its been a month of doing yoga with thesecolleagues of mine. 2 to 3 times of yoga in a week.they really started as beginners andwouldn't want to join a regular class out of fear that the others are too advanced. lol :)

when anybody goes out of balance on any pose, i just tell them, "respect what your body can do for the moment"... "as you progress, you're body will get used to it and you'll just be amazed one day, you will be able to do the pose." ..."no need to rush, this is not a competition"... these are the constant reminders they hear from me,  all the time. little did they know, i was already preparing all parts of their body for an inversion, the headstand. lol :)

i'm just so proud of what these gents and ladies can do, how strong their bodies and core have become,
their sense of balance, and embracing the art of breathing properly. of course, with the exception of 
food. they are far from becoming a vegetarian, and so am i! hahaha :)

now, they are able do to headstand with support. in the coming months, they'll be doing inversions on their own. i'm more than happy that i have been part of their journey in yoga. i hope i have inspired them. as i always say before ending my yoga session, "yoga is all about love, peace and happiness." Namaste. :)

tight hugs,
AC

It's how we think that limits us to what we can do and its also how we think that allows us to discover what else we can do. It's all in the mind.

Teaching inversion among my colleagues, and inspiring them to be adventurous with life and with their bodies. Ladies, you've come a long way since the day we started. I'm so proud with all of you. :)

Thank you God for allowing me to inspire others in my own little ways. I will forever be grateful for this gift of teaching. :)

tight hugs,
AC

Saturday of august 31, 2013, 5:15pm marks my first official teaching experience with Love Yoga World at the 11th floor of Skyrise 2, Asiatown IT Park. gosh, i never thought i'd be living and doing a long dream of mine - to teach and inspire others through and with yoga. :)

my first students were ann batiller, janice cinco and eloise. ann and janice are friends of mine whom i've convinced to try my class. eloise is an acquaintance in the studio who got a package and decided to join my class. my session for that day was loud and fun! ann and janice are loud and will really let out a sigh of complain in a very funny  way. eloise was elegant, poised and will let out a little giggle at times. so yeah, i can say that my class for that day was an eye-opener for some (i hope) because there were some poses that i had to discuss and correct. charot! it was a sweaty afternoon indeed but we had lots of fun during the session. here's my pic with ann.

I really do hope that these three ladies enjoyed my session. According to ann, I was very precise with my instructions and strict with laughter on the other side! Hahhaha!  Janice said, it was good that way and she liked it because she’ll know if she’s doing it right. Perhaps, we’re talking about alignment here… strict – such a big word! No, im not strict, I told ann. i’m  just good at emphasizing things. Hahaha! i’m just not so sure what Eloise thinks about my approach. I really do hope she had fun during my session and will join me next time.

To others who are able to read my blog and would love to learn yoga (flexibility not a requirement), I’m inviting you once again to join my class. Have fun with me on a Saturday afternoon through yoga at Love Yoga World. One thing I can promise, you’ll  come out of my session smiling. Charot! Haha!

I was really curious about this new yoga studio in town. It was Rachel Besa (Ragini) who informed me that this yoga studio is offering a new yoga environment, hot yoga. I searched it out over the internet and found out the name of the studio, Love Yoga World. Hot yoga class use heaters to make the studio warm, and the heat ranges from 40 – 45 degrees celsius. I already had an assumption that this type of yoga would really squeeze out all the toxins  in me through dripping sweat. Haha!  Its like doing yoga inside a sauna.  curious as i am, I checked it out on Monday morning of Aug 26, 7:30am at the 11th floor of Skyrise 2 at Asiatown IT Park.

When I arrived at the studio, I was greeted by Mary Deen, owner of the yoga studio. A very pleasant woman with a very soft accommodating voice. I knew then that she will be my instructor for that particular hot yoga session. Of course, the observer in me, my eyes began to scour the interiors of the studio. I must say that this yoga studio has a very calm, relaxing mood. They’ve used toned serene hues that by the time you sit down,  you’d feel calm. Its like getting into a spa. Here's how the studio looks like :)

When I went in the yoga floor area, I was encouraged by Mary to use their mat though I brought  my own. I was hesitant coz I’m very particular with hygiene that’s why I brought my own mat with me. to my surprise,  they are using CLEAN “manduka” mat, sosyal! Right then and there, I felt comfortable and pampered. To offer and let your yoga  students use a clean “manduka” mat, which is super mahal, assures you that they are also particular of safety while  practicing, and commensurate to what you pay for. Most of all, hygiene is also their top most concern. some yoga studios here in cebu offers mat to their students but mats that are ordinary and dirty, sad to say but its true. Ok lang sana na ordinary but  the thing is, its super dirty. For me, it says a lot about the management and the  kind of service they provide. I hope they get to read this which I’m sure they will. lol

During the course of my practice with Mary in a heated environment, gosh, my sweat was dripping like an open faucet! Hahaha! I felt  dizzy and at times my sight would blurr during the practice which is normal for  first timers in hot yoga, according to a yoga classmate of mine at that time. Whenever  I felt dizzy and sight blurring during the practice, I just pause and catch my breath for my body to adjust to the temperature and really just calm my mind and body. as I always say to my students, “respect what your body can do for the moment and don’t push yourself too hard”. Now, im living what I preach and it works! :)

After my hot yoga session with Mary, we had a short insightful discussion about yoga and she shared to me her thoughts on it. I like her because she really lives by the holistic view of what yoga is all about. Its not about how good you are with the different asanas but on how you are as a person and how you affect others. Basically, its embracing all good virtues, staying positive and influencing and inspiring others to be better people. I always say this from my previous blogs, yoga makes you a better  person. Nakakabait talaga siya, trust me! :)

I also shared to Mary that i'm a practicing yoga instructor, bringing with me the teaching  styles of two of my mentors, Rachel Besa (Ragini) and Bernadette Pacana (Burnz). In case some of you don’t know, I teach yoga for free in our corporate office and  I also have a handful of students, from beginners to intermediate. This is my way of giving back to colleagues who wants to learn yoga. At first, I really just wanted to have companions when i practice yoga until the numbers and requests increased until i obliged myself to teach yoga because i saw the many numbers who wants to learn it. 

