Super Antioxidant: Raspberry Soy- milk Smoothie

It has been a while i visit the Giant Hypermarket in Tampines; was there last evening, and it was a craze! I got so excited by the large selections of fruits and vegetables mountains at a very reasonable rate. I think my best hobby gotta be shopping.... in supermarkets!

I grabbed a box of Raspberries, and decided to whip out Raspberry Soy- milk Smoothie the next morning! It is VERY easy to prepare....

1) You'll need.... A handful of Frozen Raspberries ( about 10-15) and a cup of Soy milk
* Freeze the Raspberries overnight


2) Throw everything into a blender

Taaa-daaaah! Here's a Super Anti- oxidant smoothie!

Consume immediately... enjoy!

Breathing a Cool Summer!

Easy way to cool breathing, one of my favorite!

Step 1: Choose your preferred option:

Roll you tongue. If you can't, no worries... you have the next option

Show off you teeth!














Step 2: Imagine you just ate a very spicy hot curry!

Take a long fast speed inhale through the mouth. ( feel the cool air rushing in)
A complete exhale through the nostrils. ( feel the warm air flowing out)

Practice at least 5 minutes or 30 breaths for effect.

Step 3: Do it safely!


Its a very safe practice for most people, however if you have lungs related issues ( asthma, bronchitis, hyperventilation...) please practice with a certified teacher.

Do this practice INDOORS ONLY with little dust in the environment.

Lastly, happy cooling!

Sharing courage

There are moments, 

when we lost the courage to make a step forward. 

We do need a hand who has that courage,

to pull us along to cross that line.

When this happens, all we have to do

in that mili- minute split second,

is to drop all ego and just follow.

Silent mode please!

There was a recent article on Facebook company letting a yoga teacher go, due to the usage of mobile phone by the student during the class. So what was the whoo-haa?

This is probably not just one case face by this yoga teacher in this particular yoga class, its everywhere. Students arriving the class late, repeatedly. Students can't take their eyes off the mobile gadgets. Students uncontrollable chatting. Students coming to class with blank face, left their soul at the work desk. In any class, distraction is everywhere.

When i just started out teaching group classes, especially corporate classes; one of the tough nut to crack. Though the convenient was given to them by getting yoga teacher to travel over to their premises, most of them arrive the class with a very unsettled mind.
Initially, i was very disturbed by how they work with their schedule, being late, mobile rudely rings off in the middle of the class... very eye- sore.

I remember this person in the class, place his blackberry at the top right corner of the mat. Whenever we do a forward bend, he will click on it. I thought it was quite amusing. After talking to the group, understanding what they are facing in their work and culture; i'm actually grateful for them making such effort to the class.

The very first decision we took to sign up for a yoga class, is to feel a glimpse of peace in the chaotic daily routine. Who knows, the actual execution became more challenging than we thought. Unpredictable work schedule, heavy work load, whole day of meetings...

Honestly, if the students want to be disturb during the flow of the class, i would not disturb them. Leave them there to handle their personal issue first; without disturbing the others.

To the yoga teachers, we want as much as possible to create a conducive environment for the students to be in touch with their inner peace. Mobile phone can be our greatest enemy during the class. However, i started to understand that many students step onto the mats in a very un-peaceful state, with a very distracted mind, that's why they are here... to work on their issues.

I used to tag a certain expectation from them. In a yoga class, one should behave this way...... that way..... one should not do this..... do that.... till i realize that i was just another superior of theirs. Nobody is gaining any good.
I learn to let go of such expectation, more problems means more learning; and this is more helpful for all of us.

So how do i deal with the mobile problem?
Before i start any class, i would advise them to silence their mobile (we probably assume that.. duh! shouldn't they? but trust me.... most of them forgot about it. We consciously will silence our mobile before the movie starts, but Not in a yoga class). If there's any emergency call waiting, inform me in advance. Giving them a space and chance to speak first, and we respect our personal priorities.

Traveling in the world of impossibilities

As many others people do, the very first time when i saw the Ashtanga Primary Series chart, i took a huge breathe to hold me shock. A huge "Noooooo... Not possible!" train across my head. So many poses, arms and legs all tangled like a twirly donut. One poses after another, the position looks harder to tackle. Remembering the series by heart... forget it!

