mOmentOm yOga. . . steady, cOmfy, happy, yOga. . .

We have just installed paper screens to the exisiting glass partition walls. These give more privacy to our yogis when there are two simultaneous classes going on in both rooms. At the same time, the translucency, maximises the natural light that comes through the glass via the windows and keeps the space in the rooms feeling light and open.

While marvelling. . . or dispairing?. . . at the handiwork, we would like to urge our yogis to refrain from touching the paper to prolong the lifespan of the "artwork". So for yoga poses requiring support, please use the walls and pillars instead of the glass partitions. We would be glad to explain where to get the materials and how to install the pieces when asked.

The first 2 pictures are of the first panel installed and the rest shows the completed project:

. . . is to learn how to be still and make peace with each moment,
in other words, to learn how to meditate.

Here's an opportunity for learning this noblest of skills. A message brought to you by my friend on the path, Sam Ho:


Vipassana Meditation for Beginners in Feb 2006

Dear dhamma brothers and sisters

Happy to inform you that Mangala Vihara temple will be organising the next meditation course for beginners in Feb 2006

We are pleased to invite you, family members and friends who are keen to learn meditation to attend this course organise specially for beginners.
Details are as follows:

No of lessons: 4 plus 1 practical session (weekend retreat)
Lesson 1- how to do sitting meditation
Lesson 2- how to do walking meditation
Lesson 3- how to overcome difficulties and hindrances in meditation
Lesson 4- why retreat and how to apply meditation to your daily life

Teacher: Ven Cittara from Myammar
Language: English

Date: Every Friday on 3,10,17 and 24 Feb, 2006
Time: 7.30pm-9.30pm
(please come in at 7.15pm as class will start punctually at 7.30pm)

Retreat will be from 24 Feb (930pm) to 26 Feb( 8am) 2006

Venue: Mangala Vihara Temple,Level 2, 30 Jalan Eunos
(at traffic light junction in front of Eunos MRT station)

Fee: Free

Registration: Please register with Sam Ho at samhopru@yahoo.com.sg with your name and contact no. If you have any query, you may call him at 98208050.

Regards,
samho

cc pl circulate this message to as many friends as possible. thanks

Hope you all have been enjoying the Yin classes so far. At the very least, do give it a go as it offers much in terms of learning opportunities. One of the important things you can learn is the true nature of all things. We have talked about anicca, or changeability, impermanence. When you are holding your pigeon pose for the 5th minute or so, you begin to feel an intention in your mind to move into something more comfortable, or to be somewhere, anywhere, besides here. As I have continued to remind you all during the class, stay with the feeling for a while and just observe. For the situation is telling us something important, pointing to something essential in the nature of all things.

For one thing, you will find that, no matter what position you are in, no matter how comfortable initially you are, even in corpse pose, shavasana, after "x" number of minutes, things change very certainly, and you find the same intention to want to change your position sneaking in. That "wanting to be somewhere else where you think you will be better off" is the signature of dukkha. We are victims of dukkha without realising it.

Dukkha is often translated as "suffering". This translation makes it hard to accept that dukkha, as taught by our teachers, is a basic trait of all things in existence. I mean, you experience life as a mix of good and bad times, not bad all the time admittedly. How can even "good things" have dukkha at their heart? How can all life be dukkha? We are not "suffering" all the time!

I appreciate a translation of dukkha as "unsatisfactoriness". While the word is unwieldy, it helps us to understand the concept better. That "wanting to be somewhere else where you think you will be better off" feeling stems from an unsatisfactoriness that we sense in the situation we find ourselves in. When we slow down, contemplate, hold a Yin Yoga pose or meditate, we can detect this basic unsatifactoriness found in all situations.

This is the situation we have set ourselves up in:

1. We want to get away from pain.
2. We want to pursue pleasure.

but

3. No pleasure is ultimately satisfying nor enduring.

thus

4. The constant pursuit of pleasure and running away from pain takes us away from our present reality, from living fully in the present.

