. Then I told myself I would stop by Ustrasana. After that, I still felt like I could continue practicing. Because of that, I ended up doing all the poses in Secondary Series that I've been given to Ardha Matysendrasana. I was surprised how strong the mind could be. By telling myself that I had more energy and I wanted more, I was able to finish the full practice, more than what I normally did. I usually skipped poses from Upavistha Konasana to Setu Bandhasana.

Never underestimate what we are capable of!!!

These two weeks have been emotionally difficult for me. My teacher is resigning from the studio where I practice. It's a shocking and sad news too all of her students, including myself. Regardless what happens in the future, she is my teacher, my mentor and my dear friend forever. This Friday will be her last day in the room holding the place for us. I value every moment of my practice with her, under her guidance.

Today was a special day for me. Not only was it my birthday, I also had a break through in my practice. My teacher guided me into Eka Pada Sirsasana today. What? Getting my foot behind the head? I never thought I would be able to do that. Or maybe I would need few more years of practice to get there. She taught me how to warm up my hip and get into deep hip opening and external rotation. During the warm up, I could feel how tight my outer hip and outer thigh were. Those were the areas that she had asked to me put more attention on. Indeed, they did need more love, lots of love. After the warm up, she sat behind me to help me getting the foot UP and BEHIND my head. It was no joke. With her help and support, I was able to bring the foot up. Although it wasn't the most comfortable asana, it was my first time. I was quite excited about the progress I've made throughout my Ashtanga Journey. 

Today was the last day of my teacher holding the place for us. It was one of the most difficult days to practice for me. I was doing well until she entered the room as I was about to get into Kurmasana and Supta Kurmasana. These were the asanas which I got her assist often. When she came to help me, I could feel her gentle touch and her adjustment that was full of love and care. At that moment, I couldn't help but crying. My tears were out of control. Soon after that, she called for the group chant. It was the hardest chant ever. The room was full of silence and sadness. Finally, someone broke silence and started the Om. The chant was mixed with tears and runny noses. It was probably the worst chant we've ever done, but the most heart toughing and beautiful one.

I tried to get myself back together by focusing on the practice, but it could only help so much.  As I was ready for Supta Vijarasana, she came to help me. Here came my tears again. Then she said to me "I am not dying. I am still around." Indeed, she would be around. She just moved on to the next chapter of her journey and I should be happy for her.

I don't like changes. I am comfortable with where I am, but changes may not be a bad thing. Sometimes, things get better with changes. Maybe my teacher has resigned from the studio I practice at, but my friendship and mentor-ship with her do not end here. And of course, my practice will continue.

First day in the room after my teacher's resignation. The vibe and energy were different today, but it was not necessary bad. I missed couple folks who used to come practice early. I was the first one there at 6AM and no one showed up until 20 minutes later. I had full attention from the assistant, which was nice. I was worried that not many people would come to practice today, but I was glad that more people showed up later. The teacher was a sub. She had been subbing in the past, so I was quite familiar with her style. Although her style was different to my teacher, she gave good advice and adjustment.

I was slowly adjusting myself and creating space within to accommodate the change. It is important to find the teacher that I am connected to, but it is MY practice, not my teacher's. Regardless what will happen next, I will carry on what I've learned, keep practicing and welcome the future with an open heart.

I cried today during the opening chant. I wasn't sad or anything, rather I was emotional. The teacher who led the chant was my very first yoga instructor. I knew her since 2012. It was she who inspired me along my yoga journey. It was she who I did my 200 hour RYT with. It was a bless to have her as my teacher, my mentor. 

I am blessed and grateful.

It was nice to come back from the vacation and back to my practice routine, With that said, I still like to be on vacation more than at work.

It felt so good to walk in to the Mysore room, stand on the mat and start my practice this morning. My body ached when I didn't practice for days. I took it easy. I only did the Primary Series, which was exactly what I needed. I particularly enjoyed Urdhva Dhanurasana. It felt great to stretch my upper back and to open my front side body.

I did the Second Series today up to Bharavajasana, which was the last pose I was given to in the Second Series. My hamstring was a little bit sore from the practice yesterday, but overall I felt great.

I had trouble to get into Marichyasana D recently especially the right side, which used to be the better side for me. The pose seemed to be getting more and more challenging. Was it because of the pain on the back of my left knee or something else? My left knee had been hurting for few weeks now. It hurt whenever I kept my it bent. I thought it was caused by yoga because I put my legs in Lotus position a lot. With one week of break from yoga, I imaged it would only get better. In fact, it didn't. Excess sitting on the flight seemed to aggravate the pain. I probably should start taking modification in Marichyasana B and D until the knee gets better. Listen to the advise from my physical therapist.

Regardless how sore my body was, my teacher gave me a new pose, Ardha Matsyendrasana. I've done different variation of the pose for years, but it was my first time trying this version, the opposite hand reached to grab the foot of the Matsyendrasana leg. It wasn't difficult to me compared to Pasasana, which I still couldn't bind every time, and Marichyasana D, which I struggled with lately. My teacher also asked me to start releasing tension on my outer thigh as next set of poses was foot behind the leg postures. My hips were relatively open, but I was far from being able to bring my foot behind my head. Consistent practice... I am sure I will get it one day.

Bharadvajasana is a new pose to me. I've never done this pose in the past. I've only seen few friend's in the Mysore room doing it. And today my teachers added this new pose to my practice. Compared to Pasasana and Kapotasana, Bharadvajasana is relatively easy, at least that's the case for me. But, I am sure there are more alignments and refinements that I should work on.

The Friday after every full moon is a Full Led Primary Class at the studio where I practice. I normally don't attend the Led Class because it ends late at 8:45AM as opposed to 7:45AM when I normally finish my practice. Anyway, I decided to go to the Full Led Primary today. It was refreshing. My teacher was counting the breath, it kept me honest with the pace of the breath. I tended to speed up in my least favorite poses including Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, Purvottanasana and Navasana.

For a led class, I had to follow the cue, so there was no additional breath or time to prepare myself into poses like Kurmasana and Supta Kurmasana; therefore, I wasn't able to go as deep into these poses as I normally would. My teacher even called out in the class asking us not to go as deep into certain poses as we normally do in the Mysore practice, which made sense. 

I finally got into the full Kapotasana again today. It's been a while since I did the full pose. The focus of opening my front body, abdominal and quads, has been paid off. My teacher assisted me into Kapotasana this morning and it was the deepest back bend I've ever done. Without jamming my lower back, I felt most of the back bend coming from the upper back and the opening of front body. It felt different to what I remembered a back bend should be in a good way. Instead of pushing myself into deep back bend although it didn't feel right, step back and work on the fundamental mechanisms and alignments. And, it worked!