I was surprised during the course of my yoga discussion with mary, she right there and then offered me a slot to teach in her yoga studio. Ang bait nya diba?! I can say  that she is really a giving person,  her aura shows. its our first time to be acquainted with each other and for her to offer me such was a very generous gesture. i'm inclined to believe that she saw or sensed something good in me. Gosh, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I said  YES  right away without batting an eyelash! Haha! So yes, I’ll be teaching there but only on Saturdays. unfortunately, I have a nocturnal job which requires me to sleep during daytime. For sure, you’ll  agree with me, we also need to sleep to be beautiful. Haha! but you know, just in case there will be a lot of requests for me to teach on an afternoon on weekdays (charot!), I may have to think about it. Haha! So, to those who have been asking me if i’m teaching outside the corporate office, YES I do! You can join my class every Saturday at Love Yoga World, from 5pm – 6pm. The regular rate per session at Love Yoga World is Php 200 for non hot yoga  session but for my non hot yoga session, I requested Mary to charge my would be students only Php 150, which she agreed. Yipee! My objective is to give others the opportunity to learn yoga at an affordable price in a sosyal  studio. If I was able to teach for free to many in our corporate office, why not charge at a very minimal fee outside at a prime location with a sosyal studio, right? See below the contact information of Love Yoga World and the different packages they offer. Just call to inquire or check their FB page by clicking this link.

LOVE YOGA WORLD
Skyrise 2, 11th floor, Asiatown IT Park
239-46-00 / 0918-8888-907

YOGA WALK-IN RATES
Php 200 – non hot yoga
Php 250 – hot yoga

                                                      YOGA PACKAGE OPTIONS

• Package 1 - 12 non hot yoga sessions for Php 1,800 must be used within 30 days
  
• Package 2 - 12 hot yoga sessions for Php 2,500 must be used within 30 days
  
• Package 3  - 6 non hot yoga sessions + 6 hot yoga sessions for Php 2,150 must be used within 30 days
  
• Package 4 – 30 day yoga transformation for Php 4,500
  
• Package 5 – 30 day hot yoga transformation for Php 6,000 inclusive of one bottle of water and one glass of coconut water or moringa juice per session.
  
• Private Yoga - 1 student for Php 800 per session

• Private Yoga - 5 students for Php 1,000 per session

See you on my saturday sessions at Love Yoga World! :)

tight hugs,
AC

my yoga colleagues are now more determined to learn how to do this head stand! hahaha... nakakaloka ang mga taga yoga hub na practitioners - when the instructor said "let's do head stand", and by the time i looked at my fellow yoga practitioners beside and behind me, my gad, walang kakurapkurap na bumaligtad agad! hahaha... so, we decided to learn headstand, and here's our ganap. mga ambisyosa talaga, diba? hahaha :)

im giving myself a month to learn this head stand, though i can lift my feet up but i still need the support of the wall... sige lang, soon, humanda! haha :)

tight hugs,
AC

my first yoga teaching experience at Ananda Marga was very memorable. this took place last May 11, 2013 at Ananda Marga yoga studio at Ramos St., Cebu City. thank you Rachel for choosing me to substitute in your class while you're on vacation. hehe... here's the ganap of my class. :)

i've been teaching yoga for quite some time now but limited only to my co-workers and my workplace (for free), with the guidance of burnz and rachel. they are my mentors in yoga and i infuse their teachings with the way i teach. this day marks my venture into the wonderful world of teaching yoga. as i have said before in my previous blogs about yoga, that this is the only exercise that i fell in love with coz nakakabait siya. hahaha :) there were some who asked when will my next session be, imagine? i guess they liked my way of teaching. not bad for my first teaching venture. haha :)

tight hugs,
AC

its been quite sometime since that last time i've blogged. sorry, been really busy with corporate stuff. i'm trying to be back on track again. now, i've added this new page in my blog, health & wellness, so i could talk anything that concerns such. if you notice, i talk about yoga in my 'blog' section. now, i have this whole new section to talk about yoga and anything about wellness.

to start with, i've been practicing teaching yoga! i have three students, who are also my colleagues, and they're beginning to grow in number as other colleagues of mine are interested to join. well, i do it for free, just so i can inspire and not having to practice yoga alone! hahaha :)

allow me to share the story of Arthur and how yoga has transformed his life. i warn you, this is a      tear- jerker. better have a tissue ready beside you. :)

yoga is the only exercise that i've been to for the longest time. now that i'm embarking on a journey of teaching it, i really hope to inspire and share it's benefits to others. from my previous blogs about yoga, i've said this repeatedly, yoga makes you a kind person. nakakabait siya, promise! hahaha :)

tight hugs,
AC