Attempting the practice slowly, i actually felt that things are going more interesting. Just like playing those arcade games, where you complete each level to fight more monsters. The rule of Ashtanga practice is not to jump, or take any short cut. It is advise to stop where we are stuck at, and work on that particular pose.... till we get it, then next pose granted. Now, i understand why most Ashtangis are not youthful and young..!

One great stuff is, its first scares you then it makes you to work for what we seems impossible. The practice knocks off all doubtful wall that our mind set; and open to us a world of impossibilities. We tend to judge ourselves more than being judgmental to others. Because of these statement that the mind pass down, the body listen and act according to the judgement.
Yoga practices often teach us not to be too quick to judge others; most essentially, not to do the same thing to ourselves too.

There are so many poses in the series i initially scared the poo out of me. Many of them i never thought i can do it, or to even hold on there for five breathes. Amazingly, as the practice keeps going, there's a flip to my doubts. I took it as a challenge, a hurdle, a lesson that each pose that am stuck in... i got to learn to be creative for a solution, i got to be patient with my body, i got to release the expectation of any deadline i tag for myself.... till i learn.

We learn, we all need to learn to grow more wise. I've seen people pulled their muscles, fractured their toes from the jumping through, back aches.... some people blame it on the practice and stop doing it totally. Some people take it as blind spots uncovered, and learn to deal with all these injuries; and too allow the practice to heal the body.

Dreams: 4-D movie experience

As much as i like diving into bottomless- deep sleep, i love to have dreams too. Dreaming is like watching a movie with a 4-D experience. In dreams, anything is possible... anything can happen; it just me and the characters in the dreams, nobody else.

I remembered seeing a few rainbows in the shapes of globe and new- born birds by window; i love it so much that i didn't want to wake up. There're some frightening ones which i got a gun- shot in my lower back, i didn't dare to move for a long while thought i must be bleeding, and realize that it was a cramp. And multiple dreams of the same dog was chasing me down the real long stair case, and i later met a flying elephant who taught me how to fly.

Some dreams were a collection of events, people or things i consciously thought i've make peace with, but somehow subconsciously, it didn't. Few nights before, i kept getting frightened by the cockroaches along the dark street... in the night,  dreamt of them in super-large size... creepy- crawly!
There were episodes of bad experiences or people that i consciously want to keep away from, puzzled in my own dream when they keep on appearing all night, like advertisements.

I sat on my bed the whole morning in blank, maybe that's my fear that i didn't actually resolve, that i plan to brush them all under a big carpet and pretend their non- existence. Maybe these stuff arises in my dream as a message for me, erm.... to lift up the carpet and honestly clean off those rubbish?!

Meluha & Nagas ( The Good & the Evil)

I recently surprisingly finished two books in one month by Amish, and stretching my neck long for the third book to be out!
Its a Trilogy of Shiva: The first book, The Immortal Of Meluha
                                    The second book, The Secret of the Nagas
After reading them, it sort of welcome me into another perspective.

While most time we tend to be too quick to judge a certain situation, mainly because we are too caught into our own situation.
One part of us want all things to be simply divided with a clear line drawn between the black & white. The other part of us always find ourselves facing the line or the grey muddy situations.

A line from the send book magnify a very interesting idea: What we so- called evil or ugly of something-- is it the end of a pole where the evilness thrive OR is it the destructing result caused that reflects the ugliness of that situation?

Each of us contains the positive & negative, the duality. They co- exist, and there's a purpose for their existence. There are times, i find myself being caught in the negative side, which further allow the ugliness to rise. If i later learn how to shift my attention to the other side, i create space for the positive to take over.
Within this period of transition, is where i understand myself more than ever, where i grow stronger.

Learning how to take the seat of a third- party, and to be just an observer enable us to see things with empathy, rather than being judgmental.

Its not easy to hunt for good books where word messages can be pass down to inspire the people and well- being. It is also only a handful of authors who sees beyond what we see, and knowing how to let us see what we do not see always in printed words.

If there are, these books are worth reading again & passing on the messages. 

Breathe more, breath harder!

As much as that i like backward bending, there are time where i find myself not wanting to attempt any of it. The thought of blood pressure rising, the extra effort of breathing and those uncomfortable crunching of the spine, i pulled myself out like a coward.
Back-bends in the yoga practices depict the ability to open to the future, with great courage; where the heart is being pry open, releasing the tightness of the accumulated fear. If anyone who has attempt back- bending, any back- bends, even the most basic ones--- we do experience the same kind of fear.

