I remember when I first arrived here in 2003, 2 months before my 23rd birthday, with my hippy rags and nose piercing. I thought I needed nothing more than adventure and my university sweetheart who sat beside me in the fifty square foot space that was our accommodation.  It was only a few hours into the journey when I found myself sitting up at 3 am in the morning, jet-lagged and staring out the window of the 17th floor of Chung King Mansions, questioning why I had chosen this place to live, a place I knew nothing about.  Nathan road was bustling, neon signs were flashing, and it didn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. It was a far cry from where I had come from, New Zealand, a place famous for sprawling green pastures and dinky little towns.  But I had chosen this, I had been desperate to experience something new, something unfamiliar.

As time moved on I became a victim of sensory overload, dragged around by my eyes, ears and nose.  I observed the escalators as they transported the population of 7 million or so in a rapid and chaotically organized flow. The trains amazed me, bursting at the seams with humans from all walks of life; local, expat and everyone else in between.  Without a seconds notice I was shoved and squeezed into those trains, bringing a new meaning to the understanding of personal space, and as the doors of the train closed I had no choice but to move with the tide, as the sea of people spilled in one after the other. My nostrils worked over-time as various smells swelled around my head making me slightly nauseous. Oily hair, the smell of garlic on someone’s breath, women drenched in cheap perfume. I would hold my breath until the next stop where I was launched from the train like a cork from a bottle of well shaken bubbly.

I remember walking through the supermarkets, a true struggle where my devout vegetarianism was concerned in those days.  Both the supermarkets and the wet markets alike hung carcasses, tongues, bladders, hooves and hearts from cows and pigs.  Fish flapped around in Styrofoam boxes, waiting to be clubbed across the head, and frogs, turtles and other ‘exotic’ creatures jiggled around in small, netted sacks. The stench was amazing.  I mustered everything I could not to vomit.  Even the sound of the cleaver cutting through the bone sent me flying into the cosmetics aisle.

Outside local restaurants fish and other sea life were crammed into tanks, facing the similar fate of becoming someone’s hot pot.

Something that always amused me was sitting in the bus beside old ladies or domestic helpers laden with shopping bags full of fresh goodies from the market. There was always one bag that managed to make a getaway, flipping and flapping down the isle in a desperate last effort at freedom.

I remember living on Lamma Island.  I remember the summer rain.  I remember rolling my pants up to my thighs and bravely wading through the flooded paths for the seventh morning in a row.  My umbrella saturated to the core, so much so that the raindrops trickled through it onto my head and shoulders.  Men in suits rolled up their trouser legs and sported rubber flip-flops that splashed soiled water up the back of their freshly ironed shirts.  Once on the ferry, people dressed and undressed, in an openness and familiarity that could only be found on Lamma.

I remember one day peering out the window of the ferry to watch the brown shade that tipped the breaking waves.  Plastic, paper and wood rode the tide and swarmed around the extremely brave swimmers stretching off from the ferry pier.  The local elderly seemed to be enjoying their morning ritual, the crown of their heads iced with rubber caps bobbed around in the surging grey/brown water.  Two Gweillo (foreign/white men) were wading through the floating bric-a-brac on this one particular day, struggling for breath as they were pulled down by filth and uncontrollable laughter.  They threw a plastic bottle to the side, removed plastic bags from their swimmers and hoisted a torn red flag into the air.

One street is selling Gucci, the next one along is scattered with fruit, beggars and the odd cockroach or rat.  A true reflection of how diverse one’s life is from another here, how diverse one day is from the next.

I find it so strange how I was once so entertained and inspired by all the rarities and idiosyncrasies in Hong Kong, but the last year or two has been more of a struggle to tell you the truth.

There are moments though, like walking up the windy concreted path to the Peak of Hong Kong, dodging elderly Chinese people involved in their crazy morning rituals of clapping loudly and screaming at one another in an attempt to have a conversation over a blaring transistor radio, where I  just stop and feel for a moment, bringing total awareness to the real beauty that surrounds me.  In those moments the clapping begins to disintegrate, the hum of the jackhammers fade into the distance and the sweet oriental sound of a Chinese flute squeezes through the bamboo from the small valley down below, growing louder and clearer as everything else begins to fall away.   The sound of cicadas chirp in, even the sound of my own breath and the silence of my own mind brings calm to the environment, and as I trudge on, sweat dripping off my chin, I find my rhythm again all the way up to the top.

I lean on the iron fencing and enjoy the breeze for a moment as it drapes itself around me. On a good day, big fluffy white clouds burst out above the magnificent panoramic view of the city and as my eyes search for Kowloon side towards a huge flashing neon sign, I find myself mesmerized.  Not only by the shapes and colours of the characters jiggling too and fro on the sign, but also by the city itself.  The density, the intensity of the skyscrapers, the small islands scattered around, the large expansive ocean that surrounds it all.

The soft but gnawing hum of all the sounds begin to merge into one deep clarifying rhythm, and I pause for a moment finding gratitude for all that Hong Kong has offered me and what it continues to bring into my life.

