Yoga philosophy reading requirements. I remembered a day before class. Crammed everything using an audiobook instead, didnt work. Oh well. (On the left, Bliss yoga fellow teachers trainee, Jhaz.)
Three months into my Vinyasa yoga practice and already I had the guts to apply for Teachers Training. No second thoughts, only a prayer [Bliss Yoga] that they would they me in.
They did.
I was the baby of the group, being the second youngest with the least experience practicing the Asanas (Poses), nevertheless I didnt feel the handicap. That’s the beauty of Yoga, no one’s ever too good or too lame for it.
Before taking the course I was practicing six times a week, sometimes even twice day. I was hooked on the high of yoga, and knew immediately by heart that it wasnt a passing fancy like all my other hobbies.
But no amount of attendance at practice could prepare me for the intensity of Bliss Yoga’s 200 hour Vinyasa Flow Teachers Training.
Our schedule was 930am – 7pm: Morning and Evening practice with Posture clinic, Demo teaching, Lectures and Breathing excercises in between-it left us sore and fatigued for the next day but always eager for more.
Final exam. Three hours worth! Finished mine in one, not that I knew all the answers, I skipped some items actually. Dragging the hour wont make me remember what I missed so I thought to myself, F it. We also had a live demo, I almost lost my gut midway. I was so nervous I forgot two poses, Roland and Isabel said I did good, but I could do better with practice. And Im hearing it
Finally Certified. Here with Bliss Yoga founder, Roland Dela Cruz. He was so ecstatic that I did well in my final exam I started to wonder if he was sorta expecting Id suck.I wouldnt blame him, I had a string of trips and stutters throughout the course afterall
Louie in tears at the end of the training. Really even I almost lost it.We were all joking we got so used to the training schedule we forgot what its like to live a life outside.
Alas, like everything else, it must come to pass.
Louie was one of the more mature students, never caught in the middle of any rant, bickering or mumbling. She was though always sleeping during breaks.
Christmas came early from my generous fellow yogini, Margaretta Klauser. She baked these cookies herself. So much love! How can I not be motivated to come to class?
Final photo with Isabel Dulay before her notorios Hot Flow class. I once crawled out during the final resting pose supposedly in secret because I couldnt take the heated room, a decision I later on got reprimanded for–as I should have
Reviewing for the Finals with Isabella at my house. We sucked at the anatomy phrases and tough kirtan phrases worst of all. Oh wait that’s just me.
I rarely studied, much more reviewed. Im not proud of that. My classmates read notes every night and slept early while I stayed awake doing feasibilities and proposals for the business. It affected my performance in class, and looking back I kinda wished I devoted more time to my books and lessons after our hours but then it was just not probable.
Deep bags, reviewing for a test. Crammer-style!
Learning our Doushas, or body chemistry and types with Charmaine. i learned I was Pitta element, which meant I cant take uppers coz Im naturally wired already.
The doshas, or the body’s internal state of balance was interesting and although I was already aware of them thanks to my raw food culinary background, it was still fun to determine them all over again.
Kapha: Air
Pitta: Fire
Vata: Water
Each constitution determines your diet based on Ayurvedic principles.
Posture clinic with Isabel Dulay, alignment nazi. Where we breakdown each pose and execute them accurately in a sequence (flow)
Class picture with Pranayama guru, Jill. She calmed my unruly nerves with her meditation and breathing methods. Such a gift to have during such a stressful day.
I never appreciated a gentle flow class until Teachers Training when my body was already clamoring for a break. Jill’s Pranayama (breathing) excercises was a welcome relief, escape and therapy for it all.
Did you know there are Breath Yogins? I didnt till then.
Did you know that Breathing is a more advance aspect than the actual poses?
Although you need both of course, you can reach enlightenment through Pranayam alone but you cant hope to master the Asanas without breath synchronization.
Officially the hottest Yogin in Manila, Corey Wills. Iyengar trained, I attend his class mostly for the visuals, (in an industry dominated by hot females, you dont get to see a lot of hot guys performing really good asanas) secondary for the alignment. Dont let the good looks sweep you off your feet, this guy’s pretty strict with his postures.
Corey adjusting and assisting a mate’s Handstand. My dream Asana, (pose). I fell when I attempted it, just get back up he said. So I did, (and fell again).
He would make us sit on a pose for minutes, it was with him that I was able to prove that pain does numb you-as I could no longer feel my limbs after the freeze.
The most vibrant teacher in the studio, Eileen Grey with classmate from Vietnam, Thuong Nguyen. Eileen’s classes are always fun, unpredictable and bright, take it to believe it!
Eileen’s class is always so full of Joy. Not your average Vinyasa class, we could start slow and build up jumping around attempting hand stands, head stands and other inversions the next minute-definitely my kind of sequence.
Thoung, or Ming as I call her (she always corrects me, Min! She’d say but I say Ming anyway) is my mat mate.
