Taipei: December 13 – 16, 2019

Workshop at Shelly Yoga.

The Iyengar Yoga Institute of China made this t-shirt to commemorate the Chinese translation of Watch Me Do Yoga.

This variation of Prasarita Padottanasana helps reduce scar tissue, and therefore (along with other poses) helps deal with endometriosis.

Prasarita Padottanasana. Press the outer edges of the feet down. Raise the inner thighs; cut the tops of the inner thighs back and move the inner knees forward (so that the knees stay facing straight ahead).

Adho Mukha Swastikasana with forearms on blocks. Extend from the outer hips all the way through the side trunk, shoulders, wrists and hands.

Baddha Konasana. Why does this variation always make everyone smile?

A group photo, Taiwanese style, with bunny rabbit ears.

Halasana. Raise the anterior spine.

Lining up for a booksigning: Yoga for Breast Care, the Chinese translation!

© 2020 Bobby Clennell.

Taipei: November 2 – 5, 2018

Workshop at Shelly Yoga

Pincha Mayurasana makes me look thin.

Raise the left leg hip maintaining it level with the right as you move into Eka Pada Sirsasana.

Photo bombed by my interpretor.

In this version of the head-up stage of urdva prasarita ekapadasana, the belt provides a fulcrum from which the spine can be curved and extended forward and upward. Sometimes, it’s hard to find the strength to do this without the belt.

Parivritta Svastikasana at the wall. These students are maintaining the fixed inteligence at the base of the pose by pressing their right knee to the wall as they rotate to the right.

Parivritta/Ghomukasana, legs only, combined with a spinal rotation.

In this Celestial Beings class, we practiced Ghomukasana again, this time the complete pose. Cows are held in high esteem in India.The reason has to do with cows’ agricultural uses and gentle nature. Hindus rely heavily on cows for dairy products, for tilling fields, and for dung as a source of fuel and fertilizer. So, cows are seen as a ‘caretakers’ or maternal figures.

More Celestial Beings – Eagle Pose,  Garuda was the mythic “king of the birds,” the vehicle of Vishnu.

Supported Backbends. Knees and shins against the wall. Upper arms turned in.

Supported Backbends. This pose, Baddha Konasana in Viparita Dandasana over Crossed Bolsters helps deal with abdominal scar- tissue, associated with endometriosis.

More supported Backbends.

Pushing up from Viparita Dandasana with Chair into Urdhva Dhanurasana.

At the end of the Active Restorative Class: from Halasana,

…roll…

….up ….

….and over….

….into Paschimottanasa X 6!

 

© 2019 Bobby Clennell

Taipei: November 2 – 5, 2017

Workshop at Shelly Yoga in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Parivrtta Trikonasana

Parivrtta Trikonasana with wall rope, blocks and partner enables this student to lengthan his front spine and move his breast bone forward. Note: this pair who are helping each other are certified Iyengar teachers under my strict supervision. Observe, the only place they touch each other is at the heal of the hands.

Preparing for Parivrtta Parsvakonasana.  Take the time to get the rotation first, before straightening the back leg. Move the right back ribs toward the spine, and the left back ribs toward the waist. Roll the left side waist over the right side thigh.

Parivritta Parsvakonasana.

Art and Yoga are alive in Taipei!

Ardha Sirsasana with a channel.

Makarasana.

This is a really effective way to warm up for Kapotasana. Grip the mat, and maintaining the roots of the arms into the sockets, slide the tail bone away from the back waist.

Toward Kapotasana: practice taking your tail bone in, moving the trapezium and back ribs away from the head and lengthening the lumbar spine before walking the hands onto the blocks.

Lifting and opening the spine before taking the hands to the floor.

Getting closer….

This student did eventually place his hands on his feet – although we didn’t manage to get a photo of his final pose.

©2018 Bobby Clennell.

Taipei: October 28 – 31. 2016.

Workshops at Shelly Yoga, New Taipei City.

Uttanasana with a chair. The heels control the lower legs and the sit-bones the upper. To elongate the hamstrings, anchor the heels to the lip of the upturned chair seat, and draw the sit-bones up away from the back of the knees.

Uppavista Konasana/combined Marichyasana 1.

Ardha Matsyendrasana with bolster and wall.

Some lovely old artifacts.

These were part of a collection displayed in a restaurant.

I love these old fans!

© 2017 Bobby Clennell

Taipei. December 12 – 15. 2014.

Workshop at Shelly Yoga.

Students taking pictures of my Elements and Koshas posters.

Preparing for  Eka Hasta Bhujasana

….with Eka Pada Sirsasana

Eka Hasta Bhujasana

Bakasana: rocking and rolling – shifting the weight back and forth from the blocks to the arms and hands.

Tuck the arms high up under the inner thighs before you lift off.

Suck the abdomen back to the spine.

This student’s hips are too high.

Another day, another session: we pushed up from a chair into Urdhva Dhanurasana, elbows and forearm bone on the wall, middle fingers face straight ahead.

Due to the wieght of the pelvis, women tend to drop the hips in this pose.

Raise your heels, raise your tail bone and pelvis,

Without dropping your pelvis, stamp your heels down. Open the backs of the knees: lift the back thighs away from the backs of the knees toward the buttock crease.