I feel truly blessed for all that I have met, experienced  and received, but my longing for nature, for a more simple lifestyle, has transpired into an ever increasing need to follow my heart.

So, in June, with Michele and my big bag of tricks and treasures, I will travel across waters again, this time to Europe exactly 9 years after I arrived in this concrete jungle, to bury my roots into an earth so rich that I have no choice but to grow bigger and brighter than I ever.

With love and inspiration,

Kristi x

I’ve done and toyed with various sorts of cleanses / detoxes and regiments of eating. I have a propensity to do things to the extreme, so at different points in my life, I have been pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, raw, gluten-free… Pre-yoga, I even tried the South Beach Diet (no joke). Ultimately, I decided I didn’t want to make eating rules or labels for myself. The strict-ness of it stressed me out. I decided I would just eat whatever I wanted to when I wanted to, which meant mostly vegetarian, sometimes fish & organic chicken or turkey, avoiding processed stuff as much as possible. Generally, I’m pretty mindful about what I consume, because I’m aware of the immediate and long-term effects it has on me. And quite simply, I enjoy being healthy and I enjoy the taste of healthy foods.

I also enjoy red wine and crisps (potato chips). And fried foods like chips (french fries) and salt & pepper squid. So naughty, but so darn tasty. My husband has a major sweet tooth and when he’s chomping away on his English confectionary, hey, I want to have some too! With my relatively lenient perspective on food, the slope became pretty slippery.

At first, I felt kind of okay. And the naughty little voice inside my head tried to convince me that maybe it was fine to have red wine every night and eat the entire bag of crisps (they make a Pesto flavor of kettle cooked British potatoes with no additives. I mean how much does that make your mouth water?). If I’m perfectly honest, part of me so wishes I could have the kind of metabolism where I could eat loads of junk if I wanted, do some yoga, and feel great in my skinny jeans. But alas. I am not blessed with such, genes. I have wobbly bits, get a food pooch after a big meal, and wear those crisps on my hips. My poor diet during the past few weeks also affected my skin, my sleep, my mood, my energy level, & just how I felt inside.

So, detox. In the past, I’ve done proper programs with instruction manuals and all sorts of herbs and regulations. I do believe in those, but I also believe that it’s probably as simple as cutting out the bad things and adding a bunch of good things, without spending loads of money. I think because I’ve tried different eating regimes, etc, I have a pretty good idea of what agrees with me, what I need, and what I need to avoid. And this is an extremely personal thing. I know some people may be totally fine with dairy or wheat. But I don’t think you can ever really know how a food affects you until you clean out your system so that you can actually feel from the inside out.

The body is miraculous, amazing, and just so smart. We have a built-in detoxifying system that is designed to filter the negative bits. But just like having too many apps running on your computer affects its performance, overloading our bodies with unhealthy foods (that sometimes have pesticides & hormones!), not giving it enough good stuff, not to mention mental and emotional stresses which definitely affect us physically, as well as toxins in the air, water, household products, etc…all of this affects our bodies’ natural abilities and functions. And so we become more and more disconnected, and less able to feel or hear what our bodies are communicating to us.

Detoxing is basically like when you have to delete some files and make space on your hard drive for optimal performance. And as with everything important in life, this requires effort, commitment, patience, and focus. Sorry guys, but I don’t think a pill from Whole Foods is going to really do it for you. At least not in the long run. Similarly, fasting or doing something like the Master Cleanse can have an immediate effect in the short term, but it isn’t a sustainable answer for the every day. I’m interested in what I can incorporate all the time on a regular basis, so that I can feel and be – as Oprah says – my best self.

I want to have a balanced perspective on food, I don’t want to feel limited or be super strict. I want what I consume to nourish and support me. I also want to enjoy it! So here’s how I’ve initiated my journey back to healthiness, how I’m ‘detoxing’. Please note that I’m not a nutritionist, but perhaps this can serve as some general guidelines / suggestions for you.

No sugar, alcohol, caffeine, gluten, yeast, dairy, drugs or over-the-counter medicine

Consume daily:
FRESH SQUEEZED JUICE: beetroot, carrot, celery, spinach, kale, cucumber, green apple (as you like, but make sure the majority of the juice is VEG)
a good SUPERFOOD drink with no fillers (it comes in powder form)
coconut water
apple cider vinegar in water with Manuka honey
a probiotic in pill form, or try fermented miso
flaxseeds (soaked in water overnight is best!) / flax oil
Superfood cruciferous vegetables –  broccoli, cabbage, kale, radish, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collard greens, kohlrabi, mustard, rutabaga, turnips, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, arugula, and watercress
Other Superfoods: apples, berries, spinach, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, salmon, turkey

