Serenity Yoga - Lembeh Days
I returned to Lembeh filled with excitement as I knew that this time I was coming back to teach yoga to the dive customers at the resort I was staying at. It was an experiment to see if people preferred to have the option of yoga after diving or to relax and be quiet. In return it gave me the opportunity to get back into a steady flow of teaching yoga on a full time basis, and bring the experience that I had gained in India earlier this year into play :) For that opportunity I was extremely grateful. I was ridiculously excited to be able to practice and share everything that I was so lucky to learn in Rishikesh from all my wonderful teachers in India. Ah happy days :)
I offered customers the choice of three different styles of yoga twice a day - a gentle hatha flow, vinyasa flow and yin yoga. I was particularly excited to begin teaching yin yoga - something that I had totally fallen in love with in Rishikesh, and something that I know will feature in my own personal practice for forever and ever < 3 The classes were at 6am and again at 4.30pm in the afternoon.
My days on this paradise island were spent teaching yoga in the morning, sharing breakfast with the customers, then diving with the lovely Theresia and wonderful boys, and then preparing yoga classes and learning more about yoga each afternoon until I taught the afternoon class. I literally breathed yoga and diving for 6 weeks straight and could not have been more calm or happy in myself or my life than I was right there in that moment. I learnt so much about myself during this time. I was surrounded by a number of positive people who really believed in me and brought out the absolute best in me and I was so grateful to be spending my days and precious teaching time with them. Their kindness, encouragement and support opened up a whole new future to me and for that I will always remember them. People who made me dream big, write down my dreams and turn them into action plans for the future. I had spent so many months dreaming, and not truly believing but by the time I left Lembeh I was sure of the direction in which my life would turn.
They know who they are ;)
Whenever I had a spare moment you would always find me with my head inside The Yoga Bible trying out some crazy new pose, or pushing myself into some unimaginable position. Usually with Rheyn or Doan next to me trying it out shyly (or not!) and jumping up into it at first attempt as I fell to the floor lol! So many fun memories of experimenting in Lembeh. I didn't realise at the time but the boys who worked there as dive guides were watching what I did in class, and taking it with them into their own homes and practicing like crazy together. It was amazing how the "Yoga Bug" spread so fast!
Theresia, Imi, Dani, Hanny, Doan, Rein and Markko were regular attendees of my classes, sometimes twice a day as well as practicing their favorite poses in addition to this! I was amazed at their dedication. Imi and Theresia had never done yoga before so they were yoga virgins and very focussed students, wanting to perfect everything I showed them, and fast! Their progress was amazing. Imi for example was 18 years old and couldn't touch her toes when I met her. She agreed to come to my classes on the proviso that I would be able to make her touch her toes within 4 weeks. I agreed to the challenge. Two days later after the afternoon class, I heard a big scream and Imi came running back to the "studio" shouting "OMG OMG I can touch my toes, look, look!!" and yep she could most definitely touch her toes! This was the confidence boost that she needed to stick with her experiment with yoga and the confidence boost that I needed to know that I affected peoples lives with what I did each day in a positive way. I loved how happy she was, and encouraged her enormously! That girl amazed me endlessly! By the end of her time in Lembeh she was doing backbends that yogis who have been practicing for years and years can't even begin to think about getting into!! Just amazing :) So proud <3
Imi encouraged me with my own poses while we played around on the roof of the dive boats in between dive trips :)
Theresia came to every single class, despite her body paining her from lifting tanks, and the sheer level of tiredness that comes with diving. She would sometimes look at me with utter disgust when I asked her to get into certain poses, yet into them she would get...closing her eyes if needed to take her to her happy place until I moved her into the next flow. Theresia was another huge eye opening lesson for me into how much yoga and the work I do can affect someones world! Over the course of our 6 weeks together in practice on our beautiful island, Theresia's body shape changed so drastically we were both in shock! She developed this amazing leanness, and sculpted appearance to her body, and more strength than I think we both thought was possible so quickly! From someone who struggled to lean over her legs in Dandasana she became able to fly up confidently into headstand, perfect her dancer pose, follow long sequences of standing balances, come up into a full wheel and start to master the handstand! I would often find her at the far end of the beach practicing her various poses in her spare moments :)
