"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye"
- Little Prince
Today is January 16, half way into my yoga course in Koh Phangan, and half way through my Thailand trip. It’s hard to believe that I have been here for 2 weeks already because time flies quickly on this beautiful island. At the same time, it also feels as if I have been here for a long time, because things start to get familiar, and I am getting to know my course mates very well. I wish this life could go on for longer than the 4 weeks I have here…
I taught my first yoga class today with my partner, Dani. We complement each other very much - her free flowing style with my structured approach, her philosophical meditation with my vinyasa flow. From working with her, I see how very different styles can work together to produce a well-balanced class. Like what we learned in class, the philosophy of Taoism tell us about balance and incorporation.
We chose the theme of our class to be the heart chakra. We hope through heart opening movement in yoga, we can inspire our students to embrace more compassion and love in our lives. This is a meaningful theme for me because I struggle to obtain the balance between rationality and intuition. My background is in mathematics, and I am comfortable with rationalising and finding the “optimal solution”. However, most times there isn’t a “right solution” in life, it’s more about making a choice and gaining some things whilst foregoing others. In fact, one of my favourite professors at my university once told me, with life decisions, you need to follow your heart, not your head.
Reflecting on my journey here in the yoga school so far, I feel that slowly I am also able to see with my heart more. I remember on the first day, after a lecture on the Yoga philosophy, I was shocked and panicked thinking that I am about to be brainwashed. Listening to terms like the “chakras”, “the energy”, the “path towards truth” I felt a waste of time to be here, and even thought about quitting the course.
Nevertheless, I am glad that I decided to stay. Being here, I learned to respect different perspectives, accept that what I believe to be true may not be the truth, and learning about different perspectives doesn’t necessarily mean I need to agree with it. Although there are many things I still cannot be convinced in the yoga philosophy, I do appreciate the wisdom it offers.
What I can feel now about the “magic power” of yoga is that it simply offers a moment in life to take a pause, to observe the world around us, and reflect on ourselves. Through meditation, we try to detach myself from entangled thoughts, and observe our physical senses and our emotions. Like Heidegger says, the difference between being “present-at-hand” or “ready-to-hand”. Maybe by taking a moment to contemplate, we gain a better perspective and a better attitude for life.
“Sometimes, you don’t get the answer for the question, but you get much more”
To be honest, I signed up to the yoga teacher training with the intention to learn the cool poses, to be fit and healthy, and to be able to teach other people yoga as a fitness class. However, what I am able to appreciating more now is not the physical capabilities I am gaining, but rather an attitude to pause and contemplate, to learn to gain a detached perspective. Having lived and worked in London, I find it so valuable to be able to escape from the noisy city. So in the future, I hope to spread this moment of peace in life to my students when I teach classes.
Above all, I am so grateful for this opportunity to live on this beautiful island of Koh Phangan, and to create precious memories with some inspiring class mates.
Cynthia
16/01/2019
Yoga school schedule:
7:30-8:00: Meditation
8:00 -10:00: Hatha yoga
10:00 - 10:30: Breakfast
10:30 - 12:30: Morning lecture (philosophy or anatomy)
---- lunch / beach break ----
16:00 - 17:00: Afternoon lecture ( asanas or adjustments)
17:30 - 18:30 : Evening yoga
Picture 1: My yoga partner Dani and I, after completing our first yoga class together
Picture 2: a nice view point on the way to yoga school, I would stop here every day on the way to morning class.
