Ninie Ahmad: Off her yoga mat.

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

Archive for the ‘Ashtanga Yoga studio KL’ tag

ARTICLE: ‘Others often think I’m good at yoga because I am flexible and strong. Fact is, my flexibility and strength came from practising Ashtanga yoga.’ (SUNDAY MAIL, June 1st 2014)

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PETALING JAYA, June 1 — Yoga teacher Ninie Ahmad’s studio, Upward Yoga, was a wedding gift from her husband. She says, “Ten days before our wedding, he took me to view an empty space near our new home. At the time, I had taken a year off teaching. He told me that the space was perfect for me to resume my classes. ‘It’s time,’ he said.”

Opened in 2011, Upward Yoga is a pristine, open space. There are many photographs of New York city and I Love NYC posters. Ninie says, “I modelled Upward Yoga after my favourite studios in New York city.

Those yoga studios don’t use mirrors so I find students will correct their poses based on what they feel within rather than checking their reflections.”

Smiling, the petite yoga guru adds, “Most serious yoga practitioners seem to find their enlightenment in India. I found mine in New York, and now here in my own studio.”

1. Mats

Upward Yoga offers students the use of high-performance, slip-resistant Manduka mats, which are made from a blend of polyester and eco-certified PVC. Ninie says, “Serious yoga practitioners swear by this mat as it supposedly never gets damaged and has a lifetime warranty. The idea is it should last long enough to pass down to your children.”

2. Yoga books


One of Ninie’s favourite yoga books is Ashtanga Yoga As It Is by Matthew Sweeney, one of the most advanced practitioners of Ashtanga yoga in the world. She says, “I started yoga in 1999 but only began my Ashtanga practice in 2008. This book is an indispensable step-by-step guide, complete with what to do and how to eat.”

Ashtanga yoga requires serious discipline and commitment as it requires six days of two-hour practices per week. Ninie says, “It is not for everyone but I enjoy this, what I consider to be the most challenging form of yoga. Others often think I’m good at yoga because I am flexible and strong. In fact, my flexibility and strength came from practising Ashtanga yoga.”

3. Ashtanga Yoga poses poster

A framed poster on the studio wall displays the poses and sequence of the first and easiest series of Ashtanga yoga. For Ninie, it’s both an easy reference and a source of motivation. She says, “I used to wake up at 4am to practice for a couple of hours before breakfast. For example, the Chaturanga (or yoga push-up pose) turns up 84 times in this sequence alone. Imagine doing that number of triceps push-ups!”

Ninie admits that initially she didn’t like Ashtanga yoga because being unable to do all the poses frustrated the perfectionist in her. It took her five years to complete all the poses in sequence. She says, “Ashtanga humbles me.”

4. Peacock feathers


Two tall vases of peacock feathers have an important place in Ninie’s studio and in her heart. She explains, “My mother-in-law gave me these feathers as she knew I loved feathers. My favourite pose is also called the Feather Peacock Pose or Pincha Mayurasana.”

When Ninie was pregnant with her daughter, she found that the Pincha Mayurasana pose, previously difficult for her, was now easy. When it came time to name her newborn child, it was a no-brainer. She says, “Pincha chose her own name.”

5. Bronze yogini figurines

Ninie first saw these brass figurines of yoginis (female master practitioners of yoga) at a shop in Bangsar. However, as they were very expensive, she decided to save up to buy them. She recalls, “I was pleasantly surprised when my husband bought me one for my studio opening.”

When Ninie returned to the shop to buy the rest, the shop owner told her someone had bought the rest. She was disappointed till she received another figurine from her husband for her birthday, and then a third for their wedding anniversary. She says, “They are a beautiful reminder of devotion to my practice as well as my husband’s love.”

6. Scrabble tile display

Upward Yoga’s feature wall used to be covered with numerous framed magazine interviews from Ninie’s early years. She later removed them to remind herself not to hold on to the past as well as not to distract her students from their practice.

In their place, she has put up a mural made from giant Scrabble tiles. She explains, “I used to be a big Scrabble player. I had bought some of these tiles as decorations for my daughter’s first birthday and then decided to recycle them into a new focal point for yoga practice – to breathe, stretch, and heal.”

7. Candles and essential oils


The calm, steady glow of a candle’s flame and the fragrance wafting from essential oil invigorate the minds and bodies that enter the Upward Yoga studio. Ninie says, “Each essential oil has a different healing attribute. My favourites are citrusy oils such as orange, tangerine, lemongrass and mandarin. These really help to refresh the studio and everyone within.”