All our lives, we live like this. A kind of life without freedom. It is a problem. It is a very trapped, incomplete way of living because it is based on a fallacy: that things will "eventually work out", things can be perfect, whole and complete. . . one day, some day, in the future. . . that we can hope to "live happily ever after". How about living happily now with whatever we have?

If we do not understand the true nature of all things which is dukkha -- we are in fact denying ourselves of living in the present - which is the only time we can live in. All the time we long for something better in the future or when we long to return to an ideal golden age in the past, we have missed an opportunity for enjoying the blessings available to us in the present moment right within our grasp. We miss out on participating in our lives. We postpone living our lives. In a way, this is how almost all of us CHOOSE to live. Isn't that strange? Has it happened to you? Have you experienced at a time when you look back one day and wonder where all your life up to the present moment has gone? Well, we have missed out on living it because we are too busy rehearsing for a future or rehashing a past in the crystal ball of our minds. We are sustaining a fragile illusion. Living in a world of our imagination and finding disappointment time and time again, without resolution, when reality hits us.

When we are enlightened, or awake, this is what we are awake to: that all things of this world have at their core a basic unsatisfactoriness stemming from its changeability. Ignorance or denial of this fact make us live in conflict with what reality presents. Whereas acceptance of this liberates. We experience fully both the joys and pains of the moment with an understanding that joy is never everlasting nor perfect, pain is never unrelenting nor evil -- AND that all the joys and pains of the moment is all we have to live in, the mix of ingredients making up our life. We start to recognise that the very transitory, incomplete nature of something in this world is its charm. Even a tiny moment of joy has its enjoyment magnified because you can see its fragility in the grand scheme of things. Then you find you begin to develop an. . . ease. . . in your heart. A sure sign that we can transcend all the dukkha of this world and live freely, perfectly at ease with all the unease that is our world.

The wait is over!

Thanks to all new mOmentOm yOgis and "old" yogis who have so patiently waited. . . we are happy to announce that the wait is over and our new green class cards have arrived from the printers and are ready for action! So if you have signed on for a new class package since the start of January 2006, remember to collect your cards when you next come for class. Each card has 10 class credit boxes and so if you've signed on for 40 classes you should receive 4 cards. Please bring your cards to class for endorsement to help you keep track of the number of classes you have utilised.

. . . as for yogis on the Om Improvement cards, you can continue to use these previously issued cards to the date of their expiry of course.

. . . we are happy to announce that we have also printed brand new chocolate (not edible!) mOmentOm yOga name cards. [Latest update on 31Jan: these popular namecards are nearly out of stock. . . if you want the last ones better come pick them up this week! New ones will be ordered as soon as the printers reopen after their Chinese New Year break. . . which is not for a while.] Come and pick them up from the reception table (in the basket with the class brochures) when you're next down for class -- these are handy to distribute to your friends because they also function as a ticket for a FREE TRIAL CLASS for first-timers to mOmentOm yOga. The cards feature a location map on the reverse side so that you have no more trouble explaining to your buddies where you've been blissing out on yoga. . .

Some updates for our yogis:

. . . Please note that Thursday's FUNdamentals class will now begin at 7:15pm and end at 8:15pm.

. . . Next Monday's (23 Jan) 7pm class will be conducted by Sau Fen as Ling Ling will be away.

. . . Chinese New Year: no yoga classes 28-31 Jan. Classes resume on 1 Feb, Wednesday.

. . . We have some appeals for a Saturday class in the late morning or late afternoon.
Any other yogis interested? Please email us: mOmentOmyOga@gmail.cOm

. . . Here's the updated timetable:

Thanks to Suan Wei's email query which reminded me to post this notice.

All valid Om Improvement yoga class cards on 11 Oct 2005 will have their validity extended for 12 weeks from their due date.

For those yogis in possession on pre-sold yoga class packages for 2006 bought on 2005 prices -- their 20-class packages will be valid 6 months from the date of commencement. Commencement date must be in 2006.