The girls thought we were always fighting. Well we did bicker a lot, but I dealt with foreigners long enough to know it’s really nothing. She was the most studious student and me being more laidback would parasite on her obsession with rereading notes aloud by sitting idly while does her review and viola! Instand audio book.
With my partner in crime and recruiter, Donna Nofuente. She has the best abs among us ladies–and it’s all Yoga made.
Donna likes core works, back bends and lunges. A lot of ’em. She was the one who introduced Vinyasa flow to me. Before her, I only knew Bikram. She’s my sister, she’s even vegetarian now and me? I always consult my practice with her, she being my senior and all. She’s generous with her advice and even stricter in her instructions. We have a common love for food, natural highs and overall lack of head screws.
One of Manila’s yoga pioneer, Tessa Celdran. They say she can uplift the mood and energy level of the class if she needs to when she teachers, I dont doubt that one bit. She’s an energy healer as well. Her practice is Ashtanga yoga, and her flow usually Power.
“Studying” our yoga literature with Jhaz: Honestly I couldnt find much common grounds with the arbiter of yoga, Patanjali. He believes in a life free of suffering, and guides us how to get there. I believe in embracing pain with as much fervor as we would pleasure. Maybe Im immature. Maybe he’s just boring, Ill know much later.
Like I mentioned, I didnt read the required texts. Wouldnt even have them had Donna not lent hers. Im a bookworm, but for some reason, I couldnt bring myself to eat the texts. I plan to. No, Im going to.
Jhaz, as seen on top also works as a receptionist at the studio. She took time off for this course and she finished number one, Im proud of her. I couldnt think of a more deserving candidate. I finished second or third? I dont remember anymore. Donna just gave me a clue that your rank will be determined in the order your called to receive your diploma.
Some people think I wasnt serious enough with my training because I never dwelled on quizes, didnt bother to check my scores and didnt read the literature.
That’s really absurd. I spent my entire holiday bonus to pay for my course, I could have spent it on a vacation or a new mac air but I chose to allot it to my training.
It meant everything to me. I just didnt feel that an exam was credible enough a judge to gauge how far Ive come. I was more particular with the demo and live teaching part of it. Naturally dyslexic, it was a challenge to give body alignment instruction.
Even left and right would confuse me midway.
So I work harder.
Still am.
Pranayama class: Seriously, it takes you way up there it’s scary. Not funny. Seriously addictive.
Yoga guru Roland of Bliss yoga in one of his demonstrations using resident songbird and fellow teachers trainee, Isabella. Here he made her come into a headstand while singing a Kirtan (Sanskrit Mantra). Hence why we call him, Kirtan-nazi
Our teachers come up with all these ideas on how to drill Sanskrit terms and phrases in our head, like this one where they make us hold a pose (Like Corey) until pain jolts our memory to remember.
It works.
At Roland’s crib to watch Earthlings. A documentary on animal exploitation. I hid in the kitchen after 15 minutes. Being a vegan already, I didnt see the point of feeling sick all over again watching how the meat , clothing and entertainment industry are abusing animals. My classmates finished it, I dont think any of them converted diets after but awareness is always crucial.
I was never an agressive promoter of the vegan diet, simply because I felt that people wouldnt respond to so much prodding anyway. I will say though that it’s the simplest quickest way to support a green and cruelty-free healthy lifestyle (Cocogreen.ph).
Yoga loot: Imported all these props to use and sell while training. Not lucky to ignore an opportunity to make money
I discovered the market for Yoga wear, accessories and supplies during training. I made a bit selling in the studios apart from our catering of vegan foods there. Will (one of the teachers there) used to joke around that I enrolled to make business, that or I was too eager to earn what I paid for back.
Well, he wasnt wrong. But I did sign-up for the Love of it, the rest-teaching, trading, catering-were just bonuses.
Treats from fellow yogins outside our class. Love, support and a lot of nagging got me through 200 hours of intense yoga training.
Everyone was supportive of my decision to undergo training. From my boss to my peers, I didnt expect everyone to be so encouraging seeing as it would rob them off me for one whole month…
Then again maybe they really did just wanted to be rid of me for a while…
Great now I feel bad.
Workstation. My binders all lose and disheveled now with notes and abusive handling. Up to date Im still referring to them for practice
Id take a trolley to class. Id have a pillow, a massager, food, books, my macbook and other whatnot. On the third week all I was taking was my binder, pen, spare clothes and towel.
I was too tired to care by then.
Alignment Nazi Isabel Dulay doing her headstand demo: Our yoga mama. As per her title, she’s anal about posture and alignment. I have a girl crush on her, So does Will (another bliss teacher), we’d arrange a threesome but according to Roland, its against Bramacharya (celibacy) principle of yoga. I heard somewhere you can get a free pass if its Tantric (inward release) but it’s not like we can pull that one off any time soon anyway
Forearm handstand demo by the alignment nazi w/ Jhaz photobombing on the background.
Attempting an inversion. It’s the ultimate test of overall focus, balance and strength.