Protein: eggs, fish, plain tofu; if you choose to have meat, stick with organic chicken / turkey
Carbs: quinoa, brown rice, rye bread, millet** (PS)
Low sugar fruits only: i.e. berries, kiwi, green apple
Snacks: raw chocolate, almond butter, Manuka honey, rice / buckwheat cakes, Ryvita (wholegrain rye crackers), almonds / cashews, herbal tea
Seasonings: olive oil, sea salt, pepper, fresh herbs, lemon, garlic

Supplemental treatments: acupuncture, massage, colon hydrotherapy

And of course: YOGA or your preferred form of exercise

While detoxing, do way less than you usually do. Sleep a lot. Pay attention to changes in your skin, the whites of your eyes, your energy level, your moods, the clarity in your mind, the quality of sleep, and when you go to the bathroom. It’s normal to experience headaches, pain in the lower back area (this is your kidneys detoxing), lethargic, and just not feel that great at first. This is the toxins being purged back into the bloodstream to be re-circulated out. It will pass.

As for how long to do it, I would go for at least 7 days, but try to incorporate mindful habits for the long term! Hope you find this helpful, and feel free to get in touch with me with any questions or thoughts! xxo

** PS To answer a question I received, I think the pasta-form of these gluten-free grains is okay, but probably not every day. My best suggestion is that you make this mostly about filling up on the fresh veggies (juiced, raw, steamed, etc) and other foods under the ‘Consume daily’ section. If you fill your belly with these good things, you 1) won’t have as much room for other unhealthier choices, & 2) will re-train your tastebuds to crave more of the good things and less of the bad. Don’t be too hard on yourself or too pedantic about detoxing. It’s already an enormous positive step to take away sugar, alcohol, caffeine, etc. This alone will alleviate the toxin burden on your body.

Also, I have some photos with this post on my Facebook Page.

As such, I am often hesitant to speak my mind when I perceive that what my mind wants to speak might be disagreeable in the slightest. Partly it’s my desire to play peacekeeper; partly it’s my insecurity & fear in speaking my truth.

This is all particularly true when I am in teaching mode.

I remember one of the very first classes I taught at Pure Yoga. It was a Hot class in the combined studios 3 & 4 in Causeway Bay, for those of you familiar with the location. For those of you unfamiliar, this is a fairly big space that fits 60+ mats (although by Santa Monica standards, we’d squeeze in at least 100 mats). At all Pure Yoga studios in Hong Kong, the mats are already laid out for you so when you come in, you just pick a mat and plop down. On this particular day, the side that is studio 4 was pretty full, and the side that is studio 3 was pretty empty and people had randomly chosen mats that created funky gaps and scattered energy in the room. There was one woman in particular who was way over yonder, and I asked her in a friendly manner if she would like to move in closer, assuming that she would respond as I would if I were the student. To my utter shock, she simply, firmly, and audaciously shook her head NO.

Oh. Ok.

I walked away with my tail between my legs and later told my colleague Janet about the incident. She told me that next time, I should just make the student move. I was befuddled! That would be so confrontational. But she insisted that I ought to insist. I am the teacher afterall.

Over the next two years, I luckily did not have similar incidents occur (or perhaps I subconsciously chose not to see them). On the one hand, the students got to know me and there’s always a certain amount of trust and respect that grows in time. On the other hand, I became more self-confident. Rather than hiding behind my fear of seeming disagreeable, I learned to more clearly stand in my truth.

Fast forward to a packed Hatha class one Saturday morning. We were on hands and knees, flailing our way into Bryan Kest’s infamous Awkward Airplane pose: one leg out to the side at an attempted 90 degree angle at hip height and the opposite arm out to the side at an attempted 90 degree angle at shoulder height. After a 10-year relationship with this pose, I’m still more “Awkward” and less “Airplane”. I think it is probably pretty challenging for almost everyone. As such, I noticed that half the room wasn’t really in the pose, and I teased the class about it, “I know you’re all pretending you suddenly don’t understand my accent…” or something like that. Most people chuckled, but one woman blurted out, “It’s not because we don’t want to do it, it’s just too crowded in here, there’s no room!”

The less self-assured me would probably have turned beet-red, apologized, and stammered my way through the rest of class. But my actual response was to tuck myself in between two students and do the pose by lifting my leg over one student’s hip and by lifting my arm over the other student’s head. As I was demonstrating, I said, “If the conditions are challenging, find a way to make it work!”(or something else of absolute brilliance, I’m sure.)

I then went on to talk about the classes I attend in Santa Monica, where we squeeze in twice as many mats. Bryan’s classes have been known to be so crowded that mats overlap and someone practices on the landing of the stairwell; Ally Hamilton’s classes often overflow into the second room and she has to stand in the doorway between the two rooms in order for everyone to hear her. I said, “You all have about a foot of space circumventing your mats. This is not that crowded.” (Hopefully they weren’t still in Awkward Airplane as I was rambling on, but I can’t be sure of that.)

After I finished my mini-lecture, I felt really bad. I thought maybe I had lost my temper. I was afraid that that student would go and complain about me to the front desk (like the time a student complained that I was text messaging for 40 minutes of a 60-minute class, a completely preposterous claim) (I was only texting for like 5 minutes) (Just kidding! I have never used any mobile device in class!). But to my surprise, at the end of class, that student came up to me and introduced herself. She said that she really enjoyed class and that it was exactly what she needed. I was so surprised! And relieved.

