When yoga goes beyond the mat
Longtime aficionados looking for something deeper can participate in philosophy, ‘pranayama’ and other sessions
PEOPLE get into yoga for many reasons.
A friend dragged me along to my first yoga class several years ago, and I felt lighter and happier for the rest of the day. But the reason I really liked it was that it gave me relief from the pain of a broken heart. There was something inherent in the yoga practice—about the experience of breathing while moving my limbs into poses—that helped me let go.
Slowly, over time, with consistent practice, yoga sorted me out physically and emotionally. It made me strong enough to confront my fears. It helped corral my mind, so that I stopped being a prisoner of my unrelenting thoughts. Soon, little (and even big) things stopped bothering me, and I grew less and less concerned about what people thought of me. Overall, I became a kinder, gentler person—or so I’ve been told.
Today I feel I ammore “myself,” or who I was meant to be, and not so much who I thought I should be. But I still have a lot of work to do. Going back to my mat every morning to do the postures is certainly an important part of the work, but there’s more to it than that. I’ve got to go deeper.
Manila had its yoga boom sometime between 2008 and 2011, with studios sprouting all over the city; so I’m guessing longtime practitioners want something more substantial by now. Like me, you might be curious about the inner practices, even if your reasons are selfserving. If yoga can piece together a shattered heart, imagine what will happen if I do more of it.
Some of you might seek to understand the foundational philosophies, or you might be experimenting with pranayama breathing. Maybe you know some words in Sanskrit and have added a sitting practice to your routine.
After noticing the feelings and sensations that arise when you shape and twist your body into poses day after day, it is not surprising that you’ve sharpened your awareness. Strange as it sounds, by bending your spine this way and that, you somehow stimulate interest in things that didn’t matter to you before—like the concepts of truth and suffering; and how you relate to yourself and others.
Clarity and purpose
As you learn to release muscles and open up pathways in your body, you dismantle old mental habits and behavioral patterns, too, so that you begin to think in different ways.
If your journey is anything like mine, fresh perspective brings clarity and purpose, while new insights can usher in vitality. So, of course, you want more.
As a yoga enthusiast of the most zealous kind and as a big believer in its power to transform—not just individuals but society at large—I am inviting you to a long-overdue series of classes and workshops at the newly opened Romulo Peace Center in Makati from March until May.
I am especially excited about this comprehensive yoga program because all participating teachers are true authorities in the subjects they will be presenting, with years of consistent study behind them.
Hosted by Stillpoint Manila, with the participation of Philippine Insight Meditation, we hope to provide depth and proper context to yoga, balancing the physical with intellectual and spiritual components.
Though asana mat classes will be conducted according to the Ashtanga Vinyasa system, modern yogis and yoginis from all traditions are encouraged to come and participate in philosophy, pranayama and other sessions.
A generous donation from San Miguel Corp. made it possible to create the Romulo Peace Center. It’s named after my grandfather, Carlos P. Romulo, and all rental proceeds generated in its first year will go to the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development, earmarked for a project to build a more climate-resilient Philippines.
For philosophy, Yoga Beyond Asana will explore concepts from the earliest yogic texts (the Upanishads), such as conditioned living, the means of liberation and the purpose of life. Taught by Greg Nardi, who studies with noted yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein, this class will enable you to fit contemporary yoga practice into ancient tradition. (Tuesday and Thursday, March 10 and 12; 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., P500/class.)
Meditation for beginners
For meditation, beginners are especially welcomed by Philippine Insight Meditation, which is firmly rooted in the Theravada tradition. On March 12, Brother Billy Tan from Malaysia will be offering a talk on how lust and hatred arise.
Tan is known worldwide for sharing the teachings of the Buddha from a scientific perspective. Other meditation sessions will be moderated by Robin Velasco and Imee Contreras. (Thursdays, March 26, April 9 and 23. All sessions are from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Fee by donation.)
For asana and chanting, four weekend workshops will be taught by Greg Nardi, one of a select number of Level 2 Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teachers worldwide. Each session will begin and end with Sanskrit mantra chanting. Reservations are required.
Guided Primary Series, Saturday, March 14, 9 a.m., P1,500
Jewels of the Lotus, Saturday, March 14, 3 p.m., P2,500
Core, Sunday, March 15, 9 a.m., P2,500
Arm Balances, Sunday, March 15, 3 p.m., P2,500
Nardi will be teaching asana classes Mysore-style from March 9-20. But before and after these dates, all Stillpoint yoga classes will be held as usual, in- cluding the guided class for beginners. (Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m.)
Those interested in a truly transformative experience can join me on a weeklong yoga immersion in Koh Samui, Thailand. Seasoned teachers Sascha and Romana Delberg will be offering a residential retreat that integrates and complements the courses we’re offering at the Peace Center, and the dates coincide with our Philippine holidays (March 28 to April 4).
“Moving Deeper Into Yoga” will bring together the eight limbs of yoga, helping you integrate yogic wisdom into your life. (www.youtube.com/watch? v=ou2zXQgjV1A)
Learn to read basic Sanskrit in a series of 10 classes (Tuesdays and Thursdays, April 14 to May 19, 6:30 to 8 a.m., $300) by professor David Mellins, who received his PhD in Sanskrit literature from Columbia University. He has also taught language, religion and literature at Columbia, Yale and Rutgers.
Learn the theory of pranayama, the anatomy of respiration, the preparatory practices and traditional pranayama techniques, based on the teachings of O.P. Tiwari, director of the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in India. (Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26, 9-11 a.m. and 2-4 p.m., P3,200 for the weekend.)
The Peace Center is at Century Plaza, 120 Perea St., Legazpi Village, Makati. For more information, tel. 09213152644.
The author has been practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga for 12 years and pranayama breathing for eight years. With the new Peace Center designed especially for yoga and other contemplative practices, and her rental proceeds going to a climate-resiliency project, she invites practitioners from all yoga traditions to join her in this program that plunges deep into ancient wisdom.