Ninie Ahmad: Off her yoga mat.

Her daily AFFIRMATIONS of staying optimistic especially when she's (upside) down.

Archive for the ‘Interview’ Category

ARTICLE: ‘Blogging about the importance of physical yoga poses is slowly being replaced with how compassion and patience are more yoga than any yoga poses.’ (HELLO! Malaysia, August 2013)

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Interview by Jessica Liew

Revelling in her new role, Ninie Ahmad takes us on a poignant journey of motherhood with her first child, Pincha Jamilaa.

It’s hard to believe that the extremely toned and trim Ninie Ahmad had only given birth to her first child. At just five feet tall, the yoga instructor looks just as beautiful as before she was pregnant, and continually stirs admiring comments from our HELLO! team throughout the photoshoot.

The founder of Upward Yoga, a New York City-inspired yoga practice space located in the Saujana Resort, is all smiles as we step into the home she has shared with her French-Canadian husband since they got married in December 2010. Like a multitasking pro, Ninie manages to greet each of us in between dashing off to check on her new daughter, Pincha Jamilaa Forget, and preparing for us organc iced lemonade.

Ninie’s diminutive size belies an inner greatness. Her big personality and remarkable yoga story of self-discovery through optimistic postings on her website earned her the Malaysia’s Best Health and Wellbeing Blog 2012 award. Her energentic life was put on hold on 3 February 2013, when Pincha entered the world, and since then, Ninie’s attentions have shifted to enjoying every moment with her daughter.

The first thing we notice about Pincha is how peaceful and alert she is for a baby. “She was such a calm baby that she did not even cry in the first minute she was born,” says her mum. Throughout the photoshoot, Ninie continually chirps words of endearment to her adorable daughter, who responds with big expressive eyes.

As a devout yogi and wellness advocate, getting pregnant was a decision Ninie approached in all seriousness. “I was at my fittest and healthiest by choice before I tried getting pregnant because I was wanted to be responsible for nurturing the life I was carrying, ” she says.

Drawing on a mother’s faith, a yogi’s strength, and a woman’s instincts, Ninie tells us all about her pregnancy, birth and motherhood.

Congratulations on your first-born baby! How is motherhood treating you so far?
Motherhood is thus far the most interesting chapter in my life. I used to think if I’ve mastered handstands in yoga, I’ve got life figured out but burping a baby is harder than yoga inversions!

How did you and your husband react when you first discovered you were pregnant?
I tried not to get pregnant for a year after we got married as I wanted to focus and build Upward Yoga, which was a wedding gift from my husband. When I was finally ready, I started taking folic acid in January last year, which is recommended for women to promote a healthy spine development in their babies. We finally tried in April, and in early May, I found out I was about four-weeks pregnant. We were immensely happy but not surprised.

Did you wish for a boy or a girl?
I have always wanted a girl and I kind of applied what I learned during my Preconception, Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training on increasing our chance in getting a girl. I don’t know if it really worked or if it was purely coincidental but I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. I kind of knew before the obstetrician/gynaecologist confirmed that I was going to have a girl because the day before I found out I was pregnant, I ended up buying 15 new dresses in one afternoon!

How was your pregnancy?
My pregnancy was a breeze. I only experienced morning sickness during my first trimester, and I escaped common pregnancy ailments such as swelling, bloatedness and back pain. I was still wearing my XS Herve Leger dress at my seventh month to celebrate my 30th birthday!

Did your experience as a yoga expert help with the progress of your pregnancy?
I believe that a woman should be at her best physical shape and mental health before she enters pregnancy. Having had practiced yoga every day for 13 years made me not only very healthy and calm, but also strong and flexible inside and out. Pregnant mothers are often also recommended to take up yoga for its relaxing, strengthening and healing benefits. I was still teaching headstands and handstands when I was 36-weeks pregnant!

How did your husband support you throughout?
My husband is beyond amazing. He bent over backwards providing me with organic prenatal supplements not available locally and made sure that I was fed with healthy organic whole food whenever possible. We have been staunch advocates of plant-based diets and organic eating so nothing really had to change.

