I’m the type of person who likes knowing the exact outcome of anything I do. I love when things can be measured, are precise, and are predictable. It’s evident in the way I teach and that is a source of comfort in my life. 

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are meant to be a guide on to how to live a life free from attachment to what doesn’t matter in the end. I’ve been thinking of Isvara Pranidhana much more in this pandemic lately — it is the surrender of your ego to your higher power. I have never been a religious person, but I truly believe that there is more to this world than me and us. I feel it. 

COVID-19 sent all our future plans spiraling out of control. I went through a lot of anxiety over the loss that it brought and how unstable I was feeling. I had many moments of doubt because I didn’t know if the hard work would pay off. It was so easy to hold myself back because not knowing felt crippling so many times. 

I had to muster up the courage to keep moving and find ways to take care of myself as a Yoga teacher. Trust in the process and surrendering the effort was one of the biggest things I’ve learned because of all this. Yes, “the universe has got your back” but we need to do our part too. I worked hard to gain skills, create good content for classes, and build connections to my students. 

Work hard, study, have good intentions, and then LET IT GO. When we focus on the process instead of what we’re getting out of something, the Universe supports what we direct our energy towards. When we surrender the attachment to the outcome, we surrender what holds us back from reaching our fullest potential. Having faith and trusting myself has made me more confident in what the future has in store.

- Teacher Rianna

I’ve gone through quite a lot in my life. Family problems, financial struggles, losing people I love, and trying to find closure from things I never got a sorry for by myself - a lot of times that rile my nervous system up whenever I get reminded of these events.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my own fair share of mistakes and moments I can’t say I’m proud of. While all this feels like a really long time ago, I sometimes see how these have created an effect in who I am today. 

I used to think joy is something I had to continually keep chasing. That it was something I needed to find. A constant thought was how lucky some people had it compared to me and I always wondered how much points I needed to rack up with God to get on his good side. Thinking this way left me consistently exhausted and mentally drained that It was easy to find temporary fixes. I spent a lot of time trying to look for joy in places outside of myself. 

Stepping onto the mat changed that. 

A couple of months in, I was able to find a sense of solace on my mat. Without ever being told how to, the practice brought me back to me. Being with myself and coming face to face with who I was and the life I had wasn’t easy. But I learned that what I go through and for the most part, the thoughts I didn’t define me. Who you are on your mat is who you are off of it. The opportunity to spend time with yourself is valuable because you see exactly how you work and put that into perspective. I felt really happiness within myself - something I hadn’t for a really long time. 

We usually talk about Yoga as something that brings you harmony. I’d like to challenge that by saying that this practice is an unveiling -that you are whole, complete, and beautiful. It leads you to the steps that help strip away what keeps you from realizing that. The secret was that I never needed to look for joy outside of me, it was never gone in the first place. I never even had to look for it, I just had to see it was in me all along.

- Teacher Rianna

​Today is April Fool's Day, a day that is celebrated with pranks and trickery and the ensuing laughter that comes after the discovery of the deception. It's probably one of the few days of the year when we allow ourselves to be completely duped for the sake of a few goodnatured laughs. And the appeal of the activity is almost universal.

Historians trace the roots of the April Fool's Day to various places: in ancient India in celebration of the coming of spring and in ancient Rome, where citizens exchanged fake gifts to commemorate the transition from the Julian Calendar (which starts on April 1) to the Gregorian Calendar.

Regardless of its roots, April Fool's Day revelers have one objective: to find joy in the small things. Whether that's sharing an obviously satirical article to close friends or staging a full production of a prank, we are all motivated by our search for the joy of laughing together, even on the smallest of things.

So today's lesson is: joy doesn't have to come in big packages. And joy is not found in faraway places. Joy can be right here at home in the smallest of things. Try to find that joy in everything near and dear and then you will learn that true joy is just within. 

- Teacher Ben

I recently joined the online 21-day workout challenge by Jordan Yeoh, a YouTube fitness coach. Yoga can be a great workout but lately I have been looking for something more intense. Jordan Yeoh’s workouts consist of high intensity interval training (HIIT) using your own body weight. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of HIIT, which is exactly why I’m in yoga training. But I know that this is the challenge that my body needs at my age.

Jordan has an introductory video which he wants us to watch before we start the challenge. In the video, he said that he had misgivings about doing daily challenges before. He thinks that people are often more focused on performing and getting immediate results and end up being frustrated or disappointed if they feel they did not meet their expectations. So he has set the expectation for this challenge, which is commitment and consistency. He said that if we want to succeed, we should commit to carve out time to workout  everyday for the next 21 days. What we are aiming for is commitment and consistency.

This really resonated well with me.Sometimes, we are so distracted by the end goal and our own expectations that we often forget about the process. Not being at par with our expectations frustrates us to the point that we lose motivation and forget about our commitment. It helps to think that commitment is as simple as showing up. Regardless of how you feel about the process, regardless of how near or far you are from your targets, you just show up, trust the process, and learn from the experience of those who have done it before. Based on my own experience, I have so far not regretted showing up, even if the workout is physically demanding.

The same attitude can be applied to our yoga practice. It may be challenging. It may be tough both physically and mentally. But it is worth it. Just keep working on your practice, enjoy the process, and its fruits will manifest in their own time. 

