PEACE IS..

10 days without mobile phone.

INSULT IS..

the mechanic in my father’s hometown saying, “Haiyaaa, ini Mitsubishi ka? Dari tadi you hantar saya ingat Naza Citra woo!” while changing Batmobile’s brakepad.

GORGEOUS IS..

my best friend’s girls.

ADORABLE IS..

my French Canadian boyfriend’s SMS-es in Malay (e.g “Aku rindu awak”).

LOVE IS..

from Postsecret

giving up LA to not lose your family.

I don’t even know where and how to begin sharing what happened to me for the past seven days.

‘Go down to go up, in to go out, back to go forward’

To another seven days of delicious surprises.

From THE YOGA DORK July 13, 2010

With all these world record yoga events and baited sun breaths waiting for the Eat, Pray, Love merchandising avalanche, have we really forgotten about the Fatwa?

The wha? Hey, watch your language! No, really, at the end of 2008 and early ‘09 we had fatwas flying out from every direction. OK, mostly the east. To be specific, the Muslim regions of Indonesia and Malaysia. Just to bring us all up to speed, a Fatwa is otherwise recognized as a religious edict, a kibosh, or ban on things that are deemed ‘haram’ or harmful. The Fatwa Councils of both Indonesia and Malaysia made news by slapping one of these fatwas on our beloved yoga, inciting outrage by practicing yogis who also practice Islam. In short, both cases saw retractions on the ban so that asana was eventually permitted so long as the freaky chanting and “mind body connection” remained absent. Turns out Indonesians didn’t care anyway. (Note the Bali Spirit Fest, formerly Yoga Fest, 2010 went off without a hitch).

We’d all but forgotten about the yoga ban in Malaysia until we heard from Ninie.

Ninie Ahmad is as close to a Malaysian yogi rock star as they come, her image gracing oodles of magazine covers, appearances on numerous TV shows and a role as an official Adidas ambassador. So why was her most recent moment in the spotlight cruelly edited in accordance with the F-word?

Via FreeMalaysia:

“(On Sunday, July 4) I was informed that Astro [Malaysian Satellite TV] will not air my episode of Project Alpha that is scheduled tonight because the Quality Control (QC) department said that under Fatwa law, they could not air a Malay person teaching yoga.”

For your reference, ‘Project Alpha’ is a reality show like ‘Top Chef’, but about bloggers! Sadly Ninie was denied her time to shine, because of yoga.

That’s ridic! some of you say. Is it yoga censorship?? But Malaysia isn’t devoid of yoga naysayers. So, fairly miffed and confused, Ninie has taken to twitter to defend herself from detractors in 140 characters or less:

We’re no scholars, but we are pretty sure yoga can be practiced in tandem with most religions, or with none at all. (though, due to the sensitivity of the matter might we suggest in our best publicist tone that Ms. Ninie reconsider her ‘about’ section where she mentions attending yoga “religiously” and her decision to “join the cult”… just sayin’)

Anyway, the physical practice is supposedly allowed, so why was yoga cut from programming? We think Astro at least owes an explanation! Dang it, anyhow. Besides, if the country of Malaysia is going to ban public displays of yoga,  how’re they going to make bank off this EPL-crazed tourism wave?

Stay strong Ninie. One love.

Earlier…

• Fatwa News: Yoga Ban Reversed! Malaysian Muslims Free to Practice Yoga, without Chant
• Malaysian King Not Cool with Ban; Still Hope for Muslim Yogis?
• Indonesian Muslims to Yoga Fatwa: Who Cares?
• Bikram Responds to Fatwa, ‘Yoga has absolutely nothing to do with religion’

.   .   .   .   .   .

Special thanks to Yoga Dork for the mention and online hugs from yogis all across the map.

The universe is working its magic, I can feel it!

From FREE MALAYSIA TODAY, July 12 2010

By Ken Vin Lek and G Vinod, photo by Ted Adnan

KUALA LUMPUR: Astro had pulled the plug on an episode called Project Alpha which was to feature Yoga instructor Ninie Ahmad.

The episode, which was supposed to be aired on the HITZ.TV channel on July 4, was supposedly scrapped because of the Fatwa Council’s prohibition on Muslims practicing Yoga.

In her blog posting, Ninie said: “(On Sunday, July 4) I was informed that Astro will not air my episode of Project Alpha that is scheduled tonight because the Quality Control (QC) department said that under Fatwa law, they could not air a Malay person teaching yoga.”

