A Wandering Yoga Girl

Moon salutation is a reflection of sun salutation and the only significant change is the addition of ardha chandrasana. The moon energy which flows in this sequence is associated with cooling, relaxing, creativity and consciousness. Mastering the steps in sun salutation will be helpful to adapt with moon salutation. Time of practice : Evening/night, especially when the full moon is visible. Practice with empty stomach. Duration : Repeat 3 to 7 rounds. Steps Technique Stand upright with your feet together. Place the palms together in front on your chest in namaskar mudra. Normal breathing. As you INHALE , raise both arms, focusing on extending your torso and gently curve your back. Palms can be placed together in salutation. EXHALE as you bend forward. Try to keep the legs straight and reach to hold any part of your leg.  Ideally, you can try to interlock your big toes with your thumb, index ...

The word bandha means 'to hold', 'tighten' or 'lock' a specific part on the physical body. These are very important group of yogic practices. They have profound effects on the physical, pranic and mental levels.  Organs, muscles, nerves and various processes in the body are massaged and stimulated while the contraction/lock also affects the flow of prana within the body. Surprisingly, performing the bandhas contributes to the removal of mental blocks which hinder an individual from evolving. Bandha Technique Benefits Jalandhara Bandha   Contraindications:   Not recommended for those suffering from high blood pressure and heart ailments.   Sit in a comfortable position with knees in contact with the floor   Place your palms on your knees   Exhale deeply, and hold the breath.   Bring the chin in contact with your chest, and straighten your arms. Stay in this position for as long as you can com...

Can you imagine the feel of drinking a cold, sweet drink filled with ice cubes up to the rim of a glass. Imagine the cold sensation down your throat. We have all been there and done that. Sounds refreshing, doesn't it? Well, have you ever thought of what happens inside your body after gulping a liquid which is that cold. Ideally, the human body is supposed to be maintained at 37⁰C. Let's say your iced drink is at about 10⁰C, can you picture how hard your system has to work to maintain the temperature of all your internal organs at 37⁰C. If you have some knowledge of heat transfer or even basic science, you would have probably heard of latent heat and that theory applies to the human body as well. Enough said. I agree it's easier said than done. Especially, when the summer heat waves really gets on your last nerves. All I have to say is, we can't change the environment, but we can surely makes better choices. Opting for fruits and practicing the breathing technique tha...

Supta Baddha Konasana Do's Rest as much as you can.  Gentle surya namaskar/sun salutations. Practice gentle and restorative asanas (See here ). Better still, take a break from physical exercises and asanas for a day or two.  Sleep early. Shavasana and yoga nidra will be a perfect company. Mild meditation and Brahmari pranayama will give a soothing effect to your minds and helps your body to relax. Eat light and make better choices.  A tablespoon of fenugreek seeds can help relieve menstrual cramps.  Listen to your body's need. Turn your attention within and be kind to yourself. Maybe, take a break from going to class. You won't be compelled to perform asanas thought in the class. Moreover, no one needs to know you're on your monthly cycle.  Don'ts Inversions are a no-no! Including Khandarasana and Chakrasana. We don't want to reverse the flow of our menses and create complications in our system.  Avoid asa...

Pink lotus Menstruation is one topic us women cannot see eye to eye. We all have different opinions about our body and emotions during our monthly cycle. Females are complicated and our periods are way more complicated. Every women goes through her unique experience during menstruation and the symptoms and effects of one woman will not be identical to another woman. We cannot possibly generalize one method or practice that will work for every women. The only advice I would give to any women out there is to listen to your body ad mind at these delicate times. The state of your menstrual cycle actually indicates the state of your physical, mental and emotional health. Observing the symptoms, effects and patterns of your menstrual cycle is crucial. Look at it as an opportunity to examine your body and mind, a chance to bring about good changes and regain balance in our body, mind and emotions. Y oga practice can be useful to help alleviate any period pain or back pain, balance the emo...

Like the title of the post says, I chose to do nothing today. Not literally, but I decided to escape from my usual routine and have lesser tasks for the day. I still taught my classes as usual and I am still posting to keep up my commitment. The exceptions are, I didn't post for day 11 of my challenge and no new content for the blog today. Breaking my routine gives me some space to breathe and get inspiration for new ideas. Doing the same thing over and over again can be tiring and leads to lack of creativity. I still have over half a month to blog everyday, so I need to recuperate and be able to come up with interesting posts for the rest of the month. Let's just say I'm a Sleeping Beauty wannabe today. I will be back to posting regularly tomorrow and catch up with the challenge for day 11 and day 12. My 'do nothing' Sunday has been successful. I feel free and light weight. Sometimes, having no plans can be the best plan. Enjoy reading one of most popular posts f...

Happy Saturday lovelies. I decided to post something more lighthearted and random today. First of all, I am totally in love with the bright, sunny day we're experiencing here. See how pretty the sky looks in the photo. Someone recently told me that I'm a weirdo who loves sunshine in Malaysia. I do. I love warm sunshine. Gets my system going. Rainy and gloomy days just makes you lazy I think. Since it's  a Saturday, that's just like icing on the cake. Warm, bright and sunny Saturday. Ahh!! Blissful! I could just sit  and soak up all this sunlight. Everybody anticipates for the weekends I suppose. Me neither. I get to teach more and catch up with all my lovely students and friends. My Saturdays are usually more hectic compared to weekdays since everyone will be free during this time of the week for yoga and outdoor activities. I began my day with my practices and went on to conduct my first class at 8 am. We did 12 sets of sun salutations as usual and carried on with so...