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The largest yoga conference in the world is coming to Hong Kong on 1-4 June 2007. Asia Yoga Conference, the organizer of this event, brings together some of the top and most renowned yoga masters from around the world.

Known as Evolution, the event aims to unite an extensive mix of yoga traditions and cultures from the east and west, and to promote the general understanding of yoga in the Asian region. Evolution will offer more than 160 classes of many styles taught by its high profile Faculty which includes Guest of Honour Sri K Pattabhi Jois, Sharath Rangaswamy, Ana Forrest, David Swenson and Sri Ravi Shankar. Pattabhi Jois, at 92 years of age, has now taught yoga for some 70 years.

The classes will vary in levels and styles, and participants can choose classes that cater to their interests and abilities.

Evolution is open to beginners, seasoned yoga practitioners and teachers. Practitioners of other disciplines are also welcome to attend, including:

– Fitness instructors
– General sports athletes seeking to gain a competitive edge with yoga
– Masseuses and physiotherapists
– Pilates teachers
– Personal trainers
– Studio owners and managers
– People in the wellness and holistic industries

For more information, visit Asia Yoga Conference.

“I am not in the world, the world is in me”

Most of us are more familiar with the third or fourth branches of yoga, namely Asana and Pranayama respectively. Pratyahara, the fifth branch, is perhaps a little less familiar.

Pratyahara refers to sensory withdrawal. This means taking time to withdraw our senses from the world in order to hear our inner voice more clearly.

Pratyahara is the process of temporarily withdrawing the senses of the outer world so as to recognize the sensations of your inner world. It is also described as sensory fasting and comes from 2 words:
– Prati: Away
– Ahara: Food

If you stay away from food for a while, your next meal will most likely taste delicious!

Likewise, take time to withdraw from the world for a little while. You will find that your experience will be more vibrant thereafter. Within our awareness are the seeds of sound, sight, taste, scent and sensation. By going inside ourselves, we can experience these impulses more fully.
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Sitkari is a form of pranayama which is practiced by breathing air through the front teeth, with the teeth either tightly closed or slightly opened and using the tongue tip to regulate the air pressure and sound.

Lips should close at the end of the inhalation in preparation to hold a full pause with chin lock. Closing the lips will end the hissing sound “si” with a “sip”.

Exhaling usually takes place through both nostrils.

Sitkari breathing should be done in a controlled way so as to sound pleasing and create smoothness. This experience is described by some as “sipping air”. The sound that comes from sitkari is similar to a reverse hissing, somewhat like the sound you make when touching a very hot object suddenly.

It is good for cooling the mouth and relieving mouth ulcers, and may have both a cooling and relaxing effect on the entire body.

For a very special limited time period only, Lightworks presents the Yoga Passport specially for michallorenc.com readers which entitles you one month unlimited access to any yoga class for only RM150 (Usual Price RM650) between 10 January 07 to 10 February 07.

All yoga classes are personally instructed by the gifted Marc Mesich, who has been a yoga instructor for 7 years. Yoga classes commence on 10 January 07 and class sizes are kept small for individual attention. Simply quote the password “KL Yoga” while registering at Lightworks to enjoy this promotion. What’s more, you will be presented with a 1 year free Lightworks membership card (Usual Price RM100) which entitles you to a 5% off F & B and selected retail merchandise.

This offer is valid till 10 January 07 only. Call 03 2143 2966 for more information. Lightworks is located at 19, Jalan Mesui, Off Jalan Nagasari Kuala Lumpur (behind Istana Hotel).

Lightworks is a new health centre in KL combining a blend of yoga and other healing classes. See our earlier posting at https://michallorenc.com/2006/12/01/new-yoga-and-holistic-centre-in-kl/

Picture Source: www.yogazone.com.my

Yoga Club @ Taman Desa (pioneer outlet of the Yoga Zone Group in Malaysia) will be having a Christmas Open House on 17 December 2006. The program will run from 12pm to 4pm on Sunday and YC Taman Desa has lined up an action packed day which starts with a Wild Lotus yoga performance, followed by a series of health talks on detoxifying your Body & Mind and on relaxation.

