独家优惠奖金 100% 高达 1 BTC + 180 免费旋转

My Long Wait for Yoga Was Worth It

A 20-year yoga journey that started with a message from Madonna, dreams of a judgment-free world, and lead to finding my own path.

There was one exception. Most children in the Philippines are skinny. I was not. Being a pre-adolescent with a fuller figure made me bully prone.

As I grew older, both the kids and adults I encountered seem to grow in their cruelty. When it came to the school play, my teachers said I was too big for the lead role, a dance number. My mother signed me up for a gym, but even the trainers called me chubby and other names.

The thing was, whenever I saw myself in the mirror, I never saw myself as humungous. Just overweight. So why was I being treated like a whale? I tried as long as I could to stay true to myself, but insecurity slowly crept in.

Struggling with my feelings alone, I lived a double life. I smiled in the daytime. At night, I would obsess over celebrity body transformation stories until the wee hours of the morning.

I still went to the gym though. Despite the comments from strangers and peers I worked out and got stronger, though it didn’t show in the mirror. This went on for years.

In 1998, I was seventeen. One day I stayed home to recover from the flu. There was nothing to watch but daytime American talk shows. Oprah was on, and she had Madonna as a guest. What she said got my attention:

She then proceeded to talk about how she discovered her yogic path followed by Oprah commenting with her own experience. The latter said that yoga was physically demanding and that she kept on falling. To which the singer answered, “But that’s part of the process.”

She then clarified:

Those words resonated with me like a gong in a bathroom. Judgement free? I wondered what that would feel like. However, I was in a country where yoga hadn’t become mainstream yet and neither had the internet, so the availability of information on classes was almost nonexistent.

By this time, I’d survived years of bullying from a broad range of people from peers to elders. Through it all, though, I kept my hopes up, and knew what I wanted.

So, I did what anyone would have done in my situation. I waited, hoping that by the time the trend arrived, I would be old enough to have obtained my driving license and the freedom to attend.

Sidenote: Many years later, I found out that there was a yoga school in Manila at the time, but it was only known through word of mouth and I wasn’t aware of it. My parents probably wouldn’t have allowed me to go anyway.

Over the years I forgot about that Oprah episode and life went on. I studied Fashion Design and Merchandising in college and graduated in April 2003. My first job was designing t-shirt logos. After two years, I went back to university to study nursing at my parents’ behest.

The room was dimly lit with candles lining the mirrors. It was a new establishment in a posh neighborhood which probably accounted for the extra accouterments. The teacher was a young woman. She played modern music for each part of the sequence.

I got lost in the rhythm, flowing through each transition between postures in a trance. I experienced the same invigoration I had felt during dance recitals and school plays many years ago. I didn’t worry about whether or not I was making a fool out of myself, or if I looked good in my gym outfit. My ballet training kicked in, and I was surprised that my body had retained its flexibility after so many years.

This video will give you an idea of what a BODYBALANCE class looks like:

By the time I finished my second degree in 2007, yoga had gone mainstream in the Philippines. Classes were popping up everywhere, from private classes in people’s homes to beach resorts. When a trend arrives here, it spreads like wildfire. All at once, everyone I knew had a story about how yoga had transformed them and how it had always been a part of their daily lives. As if that lull ten years ago never existed. Nevertheless, I listened while searching for my practice.

My lifestyle consisted of trying to balance commitments at home, hospital work, yoga, and sleep. My career wasn’t my choice. I enjoyed serving my patients but not the work environment. It gave me a bit of cabin fever. I didn’t know what I was looking for, so the nursing work sufficed until I felt it was time to go. When I finally told my parents I was done with the white cap, they took it fairly well. From that moment on, I was on my own.

My colleagues, especially my superiors, noticed it too. I was granted opportunities in and out of the office. The defining one being a live/study program in Madrid, Spain in 2013. I jumped at the chance. It did not matter that I was pre-intermediate Spanish, I packed my bags, kissed my cats and family goodbye, and set out on my path.

Yoga was left by the wayside once more as I pondered the sights, culture, as well as a new relationship on the road ahead. Three years later, the honeymoon phase that is Spain was over, and teaching English felt redundant. As a foreigner, it is hard to secure higher pay. Some students didn’t want to learn from me since I’m not a native speaker, and I grew bored with languages.

However, I wasn’t done with teaching. The art of guidance, I discovered, was at my core. I was never one to grind solely for the money. I have always been a person who put peace of mind above all else. Whether it was peace from honesty, happiness, paramour, or intuition — I’ve never settled.

“What makes me happy?” I asked my partner during the summer. To which he replied, “Take some time and find out. Google won’t solve this one for you.”

After my first try, I was hooked. It was scary, exhilarating, and most importantly, kept me present. This was one of the hurdles that needed improvement in my practice. For the whole month, I attended class facing each fear, one after the other. After surviving an advanced pose, I knew I was stronger for it. My mindset was, “Just go for it and pray you don’t die.”

