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Philippine Yoga Asana Championship 2010

Been suffering from chronic back pains for almost a year now. It caused me panic a few months ago because it simply wouldn't go away. I googled for some possible reasons. Most of the research I found leads to sedate lifestyle.One doctor in youtube even blamed the invention of chairs for it. It was then that I realized that many of us suffer from back pains at least in our lifetime. My work requires me to be in front of the computer for hours so it only makes sense. I went to Philippine Orthopedic hospital a few months ago to make sure and the doctors advised me the same things, exercise and a lot of stretching. I am sure many of you also have the same situation. I am still to force myself to undergo change in lifestyle and I am calculating my options. Some advice yoga as a good compliment to exercise.

Then last Sunday, November 7, I was invited to witness the 2010 Philippine Yoga Asana Championship at RCBC Plaza's Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium.

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Yoga is a discipline which focuses on balance and breathing. It is a safe and meditative exercise that promotes strength, stamina, stability and flexibility. The different poses facilitates for the flow of oxygen in the body, especially the brain which makes one calm.

The Philippine Yoga Asana Championships is through the initiative of Bikram Yoga Manila and its chairman Tristan Choa.It's now on its 3rd year. A total of 14 participated in this years competition, 11 for the women's category and 3 in men's. Each competitor will follow the same format and execute a total of seven (7) postures or asana. Five are compulsory asanas and two are optional.
The following are the compulsory asanas.

1. Standing head to Knee Asana
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2. Standing Bow Pulling Asana
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3. Bow Asana
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4. Rabbit Asana
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5. Stretching Asana

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And what about the following for the the optional postures? Really looks back breaking. These are advances poses so be sure not to do them on your even if you think you can do so.lol

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The competition was judged by internationally known judges appointed by the World yoga Foundation judging Committee. No less than Rich Nicols was the head judge. He facilitated the 2004 Thailand Regional Yoga Asana Chamioships. With him is Sittipong " ball" Rattanapong who won the Thailand regional Asana championships four (4) years in a row from 2004-2007. He also setup his own Yoga studio in Seoul with his sisters. The other judge was Thanawadee Buakird who was the  2005-2006 champion of Thailand Regional Yoga Asana Championship.

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the judges L-R: Thanawaddee, Rich Nichols and Sittipong

 Philippine_yoga_asana_championship
 Tristan Choa, Studio director of Bikram Yoga Manila during the awarding ceremonies.

The winners:

Mens division

champion      : Dax Cabarrubias
2nd place     :  Simeon Arias
3rd place      :  Gerard Sison

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Dax Cabarrubias, man on the center

Womens Division

champion      :Abegail Hasewaga
2nd place     : Kiara Tesoro  
3rd place     : Rieko Umemura

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Abegail Hasewaga, 3rd from left

After the competition, the audience was given the rare privilege of watching a yoga demonstration form Ball Rattanapong himself. He wowed all of us with his flexibility. Yoga in its best form.


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Sittipong " ball" Rattanapong in a yoga demonstration

on a personal note:
_________________________________

I never watched such event before which I think is an indication that ordinary people think of yoga as a discipline exclusive to the upper echelons of society. We have to admit, it's expensive, and so we shy away from it. I think that is about to change.

I thought I was invited here simply to commercialize the event but the message of Tristan Choa amazed me. He spoke of spreading the word, so that ordinary Filipinos would know of Yoga and eventually start doing it. As more and more people get into yoga, the price of the practice would go down. Eventually, this would make more people experience the physical , mental, and even religious benefits of yoga. Such is a noble cause I guess. Yoga, is something that I wanna experience one of these days.....

The winners 2010 Philippine Yoga Championship will be representing the country in the World Yoga Competition which will be held early 2011.Our high hopes to you guys.

thanks Jig and  Jaycee of Perlas & Luna for the invite.

____________________________
the event was made possible through the commitment
of Pru Life UK and BPI preferred banking.

more info here:http://www.philippineyogachampionship.com/
                       http://www.bikramyogamanila.com/

Comments

  1. wow... photos pa lang.. as in napa-WOW na ako.. i cant imagine myself doin those..

    ive a friend whos into yoga, well, i know its a good thing.. it works well for her, but i just dont see myself into it.