This is not the first time that she has faced such problems with regards to Astro.

Back in June 2008, Ninie was invited to be a guest on the talk show called Ek Eleh hosted by comedian Afdlin Shauki, but Astro did not screen the recording.

“To my utmost surprise and biggest horror, they replaced my (almost 20 minutes of full-on) interview with ‘the best footage’ out of all 26 episodes…

“They could have had the courtesy to at least call and inform me in advance. I feel sorry for them for they feel the need to do this and for the Malaysian media which still feel reluctant to feature me and help promote yoga even though it’s not banned in Malaysia,” she said in a blog posting then.

Despite numerous attempts, FMT could not contact Astro’s officials for comments.

In November 2008, the Fatwa Council declared that Muslims are prohibited from practicing Yoga because of its Hindu roots.

The move drew flak from several quarters, including the royalty, with Negeri Sembilan’s Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaffar asking, “Where do we draw the line?”

“Islam is a progressive religion and the ulama (scholars) should be confident of the followers’ faith rather than micro-managing their way of life.

“If I go to a church or a Buddhist temple, is there any fear of me converting?” he said.

On Nov 26 that year, former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Muslims could continue practicing Yoga, minus the chanting of mantras.

Fatwas or religious edicts are not legally binding, but they are highly influential in Malaysia, where Malay-Muslims form just over half of the country’s 27 million people.

I am trying to pack 28 years of my life in Malaysia into two suitcases.

It is unbelievable how much junks I have collected all these years.

How many pairs of shoes I have.

How many dresses I have only worn once.

How I kept buying jeans in hope that one day I will find that one pair that makes me feel like a million dollars.

How many hair products and perfume bottles I needed to feel clean and complete.

As much as I want to let go of everything I ever own and start my life afresh abroad, I figured that I still can’t live (fine, at the risk sounding shallow – leave my house) without:

• my electric toothbrush
• Lady Speed Stick
• Gilette Venus razors (am still not ready to be au naturale. Should I decide to go to India for a year, I’ll save up to have permanent hair removal first, LOL!)
• M.A.C Mineralizer concealer, foundation, loose powder, blusher – to look like a woman human
• any mascara (washable all the way since I don’t want to care about eye make-up remover) for survival

(yes, I am seriously going to try and wash my face + hair + body with simply any soap. I figure I will still live, if not live happier . And I discovered something, all the Kiehl’s and L’Occitane don’t make me stand on my hands longer, do you?)

And that’s all I am bringing with me.

.   .   .   .   .   .

Nevertheless (come on, be real!) to be accepted in a civilised community, I have to bring

• 5 pairs of Thai / Balinese fisherman pants (with heavy heart, I’m giving up engineered adidas Techfit tights) & 5 literally-no-frills spaghetti strap tops for teaching / practicing
• 3 (they are different colors to match the above articles!) Lululemon HOLY GRAIL sportsbras I discovered in Toronto and I am sooo looking forward to being able to not wear bras at all [when I'm not teaching a yoga class, that is] outside of Malaysia, like I have for the past couple of weeks – so liberating!
• my tennis & rockclimbing shoes
• 2 pairs of jeans (they don’t have to be washed every week time I wear them, right?), 2 sundresses, 3 pairs of sunglasses  & 3 pairs of bikini (they weigh like nothing so bringing 3 each IS alright )
• 1 drawstring linen pants, 1 khaki hot pants, 1 stonewash denim mini skirt, 1 boyfriend (or motorcycle? I can’t decide) jacket, 1 hoodie sweater
• TWO flat pumps*, TWO pairs of high heels* (in case of Academy Awards invitation emergency), ONE flip flop* & ONE practical handbag*= * I’m sceptical I’d be able to bring only the underlined too but I promise my spine I will try my very best
  
• Complete 6 Seasons of Sex And The City (if I ever feel lonely – without my girlfriends, I mean!)
• laptop + charger, digital camera + charger, handphone + charger & international power transmitter for that matter
• Moleskine watercolor + Daler Bowney color palette + 3 crucial brushes
• The Kor’an & Kor’an’s translation in English
• Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, Anatomy of Hatha Yoga & The Language (A to Y) of Yoga
• Maha Sodhana Level II DVD with Dharma Mittra & Ashtanga Intermediate Series DVD with Kino MacGregor for daily practice
• 8 copies of SHAPE M’sia November ‘09 I still have (as yoga portfolio)
• Lululemon travel yoga mat in Bandhas yoga mat bag (they are both presents from my boyfriend , can I just pack him in my suitcase too?)

and I’m leaving and should I reveal now, selling EVERYTHING ELSE behind.

