Singa Yoga

Retreat for BODY, MIND & SOUL in Pristine forest of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

2009-10-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

It was a 2-day camping at Kampong Gagu organized by Singapore Adventurous Nature Lovers Meetup group. The yoga session was part of the program on 4th October morning. Over 20 campers joined us to do morning exercises.

Yoga Diet Is Equivalent To Vegetarian Diet?

2009-09-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been reading "Practical Lessons In Yoga" written by Sri Swami Sivananda. It is available online at DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY

It talks about diet.
"Diet is of three kinds viz., Sattvic diet, Rajasic diet and Tamasic diet. Milk, barely, wheat, cereals, butter, cheese, tomatoes, honey, dates, fruits, almonds and sugar-candy are all Sattvic foodstuffs. They render the mind pure and calm. Fish, eggs, meat, salt, chillies and asafoetida are Rajasic foodstuffs. They excite passion. Beef, wine, garlic, onions and tobacco are Tamasic foodstuffs. They fill the mind with anger, darkness and inertia."

Many people say that a yoga diet is equivalent to vegetarian diet. In fact it is recommended to take only Sattvic food for a yoga diet. Rajasic and Tamasic should be avoided. Thus yoga diet is a subset of vegetarian diet.

Note that some vegetables are Rajasic. Chillies, pickles, tamarind, mustard, tea, coffee, cocoa, carrots, turnips and spices all are Rajasic. Onions, Garlic are Tamasic. If you see any of them in a so-called vegetarian restaurant, you should find a better restaurant.

Japanese conversation after Yoga

2009-09-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

On 29 August 2009, a small yoga workout was organized at Botanic Gardens with the help from Japanese Meetup @Singapore. We practiced yoga followed by Japanese conversation practice.

Here are comments from the participants:
LyyyN:
“すごく　すごく　よかった。キョシイさんはヨーガ本当にすごかったです。皆でいろんなポスをやって、楽しかった。写真送りますね。Transfer　Big Fileから、またやりましょうね(^-^)/”
(Very great. Chi Wai is good at yoga. We were happy to do the yoga poses. Here are the photos. Let’s do it again(^-^)/ )

RAJASHREE SHASTRI:
“I enjoyed the Yoga session held in Botanic Garden. Yoga followed by conversation was very helpful. Hontoni ii nihongo no renshu ga dekimashita. Tanoshikute sugokatta.....”
“I enjoyed the Yoga session held in Botanic Garden. Yoga followed by conversation was very helpful.本当に日本語の練習ができました。楽しくてすごかった。”
(I could really practice Japanese language. I was very happy.)

Macritchie Lake Basic Yoga

2009-08-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is the 2nd yoga workout organized with Singapore Adventurous & Nature-Lovers (SANL) on 19 July 2009.

Comments from the participants:
“ Relaxing. Love the 'sound' of nature while doing yoga. It was great! ”
“ A good way to match exercise & nature...quite like the atmosphere. The insects were disturbing when I was trying to relax but well, overall was still an excellent experience! Thanks to the 3 excellent instructors too! ”
“ Enjoyed a refreshing yoga seesion & a 3H walk in nature. Tks to TS, instructor/tress & walking kakis. :) ”

MacRitchie Reservoir Park hiking with revitalizing yoga workout + tree top walk

2009-06-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

We had a yoga workout with Singapore Adventurous & Nature-Lovers (SANL) meetup group at MacRitchie Reservoir Park. It was a nice Saturday morning on 30 May 2009.
What do the participants say?

“ like the yoga + natural walk very much, shall make it every week : ) ”

“ You guys picked a great spot for the Yoga! It was beautiful, being surrounded and sheltered by those lovely trees! Truly, enjoyed the Yoga session followed by the exercising walk. Looking forward to the next one! Great company and great nature, what else can you ask for? :P ”

“ Yo bro! Many thanks for the wonderful Yoga session, you were able to move at a very calm and patient manner that allowed a lot of us newcomers to keep up. Keep up the great job! :) ”

Can Yoga prevent Osteoporosis?