All of this makes me think about our attachments and expectations when it comes to our practice space.

I took Wendy’s class at Pure Yoga in Central today. When we stood up from Uttanasana, I brushed hands with my neighbor yogini. During a supine spinal twist, my extended arm rested on the mat next to mine. Is this really that big of a deal, worthy of complaining? For someone who comes from the crowded studios of Santa Monica where I have gotten hit in the head by someone’s foot going up in Dog Splits, no, it’s really not that big of a deal. And actually, if you think about it, it’s a pretty beautiful thing that so many of us have all come together to share space, breath, and energy. What a blessing to be a part of this union, this yoga.

I also often hear the complaint that people don’t have space in their apt to practice. Considering how small and squishy HK flats can be (cool, relevant video here), I do understand that it’s challenging. But I have practiced in a 250 sq ft apt that I shared with my friend, where I was completely surrounded by furniture. It is doable.

Bryan once said it best. When I was his assistant, I would answer emails on his behalf. Once there was this question: “How much space do I need to practice yoga?” Bryan told me to reply, “The amount of space you need to unroll a yoga mat.” So true. So simple.

Of course it would be ideal to have space in abundance, and no one wants to be whacked in the head by someone’s foot (especially a sweaty one!). But sometimes these external conditions are out of our control, and what we think is ideal is not a present reality. How will we choose to respond to this? How can we dance gracefully with all the so-called challenges in our practice and ultimately our life? If we’re being difficult and attached to what we deem to be our righteous space when we’re on the mat, what’s happening off the mat? This is especially relevant for all of us living in crowded cities where our bodies and energies are constantly overlapping with others. Does it really serve to race each other to get to the showers first? Is it really necessary to cut people off on the freeway? Can we try to be more generous and compassionate?

Let’s be more focused on creating space in our heart, and less attached to external conditions.

Let’s remember what a blessing it is to even have a studio or home to practice in and a mat to practice on. What a blessing it is to touch the hand of a fellow yogi as you both reach up towards the sky. What a blessing it is to know yoga at all.

And look, next time you’re in a crowded class, in a space-demanding pose like Awkward Airplane, just rest your floating (read: floundering) leg on your neighbor’s hip. I’m sure they won’t mind.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that first things first: practice. For me when I was first preparing to teach, this meant an asana practice for at least a couple hours a day (with an occasional, sometimes reluctant day of rest, insisted on by my teacher), reading lots of books (from the ancient to the current) and a daily (often less than super successful) attempt at meditation. I also enrolled in a Yoga Studies program at a nearby university (UC Irvine), which served as a wonderful introduction to various yoga-related subjects including philosophy, subtle energy, Sanskrit, and Buddhism. I was so fiercely in love with my practice that I saved some money and quit my job (at the time I was in investor relations) so I could just do yoga all the time. I loved my studio so much that I started volunteering there (sweeping the floors and emptying the trash), which eventually led to working in the retail store, managing the studio, and becoming Bryan Kest’s assistant. Talk about “immersion”.

Next up: find a main teacher that you can practice with on a regular basis (addressed in Yoga Thought Bubble 1). This is particularly true for those on the teaching path. Again, it doesn’t mean to only ever study with one teacher, but having one main teacher will be immensely helpful. She will get to know your physical practice and be able to guide and support you better. For example, I had a major fear of Tripod Headstand. I couldn’t even figure out how to approach it. After months of shying away from it, my teacher helped me after class. She didn’t physically support me, but just through her words and because of my total trust in her, I got into it and was laughing at how much easier it was than I’d imagined. And, ask your teacher what his yoga journey has been like, and discover which of his footsteps you’d like to follow. Dare to ask beyond “Who have you studied with?” because I bet there is so much more to why he is the amazing teacher, yogi, and person that he is.

And of course: attend a Teacher Training. I urge you to put a lot of thought into the Teacher Trainings you will attend (yes, trainings plural, as there will likely be more than your first one). Know that TTs are a huge business within the yoga industry, and oftentimes you’re asked to commit thousands of dollars and hours upon hours before you’ll be deemed worthy of using their brand name, and this almost never comes with any real guarantee that you’ll find teaching jobs. I admit that I am biased when it comes to the so-called official certification process, but rather than get into it right now, I will paste the words of Bryan Kest (www.poweryoga.com), who addressed this brilliantly in a recent newsletter:

“We are not associated with Yoga Alliance. If I were to follow their guidelines I would not be able to follow my own guidelines. Their guidelines have no place in my training and should have no place in anyone’s teacher training other than that of their own. I am not an advocate of systematizing the dissemination of love. Yoga has always been passed down freely from teacher to student, in any format the teacher chooses and according to the teacher’s experiences and how the teacher feels they can best give their knowledge to the student. This beautiful practice, that has been happening for 6,000 years, does not need Yoga Alliance’s blessing or anybody else’s.