You read me right – all my 3(0?) shoeracks of high heels, whole wardrobe of adidas by Stella McCartney & adidas Originals jackets, obscene array of yoga mats & adidas futsal shoes, half a library of books (that I thought would make me smarter), my treasured set of pots & pans , my bedroom set (matching queen bed + wardrobe + dressing table + queen mattress), my TV and they will all be available for The Banned Yoga Instructor’s Moving Out (Of The Country) Sale.

Unless they are my bedroom set, my pots & pans and 29′ TV, nothing else’s going to be over RM80 – I guarantee

Stay tuned to this space for time & date especially if you are an XS / UK 6 / US 0 or 2 / shoe size 35 or 36.

One for the road

Music Credit: Swallowed In The Sea (X&Y) & Life In Technicolor II (Viva La Vida) – COLDPLAY

I promise I’ll come back

•  a Fourth Series Ashtanga practitioner
•  and speak fluent Mandarin (and maybe French)
•  with my Moleskine Watercolor filled with beautiful watercolor drawings from locations all around the globe
•  when hybrid cars are not taxed 300% here
•  when veggie burgers & organic everything become more accessible & affordable here
•  when Malaysia’s idiot box stops implying the ban on ‘a Malay person teaching Yoga‘
•  when I’m offered a Datuk-ship for appearing on yoga TV show in LA
•  when I won’t be sent to jail for PDA act above again.

‘Til kingdom come, tell my mom I love her so & start taking up yoga, guys! You don’t know what sex life you are missing.

Photo by Anna-Rina

When I told people that I am taking a year of break from KL to see the world, many raised eyebrows and concerns. Among the reactions that I received were,

“Why? You have everything going for you here!”

“You must be one of the participants for The Amazing Race Asia 4!”

“Are you pregnant?”

.   .   .   .   .   .

You want the truth?

Photo by Joe Low

I am tired of KL.

Forget about the system that doesn’t work and the embarassing political nuisance – I am mostly sick of people’s ignorance.

I kept fighting for the yoga I believe in as I know that when MORE PEOPLE DO YOGA + PEOPLE DO MORE YOGA  – they will take care of their health & environment more & this country will be a better place for us all to live in.

And just so when I repetitively asked myself one last time “Am I making the right decision?” and “Am I ready?” – this morning I was informed that ASTRO will NOT air my episode of Project Alpha that is scheduled on HITZ.tv (Astro Ch 705) tonight because ‘QC dept said that under the Fatwa law, they couldn’t air a Malay person teaching Yoga’.

Of course this is not unfamiliar for me.

[ Read THIS ]

WHAT, I can’t play here?

.. I know I am making the right decision here.

.   .   .   .   .

God knows I have done almost everything I can to change what I thought could be changed.

God knows my faith is far from shaken or stirred.

God knows the more Yoga Sutra I read, the more translation of Holy Qur’an I get.

God knows how I feel closer to Him the closer I get to know every fibre in my being.

God knows that by every breath I inhale when I’m on my mat, the more I realize that it is MY responsibility to extend this life and this health I am given.

God knows that the more flexible I get & the longer I can stand on my two hands, the more patient & humbled I become.

God knows how yoga has changed me from a girl who had low self-esteem for always having been the shortest everything in her life – to a person that sees everything positive, that thinks impossible really IS nothing.

My impossible behind one of the world’s seven wonders

I have set my foot in Amsterdam, New York, Toronto for the past month and the further I go, all the more I know my calling is not here.

I have China, India and LA on my itinerary next and I don’t plan to come home anytime soon although a big part of my heart is here.

I’ll come back when you are ready for me.

But as for now, let me go..

Thank you for simply asking!

Yes, I am alive and am counting my blessing for having survived magnitude 5.0 earthquake, tornado

and the scariest (and standing!) rollercoster in the world – here.

Love and live life.

I can’t say how confident flattered I am when so many Nuffnang bloggers believe that I am going to win adidas OLE KO Challenge this Friday!

The adidas Pure Game Ole K.O. Challenge is organised by StarAsia Malaysia (sole distributor for adidas Active Body Care range) and is set to fan the football fever by offering fantastic prizes to winners of the one-of-a-kind challenge that will combine endurance and skills.