If any yogi has a question on his/her class packages, please email me or talk to me before class.

We are glad that our furniture is back and the scrubbing and hammering is winding down a bit. Thanks to all our yogis for bearing with us! It's good to see all of you back in class again. I missed teaching so! Well done, all of you for coming in after a long break and for sweating it out with us in the refreshers these past 2 weeks. As I always say: "Don't worry, it gets better!" ;-)

With the coming week, we will start with the new programe of yoga classes. Following the timetable, we will be dividing all classes to either FUNdamentals, MOMomentum or INtensity.

There will be a new timeslot next week. Ling Ling will be conducting a 7-8pm FUNdamentals on Mondays starting from 16 Jan, this coming Monday.
The class is open to all our yogis on existing class packages.

Do give us feedback on timeslots you'll like to see in the future. Yoga is a flexible thing. . .

I just have to share this:

The Chinese New Year market is underway in Waterloo Street near our Bugis Street. I was returning from lunch at Fortune Centre (Create Healthy Lifestyle organic vegetarian food restaurant is a yummy and affordable must-try!) the other day when I came across a huge lunar new year horoscope display in the middle of the pedestrian mall in Waterloo Street outside OG department stall. I joined the fun with the crowd to read my fortunes for the new year and I was both amused and impressed by of the reading for Tigers. Something like:

"Things go well when you are in a good mood and go badly when you are in a bad mood. So try to be happy all the time."

Hahaha! While we may dismiss the self-fulfulling prophecy, I think there is a ring of wisdom about it. Even when things go bad, we can still choose to be happy or at the very least, to face it with equanimity, an even mind. Our mood is not just determined by circumstances. We would be machines that way. We choose how we want to be. So if you can choose, wouldn't you want to be happy all the time? And if things are already in a bad way, can we really improve the situation by being in a foul mood? If you are happy within, you do not need external factors to perpetuate your good feelings which is great because external factors are beyond our control.

I will definitely remember to keep this horoscope reading in mind all year! It's the most helpful one I've ever read!

Things change
All the time
You can never really hold on to anything.

We imagine that it will cause us to live in a constant state of anxiety if we become aware of this all the time. Yet the reverse is true. When you accept the relentless changeability of everthing, you begin to. . . RELAX as you see life anew -- with a deep appreciation of the basic changeful nature of all phenomena -- you cherish all that life sweeps onto your doorstep and never experience deep despair when you lose something.

Letting go is not denial, it is acceptance. You accept that change is the DNA of life. There simply is no life without it. Then you stop grasping at things and begin to treasure all you already have in your hands. As I began to start up the new yoga studio, occassionally, I just have to sit down and digest all the good fortunes and misfortunes that have led me to where I am sitting. Especially after a hard day of work, when the rush fades for a bit, I realise something again and again. No matter how hard I tried at keeping things together and making each task perfect, I just keep feeling everything constantly slipping away from me, each at different speeds but with a kind of natural momentum, with a certain inevitability. I sit with the emotion for a while. It is a subtle feeling and I know I can easily dismiss it to the back of my mind while I focus on the nittygritty of the day's work. But from my meditation practice, I know this is something worth exploring. It could be an opportunity to learn something. I wait with the emotion and let it come under scrutiny.

It has a nauseating feeling because it has that raw touch of being something true and undeniable. Then you know that there you are staring at the face of ultimate reality. This is what we invented beliefs to avoid having to deal with. Perhaps it's what you do with these anxious moments that shape your destiny. This is the raw material of our existence. Things change. That's unchangeable. So what? Panic? Despair? Or. . . accept this and work with it! You begin to live "lighter". When things work out -- ok, but it will change. When things don't work out -- ok, but it will change. We usually only want things to change when they are not to our liking. Then when something that is to our liking changes for the worse, we scream "bloody murder"! How can this biased way of living work? An appreciation of change gives you an real sense of appreciation for all you happen to have -- at the moment you have them. Which is great because, when you only appreciate things when they are gone then you live in regret all the time! It also gives you an unshakeable optimism that is not based on an external source of reassurance (and that's one cool thing to have because no one can take that away from you) it is simply based on knowing that no matter how bad things are right now, in the very next moment, there is already the possibility for a turn of events.