8. Music

During her classes, Ninie plays a musical accompaniment for Ashtanga Yoga’s Primary Series titled Learn to Float. Created by David Robson, the music leads practitioners through the sequence of poses to the steady, hypnotic beat of a drum. She says, “This helps deepen the focus on breathing during the practice. Also, I find the repetitive beats a form of meditation on its own.”

In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, everyone is believed to have a predetermined number of breaths in a lifetime. Ninie says, “Therefore, the longer the breaths we take, the longer we live. I always tell my students to inhale the optimism around you and exhale all the stress.”

9. Singing bowl


Similarly borrowed from Tibetan lore is the singing bowl (also known as a standing bell or suzu gong). Ninie shares, “The Tibetans believe that when you hit the rim of the bowl with a handle, it produces a fundamental frequency that balances and rearranges the molecules in your body back to perfection again. At the end of my classes, I will ring the singing bowl to wake my students up from Savasana or the resting pose.”

Ninie’s singing bowl is a handmade bronze bowl from Ubud, Bali, where she attends the BaliSpirit Yoga Festival every year. She says, “As it’s handcrafted, the bowl is not perfectly smooth and therefore produces a more organic sound. It creates different energies that are healing and meditative.”

Upward Yoga

Bungaraya Complex, Persiaran Golf, Saujana Resort, 40150 Subang, Selangor
http://upwardyoga.com
http://facebook.com/upwardyoga

Full article at Sunday Mail, June 1st 2014

Workshop: IDIOT’S GUIDE TO START PRACTICING ASHTANGA YOGA

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Many of my friends, students and readers told me that they are inspired by the Ashtanga YouTubes I have been sharing here but felt that they are not strong and flexible enough to even start practicing Ashtanga and yoga.

You know what makes you strong and flexible?

Yoga. Especially Ashtanga Yoga.

Ashtanga Yoga is deemed the fastest paced, most challenging and traditional form of yoga with pre-set sequence beginning with 8 to 10 Sun Salutation A & B and Ashtanga Standing Poses as warm-up followed by 40 poses of the Series you are practicing (with Primary / First Series being the ‘easiest’) and Ashtanga Closing Sequence.

Ashtanga Yoga is ideally learned Mysore style but led style Ashtanga classes are highly recommended to improve your practice and to get you familiarized with the poses.

You don’t have to be flexible nor strong to start Ashtanga! With regular practice, Ashtanga WILL give you the strength and flexibility you deserve.

You will also not want to lift weights anymore after only a couple of sessions of a led Ashtanga class after you discover that you can lift the organic weight of your own body like, a hundred times with the healthiest alignment in one single session of Ashtanga. No arrogant weights and fancy cushioned shoes required.

If you live within Klang Valley (Malaysia),
I might just have the perfect workshop for you to start somewhere..

IDIOT’S GUIDE TO START PRACTICING ASHTANGA YOGA
Click HERE for more details and to RSVP.
(Half of the spots for the first workshop was filled up
within 6 hours of me announcing it on Upward’s FB Page,
you don’t want to miss out on this one as we have limited mat space!)

If you HAVE been practicing Ashtanga
(I can tell you, most ‘Ashtanga’ classes offered at your gym are NOT Ashtanga..)
and wishing to be more graceful in your practice and to be able stand upside down,
this next one is for you!

ASHTANGA PRIMARY SERIES: HOW-TO VINYASA, JUMPBACK / JUMPTHROUGH & HEADSTAND
Click HERE for more details and to RSVP.

The Idiot (if you don’t bother clicking the FB event link) is actually me as as I have been practicing Ashtanga for the first 3 years without knowing the ‘DON’T’s of practicing Ashtanga Yoga and its impact of my practice, technique and safety AND without knowing I have variety of fun options for Vinyasa in transition for poses in Primary Series.

“Anyone can practice Ashtanga Yoga.
Old people, young people. Sick people, healthy people.
Except LAZY people.”

~SHRI K. PATTHABI JOIS (1915 - 2009)

See you in traiyodosha days!

The more I teach yoga, the more I practice Ashtanga, the more I realize I am a just tiny drop of water in the ocean and just a small being with thoughts, sensations and muscles I never know I have.

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I might be a yoga teacher but I am NOT an Ashtanga yoga teacher.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know the difference of Bikram, Anusara, yoga classes at the gym and Ashtanga.

I might have been teaching yoga for 11 years this year but I am NOT an Ashtanga teacher.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might have no idea that there is a world difference between a yoga teacher and an Ashtanga teacher.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you must have no idea that there is a big difference between an authorized Ashtanga teacher and a ceritifed Ashtanga teacher.

