A pleasant surprise

I've been replacing classes for a teacher in a fitness centre in random for the past 2 years. The very last time i was there for a class was probaby nearly a year. Yesterday, i was there again for replacement classes.
I was in the ladies preparing myself, and when a memeber walked pass me and called out, " Hey Adeline!".

Was a little puzzled. Who on earth would know me in this fitness centre? I turned back and later realised that she was a member whom had attended my replacement classes long time back ago. Honestly, i was glad inside, for the impression i've left in her memories.

As the battle gets tougher

Our session cancelled in the middle of the night last week. Sha probably had a few sleepless nights taking care of her little one. Watching him, making sure he’s still breathing properly. Worries and anxieties gripped her tightly. I got a text message and we arranged a last minute session the next day.

She told me about her little boy who was having breathing difficulties, wheezing for air in with a sunken chest in the middle of the night… doctor gave him steroid and he’s barely 2 year old. She, as mother felt so helpless.

Finally, when the chaotic were over, Sha slowly realized discomforts have been brewing in her abdomen and upper chest.  Sha could not move swiftly from standing to a sitting, I saw her middle back muscles bulging out a little.

With normal breathing, her breaths were rapid and short, body was fidgeting. I got her to direct her breathing into Ujjayi; her breathing slowed down in a blink. Verbally, I guided her to explore inhaling into her back, stretching the muscles using the breaths.  She may not have felt anything close to comfortable, but she needs to go through that.

More stretches followed--- Eagle pose and forward side stretch/ twist in seated.  Every move, her face cringed a little. I led her through the inhales and exhales, because I may lose her struggling. By talking to her through, I want to let her know that she’s not all alone.  She cannot depend on me for the pains she’s going through; but I can be the guide that she can always go back to herself for support.

Suggesting her not to worry too much is silly. Of course she’ll be worried for her child when she’s back home; that’s completely normal. Any mother would.

“Oh, at least I felt much better than when I just arrived an hour ago.”  Sha commented while walking down the stairs. Good, that good enough, I am happy for youJ

And that reminded me of something else:

We move from place to place, meeting one person to another doing one thing to the next. Each transition, we want to exit for a better person than when we first entered; leaving the goodness in the room for the next person who enters.

Let's Hummm....

Sha practices very nice ujjayi breaths, strong and smooth, deep and extended. And today, i introduced Bhramari ( humming bee). There are two type of bramari being taught in classes
--- the basic one is using the voice box to create a "hmmm.mm..." tone.
--- the more advance practice is using the vibration of the skin, by constricting the throat a little more from ujjayi. The air that passes through the narrow airway creates a fine tuning sound.

Sha is my first client who's able to hum without operating the voice box. I'm happy for her, its an excellent technique for her! She laughed at the first few tries, because it sounded like mosquitoes. And i left her alone to experience it a while.

Sha described that the sound felt like it'd occupied whole of her head inside--- sipping into her brain.

We wrap up with a short yoga nidra, using imagery. I guided her through a series of stories, and eventually brought her to a big grassland. And i kept talking to her about the things she can experience while lying in that piece of grassland all alone. Let out a scent of lavender along the way.

" I've never felt so relax on my own, alone before. Last week, almost every night i managed to get more good night sleeps." I'm glad for her that i could help her in some ways, and appreciate that she's non-resistance for the practices i taught her."

Mr. Ok

Rock does not have a very healthy lumbar, herniated disc. Very developed thigh muscles that straightening the knees is challenging. Very developed upper arms muscles too, that straightening the elbows is not easy task. Adjusting him is equivalents to breaking a rock into pieces.
Recently, i find that " Tension and Relax" method is a very useful tool. And his body reacted quite well to such method. Being very careful with he lower back, i would ask for his feedback frequently.

From leg-lift, forward bend, squatting, low lunges, inner thighs stretch... whatever--- expressionless. When i asked " are you OK?". Rock would always say, " Yes, i am OK." Maybe because he's a big man, not use to reveal his weakness. Unlike ladies, blurt out every discomfort.

Instead, i would check out the area he's sweating, those mini-facial cringe in a split second, his breathing pattern--- and body reveals the truth. But still, i will continue to ask him, " Rock, are you OK?".

Due to our past experience, we have different level of threshold towards discomfort. Sometimes, we may just lost touch with our body. We could not differentiate bad pains and aches. This can be dangerous, causing injuries unintentionally.

Satya ( truthfulness), one of the self-observance in the eight-limbs of yoga. Being truthful to ourselves, our limitation and capacity of what we can do or can't at this point. That what make us a little wiser each day:)

Smile on, Gin

For the past 3 years, Gin has not show any sign of frustration in any of our session; no matter how much i push her sometimes. A very happy-go-lucky lady, she takes anything that i throw at her with grin.
Gin's most hated pose--- vajrasana ( kneeling pose). I know that, because of her stiff knees, ankles and toes.
i like to drop this bomb randomly to ' surprise' her.