You chose a home Lotus Birth for your daughter. Why did you make this decision and how, as a wellness advocate, did you prepare for the birth?
I did plan for a Lotus Birth (the practice of leaving the umbilical cord uncut after childbirth so that the baby is left attached to its placenta until the cord naturally separates) at home because I do not know of any OB/GYN in Kuala Lumpur who would allow Lotus Birth in hospitals. I sat for Preconception, Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training twice and even attended a gentle birth course with Ibu Robin Lim in Bali.

I was physically and mentally prepared to birth a child naturally. My husband and I hired an Italian midwife to stay with us a month before my labour date to ensure I was fit for a home birth. A doula (professional trained in emotional, physical and informational labour coaching)  was also present in the case of a hospital transfer. I endured a 40-hour labour at home without knowing that I encountered Neurapraxia, a disorder of the peripheral nervous system that resulted in Foot Drop. I was well-read on most birth complications but not this one as Neurapraxia is only common among professional athletes!

Fearing the safety of my baby and I, my midwife advised for a hospital transfer, and there, I was pressured into a Caesarean, but I stood firmly on my choice. I had to sign many release forms and state my reasons of not following ’standard’ hospital protocols, especially on the Lotus Birth. We reached the hospital at 5pm and at 10.50pm; I defied medical logic by delivering my 3.51kg baby through natural birth. We also had our dream Lotus Birth, which was also the hospital’s first.

How did it feel when you first laid eyes on your baby?
It was magical! A tiny creature grew inside of me for 41 weeks and three days and I would be curious of how she would look and move like. She was more beautiful than I ever envisioned. I kept ‘talking’ to her during my meditation when I was pregnant, that she does not have to cry if she is happy, healthy and not in pain. Until today, she still does not favour crying. I am so blessed!

How did you choose the name Pincha Jamilaa for your daughter?
I have always wanted a Sanskrit first name for our baby since my husband and I met through yoga, and I would love a Malay middle name for her and keep my husband’s French last name. ‘Pincha’ means feathers in Sanskrit and the Arabic ‘Jamilaa’ means beautiful. And then there was my favourite yoga inversion ‘Pincha Mayurasana’ that was easier to hold when I was pregnant so I figured my baby chose the name herself.

What would you say your baby’s personality is like?
My baby is a bigger yogi than I am. She is very calm and strong compared to many babies of her age. She started sleeping through the night from 8pm to 7am like clockwork since she was five-weeks old so I never had sleeping problems. She also started flipping over at 13 weeks and at 102-days old, she started laughing loudly, which I managed to record a good half a minute on my iPhone!

I believe that the yoga and meditation I practiced and good nutrients throughout my pregnancy contributed to the healthy, happy and contented baby she is today. I also think the Lotus Birth contributed to many of these amazing developments. I have come across many stories of Lotus Birth babies who possess almost superhuman strength.

How would you describe the parenting styles of yourself and your husband?
My husband and I are pro-choice individuals and parents. It is too early to say for now but natural parenting, Attachment Parenting and Glenn Doman’s early learning methods resonate the most with us right now.

What are your hopes for your baby?
I love Khalil Gibran’s “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” Until Pincha can speak and decide for herself, I will provide her the best brain food she can get and a clean healthy environment to grow in and find herself.

What are some of the things that you have learned from being a mother?
Watching and taking care of Pincha every day brings me back to one of yoga’s biggest principles: non-attachment. Babies are pure souls who do not need unnecessary luxury. They are blessed with primate survival instincts and that keeps me humbled. Just enjoy, learn and experiment with what we already have – two hands, two feet, five senses, just like babies.

How will Pincha’s arrival change your old routine as a full-time yoga instructor/ blogger?
I have to dust cobwebs off my blog! Blogging about the importance of physical yoga poses is slowly being replaced with how compassion and patience are more yoga than any yoga poses. As for teaching, I promised friends of Upward that I will open the studio again in April but I extended my maternity leave to ensure complete recovery of my Neurapraxia. I hope to resume teaching at Upward in July 2013 but let’s get back to non-attachment, shall we?

From Page 48 - 51 of HELLO! Malaysia, August 2013

Interview: “I don’t know if it’s the daily yoga practice that I do or my vegetarian diet but, I hardly fall sick anymore. I really can’t remember the last time I caught fever or the flu bug, not in the last two or three years.” ~NINIE AHMAD

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In celebration of International Vegetarian Week,
October 1 - 7, 2011

NINIE AHMAD-FORGET, 28
Yoga Teacher & Founder of Upward, Saujana Resort

How long have you been a vegetarian?
Almost 4 years now (since November 2007).

