In spite of the tight schedule that I had in Singapore, I still managed to squeeze in some yoga time. A little googling on Ashtanga places in Singapore got me to The Yoga Shala.
The shala had a good location right beside a park in the Tanjong Pagar area. While walking to the shala, I passed by a group of people practicing Tai Chi, one guy with a bamboo stick making some movements that looked like kung fu, and an old man standing very still with his eyes closed, one hand on his stomach and the other stretched outward. He was wearing all white and it seemed to me that he wastrying to take a crap while standing up meditating. It was an interesting thing to see right before yoga practice. Nakaka-inspire.
I arrived early and was the first one to start the Mysore class. One by one, new students came in and started laying their mats and began their own practice.
Now, I know I should focus only on my own practice and not on your neighbour's but what got me surprised about that place was that out of around ten of us in the class, seven of them were doing the second series! Yikes!
For a moment there, I felt sort of out of place since I still can't get into Marichyasana D on my own. James, the teacher, didn't allow me to go into the kurmasana sequence of the primary so I just went straingt to backbends after navasana.
Here's the write-up about James on the website:
"James Figueira:
James is authorized by The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute AYRI Mysore, India and has over 25 years of teaching experience behind him. A former US National Gymnastics coach, his background in gymnastic and fitness training gives him a very good understanding of physical movement, and how it relates to each individual. Originally from Honolulu Hawaii, James has taught and held work shops in Malaysia, USA, and Africa, as well as Singapore."
One thing that got me thinking about this is that he has 25 years teaching experience but he looks like he's in his 30's! Yoga must really slow down the aging process.
Considering that I'm not from Singapore and that was the first time I ever attended a class by an authorized Ashtanga teacher, I asked James a dozen questions about the practice and specific poses. He gave me lots of useful tips and insight about Ashtanga and it did make me have a sense of reaffirmation that this is something I should do forever.
The shala had a good location right beside a park in the Tanjong Pagar area. While walking to the shala, I passed by a group of people practicing Tai Chi, one guy with a bamboo stick making some movements that looked like kung fu, and an old man standing very still with his eyes closed, one hand on his stomach and the other stretched outward. He was wearing all white and it seemed to me that he was
I arrived early and was the first one to start the Mysore class. One by one, new students came in and started laying their mats and began their own practice.
Now, I know I should focus only on my own practice and not on your neighbour's but what got me surprised about that place was that out of around ten of us in the class, seven of them were doing the second series! Yikes!
For a moment there, I felt sort of out of place since I still can't get into Marichyasana D on my own. James, the teacher, didn't allow me to go into the kurmasana sequence of the primary so I just went straingt to backbends after navasana.
Here's the write-up about James on the website:
"James Figueira:
James is authorized by The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute AYRI Mysore, India and has over 25 years of teaching experience behind him. A former US National Gymnastics coach, his background in gymnastic and fitness training gives him a very good understanding of physical movement, and how it relates to each individual. Originally from Honolulu Hawaii, James has taught and held work shops in Malaysia, USA, and Africa, as well as Singapore."
One thing that got me thinking about this is that he has 25 years teaching experience but he looks like he's in his 30's! Yoga must really slow down the aging process.
Considering that I'm not from Singapore and that was the first time I ever attended a class by an authorized Ashtanga teacher, I asked James a dozen questions about the practice and specific poses. He gave me lots of useful tips and insight about Ashtanga and it did make me have a sense of reaffirmation that this is something I should do forever.
2 comments:
Ey, you attended James' class! Awesome. Met James in Mysore and attended his workshop in Singapore on my way to Phuket last year. Nice guy!
Hey Jon,
Yup! He's a great guy and a really good teacher too. I contemplated on extending my stay in Singapore para lang mag class ulit. Ha ha.
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