And then there was Hanny. Hanny was drawn to yoga through his love of dance. To begin with he would shyly watch our classes through the restaurant door and then asked if he could join in. He got his father to bring him onto the island early to make sure he didn't miss classes, and sometimes spent the nights sleeping at the resort in the laundry room and would ask me to wake him up before class! So cute! I will never forget walking past the cafe area and seeing two legs in the air upside down, and stopping to see who it was and then screaming "Hanny!!!". I was so proud! He had been busy perfecting his handstand before he was brave enough to show us in class! He was so proud of himself, and I showed him some variations that he could practice in his own time. Superstar. Yoga made Hanny happy :)
Markko encouraged me to continue developing my own personal practice. He was able to jump up into poses that I could only dream of doing without warming up, and hold them for a long time. He had been busy training for an ultramarathon with his girlfriend (now fiancé) in Borneo, while working in Indonesia, and we would often wake up early before yoga and either sprint the beach or run the stairs of the Managers accommodation to get our adrenaline pumping through our bodies and build endurance. During his time in Lembeh teaching diving to Theresia and Imi (and me), he would attend each of my yoga classes and push me to push him further into poses. He always had questions about the poses, about how to be stronger, or why we practiced things in a certain way. He pushed me mentally and physically which was such a pleasure as a teacher. He and Theresia both really encouraged me and fed back to me about the classes, and my style and their enthusiasm and positivity made me realise that I absolutely am exactly where I am supposed to be right now, teaching yoga and shaping my future around this. Very exciting!!
All of the staff in Lembeh are still in touch and practicing yoga still which is so encouraging and inspiring!
They say that yogis learn from their teacher, which I agree with. But I absolutely believe that the teacher learns far more from their students. In fact there have been many articles around this recently which I will try and find and share with you. I learnt SO much about teaching, about life, about my students and most notably about myself. The learning curve in 6 short weeks for me was enormous. I will always be eternally grateful for the opportunity to have taught in Lembeh, Indonesia. A very, very special time for me in my travels. Testing, and challenging at times but hey don't they say "if it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you". And change me this experience did :)
My customers were just amazing. I learnt something new about myself and them every single day. I had total beginners, experienced and strong yogis, boyfriends who didn't have a choice but to attend, and so much more. I watched people grow before my eyes, and it was fascinating to me to watch this! I now understand so much more about my teacher, Michael, the yogi who watched me attend his yoga classes in the aquarium in Bermuda incredibly infrequently, always with an ache or pain from running, always with a reason why I hadn't practiced more... He must have seen the same transformation as he watched me and my fellow YTT 200 yogis in Bermuda peel away the layers of our own personal onion :) They say you never realize just how much you learn until after the occasion and I can now vouch for this. During my 6 weeks in Lembeh I realized just how much I had learnt in India and through my teaching experience and learning times in Bermuda. Such a lucky girl to have learned so, so much and have these wonderful customers bring it to my attention so easily.
I had a man attend yoga who literally couldn't hold onto the ladder of the dive boat and reach his foot to take his own fin off because his back and hips were so tight. His buoyancy in the water was shocking and his air consumption less than ideal. Within a week of religiously coming to my gentle hatha yoga and yin yoga classes he was able to take his own fins off, had completely chilled out underwater and was comfortable taking my advice on how to breathe more efficiently and calmly underwater and we saw huge changes. His whole shift in body language and nervous energy was incredible, everyone commented on it including other customers. I had an older gentleman who used to be a gymnastics teacher and was very able in his yoga practice despite not trying for quite some time. He pushed himself as much as he could and was always keen to continue his personal challenge in his practice. I had a lovely girl from Estonia attend the very first week of my classes, every single class. She was such positive energy and I am so pleased that we will remain in touch on facebook! She had never done yoga before but found that her body was so receptive to it, and she loved how she felt after practice so just kept coming back. The calmest most lovely girl ever! She has emailed me several times since leaving Lembeh to tell me she continues to practice and asks my advice on certain poses, and tells me how she is getting on with her personal goals in her practice. That stuff makes me so, so happy.