My teacher had one of the most popular classes, so I started observing his teaching style. He was ok but was a little patronizing with the students about the fear of falling. He didn’t explain in detail if a part of your body would pinch. In Shavasana, he used the same closing speech every time.

I’m not one to brag, but knew I could do better and felt inspired. As soon as my plane landed, I told my other half about it. He was very supportive, and we began looking into the certification process and teacher training courses available.

The course was, of course, designed to build teachers. Class sequencing didn’t come as naturally for me as languages did, and I found myself needing more guidance on how to design and manage classes. Also, I had a weak inversion practice. In fact, I was weak. If it weren’t for the five months of rigorous training I had received from my partner, a personal trainer, and boxing enthusiast, I wouldn’t have made it through the course.

The course was intense. We had two hours of morning yoga workshop, with afternoon lectures until 7 pm. A routine not for the faint of heart. There were days I didn’t practice due to issues with my wrists, which was frustrating. However, I made good use of my rest days by observing and writing copious notes.

It was wonderful though. I was literally in my element as Thailand has a similar climate to the Philippines. We only had one day off and chose to spend it exploring the island. I soaked in every moment. I made friends from all over the world and brought home memories I will cherish forever.

After twenty-four days, I received a certificate for teaching Vinyasa Yoga with an Introduction to Acroyoga. I left the Land Of Smiles ready for adventure.

We used little hammocks that were easily movable at different heights, but you couldn’t experiment with flips and transitions with it. Still, for a beginner to pre-intermediate, it was appropriate. After two weekends, I was professionally equipped. It was 2016 and with two-certificates under my belt, I expected that finding work would be easy.

I canvassed yoga studios in Madrid for teaching opportunities, but most had already experienced teachers on their schedules and weren’t about to hire a newbie — especially a foreigner. I had to brand myself fast, or I would be back in crisis professionally. I needed to attract students with the limited resources I had.

I didn’t yet have a place to teach, so it was a risk, but one that quickly paid off. I soon had eight students signed up — all I needed for a full class. Next, I asked them to help me find a venue to teach, which they very kindly did.

I spent three days preparing for that first class, revising the sequence over and over. I also asked the students via Facebook if they had any physical issues I should be aware of. I had done everything possible to ensure the class was a success, but nevertheless, I was unable to sleep the night before due to nerves.

The day of class came, and I choked. I forgot my cues. Not all, but I would demonstrate a sequence and the little details I had planned to describe to the students would not come out of my mouth for the life of me. To this day I thank my lucky stars that I had such patient people. They cut me a lot of slack and kept on coming back, I even inspired one to enroll in teacher training.

During the first half of 2017, I only clocked in 34.5 hours of class time, it was enough for me to form the blueprint of the kind of yoga teacher I wanted to be. The Facebook Group grew into a great tool to stay connected with my students, something which is important to me as an educator.

My teaching style is based on the connection I have with my students coupled with their evolution in their practice. The ultimate goal is for them to form their own personal practice.

I try to sequence my classes to cater to each individual in the class. While I have them do asanas to prep the body towards a peak pose or combination, I also conduct a freestyle portion to allow them to work on the choreography they want to master. Much of Aerial Yoga involves finding that angle, wrap, and including a “cheat” to get to your position. Slowly but surely, you will know when it feels right. I want my students’ creativity to shine through.

I never cancel a class if only one shows up. I take it as an opportunity to get to know them and dive into improving their practice. I push my students to face their fears and let their bodies surprise them. This personal touch was something I never really experienced in the teachers/trainers I had growing up.

My journey to the yoga mat was a long one, yet had things been different I may not be as grateful to find this practice. It also taught me the virtue of patience, which is truly one of the greatest life lessons. When to hold on, when to let go, the balance in imbalance, and that everything has and will fall into its proper place.

Offline, I am on the road to broaden my horizons by advancing in my education by training in other disciplines and techniques so that I can incorporate them into my classes. Different systems can benefit from each other. The beauty of Vinyasa Yoga is that it’s rooted in tradition while being adaptable to change.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be like the yoga rockstars I see in the magazines or on Instagram. All I know is that I’m exactly where I should be for now.

Add a comment

What is your view?

Send

Related posts:

GoodBye

Sou acordado pelo motorista do “Já chegamos, se você não sair daí ficará trancado no ônibus até amanhã”. Esfrego os dedos nos olhos e, parecendo um bêbado, levanto e me apoio nas cadeiras até chegar…

Predicting the result of a LOL match using in game stats.

It is that time of the year again. With the League of Legends (LOL) Worlds Champion title being up for grabs, teams from around the world are competing to see who have the better read on the meta and…

Becoming an Amazon Warrior

On the week of Wonder Woman Day 2020— October 21st — and having reached four months at my new role working with a well-funded fintech startup that focuses on Amazon’s cloud technology, I find myself…