I might be certified in teaching yoga but I am so NOT a certified Ashtanga yoga teacher.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know that there are less than 200 authorized Ashtanga teachers and less than 35 certified Ashtanga teachers IN THIS WORLD of 7 billion people and probably a million people having yoga teacher certificates out there.

Unless you practice Ashtanga in Malaysia, you might not know that there is only ONE authorized Malaysian Ashtanga teacher in KL and that she is taking a break from teaching this year.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know that you CANNOT pay any body to be an authorized or certified Ashtanga teacher.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know that 2 to 5 years practice and 200-hours or 500-hours TTC (Teacher Training Course) are NOT ALL IT TAKES to be an authorized Ashtanga teacher.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know that you have to teach (and of course, practice before you teach) Mysore style EVERY MORNING for six days a week.

Unless you teach Ashtanga, you might not know that you have to go to Mysore India at least once EVERY YEAR to renew your practice, authorization or certification.

I am so NOT an authorized Ashtanga teacher.

And so when I travel to Bali or North America, I hunt for Mysore classes with authorized Ashtanga teachers like most Malaysian girls run to the nearest H&M.

And so when I hear any Ashtanga teacher stopping by Kuala Lumpur, I go beyond my means to have them teach a workshop or two at my humble little yoga studio.

And so I am blessed to have Elizabeth Derow who has studied with late Shri K Pattabhi Jois and assisted his grandson Sharath at Mysore last November conducting Ashtanga workshops at Upward twice for the past 4 months.

Liz Derow (UK) | KPJAYI Level 2 with Guruji (Mysore, 2001)

And so I am beyond grateful for Liz is not only a great and compassionate Ashtanga teacher, but for the past week of having spent some time with her showing her around KL, I realized that she truly embodies a walking Ashtangi in her every word, walk and breath. She sees beauty at every corner, she speaks highly of everyone, she sees the positive in everything  - humbling yoga teacher qualities that I am not embarrassed to admit I don’t have.

And so I am humbled when Liz reminded me and my friends at Upward during our last Ashtanga workshop last weekend of how we are of a person outside our yoga mat would truly show when we are alone and still on our mat. If we have been stingy, greedy, impatient, vulnerable, like to put blame on others, arrogant, highly likely we will be the same on our mat and chances for us to get injured, to rush our practice and to blame our ‘inflexibility’ and ‘incapability’ to be still on our mat and perhaps, our ‘incompetent’ teacher. With regular if not daily Ashtanga practice, it is easier to reflect within ourselves why are we behaving in such manners on our mat.

And so I am excited and blessed to have 2012 already filled and planned with visits and workshops at Upward from respected and authorized Ashtanga teachers from all around the world with sea of wisdom and legacy of practice.

Greg Nardi (US) | KPJAYI Level 2 at Upward in July 2012

David Robson (CAN) | KPJAYI Level 2 at Upward in October 2012

I might have been practicing yoga for 13 years but everytime I am on my mat for Ashtanga every morning before I teach, I feel smaller and smaller.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know that to say that you practice Ashtanga, you have to practice the series you are practicing (and the previous) six days a week.

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know that there are seven Series of levels in Ashtanga yoga with only two people in this world have completed the Seventh Series.

Primary / First Series with Kino MacGregor

Intermediate / Second Series with Kino MacGregor

Advance A / Third Series with Santina

Advance B / Fourth Series with Mark Togni

Unless you practice Ashtanga, you might not know that it takes many years to complete Primary Series, the ‘beginners’ series for Ashtanga and many people will just practice Primary Series for the rest of their life in the same body.

I might have been practicing Primary / First Series almost everyday for the past five years and Intermediate / Second Series almost every Sunday for the past two years and I am still humbled by how more flexible, strong and humble can I be (or not..) everytime I lay everything I have on my mat.

If you think you are strong, fit, perfect, beautiful, powerful, have full control over your body and everyone around you or in this country and could use a slice of humble pie, try Ashtanga (if you don’t mind Idiot’s Guide to Ashtanga with an unauthorized Ashtanga teacher, we have it three times a week at Upward).

Love, light and free breathing with sound.

“And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of this land, if only I could meet The Maker. And I am fascinated by the spiritual man, I am humbled by his humble nature..” (All I Really Want, ALANIS MORISSETTE)

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Just in case YouTubes of Kino I shared in my previous posts did intimidate you ‘a little’,
this is what we ‘muggles’ do in our Introduction to Ashtanga class (90 mins) at UPWARD.