Your reason for becoming a vegetarian?
I have always inspired to be a vegetarian since many of my yoga teacher friends and
inspirations are vegetarians and they always carry a different persona and energy
- more calm, collected and compassionate. During Malaysia’s Yoga Conference in
November 2007, I was given the opportunity to interview one of the biggest living
yoga legends in the world - Sri Dharma Mittra on the topic “What makes a good
yoga teacher?” He held my shoulders, looked at me in the eyes and said “You have
to stop killing animals.” He didn’t even know I was a yoga teacher (I interviewed him
as a writer) neither was I a vegetarian at that time!

Everything he said during the interview made perfect sense and I stayed up all
night reading and Googling about vegetarianism and instantly get turned off eating
meat after knowing how the food got in my plate. Not to mention, most living yoga
teachers in their 90’s (and they look no older than 50) say that, the secret to living
longer, looking younger is, stand on your head for an hour a day and to not let
your body be the cemetery for dead animals.

I have not eaten meat nor poultry ever since. Since a year ago, I also don’t wear
leather handbags and footwear anymore.

The benefit you’ve gained since becoming a vegetarian?
I don’t know if it’s the daily yoga practice that I do or my vegetarian diet but, I
hardly fall sick anymore. I really can’t remember the last time I caught fever or the flu
bug, not in the last two or three years. I’d like to believe it is both yoga and by not
consuming animals’ suffering anymore. And believe it or not, just a couple of weeks
after stopping eating meat, I was suddenly able to do super complicated yoga poses
that I never thought I could do with this body in this lifetime!

Was it difficult being a vegetarian when many people around you are not?
People would be surprised that it is not that difficult. Most restaurants in KL now
have vegetarian options or I just opt for a bowl of hearty green salad anyway. Since
I prepare most of my meals for myself and my husband at home (as that’s the only
way I can ensure my meals are not only vegetarian but also, clean, free from cruelty
and prepared with love), it is not that difficult. Whenever I have guests over, they
usually forget that they are not eating meat. With creativity (and Asian spices!), I am
lucky vegetarian food can taste just as good!

Some say that vegetarian diet may lack protein and important nutrients..
I always make sure my big meals (breakfast and lunch) would consist of lots of beans
and grains. I also love hazelnut milk which is way more nutritious (and delicious!)
than cow milk. And do you know that Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Brandon Boyd (of
Incubus) are all vegetarians?

Many meat eaters say that vegetarians are not active and weak..
I practice Ashtanga yoga which is the most physical form of yoga and vegetarianism
is one of the fundamentals in Ashtanga practice and lifestyle. Most Ashtanga
practitioners (Asthtangis) have the strongest and fittest looking body and they are
the last people on earth to be called inactive and weak as they can stand on their
hands, tuck their legs behind their head, can light up a room with their Ujjaiyi breaths
yet staying so humble about it, compared to most bulky meat-eaters who can be
compared to crabs - hard shell on the outside but empty on the inside. And again,
which part of Brad Pitt screams not-strong?

Many also say becoming vegetarian is expensive..
It can be expensive as when we choose to only consume good food in our body, we
also tend to be aware on investing not only in vegetarian food but also, unprocessed,
organic and macrobiotic. I always say, what’s grocery bill now compared to hospital
bills later. It is a little costly as the demand is not big in our community (compared
to in North America) but I believe as handsome as a plate of organic Greek salad is
nowhere close to how expensive a plate of Foie Gras or Wagyu steak can be.

Will you encourage your friends and family members to become vegetarians?
I am lucky that my husband is also into vegetarianism, organic, macrobiotic and raw
food movement (and he does yoga everyday too!). I have never and will never force
my close friends and family members but I aspire to inspire them by leading a good
example of living a happy, healthy and cruelty-free lifestyle. So one day when I’m 50
but looking 25, I can finally say - do lots of yoga and don’t eat meat!

From NATURAL HEALTH magazine, October 2011
Available at Borders and major newsstands

My body is the perfect frame for me and the walking billboard for my soul.

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It was exactly one year ago I announced that I will be taking a year off media appearance and from teaching yoga for public in Kuala Lumpur due to unfair treatments I have been getting from Malaysian media and religious council although yoga ban is lawfully unenforced in Malaysia.