Rare shot of yoga mama laughing
Carla during her turn teaching her 22 Asanas. Among all of us, she’s the most eloquent in business. She has a photographic memory like Donna, something Ive always pouted on because its so handy during exams.
Damn hot adjustment by Isabel Dulay
Isabel was our Mama during training. Literally. She looked after us, nagged us and corrected us. I fell inlove with her midway in-between stressing her with my “Casper” (Now you see me now you dont) and air-headedness so I made sure I make ammends by giving her lil treats here and there.
Not that it made up for it, but y’know I tried.
And it wasnt like I intended to be such a pain in the arse. For one thing Im naturally spacy, it’s not even a conscious effort. Even my mom loses it on me at times. Two, I was joggling my deadlines and classes all at once. Coz although I filed for leave I was still required to respond to emails, queries and phone calls.
That was the reason I didnt take the course abroad, I knew I was needed here still.
After training vegan dinner with Jivamukti yoga teacher, Nancy and classmate Isabel at the organic restaurant in Bienavides Makati, Spring
I was told that other batches were closer. Mine was pretty businessy. Except for me and Isabella, our mutual love for vegan food, hot guys and…
Food and hot guys…
Yeah it glued us together.
Surprise treats from my Ate JM’s visit. More senior to yoga practice than I am, she got involved seriously in energy healing, Pranic. Gifted healer my Ate.
JM used to practice with me a lot, until she found her calling-Pranic healing. Together with my mother and Donna, they practice healing the energy body. (See pranic healing)
If you’re interested, come to the Institute of Inner Minds in Makati, every Thursday 3-6pm for Free Healing.
Im certified as well, but since I dont practice, Im no better than a layman.
Id attest to it though. My family and friends wouldnt be hooked on it if it didnt work.
Jhaz emoting behind my vegan deliveries. Since there werent much food options in the area, I decided to be my class’ official caterer. C/o Cocogreen and Co (www.cocogreen.ph)
Catering and trading in-between class may have distracted me but the feedback I got during the entire course doing this really benefited the business.
So no regrets, ill just make an extra effort to catch up on my readings now.
Hello Will Tan. He’s putting up his own yoga Studio in Greenhills. Open by January 2013. They’ll be giving away free classes so watch out for that. This guy’s one of our all time favorite. Attend his class to find out why.
Will’s classes are soothing and uplifting, kinda like his voice. Everybody loves Will. Literally. Everybody. Go figure.
Strap adjustment: we were taught how to use props in our adjustments. Here’s one of my classmates doing it on me.
You know how in my head I actually thought my alignment was okay?
Well it wasnt.
I was jolted to reality in a not so subtle manner.
Ouch.
It’s imperative that each pose (asana) is performed properly to avoid injury and progress. Here’s Isabel correcting our alignment.
Demonstrating a correct reverse warrior during posture clinic
Roland loves his Kirtan, and with his angelic voice, it’s obvious that it’s mutual. Wish I could say the same for me, but what the hell I love it all the same
Roland De la Cruz conducts Bhakti yoga, it’s a spiritually invigorating set that uses Kirtan music. If you enjoy the meditative state of Yoga, you cant miss this. It’s one of my favorite classes actually.
Roland demonstrating how to get into a pose
Only Isabel Dulay can perform such an advance pose with a smile (and without breaking a sweat. RESPECT!
One of the classes we needed to take was Hot Flow. I died each time. Or atleast i felt like it. Im not the only one. Looking back I dont know how I did Bikram if I hated heat so much, but I think my phobia of Hot Flow class was more mental that it is physical. Since it was the last class, we come into it drained already- the last thing you’d want would be to overheat coz youre ready to cool down.
It was an extreme test of mental strength and endurance. I failed once. Isabel made sure Id do better. I think I did. Well not that I had a choice.
Now that I think about it, Im happy it was there. It brought me to extremes I never would have experienced had it been a regular class.
Anything that Fire touches, changes.
Anna, our jewish-russian classmate was rushed to St Luke for breaking her back. The training took it’s toll on her. She had to have an operation and last I heard, is on physical therapy
Injuries are not uncommon in Yoga. Often it is not brought by weakness but improper alignment, neglect and hasty movements. Anna was one of the strongest students among us, if not the strongest. With a background in Iyengar she could come into Hand Stands in a flash, she got injured she told me, because she didnt know when to pull-back.
She pushed too much and her body broke.
It’s a common tendency, the mind becomes so vent that it becomes deaf to the body.
Until the body forces it to heed.
They call it ego, my teachers I call it will-power.
Even though Anna’s probably somewhere taking her much needed break, Im pretty sure she’ll be back on the mat to kick my ass again to do another series of handstand attempts in no time.
Get well soon Anna! Lets practice
Donna said that if they recognize you, Bliss Yoga will invite you to become a part of their roster of teachers immediately after graduation. The only invitation I got was to supply Yoga goods. So Ill take that as a Naa-ah, not quite there.
So I made it a point to practice my dialogue, come back to the mat to work on the asanas and generally just get better so by the time I request a demo, Id be trully ready