I am actually not sure why Yoga Alliance exists. Maybe their intentions are benevolent but the result is a fucking bureaucratic mess, tons of red tape and loads of unnecessary paperwork, not to mention more money!”

So I’m just saying to choose wisely. Listen to your gut and intuition as to what is most right for you. Are you really inspired by the teacher leading the TT and are you really interested in learning more about that particular style of yoga? Or are you more drawn in by the number of hours and credibility the TT boasts? Just make sure it will serve to nourish and nudge you forward in your practice.

As for when you’re ready to attend your first TT, it’s really personal. If you don’t know Tadasana (Mountain Pose) or if you haven’t yet experience the bliss of Savasana, it might better serve you to practice a bit more first, just so that you can get more out of the TT. But don’t worry about not being able to stand on your hands or levitate (yet).

I started doing my own home practice after my first TT (with the magnificent Erich Schiffmann), and it really helped me to understand how to sequence, how to verbalize the body’s movement and experience, and how to access my own voice. I enlisted (ok, maybe coerced) my loved ones to be my yogi guinea pigs and taught them classes in my living room. I practiced eliminating “uh” and “um” and “oops, sorry!” and nervous laughter.

For me, all of this was the perfect foundation for teaching. With the help of my teacher, I got my first job at a gym, and I kept expanding from there, to other gyms, small studios, private clients, and my home studio. I said YES to every teaching opportunity that came up, and in a few months time, I was teaching 25 times a week. It was great practice and got me into the groove of really becoming and being a teacher. But that many classes proved not to be so sustainable, so I pared it down to about a dozen (only to move to HK and teach an average of 18 classes a week, half of them in a heated room, which I swear makes teaching 1 class feel like 2!). This again is really personal; you’ll figure out what’s perfect for you.

Finally, know that there will always be more to learn and be open to all of it. I have dabbled in different styles and I attend lots of workshops and trainings with different teachers. Since moving to HK, I also make it a point to go back to my yoga home of Santa Monica once a year and snuggle back into my roots. It is all “continuing education”, a beautiful process of always learning, receiving, practicing, and then offering it back out.

So, in short: practice, find a main teacher, attend a TT, do your own practice, teach loved ones, and say YES!

And please feel free to send me your questions, and we can share in this digital dialogue together.

Yoga Thought Bubble 1: How do I find a good teacher?

I thought it appropriate to begin this blog series with the question of how to find a “good” teacher, as the teacher is usually your foray into the yoga world. I put quotes around “good” (and would use quote fingers if I were speaking to you about this in person) because how you feel about your teacher is so personal. As with all relationships, it is ultimately about your personal connection. Does the teacher say things that stir your spirit, that feel like she simply must be talking specifically to you? Do you feel like you learn and grow in some way, every time you take his class?

I suggest that if it’s possible, read the teacher’s bio or check out his website prior to attending class. The bio usually serves as a helpful introductory blurb to who the teacher is, not just how deeply he can bend backwards. To me, more important than the level of physical achievement a teacher has reached in her own practice is whether her philosophy / perspective of yoga (and of life, really) speaks to you. Of course the physical aspect is important as well; the practice is physical, after all, and in a yoga class, the teacher is using the language of the body, whether demonstrating or offering an adjustment / enhancement. But permeating the physical will be his energy, and whether it is vibrating on the same wavelength as yours. It’s very much like how it would be to listen to a lecture in a language you understand versus a lecture a foreign language.

After reading the bio and choosing a teacher, try to take that teacher’s class at least a few times. As with all relationships, there needs to be a period of getting to know the other person. Sometimes it feels like love at first sight, where you feel really wowed and inspired and changed forever! This might blossom into a long term relationship, or it may not withstand the test of time. In other instances, it may take more time before you energetically warm up to the teacher, so it’s probably best if you don’t immediately write anyone off because you weren’t that impressed or moved during the first class. Speaking from the teacher’s perspective, sometimes it may just be that you caught us on an “off” day.

When you do find a teacher that you really love, you’ll probably find it helpful to maintain a fairly consistent practice with that one teacher. This isn’t to say that you should only go to one teacher. That would be unnecessarily limiting, because you can and will learn something from everyone. I can honestly say that I have either learned or been really touched (not in that way) (well, except for that one time…) by every single teacher I have ever taken class with. But to have one teacher who really knows your practice and who you are as a person is an incredible gift. Whether recognizing when you’re ready to advance in a given pose or when you’re in need of a shoulder to cry on, your main teacher will become your yoga foundation, your yoga roots, your “mentor”, so they call it. This will be someone who is truly interested in your growth and evolution as a person, a depth that can only be reached if you really open yourself up to him/her.

I am infinitely grateful for and humbled by mine.