 " Ohh.... gosh gosh...do we really have to do this?" she moved in reluctant. I passed her a yoga block to sit on. Nope, her butt was not touching the block. And sloted a folded towel to fill the gap. To distract her a little, we would chat about anything--- the recent hot topic: General Election 2011. Gin kept talking, and shoosh.... that's a good 5 minutes she was in the pose.

Getting off the pose felt nothing better than getting into the pose. Gin just laughed off about it.

In good times, we smile. In bad time, keep the smiling. With this, any struggles we may be in, we feel a little better. Subtly, it gives us the courage to face whatever life is going to throw at us.

Joints are fusing!

Gin has got a very unique body structure. Her rib bones are very extended down to her low waist, that she has got limited mobility from her thoracic upwards and chest cavity. A little protruding of the last few rib bone at her upper waist.
I used to think of all ways to get her spine a little more flexible. But later, i realise that unless i break her into parts, otherwise i'll have to respect her original body strcuture. And work within her bodily capacity.

Following her father's body frame with very stiff joints, worsen by her daily posture and stress from work. One particular thing we like to talk about is her toes. The upper joints are sinking in, and the lower joints are almost fused together. Together with her ankles--- no problem with flexing; terrible in extension.

She got into a downward dog position, and with one feet at a time, she'll roll her toes in and out several times. And the same exercise can be progress in a plank pose, where more pressure will be shift towards the toes and ankles. Eventually, to get the flexibility and strength of the area--- rolling on both feet together with the palms supporting in plank ( not there yet!).

I learnt that each of us is born with various body type, different dosha combination. There's no point to compare with others; the same instruction cannot be use on all--- it doesn't work. Sometimes, pushing too much to the limit may not make us a happier and better person.

smell me a vacation!

In one of the eight-limbs of yoga, Dharana, concentration. I decided to try it out with sha in one of the session. The practice of concentration of the senses--- smell.

I explained briefly about the process before we began. With closed eyes, i guided her verbally to bring her focus to the tip of the nose. Start smelling the air around, very refine if she was able to divide them into molecules; to be as precise as possible. We were at an open space, which was perfect!

However, during the process, she was only to be the observer of the sense; without getting involve in any analytical procedure such as, " this smell is from the leaves... this smell is from the cars..."
Her duty was to just allow the various smell to pass by, without holding it back.

Later, i released "lemon" from the essential oil. And "peppermint". Her facial expression lifted a little. Ten minutes later, she opened her eyes. Her eyes was lilted with a gentle joy. " Oh.. what's that? Lemon grass.."
We took while to chat about it.

At the beginning, her mind drifted away for a bit about the things she'd to complete in the noon. She managed to pull herself back to the practice. She later thought about their beachhouse back home. Where she felt so relaxed... and just then the smell of the lemon and peppermint completed the picture in her mind.
" i felt like i was on a vacation..it was really a nice feeling."

Where we put our mind to with prolong concentration, the subject will magnify. My intention was to bring her to focus at one-pointedness and let go of the clutters for a while. Great, she gave herself a short vacation!
How wonderful, some fragrances do trigger our emotions and leading us to some memories.

Forced into yoga

A husband & wife took a ad-hoc private class, registered by their daughter.
Finally, when we settle on the mat, i asked them about if there's any medical condition to declare.
Both, H.B.P and H.C.L ( high blood and cholesterol level).

Wanting to know more about their condition, i checked if their on medication. They were taken aback by the question, not too happy about my "digging". The husband replied hastily, " Oh..yes we're on medication. But every thing's OK, nothing serious." He swung his arms in defence.

" What are you talking about, can you hear what you've just said. Nothing serious, you gotta be kidding me." i thought in exclamation.

The wife later voice out, " Actually, we didn't want to come. We're being forced. Our daughter wanted us to give yoga a try. So we come lorz."

" Thanks for being so honest with me. Obviously your daughter's worried about your health, and here not realising something has to be done. Let's see how much we can progress today."

With a slight heavy weight around the mid torso ( waist, hip and thighs), knee joints were not very mobile. It was as if they were going to tip over and fall anytime. i would be a little mean this time--- its like humpty-dumbty. Honestly, i was worried for them, and understood why their daughter would push them into some physical work out.

The class went in a slower pace. Frequently, i would look at their facial expressions, check on their eyes, and breathes to make sure they practice was safe. Due to the pressure, they need more time to transit from one position to the next. And catch a few breaths before we could proceed.

Finally, towards the end of the session, we said good bye.

" take care, this shall be the first and the last time. Till its your will to step on the mat again."

Relaxing by Tension-ing

With sha, its like handling a baby. Most of her discomforts and pains are deep hidden, and too much movements may caused unnecessary aches. Instead of going through the regular yoga practices, i decided to target one spot at a time. Forget about following any structured lesson plan, will just go with the flow.

