June 8, 2014

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS

Photos and video by MARIO IGNACIO IV and MARIO I. ESPINOSA

THE amazing thing about yoga is that you are empowering yourself without being conscious that that is what you are doing.

Yoga instructor Jasper Colina, who just opened OM Yoga Studio in Paraaque (he also teaches yoga at Fitness First), shares the experience of a female student who had fear of crossing the street. After several yoga sessions, she experienced changes within herself. She became confident with every pose she was able to accomplish and later on mustered enough courage to cross the street by herself.

Colina said most people initially go into yoga for physical fitness. In the process, however, they undergo not only physical change but also inner transformation which usually leads to a change in lifestyleone that is gentler and more meaningful.

One of Colinas students, Virginia Carag, attests to that.

A retired bank executive, Carag said she once ballooned to 280 pounds and was miserable. She was then taking care of her sick husband and kain ako ng kain (I kept eating).

One day, after her husbands death, she was cleaning her room and saw her old photos when she was Miss PNB (Philippine National Bank). She felt depressed and cried.

Link:
The empowering effect of yoga