I am back with a vengeance :twisted:

from Style : Malaysia (JULY 2011)


.. and can’t wait to start teaching again in no time :mrgreen:

Written by Ninie

July 1st, 2011 at 8:30 am

Interview: ‘In Conversation with Ninie Ahmad’

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The day after I got back from teaching at Balispirit Festival in April, I was interviewed for my dream interview in Malaysia for Bfm: In Conversation. I just realized this week that they have the interview on podcast!

Not that I have been interviewed on radio or TV a hundred times but this is by far, my personal favourite interview of mine. At time of interview -

  • I felt great (must be the Bali vibe - that reminds me.. errr, I haven’t shared a post on livechanging Balispirit Festival yet..)
  • I was in a new interesting relationship with Petrovsky
  • and most importantly, I love all the questions! Most of the Q’s are what I always wish people would have asked me about yoga.

It is no surprise that my choice of songs are very much determined by the hot ;) + vegetarian + yogi  + rockstars frontmen of these bands :D

In Conversation is LIVE on Bfm (89.9 FM in Malaysia) every weekday 7pm. They had Datuk Sharifah Aini as their guest yesterday and they are going to have YB Dato’ Shahrizat Abdul Jalil this evening!

Written by Ninie

August 26th, 2010 at 9:21 am

Interview: ‘Nimble Ninie’

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By NIKI CHEONG, picture by NAPIE MOKSIN

If you’re familiar with the Malaysian blogosphere, you’ve probably heard of Project Alpha, a reality show which aims to uncover the lives of our country’s top bloggers. One of them is Ninie Ahmad.

Pictures by Napie Moksin

When did you start blogging and Twittering?
Blogging in 2004, Twittering in mid-2009.

And what are your Tweets about?
My affirmation for the day, usually my blog post’s title or self-affirmation I think funny like, ‘I shall blog today.’

That’s funny. Do you also ReTweet funny stuff? What are your favourite kinds of Tweets to RT?
Usually positive affirmations as well from my favorite spiritual guru or yoga teachers.

And where do you Tweet from most often?
Tweetdeck.

Product plug! Okay, how often do you Tweet?
I try at least once in every two days with three Tweets back-to-back to match the Twitter template on my blog.

Let’s get to your blog. What kinds of blog posts do you like writing most?
The ups and downs of my day when I am not teaching yoga (blog name: Ninie Ahmad: Off Her Yoga Mat) in the most creative affimation or the most unimaginable yoga pose!

Have you ever had a blogger fan moment?
Well, I do get readers introduce themselves to me sometimes (if not everyday :P ) but I was mostly surpised when two Malaysian blog readers (husband and wife) appoached me at the lobby of Empire State Building, New York a couple of weeks ago asking me if they can help me snap my photos (as they saw me taking photos at arms length because I went to Empire State Building alone)!

That’s the photo they took & that’s lovely Zetty, my Malaysian reader from UK in NYC!

Camwhoring! You’re a true blogger! :) Okay, which do you prefer, blogging or twittering?
My blog and Twitter depend on one another. Usually my Tweet is a teaser of what I blog about that day.

And let’s get to some tips. What should you never blog about?

Anything bad about anyone/any restaurant/any product. You don’t want to read such thing about yourself written on someone else’s blog, right?

What should you never Tweet about?
Anything bad about anyone else ESPECIALLY if that person’s on Twitter!

I suppose it could start a Twitter war! What is the most controversial Tweet you’ve seen?

How’s this from @ninieahmad: http://bit.ly/9ELpQ8 was shot 2 minutes before my partner & I almost got sent to jail for PDA (Public Display of Acroyoga) in KLCC, M’sia.

Why should I follow you on Twitter?
Because I’d never Tweet anything bad about anyone or anything?

At all?
I really believe in what I say, write or Tweet for that matter, is my affirmation to achieving and receiving my calling.

And why should I read your blog?

Because I am annoyingly optimistic and sickeningly positive about everyone and anyone, for a change (for blogs)!

Finally, describe yourself in 140 characters.
The ‘banned’ yoga instructor who will keep blogging, Twittering & fighting for her yoga even when she’s (upside) down.

Follow Ninie on Twitter at @ninieahmad.

From Daili Chilli

Written by Ninie

August 7th, 2010 at 6:58 pm

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