While we can understand all this intellectually, I hope that you have the opportunity to realise the truth of anicca, or the truth of the changeability of all things, through your own experience. Because encountered in this way, the lesson learnt is imprinted deep and your entire being is "re-wired" for good and you stop living in delusion, in "change denial". Slowing down, developing awareness, yoga and meditation practices all help in the effort. But all we need really is to be still and observe -- as fish become aware of the water all around them, we become aware of anicca.

Calling all able-bodied and warm-hearted yogis!

We are having an yoga open house on TODAY 10 Jan which is a public holiday.
(our regular yoga classes on Tuesdays will be replaced today by the open house yoga classes listed below)

Yogis can come and enjoy classes conducted by the various instructors who will be teaching at our new studio in Bugis Village:

11am-12:30pm: Sau Fen
2pm-3:30pm: Stella
4pm-5:30pm: Ling Ling
6pm-7:30pm: Min Chao

**Please call or email early to book your places!! (Programme subject to change)

All classes are open to all and are free of charge. . .
. . . however, while you enjoy your freedom and physical wellbeing, won't you like to share that happiness with those less fortunate than us?
In place of class fees for the day's yoga instruction, mOmentOm yOga is encouraging yogis to contribute donations for the benefit of MINDS, Movement for Intellectually Disabled of Singapore. http://www.minds.org.sg/

So come down and yoga for a good cause!
Even if you are unable to come, do view their website and consider making a contribution.
Afterall, as Mahatma Gandhi said:

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."

Please help to spread the word. See you then!

These 2 weeks there will be new classes starting at the following timeslots:

. . . Thursdays (starting 12 Jan06), 7pm-8pm conducted by Michele.
. . . Mondays (starting 16 Jan), 7pm-8pm conducted by Ling Ling.

With these additions, we will be also be introducing a new categorisation for our yoga classes on the timetable so that our yogis can fine tune their practice.

All classes will be divided into 3 types: FUNdamentals, MOMentum, INtensity:

FUNdamentals (1 hour): for newbie yogis, yoga basics for people who are entire new to yoga & beginners
-introduction to the practices of yoga pranayama, asana, relaxation techniques

MOMentum (1hour 30 minutes): for regular yogis
-regular yoga classes for those who are already familiar with basic poses, techniques
-development of basic skills. Introduction to variations of practice, eg. yoga flows.
-help to develop basis for a home practice
-introduciton to meditation

INtensity (1hour 30 minutes): for seasoned yogis
-to develop deeper understanding of individual and the yoga practices, pranayama, asana, etc.
-emphasis on meditative approach, eg. Yin Yoga, as a foundation for meditation practice.

. . . Yogis on our class packages are welcome to attend any of the classes according to their preference.

The new timetable:

Hmm. . . many yogis getting lost in the Village. . .

Ok. Here's how to find mOmentOm yOga at Bugis Village:

First look for Burger King. . . which is opposite Bugis Junction.
Facing BK, turn left and walk until you come to the mOmentOm yOga sign on your right. Then enter the door next to the sign and climb up 3 floors to mOmentOm yOga. Yup, 3 floors. Consider that as warm up. ;-)

Hi yoga fans!

You're all invited to our open house on 10 Jan (Hari Raya Haji Public Holiday) at our new studio in Bugis Village.

There will be 4 classes open to all at 11am, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm conducted by me, Stella, Min Chao, Ling Ling. I am doing Mandarin instructions for 11am if there's enough interest. So enroll your moms and aunties!

Bring your friends. Classes are free but donations are welcome -- which will go to a registered charity, MINDS - Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore, http://www.minds.org.sg/.

Please email or sms me to reserve your place. See you then!

Namaste,
Sau Fen

Same timetable for now. For details: click here for earlier announcement.