I should have mentioned Catrin and Didi in my previous blog, but perhaps they fit better under this one because of their remarkable energy and spark for life. They are who I want to be when I grow up. Their passion and energy was incredible! They taught me so many things about life, love and being happy! They also added to my bucket list in terms of places I want to visit when I get the opportunity lol!!
And how could I forget the lovely Pepper "yogipup" who faithfully came to each and every one of my yoga classes, choosing to do savasana on my yoga mat and watch everyone work out. In between of course she would give everyone wonderful wet kisses, and celebrate with cuddles afterwards! Adorable!! I always seem to have wonderful animals in my world throughout my travels!
Before I forget here is the number 100 handstand photo! With help from the lovely Markko I managed to climb up onto a small fishing floating village in the middle of the ocean and do a one handed handstand against the small shack without collapsing or injuring myself! So much fun :)
I mentioned already that I would spend my spare moments practicing yoga or advancing my knowledge. I also got to spend some time on the SUP board that the dive shop owned and managed to try out SUP yoga which is out of this world fun!! Loved it, every second I was on that board, on the water paddle boarding or practicing some crazy poses I was smiling. The perfect combo for me - water and yoga! How could it fail to make me smile :) Love love love <3
I returned to Lembeh filled with excitement as I knew that this time I was coming back to teach yoga to the dive customers at the resort I was staying at. It was an experiment to see if people preferred to have the option of yoga after diving or to relax and be quiet. In return it gave me the opportunity to get back into a steady flow of teaching yoga on a full time basis, and bring the experience that I had gained in India earlier this year into play :) For that opportunity I was extremely grateful. I was ridiculously excited to be able to practice and share everything that I was so lucky to learn in Rishikesh from all my wonderful teachers in India. Ah happy days :)
I offered customers the choice of three different styles of yoga twice a day - a gentle hatha flow, vinyasa flow and yin yoga. I was particularly excited to begin teaching yin yoga - something that I had totally fallen in love with in Rishikesh, and something that I know will feature in my own personal practice for forever and ever < 3 The classes were at 6am and again at 4.30pm in the afternoon.
My days on this paradise island were spent teaching yoga in the morning, sharing breakfast with the customers, then diving with the lovely Theresia and wonderful boys, and then preparing yoga classes and learning more about yoga each afternoon until I taught the afternoon class. I literally breathed yoga and diving for 6 weeks straight and could not have been more calm or happy in myself or my life than I was right there in that moment. I learnt so much about myself during this time. I was surrounded by a number of positive people who really believed in me and brought out the absolute best in me and I was so grateful to be spending my days and precious teaching time with them. Their kindness, encouragement and support opened up a whole new future to me and for that I will always remember them. People who made me dream big, write down my dreams and turn them into action plans for the future. I had spent so many months dreaming, and not truly believing but by the time I left Lembeh I was sure of the direction in which my life would turn.
They know who they are ;)
Whenever I had a spare moment you would always find me with my head inside The Yoga Bible trying out some crazy new pose, or pushing myself into some unimaginable position. Usually with Rheyn or Doan next to me trying it out shyly (or not!) and jumping up into it at first attempt as I fell to the floor lol! So many fun memories of experimenting in Lembeh. I didn't realise at the time but the boys who worked there as dive guides were watching what I did in class, and taking it with them into their own homes and practicing like crazy together. It was amazing how the "Yoga Bug" spread so fast!
