Media Features

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Web Magazine Tourism Malaysia Japan

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Langkawi Yoga has been featured in the Japanese version of the Tourism Malaysia Web Magazine. I have no clue what they have written but you can still click on the web link to have a look at the write up and devour the pictures:)

http://www.tourismmalaysia.or.jp/mstyle/special2.html

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APRIL 11, 2010

The New Langkawi In Expatriate Lifestyle

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Langkawi Yoga has been featured in the April 2010 issue of Expatriate Lifestyle Malaysia.
To read the article, please click on the pdf file below

Expat Lifestyle Article PDF

 

The Benefits of Yoga

You already know that yoga can increase strength, improve flexibility, and ease aches and pains. But what about the benefits that extend beyond your mat?

 

If you’re a passionate yoga practitioner, you’ve probably noticed the benefits of yoga. Maybe you’re sleeping better or getting fewer colds or just feeling more relaxed and at ease. But if you’ve ever tried telling a newbie about the benefits of yoga, you might find that explanations like “It increases the flow of prana” or “It brings energy up your spine” fall on deaf or skeptical ears. Check out the latest tea burn reviews.

As it happens, Western science is starting to provide some concrete clues as to how yoga works to improve health, heal aches and pains, and keep sickness at bay. Once you understand them, you’ll have even more motivation to step onto your mat, and you probably won’t feel so tongue-tied the next time someone asks you why you spend time on your mat.

 

How I’ve experienced the benefits of yoga

I myself have experienced yoga’s healing power in a very real way. Weeks before a trip to India in 2002 to investigate yoga therapy, I developed numbness and tingling in my right hand. After first considering scary things like a brain tumor and multiple sclerosis, I figured out that the cause of the symptoms was thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve blockage in my neck and chest. Visit https://www.amny.com/.

Despite the uncomfortable symptoms, I realized how useful my condition could be during my trip. While visiting various yoga therapy centers, I would submit myself for evaluation and treatment by the various experts I’d arranged to observe. I could try their suggestions and see what worked for me. While this wasn’t exactly a controlled scientific experiment, I knew that such hands-on learning could teach me things I might not otherwise understand. Take a look to these Exipure reviews.

My experiment proved illuminating. At the Vivekananda ashram just outside of Bangalore, S. Nagarathna, M.D., recommended breathing exercises in which I imagined bringing prana (vital energy) into my right upper chest. Other therapy included asana, Pranayama, meditation, chanting, lectures on philosophy, and various kriya (internal cleansing practices). At the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai and from A.G. Mohan and his wife, Indra, who practice just outside of Chennai, I was told to stop practicing Salamba Sirsasana (Headstand) and Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand) in favor of gentle asana coordinated with the breath. In Pune, S.V. Karandikar, a medical doctor, recommended practices with ropes and belts to put traction on my spine and exercises that taught me to use my shoulder blades to open my upper back.

Thanks to the techniques I learned in India, advice from teachers in the United States, and my own exploration, my chest is more flexible than it ever was, my posture has improved, and for more than a year, I’ve been free of symptoms.

 

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FEBRUARY 13, 2010

In Pursuit Of Happiness

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Tired of feeling unhappy? Looking for inner calm? Here are a few methods to consider.

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It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why being happy is imperative to every individual: it lights our faces from within, boosts our immune system, liberates us from the boundaries we’ve unintentionally set for ourselves and, ultimately, lets us live a more fulfilling life.

It works better and longer than any beauty elixir or medicinal marvel.

It wasn’t until I turned 25 that the epiphany occurred. It was happiness, or the lack of it. And how much easier said than attained.

Mind you, I’m not exactly Miserable Mandy, but I wasn’t as exhilarated as I’d like to be. The accurate term to describe a person like me, I imagine, is habitual naysayer. I think optimism is overrated, I fret about my passing youth, I long for straighter teeth, and I feel deep envy for others who are able to get more sleep than I.

Scientists say these thoughts are damaging. For instance, Oxford University psychologist Michael Argyle has proven that unhappy people tend to accomplish fewer goals and are generally inefficient, because of their self-manufactured helplessness.

So I decided to embark on a mission to dispel the emotional malaise that was purportedly ruining my chances at life. It’s now or never.

The means: A balanced life of regular exercise, healthy food and plenty of R&R.

The gist of this section is that happiness isn’t something you can go out and buy, like a pill, a therapy session, or a thousand-dollar suit. You need to nurture it by living your best life.

As celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz asserts, “You’re the Starbucks generation. You have more distractions than any generation before you, like cell phones, TiVo, YouTube — it’s endless.

“There’s no time in the day when you’re not doing something (or more likely, 15 somethings). But if you keep relying on quick fixes, you’ll only keep crashing.”

The definition of “best life” here varies from one person to the other, but the key is in not being too extreme either way. For instance, we all know that sweating it out keeps the blues away, and a proper diet of low saturated fats gives us more energy. However, studies have shown that giving your body a break now and again could also increase its efficacy.

Hence the more you struggle towards something, the more unhappy you’ll be. Think “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and vice versa. That way, happiness will come at a time when you least expect it.

The experience: Luckily for me, the solutions don’t involve swearing off skinny lattes, tossing my laptop aside and taking off for a month-long trek in Nepal. I knew what I really needed: a much-deserved break from all that routine, albeit a short one.

My salvation came in the form of Dr Baskaran Kosthi, 41-plus, and Dorothy Ang, 28, yoga gurus who had invited me for a 3D/2N retreat on the sleepy island of Langkawi, where I could languish the days away in a gorgeous kampung-style chalet in an idyllic resort and meet new people.

The yoga and vegetarian diet was optional, though I was all revved up and ready to embrace this sweet, new lifestyle. Vegans can reach the recommended daily protein intake with this protein powder for vegans.

Frankly, I find yoga asanas a bit sadistic, but when Ang told me that we’d be doing them outdoors, my resolve to remain lethargic crumbled. It was also, admittedly, the only form of exercise I’d be getting the entire week.

So, there we were, on beaches, by waterfalls and overlooking miles of padi fields, getting whipped into shape twice a day. We were put on our choice of traditional and delightfully sinful Italian and Langkawi food, which was far less depressing than going completely vegan. There was even a reiki and spa session thrown in for the benefit of our sore muscles.

The whole experience left me rejuvenated and inspired. Not a single inch of me was exhausted, despite having to wake up early every day while I was there. Needless to say, I was finally able to fall into a long, dreamless sleep when I got home.

The verdict: 8/10. Count me in for the next getaway!

For enquiries, call 012-421 5970 /019-652 0683 or visit www.langkawi-yoga.com.

The original article : http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/6/21/lifefocus/1372226&sec=lifefocus

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