Contestants will play one-on-one street football in a spherical steel cage 20 ft in diameter and 18 ft high, and compete to score as many points as possible within a set time frame by kicking the ball through their opponent’s legs – a move also known as “ole”.

Highlight of the event would be Malaysian top bloggers from Project Alpha Season 1 & Season 2 competing against each other.

.   .   .   .   .   .

Of course pretty (scary looking) bloggers like Kenny Sia, Shaolin Tiger and Huai Bin get nominated as well.

Little did many of you (that did not vote for me ) know that -

I actually DO play futsal.

And I used to be my team’s captain (or am I still?) when we used to play on a weekly basis if not – competitively.

Those who put your money on Kenny, scared already or not?

.   .   .   .   .   .

That is until (almost) all of my former teammates that you can see in these photos below, either busy preparing themselves to get married or happily gotten married and have babies!

Yes, yes it is definitely easier to put the blame on them – they found their happy ending already.

.   .   .   .   .   .

So for single girls alike (and boys who want to see some yoga instructor with flashy adidas futsal boots running around and dribbling about putting giants like Shaolin Tiger to shame),

do put on your TEAM NINIE jersey (or any baby blue top will do!) and support me here:

Date: Friday, 21 May 2010

Time: 7.30pm

Location: Centre Court, Mid Valley Megamall

and if I do win (help me repeat the affirmation for this post!), I might just throw a yoga class at the end of the tournament! It would be exciting to see all the ‘blogger boys’ get pretzeled in the middle of Megamall, wouldn’t it?

Special thanks to adidas Action3 range for keeping me smelling fresh even after futsal training!

.   .   .   .   .   .

Love and support for girls in boots & can kick balls this Friday!

I recently found an obsession with PDA – Public Display of Acro(yoga)

Ubud, BALI

Damansara Perdana, PJ

Batu Caves, SELANGOR

KLCC Twin Towers

.. although my base (Acroyoga partner) & I did get stopped by cops and security guards (AND we almost got sent to jail!) for the public performance at KLCC Park in the last photo above last Monday!

They kept repeating, “Kamu melakukan kesalahan kerana mengadakan persembahan antara laki-laki dan perempuan di tempat awam,” (Translation: “It is an offense / crime to conduct any male and female performance in public”)!

I LOVE KL!

.    .    .

Your love lifts my soul from the body to the sky,
And you lift me up out of the two worlds.
I want your sun to reach my raindrops,
So your heat can raise my soul upward like a cloud.

~ RUMI

Love and affection.

(continued from I tell people I do yoga to be.. and I maintain my health in this body as it is THE vehicle that contains my spirit, soul and wisdom to experience the wonderful short journey in this lifetime, on this earth – before I meet my Maker)

..while I DO YOGA everyday (among other activities) as it is the only sports / workout that:

• works every muscle in my body
• makes me discover new sensations, feelings and awareness
• heals my existing illness / prevents new injury
• does not make me compete with others
• lets me break my record everytime I stretch / stand on my head or hands
• lets me be my own judge & cheerleader at the same time
• I don’t need any other gear ( racket / shoes / machine / gloves / Olympic size swimming pool / precision timer / etc) but my breath and willpower
• makes me more energized after I finish (practicing / teaching)
• I know I can still do when I turn 50, 70 or even 90 years old

If you have been to a (good) yoga class, you would know that you are in a cult – to look, to live and to know better.

Some day you will die.

Lying on your sick bed

about to breathe your last,

you will be assailed by every kind of pain.

Your mind will be filled with fears and anxieties

and you will not know what to do or where to go.

Only then you realise you have NOT practised well.

The skhandas / aggreagates (matters, sensations, conceptions, impulses and conciousness)

and the four elements in you will quickly disintegrate,

your conciousness will be pulled wheever your ancient,

twisted karma leads it.

Impermanence – does not hesitate.

Death – does not wait.

You will not be able to extend your life by even a second.

How many thousand more times

will you have to pass through

the gates of birth and death.

If these words are challenging,

even insulting,

let them be an encouragement for you to change.

Practice heroically.

Do not accumulate unnecessary possesions.

Don’t give up.

Still your mind,

end wrong perceptions,

concentrate and

- do not run after the object of your senses.

Practice diligently.

Be determined not to let your days and months pass by wastefully.

~ Zen Master GUISHAN

Love, encouragement and enlightenment.

Found this on Postsecret today \0/.

So share with me, why do you Plow do yoga – aside from wanting

• to be healthy,
• to stay in shape and
• to be good in bed?