2009-05-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

Growing old is just another phase in life that everybody has to go through…

Many people especially the seniors are searching ways to be healthy, slow down the aging process and improve their quality life. Yoga not only focuses on harmony between mind and body and balance in every area of life but it is very beneficial in prevention and control of common health and emotional problems that linked to “Old Age”.

One of the most common disease encounters by the elderly especially age above 50 years old is Osteoporosis. The word Osteoporosis means “porous bones”. This condition occurs when there is a loss of calcium and mineral in the bones that weakens the bones causing them to break more easily or bones become more fragile. It is also mainly causes by the imbalance of levels of calcium female sex hormone called estrogen in the system and very common in the menopausal women. Statistics show that almost one in every two women will suffer an Osteoporosis – related fracture at some point in her lifetime. For men, it is one in every four. The greater risk in women vs men is relatively because of the smaller body size, bone size and lower bone mass at its peak and greater loss of bone in midlife due to the menopause.

Loosing bone density is a natural part of the aging process and usually bone density starting to decline when a person reaches in their thirties. The result of Osteoporosis can be viewed as skeletal failure. There is no documented evidence that bone loss or reduced bone tissue itself. This is why sometimes it is called the “Silent Disease”. It means that there are no symptoms of Osteoporosis, but only consequences fractures associated with chronic pain, deformity and disability. The most common place of a fracture is a vertebrae in the spine, the second is the hips and thirdly in the wrist.

Thus there is a high need for staying fit and healthy during this age period by ways of food intake, weight-bearing exercise and movements which are prescribed for osteoporosis condition. Although, exercise cannot replace the bone density that has already been lost, but it can certainly help to maintain strength in the bones. One would be surprised that simple movements can bring softness and agility to the joints which help us to maintain balance and prevention of falling as we age along the way.

Yoga can prove to be extremely efficient system of controlling the symptom of Osteoporosis and to be prevented before it happens. Regular practice of weight bearing yoga postures are proven to build bone strength and avoid Osteoporosis in elderly.

The key to success of preventing this disease is by building a strong skeleton when you are young and slowing the rate of bone loss as you age. Such approach as below can be applied :

1) Strengthening of muscles around the back, hips and to provide better support for the bones in these areas to
minimize the risk of fracture;

2) Strengthening of bone and increase flexibility of joints through weight bearing and stretching;

3) Pranayama and meditation to restore emotional calmness and balance; and

4) Good and well-balanced diet

In normal term or western medication concentrates on reducing the degree of bone degeneration, minimize risk factor of all to prevent fracture and reduce pain associated with the disease by using various kinds of drugs which not only expensive but has their own side effect such as gastrointestinal, acid reflux, abdominal pain, nausea and irregular bowels to name a few.

Isn’t practicing Yoga an alternative therapy for Osteoporosis and leads to a better you?

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO DO YOGA…

What are the good excuses to avoid a Yoga lesson?

2009-05-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

1) My friends/relatives are coming to stay with me. I won't have time.
2) I have a baby to look after.
3) I will be out of the town.
4) I cannot bear the pain.
5) I have a flu.
6) Yoga is against my religion.
7) How much will you pay me for a lesson?
8) You can go to Geylang and look for a prostitute. Give her money and she will follow you to do all poses.
....and endless list of excuses.

Number 8 is the most creative excuse. :)

Conditional Reaction

2009-05-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I notice that every time I practice Anuloma Viloma (alternate nostril breathing), I receive a nature call. In the past, I tried various methods to solve my problems. Jogging, swimming, eating more vegetables with lots of dietary fibre....none of the methods help me. I believe that some twisting asanas such as Vakrasana (twisted pose), Ardha Mastyendrasana (half spinal twist) and Trikonasana (triangle pose) also contribute to my health.

Padmasana

2009-05-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

There is no asana like padmasana - this picture is CUTE! =)

Soapy Asana

2009-05-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

My thighs are quite thick. So I find it difficult to do asanas which involve legs crossing. Gomukasana (cow face) and Garudasana (eagle pose) are a few of the difficult asanas for me.
Recently, I have discovered a method to overcome my obstacle. It is SOAP. When I am having a shower, I rub my thighs with a soap to reduce the friction of between the thighs. Then I can easily cross my legs to practice Garudasana. I also rub the soap on my back and arms so that my hands can hold each other on my back.