Theresia, Imi, Dani, Hanny, Doan, Rein and Markko were regular attendees of my classes, sometimes twice a day as well as practicing their favorite poses in addition to this! I was amazed at their dedication. Imi and Theresia had never done yoga before so they were yoga virgins and very focussed students, wanting to perfect everything I showed them, and fast! Their progress was amazing. Imi for example was 18 years old and couldn't touch her toes when I met her. She agreed to come to my classes on the proviso that I would be able to make her touch her toes within 4 weeks. I agreed to the challenge. Two days later after the afternoon class, I heard a big scream and Imi came running back to the "studio" shouting "OMG OMG I can touch my toes, look, look!!" and yep she could most definitely touch her toes! This was the confidence boost that she needed to stick with her experiment with yoga and the confidence boost that I needed to know that I affected peoples lives with what I did each day in a positive way. I loved how happy she was, and encouraged her enormously! That girl amazed me endlessly! By the end of her time in Lembeh she was doing backbends that yogis who have been practicing for years and years can't even begin to think about getting into!! Just amazing :) So proud <3
Imi encouraged me with my own poses while we played around on the roof of the dive boats in between dive trips :)
Theresia came to every single class, despite her body paining her from lifting tanks, and the sheer level of tiredness that comes with diving. She would sometimes look at me with utter disgust when I asked her to get into certain poses, yet into them she would get...closing her eyes if needed to take her to her happy place until I moved her into the next flow. Theresia was another huge eye opening lesson for me into how much yoga and the work I do can affect someones world! Over the course of our 6 weeks together in practice on our beautiful island, Theresia's body shape changed so drastically we were both in shock! She developed this amazing leanness, and sculpted appearance to her body, and more strength than I think we both thought was possible so quickly! From someone who struggled to lean over her legs in Dandasana she became able to fly up confidently into headstand, perfect her dancer pose, follow long sequences of standing balances, come up into a full wheel and start to master the handstand! I would often find her at the far end of the beach practicing her various poses in her spare moments :)
And then there was Hanny. Hanny was drawn to yoga through his love of dance. To begin with he would shyly watch our classes through the restaurant door and then asked if he could join in. He got his father to bring him onto the island early to make sure he didn't miss classes, and sometimes spent the nights sleeping at the resort in the laundry room and would ask me to wake him up before class! So cute! I will never forget walking past the cafe area and seeing two legs in the air upside down, and stopping to see who it was and then screaming "Hanny!!!". I was so proud! He had been busy perfecting his handstand before he was brave enough to show us in class! He was so proud of himself, and I showed him some variations that he could practice in his own time. Superstar. Yoga made Hanny happy :)
Markko encouraged me to continue developing my own personal practice. He was able to jump up into poses that I could only dream of doing without warming up, and hold them for a long time. He had been busy training for an ultramarathon with his girlfriend (now fiancé) in Borneo, while working in Indonesia, and we would often wake up early before yoga and either sprint the beach or run the stairs of the Managers accommodation to get our adrenaline pumping through our bodies and build endurance. During his time in Lembeh teaching diving to Theresia and Imi (and me), he would attend each of my yoga classes and push me to push him further into poses. He always had questions about the poses, about how to be stronger, or why we practiced things in a certain way. He pushed me mentally and physically which was such a pleasure as a teacher. He and Theresia both really encouraged me and fed back to me about the classes, and my style and their enthusiasm and positivity made me realise that I absolutely am exactly where I am supposed to be right now, teaching yoga and shaping my future around this. Very exciting!!
All of the staff in Lembeh are still in touch and practicing yoga still which is so encouraging and inspiring!
They say that yogis learn from their teacher, which I agree with. But I absolutely believe that the teacher learns far more from their students. In fact there have been many articles around this recently which I will try and find and share with you. I learnt SO much about teaching, about life, about my students and most notably about myself. The learning curve in 6 short weeks for me was enormous. I will always be eternally grateful for the opportunity to have taught in Lembeh, Indonesia. A very, very special time for me in my travels. Testing, and challenging at times but hey don't they say "if it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you". And change me this experience did :)
My customers were just amazing. I learnt something new about myself and them every single day. I had total beginners, experienced and strong yogis, boyfriends who didn't have a choice but to attend, and so much more. I watched people grow before my eyes, and it was fascinating to me to watch this! I now understand so much more about my teacher, Michael, the yogi who watched me attend his yoga classes in the aquarium in Bermuda incredibly infrequently, always with an ache or pain from running, always with a reason why I hadn't practiced more... He must have seen the same transformation as he watched me and my fellow YTT 200 yogis in Bermuda peel away the layers of our own personal onion :) They say you never realize just how much you learn until after the occasion and I can now vouch for this. During my 6 weeks in Lembeh I realized just how much I had learnt in India and through my teaching experience and learning times in Bermuda. Such a lucky girl to have learned so, so much and have these wonderful customers bring it to my attention so easily.