This little fear, which has an ability of magnify itself when it reaches the brain--- that weaken our muscles and confidence. The more when we try to open our chest area, somehow there's a resistance force drumming hard into our chest; sort of like punch us down instead.  And in panic, we breathe little or even holding the breath--- which makes it worst.

Breath harder. Not just breath, we need to breath a whole lot more harder; so much that the we can push away those resistance and flip them outwards in flexibility to face the same direction as the heart is.
You will be surprise how much potential inner strength we have, breath harder.

Just like how our physical body in closely related to how we live our life. Each time, we try look into a brighter future, but things don't always work that smoothly. Somehow, there are always a whole bull-strength of resistance pulling us backwards. Breath more, more than we ever can imagine. Breathe is life, only when we have the ability to pump in more life force into us, we keep ourselves going towards the challenges the future is going to throw at us.

Fear is a horrible creature that loves to test our intention. Fear is too a strict teacher who comes in to give us lessons that are hard to learn. Because of fear, we found the power of breathing, our life force. The stronger the fear imposes on us, the more potential we actually have to fight against it. When fear arises, the breathes dissolves them.


I particularly like back-bending, for there's so much commotion is happening; each time i get to experience how my body react to immerse fear, and finding my way through to manage it. Going to back- bending, i learn not to passively await for fear to hit me--- instead being actively releasing them; creating a conducive space for a brighter future.

The gut speaks, we listen.

We've all heard so much about 'gut feeling', but none has actually concretely produce any evidence of it. I personally have many encounters , it always proves itself right.

I don't regard it much as a feeling, rather more like a language. Language, is a mystical tools to transmit messages from one end to the other by various methods.

Our inner gut feeling often tries to appear louder than the analytical mind by hitting us hard in our heart. When this happens, I felt a crunch in my tummy, tightness in my chest, or a surge of inertia that I should clarify with myself before I move further.

The language that our gut tells us something that we refuse to accept that is not in our favour.
The gut does not need others' acknowledgement for its existence, it's just there. The message that it transmit to us, is so private, so sacred that we can't really string that into words or even trying to explain to others. Because, the message is intended solely for us only, not others.

When the gut is speaking, listen. It speaks the truth that we don't believe; it dissolves those lies that we are trying to protect.
When others expect an concrete explanation from you, don't be afraid to tell them, " It's just my Gut Feeling!"

For those who understand you, is in touch with it. For those who don't understand you, no words can explain this inner experience.

The gut speaks, we listen.

We've all heard so much about 'gut feeling', but none has actually concretely produce any evidence of it. I personally have many encounters , it always proves itself right.

I don't regard it much as a feeling, rather more like a language. Language, is a mystical tools to transmit messages from one end to the other by various methods.

Our inner gut feeling often tries to appear louder than the analytical mind by hitting us hard in our heart. When this happens, I felt a crunch in my tummy, tightness in my chest, or a surge of inertia that I should clarify with myself before I move further.

The language that our gut tells us something that we refuse to accept that is not in our favour.
The gut does not need others' acknowledgement for its existence, it's just there. The message that it transmit to us, is so private, so sacred that we can't really string that into words or even trying to explain to others. Because, the message is intended solely for us only, not others.

When the gut is speaking, listen. It speaks the truth that we don't believe; it dissolves those lies that we are trying to protect.
When others expect an concrete explanation from you, don't be afraid to tell them, " It's just my Gut Feeling!"

For those who understand you, is in touch with it. For those who don't understand you, no words can explain this inner experience.

On the consciousness, Off the fight for rights.

A great line from a book name The Immortals of Meluha authored by Amish. A juicy book that my Hindi teacher insisted that i should read it. Bingo! i'm an addict now...
"..if the entire society was conscious of its duties, nobody would need to fight for their individual rights..." 
This particular line caught my attention, that i re-read again and again. I stopped at this line, close the book, shut my eyes and gave it a good thought while the train was moving like a lullaby tune.

Everyday, on the newspaper booming tons of articles that the society is fighting for in any kind of rights. We practically abuse anything that we have, trust... power... lust.... greed...
Pretty much demoralizing to start the morning everyday reading the newspaper, no wonder so many people are unhappy about their days.

If, if only, we tickle this little conscious that had been hidden so deep under inside us, that we push that button to activate and awaken our consciousness, no fighting will fire up. Fight for rights, is like treating from the symptoms. Touching the connection of our consciousness is treating from the root.

Those who has connect that consciousness, sees it. Those who have not, can't see it.