-Teacher Ben
​

We just recently celebrated World AIDS Day last December 1. The HIV cause is close to my heart because I started my regular yoga practice through my involvement in the HIV advocacy. In 2010, Yoga for Life started offering yoga classes for people living with and affected by HIV. As someone who has just started to work in the cause by supporting people living with HIV, I felt the same level of fear and apprehension that the people I was trying to help felt.

In the last ten years, I saw first hand the power of yoga in building and fostering communities of care and support. Yoga provides a common ground through an experience shared by individuals who may have diverse backgrounds. In yoga, your HIV status does not matter; everyone is equal on the mat. Seeing the joy that people feel whenever they discover their capabilities helps cement that common bond. Seeing that everyone struggles differently on the mat help people put their own personal struggles into perspective.

Sharing that bond is empowering for many people. And that bond extends beyond the mat through the years. Through yoga, people who otherwise would not have met because of their different personal circumstances have become friends, even lovers. But most strikingly of all, everyone has become family.

A community that has become a family is special because in a family, you don’t accept someone just because you like them. You accept them and love them unconditionally as they are, with all their flaws and other attributes.

Yoga is a powerful tool in fostering community, leveling the playing field, and expanding people’s social equity—or the richness of our social experience. Do you have a special community in mind that you want to enrich and foster? Try introducing yoga and observe how much your community can grow because of it.

This year has brought about a new change in the Yoga landscape when the lockdown began. Teachers everywhere started teaching online and before we knew it, we suddenly had more options than ever before. Looking around for a community or teacher that suits you can be overwhelming. The wide variety of options, marketing collateral, and logistical considerations are a lot to take in and has sometimes left some people without any choice at all!

Yoga is something that brings so much value to ourselves on a mental, emotional, and physical level. Now that its benefits are so well known, the pandemic has had more people interested in taking classes for the first time. If you’re new to yoga or confused about where to invest your money for classes, here are my tips to get the most out of online practice:

1. Find a style of Yoga you resonate with.

Whether it is Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Rocket, or any other style of Yoga, remember that not all styles have the same approach. It needs to feel good in your body and mind! Explore different yoga styles and shop around. Figure out what you want and need out of the yoga practice and you’ll be able to find a style of yoga that suits you the most.

2. Know who is teaching.

For every style of yoga, there will be a number of teachers who will teach each of them in different ways. Beyond figuring out what kind of yoga you’re interested in, get to know WHO is teaching it. Make sure that they resonate with you.  Consider if their cues easy to understand, informative, and detail-oriented. And also, don’t hesitate to ask questions, they need to know their stuff!. 

3. Figure out if your teacher matches your learning style. 

Each teacher has their own approach in leading classes. You’ll find a lot of differences depending on what or how they teach. Some teachers are good demonstrators and spend most of the class on their mats, there are others who are verbal communicators and rarely demonstrate at all. There are teachers who teach each class through a different sequence, and some with a lot of repetition. As you try out different classes, make sure you check in and see if you truly feel like you are learning. 

4. Make sure that you feel seen and welcome. 

If you feel intimidated joining a brand new community, remember that it is important to feel like you are taken care of. As teachers, it is our job to be able to cater to all kinds of people who come with different bodies, levels of experience, and learning style. This will be evident in the way a community comes together. Your experience should always make you feel supported and empowered at the same time.

As we make our way towards the end of this year, don’t hesitate to invest in your self-care. The classes you take can create a positive impact in the way you handle your life outside of your mat so make sure that the process of choosing the community for you is done mindfully. Good luck and keep practicing!

-Teacher Rianna

Resilience has become a buzzword during this pandemic. It has suddenly become a necessary set of skills for survival. For Filipinos, resilience has become a contested and highly politicized concept, especially when it is romanticized in the face of the very inefficient response of the government to the global health crisis we are confronted with.

But what is resilience, really? How important is it for our own personal and spiritual growth? And how can we build resilience through our yoga practice? 

Resilience is defined as the ability to recover from difficult experiences and setbacks, to adapt, move forward, and experience growth. For me, resilience is the result of building mental strength over time.

Some of the characteristics that resilient people share include the following: 1) a positive, realistic outlook, 2) a moral compass, 3) a belief in something greater than themselves, 4) altruism, 5) the ability to accept what cannot be changed, 6) a sense of purpose, and 7) a social support system.

Having none of these right now does not mean you cannot be resilient. Remember that resilience is built over time. The good thing is all of these characteristics can be developed through the practice of yoga. 

In yoga, we believe in the inherent divinity of each and everyone of us. Beyond our ego is our true nature that transcends our limited experience in our own bodies and extends towards a sense of community with others.

The work of yoga also helps us determine our dharma, or our sense of purpose. When our work is meaningful, it gives us the mental strength to keep going even when the going gets tough.

On the practical side, yoga helps us build mental strength through the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness is practically the first step towards building resilience over time. When we are mindful, we are able to stay grounded and focused in the present moment even when we are overwhelmed by everything going on around us.

It’s very important to have a regular mindful activity during this pandemic if your goal is to not just survive but to really thrive. If you don’t have an activity that helps you stay grounded, maybe it’s time to give yoga a try. It’s never too late to start something new, especially if it will help you adapt to the ever changing circumstances of these challenging times.

​-Teacher Ben