Location: UPWARD | Saujana Resort

  • Sun Salutation A X 5
  • Sun Salutation B X 3
  • Standing Postures
  • Backbending
  • Closing Sequence

This video is edited to 400% faster (actual fiming duration for this practice is 38 minutes).

Depending on how fast the class moves and how familiar are the students with this basic routine, several (if not half) of Primary Series poses will be introduced in between Standing Poses (last pose being Virabhadrasana II) and Backbending (Urdhva Dhanurasana).

For more info about this class at Upward, check out our Class Schedule and for deeper understanding of fundamentals of Ashtanga and Primary Series, there are still spots left for Saturday (Dec 10th) and Sunday (Dec 11th) we are SOLD OUT for our debut workshop with a KPJAYI Level 2 Ashtanga teacher!

Sneeze and you’d miss.
Snooze and you lose!

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” ~BUDDHA

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For those of you who have been e-mailing / leaving me comments on how does one start practicing Ashtanga before becoming a superhuman, this workshop organized by Upward conducted by a KPAJI Level 2 Ashtanga teacher is the perfect beginning for you!

An FB event has been created for the workshop, do RSVP your attendance if you are interested and read through on how to make payment to confirm your participation.

INTRODUCTION TO ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA WORKSHOPS
WITH ELIZABETH DEROW (KPJAYI LEVEL 2 TEACHER) | 10 & 11 Dec 2023 at UPWARD

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is deemed the most physical yoga practice and it is said that anyone who can finish Second / Intermediate Series is to have the fitness level (strength, flexibility, control, stamina, balance, poise) of an Olympic gymnast.

Elizabeth Derow (UK) has been practising Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga since 1997. She was given Sri K Pattabhi Jois’s blessing to teach in 2004 and is authorized to teach First / Primary and Second / Intermediate Series by KPJAYI, Mysore.

WORKSHOP I: SATURDAY | 10 DECEMBER 2023 | 11.00am – 01.30noon (2 1⁄2 hours)
Introduction to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga [Intensive I]: FUNDAMENTALS OF BREATH, ‘BANDHA’ & ‘DRISHTI’

Participants will be introduced to some of the background and theory around the practice followed by the fundamentals of breath, bandha & dristi and exploration of the Primary Series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Workshop will wrap with guided relaxation after which participants will learn some simple pranayama techniques (the art of breath control).

WORKSHOP II: SUNDAY | 11 DECEMBER 2023 | 3.00pm – 5.30pm (2 1⁄2 hours)
Introduction to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga [Intensive II]: THE PRIMARY SERIES

Building on Intensive I’s foundations, participants will continue their exploration of the Primary Series, a powerful healing tool called Yoga Chikitsa in Sanskrit (or ‘yoga therapy’). Workshop will conclude as Saturday, with some pranayama techniques after relaxation.

LEVEL / PRE-REQUISITE:

- Beginners to Intermediate
- Proficiency of Sun Salutation A & Sun Salutation B required
- A couple of Intro to Ashtanga classes at Upward before the workshop(s) is encouraged.
- Recommended reading links on Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga:

  1. http://www.ashtanga.com/html/AYarticle.html
  2. http://kinoyoga.com/about/
  3. http://ninieahmad.com/2011/04/06/i-do-yoga-not-because-i-am-flexible-strong-and-balanced-but-yoga-makes-me-flexible-strong-and-balanced-inside-out/

PRICE:

RM120 per workshop or RM200 for both workshops.
(RM20-off for valid monthly membership. T & C)

NOTES:

1. Participants are welcome to attend only one of the two classes, but if at all possible - it is advised that they attend both.
2. Maximum 25 participants. Space will be reserved only to those who have paid in full amount.
3. Manduka BlackPRO mat is provided to all participants by Upward, simply bring your own mat towel or rent a Manduka eQua Towel from Upward for RM5 a day.

TO RSVP:

Write in to [email protected] or register at UPWARD | Saujana Resort.
Walk-in for payment is only entertained 30 minutes before first class, in between of the first and second class and 30 minutes after the last class. Click HERE for info on Upward’s class schedule.

Confirmation is only granted once full payment have been received. Strictly no refund but attendance is transferable at your own discretion.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Ashtanga Primary Series preview with my inspiration and virtual teacher, Kino MacGregor

I appreciate your generousity and energy to spread and share light on this workshop to your friends and family. Hope to see you at the workshop!

“Practice, practice, practice and all is coming.”
~SHRI K. PATTHABI JOIS (1915 - 2009)

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