When i met her, both of her shoulders were slightly elevated; visible tightness of the skin around her neck with mild protruding veins. " adeline, could you help me do something.... anything to relax my shoulders. i feel terrible, they are just so stiff." And that, she'd set the plan of the lesson for me.

i guided her through a series of shoulders and neck movement. Chest expanding, counter with back stretching; cervical extension, counter with flex- ion.

She probably about 20 rounds. Finally, her arms collapsed. " Whooo... the arms are tiring" pointing at her shoulders and deltoid. Good, that's my intention :-)

Relaxation through Tension.
After, she got into Balasana ( child pose) for some restful breaths. I pressed her shoulders down towards her feet and got her to resist against it. Just 3 rounds of this, her once elevated shoulders are now moving far away from her ears.

" That feel so good, I've never felt that relax here before. I probably have forgotten how a relax body feels."

That not all so uncommon. If we consistently put ourselves in high tension, it's a conditioning of the muscles to be tensed up. And thus in prolong time, in the memories of the body cells are filled with tension, and forgetting the state of relaxation.

And we, numb ourselves comfortably.

A She-Robot

A little short introduction on Gin. She's my first private client in 2008, which i was so excited about. I was bearly with any much experience at that time. No questioning about my certification, no question about my experience and no question about my age ( at 22, age was a hindrance for me to move into the industry). I would describe Gin--- that little twinkling star in that dark dark sky. I was totally serious and all ready to take any issue she's going to throw at me.
I read up books, articles and online searches for her condition.

A super-duper busy accountant in a hotel for almost a decade. Soft spoken, very down to earth and always with a smile on her face. Stress, the piling and piling of stress.... is a common root of the problems. Chest, shoulders, nasal issues, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), long-ribcage obstructing her lungs movement, leg joints--- that reminds me of a robot.

Though a quiet lady, she's an adventurous sort. I offered jala & sutra neti ( nasal cleaning with water and rubber tube). She took them all was grace--- a lesson in the toilet.

I remembered she can hardly breathed through a count of 3 when we first met. The good thing is, Gin has no problem sitting still for long period of time. Which gives me a great chance to work her through the breathing practices, 5, 10, 15, or even 20 minutes. Pranayama-- building up the counts, throwing in bandhas (locks) and kumbhaka ( retentions). With her own effort, she's breathing 7-8 counts a breath.

It may be a simple task to do so for many of us. However to her, its something she'd to focus her attention to--- something she's proud of that she can give to herself. She once said, " To be able to breath so freely is better than any spa treats"

We still meet up for weekly session; because of her faith towards me, we learn from one another.

A Puppet Body

I started seeing Sha in April. It was definitely good to see her back on the mat.
As advised from the doctor, she's not ready for too much of the action physically. And thus, she's into a more therapy and gentle practice on her own.

At the first glance, i noticed her limited movement around her neck area; felt her unsettles somehow.
Before the class, she offered a cup of water. But she forgotten about it and we started the session. At the end of the practice, she remembered about the cup of water. It became a joke!

We chatted for a while, about her body,mental and emotional experiences for the months we'd not met. For so many doctors she went to, could not spot on the root of the problem. Sha knew clearly she's not a " nut case" ( was advised to talk to a therapist due to stress), not into any asthmatic issues ( due to her short of breath, and therefore diagnosed by the doctor). Finally, an MRI scan---  Misalignment of the cervical spine or a herniated disc.

We laughed about how she chucked all those pain-killers pills into the bin. And she'd open herself to alternative healing. Constant stress was building up--- too much multi-tasking, leading to a fear of forgetting what's not done on the list.

Mentioning that she hardly able to get any good sleep, probably once or twice... a year! Though she'd remembered all the things she has to complete everyday, but she'd forgotten about herself.
" i must do something to help her in someway. At least more nights of good sleep in a year", this was my first thought.

We chatted through for another hour or so. I totally appreciated her openness towards me; thoughts that she'd not dare to speak that may oppose the others--- that suppresses and lies at the bottom of her heart.

Pour if she has to, pour out everything she'd got. For all her discomforts is my map--- showing me directions to discover new teaching approaches to rekindle the feeling of comfort for her and others.

The couple that practice separately

Ihat was in 2010. The Nandos couple, Sha & Rock; had been in Singapore for couple of years. I met them through an enquiry email to getting back in practice. I started giving weekly 7am practices for the couple. In the midst, Sha stopped--- their two cutie pies needed her attention. Morning practices with Rob went on.

Teaching Rock is not peanut. It's more like a cracking a walnut shell. He's well-built with chunks of muscles warpping around him. Adjusting him with my bare hands is no joke--- sometimes i felt like i'd gone for gym session. Later, i started to explore using the chair around the space, strap, block, ledge and gravitational force to help me do the work.

For his physical limitation in movements is a creation for some creative and efficient practice methods. I asked about Sha at times, if she's good. And got to know that she'd been going through spinal discomforts and few episodes of muscles spasm.

One year later, in 2011, Sha wanted to be back on mat. But this time, a separate practice on her own.

* names have been modified