And not to worry: your relationship with your yoga teacher isn’t expected to be a monogamous one. I asked my teacher about that once, because I felt guilty (thanks, Catholic upbringing!) about wanting to attend someone else’s class. She laughed and thought it was sweet of me to be concerned about her feelings, but as the yoga practice is about detachment from the ego and one big love, she encouraged me to go on and sow my yoga oats. She said, “It’s totally fine and great to take other teachers’ classes as you’ll probably get something different from them, because we’re all teaching from our own personal experiences. But you’ll probably find that you have your home that you always go back to.”

For me, this has proven to be very true. I now live half a world away from my teacher, but no amount of time or distance has really separated us (especially in this wonderfully modern age of technology!). As the years have passed, and time zones and zip codes have changed, and babies have been added into the mix (hers, not mine), she is still my yoga home.

So, to me, finding a so-called good teacher is a pretty big deal. I daresay it’s akin to finding your life partner. Do a bit of due diligence, have an open mind and an open heart, and feel for that intuitive pull in your gut that will always ultimately guide your way.

My main work with Nike has been teaching NDY, leading teacher trainings in China and Europe, and being featured online and in their training manual and DVD. You can have a glimpse of all of this on my Facebook page (leah.beyoga). If you’re not on FB, click here for photos. For those of you in HK, there is a big Nike Yoga exhibit in Langham Place shopping center, with the DVD playing on the TVs. The event runs through 5 Nov. Check it out if you happen to be in the area!

Nike has recently launched the online yoga content, which you can view 2 ways:

1) The simpler route: for a preview
Select one of the featured athletes, i.e. Monyca Byrne Wickey. As her video plays, to the immediate Right, you’ll see boxes you can click on. You can sample some clips with me!

2) The longer route: to download the workouts & to create your own program (Note: Safari seems to like the Nike site better than Firefox.)
Click Get Started, you can skip Creating a Mini (although it’s kinda cute!), and then select Dynamic Yoga. Keep following the steps, LOGIN, and you’ll have your own little yoga program you can do at home. There is an itunes app for this, but the yoga section hasn’t yet launched. Check back in November!

Nike Dynamic Yoga is inspired by athletes and the way they move, which usually happens to be quite different from how yoga asks you to move. Nike wanted to offer athletes a way to incorporate yoga into their training, in a language and method that their bodies could understand. While it was created with the athlete in mind, it’s great for beginners and also for longtime yogis looking to spice up their practice.

For me personally, NDY challenges my endurance and my strength in a different way from just holding a pose. The dynamic movement reminds me of the fluid movements in Prana Flow, but done in a more “conventionally athletic” way. For those of you that have a difficult time getting into certain poses that require a lot of flexibility and joint mobility, the unique dynamic movements you’ll find in NDY will probably help make these poses more feasible.

Deep intelligence and understanding of the body serves as the foundation for the NDY movements; it’s not simply about sit, breathe, and be patient. It’s also not about spin this that way or rotate that this way. (Although those methods definitely serve their purpose as well!) The language and technique of NDY are very simple, making yoga more accessible to more people. This is my most favorite thing about it!

As with all yoga and movement practices, NDY is ultimately a celebration of the body and of yourself. So I hope you enjoy and have fun with it! Let me know if you have any questions.

Oh, and if you’re interested, Nike has a complete line of new yoga clothes which should be in all stores now / soon. I must say I am very impressed with the quick drying-ness of their DriFit fabric, and they have some great colors and styles. (Plug, plug, plug… )

Aside from all this, I’ve recently started teaching at The Four Seasons in Hong Kong, and I’m absolutely lovin’ it! The yoga studio and spa are so beautiful and serene; it’s a really sweet environment. Anyone is welcome, so let me know if you’re ever interested in joining a class.

Please feel free to pass this on.

With big love,
Leah

Now that I’m a freelance freebird yogi loose in Hong Kong, I will be trying my best to stay connected to you: my students from Pure, my fellow yogis, and my good friends.

In case you’re not on Facebook, I just wanted to share the exciting news that starting next week, I will be teaching regular classes at the Four Seasons! My weekly classes will be:
Wednesdays @ 12:30p-1:30p || Vinyasa Power 2
Thursdays @ 12:30p-1:30p || Vinyasa Power 1

Cost:
$250 HK includes saunas || jacuzzi || shower || fruit || Fiji water || oxygenated studio (not quite sure what that means…)

Yoga Studio on 5/f
Saunas, etc on 6/f

If I can get a fairly consistent following, I might eventually be able to work out a package / discount deal. Let me know if this is something you’d be interested in!

Regardless of the class title / level, all levels are always welcome, as I will adjust and personalize the class to the needs of who’s present.

I also offer private lessons, so please let me know if you’d like more information on that. In due time, I will add more classes @ various locations to my schedule.

Please forward this info on to anyone you know that might be interested, and please let me know if you know of anyone who would like to be added to these emails.

Thanks so much, and I sincerely hope to see you soon!

With big love,
Leah

An nyoung ha se yo!