. . . Don't forget:
OUR OFFICIAL OPENING IS ON 10 JAN 2006 (Public Holiday). ALL ARE INVITED!
Opening programme will be announced soon.

. . . New rates for new signups:

Trial class (for first-timers): $15
Single class: $25
10-class package(classes valid for 3 months): $200 = $20 per class
20-class package(classes valid for 6 months): $300 = $15 per class
40-class package(classes valid for 7 months): $400 = $10 per class

*Students 20-class package(classes valid for 6 months): $200 = $10 per class
[*Students of tertiary institutions holding student passes.]

Please talk to us if you have any questions on the validity of your existing class packages.
We welcome any feedback you may have.

The great egg tray hunt is over. We managed to get enough for the soundproofing job. I know~ I can hardly believe it either! Thank you all!

The new year has just arrived and I am thinking about what I learnt in the past year. There is a quality we talk about in yoga called santosha or "contentment". It is one of the niyamas, qualities you need to cultivate on the path to yoga, to wholeness and fulfilment. I understood the teaching in theory and in abstract. It never crossed my mind just how important the quality is as a basis from which the very premise of your existence and endeavours stems. I also never guessed the amount of courage that you need to realise contentment AND the amount of courage that is generated from realising contentment. 2005 spent a lot of time teaching me all that. I have of course to thank the patience of my teachers and the love of my friends and family for supporting me through this hard but necessary lesson.

You always have just enough to get by, and truly, that is all you really need. For what do you really do with having more that you need -- at this very moment -- to get by? Having excess does not provide you with a peace of mind. Certainly, accumulation of material things does little for your sense of security, in fact, it robs you of it when you usually lose things more easily than you gain them. Only inner contentment provides you with a peace of mind. Trying to make a living in the past two years, with the training of my yoga and meditation practice, I observed that my emotions were on the rise and fall with the rise and fall of my savings account. When I noticed this, I felt that I had allowed myself to be controlled by factors external to myself. Had I placed the value of my happiness no higher than the numbers in my bank account? Had I based my peace of mind on something as elusive, abstract and arguably unattainable as a perceived secure financial status? Had I already forgotten how I had so much more money and material possessions when I had a salaried job and how I was also a lot more unhappy then? I then made a resolution to never let myself be affected by what little I had or what surplus I had, to never be on emotional highs and lows in parallel to the highs and lows of my bank account. I never looked back. I observed hence that I never had so little that I feel deprived and I feel I have always enough for what I need. And that is our reality when we are truthful about it.

I will not lie. It takes some courage and faith to give this a serious try. This is why I found that yoga, meditation provide invaluable life skills. With yoga, you gain a healthy body, heart and mind, with meditation, you gain peace, clarity, an unshakable mind and with this, so much courage. Santosha! -- When you come to experience this revelation first hand, you feel surrounded by the abundance of the earth. And more, that old feeling of anxiety, that crippling, sickening feeling of grasping weakens and you feel your heart release. You feel simply blessed to be alive and well, you feel a lightness, an ease in the heart and it begins to dawn on you that this is the feeling of real happiness. Then you feel silly that the happiness you had always searched has been so simply got and found no further than with this resolution within yourself. Next you feel the realisation of abundance is the same as the realisation of generosity, you become kinder to yourself and patient with others. And you would want to share this simple ancient wisdom with all people, that they can be happy, by realising contentment in their hearts. You find that being generous to people is not just an act of virtue, it is the only way to act.

May you be blessed to learn the teachings of yoga. May you dive deep into your mind and find these sunken treasures within: courage, strength, faith, love, contentment, patience, perseverance, peace. Unlike other possessions, once you have found these, you will never lose them. You will find that with them you can do anything and I will bet that you will start looking hard for something really worth your while doing. It is most likely that you will see there is nothing more important, more pressing a need today than to fill the hearts of those who are in misery with the same peace and happiness you have found.

May you always have enough to get by and never want for anything.