On the last night in Taipei my host, Shelly took us to an outdoor restaurant high up in the hills. It was cold, so we were all  bundled up just like these two waiters. There was a heater under the table, which made my knees hot.

© 2015 Bobby Clennell.

Return to Taipei

My dinner is almost ready. Food cooked on the street always tastes so good.

At Shelly Yoga — such a lovely place — Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)

For pregnancy, practice Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose) with support. Avoid having the lumbar spine pressing into the abdomen by aligning the feet with the pelvis; place them in front of the trestle.

Here’s the block in the lumbar again. In Taipei, the blocks were thin and wide (better than regular blocks for this purpose). We belted them top and bottom, and then practiced the standing poses. The block is particularly helpful in Virabadrasana I (Warrior Pose I); it serves as a tactile reminder not to drop the lumbar spine forward. The students didn’t want to take them off!  Use the block the same way in Urdhva Dhanurasana and see the effect it has on your pose. (Not for pregnancy!)

On my last night in Taipei my host, Shelly and her husband took me out to eat at a place high up in the hills. The tallest building in the world (at least, until recently) can be seen clearly in this picture.

Nearly home! Stopover at Incheon International airport, Seoul, South Korea.

Fall Travels 2012

Yoga At Zea — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This was my second visit to www.yogaatzea.com.my which is situated on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, or “KL” as it is commonly known.

Steamy, tropical, and surrounded by vast palm tree plantations, KL is a multicultural community, the majority of the people being Chinese, closely followed by the Muslim and Indian populations. Similar to Singapore, these three cultures live, work and observe their own religions and traditions, happily and peacefully, alongside of each other.

KL is a lively, bustling, and happy  place. I shopped for a Hello Kitty iPhone case and was taught by my hosts and their families to eat local delicacies at the Petaling Street night-market. It is also an affluent and  firmly established modern city.

Hello Kitty!

Dhanurasana

Ustrasana

Supta Padangustasana II

Setubandasana

The children’s class:

Being joyful!

Cat pose

Resources on teaching yoga to children:

• Yogashastra Tome 1 by teachers of Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute and Light on Yoga Research Trust
• Yogashastra Tome 2 by teachers of Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute and Light on Yoga Research Trust

Goodbye to Yoga at Zea — Zoe Kok, Anita Frisk, Bobby Clennell and Edison Tan Choon Tian

Next stop — Shelly Yoga, Taipei

In Taipei I was mesmerized by the swarming motorbikes in the city, but then calmed when I took a break in New Beitou a little town in the mountains, which was complete with hiking trails, hot springs and a Starbucks.

Inside “101”, the world’s second tallest building, a mall offers acres of high-end shopping: Burberry, Prada and Gucci, to name but a few, were all buzzing with activity. But the night markets are where Taipei comes alive. As the sun goes down, the streets come alive as thousands of people descend on the markets and alleyways for some of the best food and cheapest thrills that can be found in Asia. The same, quick stepping, fashionably dressed young people who flood these markets, are also taking to yoga in a big way.

My host Shelly teaches Iyengar Yoga at her studio Shelly Yoga, which is situated in the heart of Taipei. The students here were excitedly preparing for their first trip to study at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI), Pune.

The Priciples of Alignment

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

Prepping for Pincha Myorasana

Parigasana (variation)

Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana with Crossed Bolsters

Kapotasana with a chair

Last stop — The Iyengar Yoga Institute of China

The city of Guangzhou has a population of 6.7 million and has a history of more than 2,800 years. It ranks first in China in the number of restaurants and tea–houses, and is famous for it’s food including a wide range of delicate pastries. I still miss the food, especially the delicious moon cakes, which are eaten at the beginning of the fall season (and which the students showered me with to bring back to New York).

Lion dance

The elegant and spacious Iyengar Yoga Institute of China has been built and equiped since B.K.S. Iyengar visited China with the Yoga Summit, just three months previous. The main studio has 25 sets of wall ropes (enough for 25 students) and the two other good-sized yoga studios are also similarly well equipped with ropes. This Institute also has a large office, a large reception area, and a hard working staff. The moment that you step into this place, you feel the dedication to and the respect for the Iyengar method.

Uttitha Padangustasana

Sirsasana on the ropes

Urdha Dhanurasana with a rope and blocks

Urdha Dhanurasana at the trestler

Parsva Hasta Padasana at the trestler

Uttanasana to the side

China was so much fun! The energy of the place is palpable and there is a feeling that anything can be achieved. A public lecture, where I spoke and demonstrated on why women should practice ‘women’s yoga’ was organized quickly and efficiently and was complete with background music, cameras, lights, raffles, an Iyengar yoga backdrop, a podium and a rapt audience of around 300.

Adho Mukha Svanasana with head on block

Urdhva Hastasana (head up)

Padangustasana (head down)

Uttitha Padangustasana II

Kapotasana with chair

Badha Konasana

Chatoosh Padasana — the Principles of Alignment

These are early days for Iyengar Yoga in China, and my hosts at the Institute — Chen Zhiyong and Niki Su are keen to show the Chinese yoga community at large something of this method. I agreed to model for a set of photos showing some of the uses of props. Here is a small selection from that photo shoot:

Pincha Myorasana

Ardha Chandrasana

Pincha Myorasana with the Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana bench

Badha Konasana in Rope Sirsasana

© 2012 Bobby Clennell.