Most of you probably know that that means “Hello!” in Korean. =)

Life has been super sweet and super blessed here in Asia. If you’ve caught glimpses of my Facebook or Twitter updates, you know that I’ve been traveling around a lot. Most recently, I spent 10 days in Korea. This trip included my brother MYK’s performance at the Epik High concert, an interview with Joongang Ilbo (a major Korean newspaper), and a family getaway to Jeju Island. Oh— and my uncle is now Prime Minister!

The interview / article about me is obviously in Korean, and I will do my best to try to translate it, but as my Korean vocabulary is rather limited, it will likely take awhile. If there’s anyone who’d be interested in translating it for me, please let me know!

I returned to Hong Kong freshly inspired to (finally) try my hand at cooking! I’ve somewhat successfully made some Korean dishes (thanks to my mom and my brother’s stellar girlfriend, Jung Mi) and some of my best friend Julie’s dishes (veggies and noodles for Pad Thai soaking as I type).

It’s been 2 months since I left Pure Yoga, and I have been living my once thought to be far-fetched dream of teaching yoga around the world. I now add Amsterdam, Shanghai, and Beijing to my list of cities where I’ve taught, with Sydney, Wellington (New Zealand), and hopefully other locations to come. I’ll be sharing more details about this adventure very soon!!

With big love,
Leah

The trip and training were awesome, but really hard work. There is so much content to Nike’s yoga program, which is called Nike Dynamic Yoga (NDY); it’s not like memorizing a 27-pose sequence. There are 40 sequences + 18 warm-up exercises, and sometimes 1 sequence has a dozen movement patterns. I taught + did my first NDY Master Class, and it went pretty well. VERY different from my own practice and how I usually teach, as NDY caters to the athlete. It IS Nike, afterall. And I really respect that about this program. It’s not trying to be something it’s not. Nike isn’t looking to create a new style of yoga, or as I said in the training, to build an ashram in India. That wouldn’t make any sense. Nike is looking to make the practice of yoga poses more accessible to the athlete who doesn’t easily benefit from a regular yoga class because their bodies are very, very different from a yogi’s or dancer’s body. Fellow teachers can attest to this. After the class, many of the trainers there (all of the people attending the training were master trainers, selected as the best of the best from their respective countries in Europe) had lightbulb moments of the brilliance behind this program. Some of them were yoga teachers who’ve had athletes (or other “inflexible” people) in their classes; some were fitness trainers who themselves find yoga too hard or painful. They could see and feel that this really works as far as getting those kinds of bodies into various postures. And like I mentioned before, the “workout” itself is fierce. I was sore for days, and in places I’m not usually sore from my regular yoga practice.

What I also really respect about this program is that they want me to be me. They know I am a yogi, and not an aerobics instructor, so I teach in my authentic voice.

There was a lot of spirit and divine energy supporting us. I met so many cool people, with such passion for what they do. That is one of my favorite things about this new job. Traveling and meeting like-spirited people from all over. There was one brother named Young Ho Kim, who requested me to be his FB friend months ago. I’m usually kind of strict about who I accept, but because he’s a Korean yogi w/ nearly the same name as my dad (Young Se Kim), and also knows a fellow yogini, Twee, I accepted. And then he ended up coming to the training from Germany! Without knowing it would be me leading the training. And there was a yogini named Johanna, who attended Ana Forrest’s TT in NYC a couple weeks ago, and met several of my colleagues from Pure. She was telling me who, and said one girl’s name was also Leah, a redhead. I told her actually, that girl’s name is Diane, but it’s funny she confused us bc we have the same bday, so we’ve always felt quite connected. When I came back to tell Diane the story, she looked on Johanna’s FB and found that all three of us have the same bday! I just love that synergy. It’s this nudge from Big Mind to keep going, that we’re creating beauty + goodness here. Johanna also regularly goes to SM for a month at a time to soak in all the yummy yoga there, including Bryan (Kest, of course)’s and Shiva’s classes, so we’re totally on the same path…but she’s from Sweden! So cool.

Amsterdam is a 12-hour flight from HK, which is as far as – if not slightly further than – going to CA. Luckily they flew me business class on red-eyes, so I was able to sleep. My seat even had a massage function!! Still, you can never really properly rest on a plane, right! I stayed in a posh suburb outside of AMS called Hilversum, which is where the Nike headquarters is. It’s actually the hq for the whole of Europe. I only went into town twice, and because I was in work-mode, I couldn’t play or enjoy the city (and all its treats!) with more ease and freedom. I am sure I’ll go back sometime in the future though.

I finally got a sneak peek at the video footage that will be going online, and will be put on DVD for future trainings. It looks pretty good!

I am in my final 4 weeks teaching at Pure. I feel like I’m bouncing on the diving board ready to dive into more expansion, growth, freedom… I started announcing to my students a couple days ago that I am leaving. That’s been a bit bittersweet, but I know that the ones who really enjoy practicing w/ me will stay in touch somehow.

Lovelovelove!