There is even an interactive session with Yoga Zone ambassador Angel Wong (pictured) on “Learning to strike a balance between work and leisure”, and an special experience with Lance Schuler, an Australian yoga master who is founder of Inspya Yoga.

“What is Yoga” – a special experience with Lance Schuler at Yoga Zone

All activities are provided FOC. Contact YC Taman Desa at 03-7980 2680 for more information.

Sri K Pattabhi Jois is a leading exponent of Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga (sometimes spelled as Astanga) is a dynamic and vigorous practice that uses pranayama (breath control) techniques to flow from one asana (posture) to the next.

In recent times, Ashtanga Yoga has been popularized by renowned yoga master Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. To avoid the confusion with traditional Ashtanga Yoga, some people refer Pattabhi Jois’ system as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga or Power Yoga.

Regular practice of Ashtanga Yoga cleanses the body, stills the mind and enhances energy and fitness levels.

Vinsaya (Breadth-Synchronized Movement)

The Vinsaya is a style that makes Ashtanga Yoga different from other forms of Yoga. Vinsaya means the movement and breathing which is used effectively together in order to cleanse the body. Each movement done is accompanied by only one breath.

Pattabhi Jois describes vinyasa as a “yoga mala” (Mala means garland or rosary). This means that like a garland of flowers or rosary of prayers, vinyasa is a garland or rosary of yoga postures, threaded together through the flow of breathing.
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Fancy doing Yoga by the Boulevard Hotel Poolside? If so, then there will be a poolside party held on Wednesday 20 December at the Boulevard Hotel in Mid Valley KL. The party will start at 7pm with a one-and-a-half hour yoga session conducted by a qualified yoga instructor. This will be followed by a sumptous buffet dinner in the hotel restaurant. Those who are interested to participate should contact Edwin at 019-338 4507.

Location Map

Picture Source: lightworks.com.my

This coming Saturday 9-Dec-06 will be the official launch of Lightworks, which is new kind of holistic centre in KL.

Lightworks is a blend of lifestyle activities which include healing, psychic, yoga classes, new age book and music shop. It conducts Hatha and Raja yoga classes in collaboration with Yoga2Health, a niche studio in Bangsar Baru.

Scheduled for official opening is a series of free introductory talks which include crystal healing, energy healing and tarot readings.

Lightworks is located behind Istana Hotel, parallel to Changkat Raja Chulan and next to the ‘No Black Tie’ jazz club. It is a 2-storey building with a garden and indoor courtyard, located in a charming and increasingly trendy part of KL city.

An invitation is open to the public to come to the official opening at 12pm on Saturday 9-Dec.

With Hot Yoga gaining popularity in Malaysia, here’s a brief background of where it came from.

Hot Yoga (or Bikram Yoga) is a series of 26 postures beginning with one warming up breathing exercise, progressing through 24 asanas and finishing with one toxin eliminating breathing posture.

It was developed by Bikram Choudhury some 30 years ago. Born in Calcutta, Bikram began studying yoga when he was only four. At the age of thirteen, Bikram won the National India Yoga Contest, and was undefeated for the next 3 years.

Bikram later went on to pursue an athletic career as a marathon runner and a champion Olympic weightlifter (Tokyo 1964). A knee injury in a weight lifting accident at age 20 changed his life and doctors predicted he would not walk again.
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An article published in The Sun (a free newspaper in Malaysia) on 6 November was titled Yoga Way to Health and discussed the benefits of yoga to women who were undergoing breast cancer treatment.

A study was conducted by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where researchers found that doing yoga is good for women who are going through breast cancer treatment.

This study includes 61 women who have had breast cancer surgery and were receiving radiation treatment. 30 of these women were allocated to a test group that took yoga classes twice weekly.

At the end of 6 weeks, the participants were asked to grade their ability to lift groceries, walk a mile and perform other physical activities. They were asked about feelings of fatigue, their sense of well-being and other portions of their quality of life.
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