I had a man attend yoga who literally couldn't hold onto the ladder of the dive boat and reach his foot to take his own fin off because his back and hips were so tight. His buoyancy in the water was shocking and his air consumption less than ideal. Within a week of religiously coming to my gentle hatha yoga and yin yoga classes he was able to take his own fins off, had completely chilled out underwater and was comfortable taking my advice on how to breathe more efficiently and calmly underwater and we saw huge changes. His whole shift in body language and nervous energy was incredible, everyone commented on it including other customers. I had an older gentleman who used to be a gymnastics teacher and was very able in his yoga practice despite not trying for quite some time. He pushed himself as much as he could and was always keen to continue his personal challenge in his practice. I had a lovely girl from Estonia attend the very first week of my classes, every single class. She was such positive energy and I am so pleased that we will remain in touch on facebook! She had never done yoga before but found that her body was so receptive to it, and she loved how she felt after practice so just kept coming back. The calmest most lovely girl ever! She has emailed me several times since leaving Lembeh to tell me she continues to practice and asks my advice on certain poses, and tells me how she is getting on with her personal goals in her practice. That stuff makes me so, so happy.
I should have mentioned Catrin and Didi in my previous blog, but perhaps they fit better under this one because of their remarkable energy and spark for life. They are who I want to be when I grow up. Their passion and energy was incredible! They taught me so many things about life, love and being happy! They also added to my bucket list in terms of places I want to visit when I get the opportunity lol!!
And how could I forget the lovely Pepper "yogipup" who faithfully came to each and every one of my yoga classes, choosing to do savasana on my yoga mat and watch everyone work out. In between of course she would give everyone wonderful wet kisses, and celebrate with cuddles afterwards! Adorable!! I always seem to have wonderful animals in my world throughout my travels!
Before I forget here is the number 100 handstand photo! With help from the lovely Markko I managed to climb up onto a small fishing floating village in the middle of the ocean and do a one handed handstand against the small shack without collapsing or injuring myself! So much fun :)
I mentioned already that I would spend my spare moments practicing yoga or advancing my knowledge. I also got to spend some time on the SUP board that the dive shop owned and managed to try out SUP yoga which is out of this world fun!! Loved it, every second I was on that board, on the water paddle boarding or practicing some crazy poses I was smiling. The perfect combo for me - water and yoga! How could it fail to make me smile :) Love love love <3
Teaching yoga is so so so satisfying to me, I just adore it. The pleasure I get from seeing people grow and evolve on their yoga mats, and taking that into their personal lives and daily routine is incredible. I have just found this whole adventure to be so wonderful :)
My life is so awesome. My life is diving and yoga and I realize for the first time in my life that this is just about all that I need in order to be happy. Because I am happy in myself now, happier than I have been in so many years. It doesn't get much better than this moment, right now. I am a lucky girl. Very happy days.
Check out the stunning sunsets we would race to watch after yin yoga classes! Just beautiful :)
As an old friend used to say to me - Peace & Smiles and very Happy Days xox
My life is so awesome. My life is diving and yoga and I realize for the first time in my life that this is just about all that I need in order to be happy. Because I am happy in myself now, happier than I have been in so many years. It doesn't get much better than this moment, right now. I am a lucky girl. Very happy days.
Check out the stunning sunsets we would race to watch after yin yoga classes! Just beautiful :)
As an old friend used to say to me - Peace & Smiles and very Happy Days xox
nice post,
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Yoga is a spiritual practice. Yoga for All, it helps us physically and mentality. yoga is a physical exercise!
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Yoga exercises helps in increased our strength, Yoga also helps clear the mind and distress using meditation. The benefits of yoga are numerous.
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