I am not a professional researcher of facts (is that an actual job, I wonder?), a scientist or chemist; I am also not affiliated to any company that manufactures any sort of bottle, sustainable or not, toxic or not. I am simply a yogi, and to me, that means I seek the truth…I do my best to choose the middle, enlightened way closest to nature…I strive for balance…I try to keep my heart and my mind open.

I think it’s important that I share the above with you, so you know what inspired my amateur quest into all of this, and also so you can understand the nature of my so-called research and resulting suggestion to you. So, here it is…

Real Green Girl is adamant that SIGG is not trustworthy. A further read into her two blog entries dated 21 July 2008 and 6 October 2008 (which include external links and comments) will help you understand where she’s coming from, and perhaps even inspire you to do your own research, which is what I have been doing.

SIGG has never been transparent about what the inner lining of their aluminum bottles are made of. Aluminum, of course, has long known to be toxic, so in order for SIGG to make aluminum bottles, they need to line the interior with something non-toxic (or so one would hope). In January 2008, the President of SIGG, Steve Wasik, publicized a letter explaining that the formula of the lining was a secret because their 3rd-party supplier/producer of the formula had SIGG under contract to keep it confidential, to prevent copycat production. I managed to find a morsel of illuminating information through a company that sells SIGG products (and that assured me via email that SIGG was absolutely safe). This company notes on their website: “The special SIGG lining is not plastic – it is a micro-thin epoxy.“ Oh. Okay…but, what’s an epoxy?

Let’s hold that thought for a moment.

So, SIGG is adamant about having to maintain confidentiality regarding their formula, and perhaps on one hand, we can all understand that; it’s why patents and trademarks exist. What seems suspect is that after they made such a big deal about not disclosing their formula, in January 2009, they went and changed it! Devil’s Advocate would postulate that they changed it in response to the conscious public’s problem with their secrecy, and the ensuing suspicion that epoxy might be a fancy way of saying plastic. Plastic, of course, is currently under fire for being toxic, which is the reason a company like SIGG, offering (supposedly) non-plastic, reusable bottles has risen. According to the President’s update letter, their new and (supposedly) improved liner is called the SIGG EcoCare Liner, and he cites “innovation”, “technological advance”, and “sustainability” as reasons for the change. This new liner is “a bake-on, polymer powder coating.” Oh. Okay…but what, now, is a polymer?

Wiki says that epoxy IS a polymer, so even without understanding the chemical composition of these substances, I wonder if the liner perhaps hasn’t essentially changed? Could it all be clever marketing to confuse the average consumer who doesn’t understand this vocabulary? Wiki’s epoxy entry states: “Most common epoxy resins are produced from a reaction between epichlorohydrin and bisphenol-A” (aka “BPA”, aka the major culprit of toxicity in plastic!). According to Real Green Girl’s research, this synthesis results in an amber-colored solid. Furthermore, Wiki lists the common uses of epoxy and polymers, and these uses include paint, adhesives, and plumbing sealants.

(Ew.)

My friend and I inspected the inside of our SIGG bottles (I have four in my home!), and found that my older bottles have an amber-colored lining (possibly the result of the aforementioned synthesis of epichlorohydrin and BPA?) whereas her newer bottle has a silver-colored lining. It could be that hers has the new EcoCare Liner, which possibly is a true improvement, but I personally still don’t feel good about “bake-on polymer powder coating.” It’s like that Breyer’s ice cream commercial, where the ingredients are all words you can pronounce, such as “vanilla” and “milk”, as opposed to the ingredients of less natural brands of ice cream that list chemical names or codes of artificial flavorings and additives.

Sure, SIGG bottles may have undergone “independent” “testing” to ensure no “detectable” leaching, and an “independent” “PhD” may have offered his endorsement of these tests, but I can’t help but be reminded of those cheesy infomercials I used to watch when I was younger, totally convinced that a vibrating exercise belt was going to give me a six-pack if I just wore it around my belly for a few minutes a day. That “independent” “doctor” promised it would work…

So, now what?

I would love it if SIGG were more forthright and clear in their communications, and I wish I could believe their claims of safety and sustainability. But as I run all of this through my own personal filter of what feels right or wrong, I am leaning towards the latter. And I’m totally bummed, not only because I own several SIGG bottles, but also because I have been urging my loved ones to get their own. It seems SIGG has been exploiting my world of yogis and other health-conscious people, whilst they themselves may not be so conscious.

Still, I am aware that I may not really know what I’m talking about. So I offer my personal thoughts to you, and ask you to now move forward with what resonates with you. Perhaps we look in places other than Whole Foods and take Real Green Girl’s suggestion to go with Klean Kanteen’s food-grade, stainless steel bottles (or check out the 100% stainless steel options from Laken or even SIGG). Perhaps we all migrate to the mountains where we can drink fresh water from the source (but then, what about bugs and animal feces, right?!). Perhaps the only choice we can make in this situation is choosing the lesser evil.

Whatever you make of all this and ultimately decide, I urge you to run it through your own personal filter. There is so much divine and worldly intelligence within you. Awaken to that. And then think, speak, and act from that awakened place.