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  2. si yanah daw magyoyoga na rin. hehehe. So next time kaw na anton sasali dyan. joke!

    Pag madalas talaga sa harap ng computer sumasakit ang likod. dapat talaga may exercise.

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  3. Ahahahahhahah araykupo naman... di ko kaya baliin ng ganyan ang katawan ko... hehehhehehe

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  4. Yanah--thanks. kaya nga ako parang I really need to motivate myself to get into it. we'll see. I really wanna try

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  5. Bino---why, do you also suffer from back pains?

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  6. Xprosaic --grabeng flexibility no? given the right training and constant practice, anybody can do that. why not try. hehehe

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  7. medyo pero dahil naman sa lamig yung back pain ko. triny ko yung glass na may smoke tapos ilalagay sa likod mo to absorb the cold. effective.

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  8. amazing!
    i wish i have the same discipline to even flick a muscle to pull myself up. i have high respect for those people who do yoga and other physical regimen. i think it's beyond activity but more so a lifestyle per se.

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  9. yun oh.. WOW na WOW. ang mga shoot.. galing.. capture na capture ang bawat moments :D

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  10. galeng ng photos and also the poses. we have a yoga instructor na officemate ko and she's been persuading us to join yoga.

    i only know a basic. kakatakot mag advance. hehe. but it does help a lot especially when you want to break from the routine sa office.

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  11. wow! grabe!!! ang hirap nyan ah... nice shots Anton... =D

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  12. aray ko naman, parang ang sakit sa katawan niyan!

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  13. Bino--sa akin lahat na---lamig---wrong posture, weak muscle, name it!!!hahaha

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  14. docgelo-and it's beyond toxicity. tama? pero na wow talaga ako don sa me sauna sa ground floor ng flat nyo dyan sa Malaysia doc ha. huwawww!!!lol

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  15. Axl---yeah--moments, and it looked easy pero imagine--ang hirap nyan.

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  16. Ed---at least ikaw you know the basics. ako wala talaga . sit and reach lang ang alam ko.lol

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  17. Pinoy AdvenTurista--I can only imagine the difficulty--pero syempre --imagine din yung feeling na nagawa mo. must be exhilarating.

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  18. Will--maybe at first---but you will get used to it and next ones will be a lot easier.

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  19. wow! masubukan nga to. nice pics :)even in low light.

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  20. Ang gagaling nila! Gandang tingnan pero ang hirap namang gawin ng mga asana hehehe. Di yata pwede sa akin ito, brittle na yata bones ko eh haha!

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  21. na alala ko 2loy nung nag yoyoga din ako.. .tsk! hehe joke lang... lupet ng mga katawan nila... hehe galing pero mas malupit yung pusa jan! haha nice shots! ^^

    -halojin

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  22. nakanaman... napakaflexible nila... hahaha yung lalaki kaya kayang abutin ng bibig yung anu nya...hehehhe

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  23. Rah--- uo--try mo. tell me pag successful ha.lol. me secret dyan sa low light para di mabagal ang shutter speed.

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  24. parang ang sakit-sakit nila sa katawan pag gionawa mo. Saan kaya sila pinaglihi? :]

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  25. Nortehanon ---ako rin brittle na. naku---we have to start drinking melk...and more melk.....

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  26. HaLoJiN--- napapayoga ka na ba dyan ? hahaha. uo---flexible ang pusa, I hope ganun din ako. haha

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  27. Moks™ --- ala. green minded. ala---buti diko nilagay yung isa pang pic dito. laftrip ka moks. hahaha

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  28. Renz---I think di naman inborn yan---you get trained for it. hehehe

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  29. one thing I neglected. kainggit sila! nice pics again!

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  30. partofyou---you mean you tried YOGA before? then why did you stop?

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  31. Dko kaya mag yoga asana. Magjojogging na lang ako. Parang di ata related. Hehe. Ganda ng mga shots. I laabbbit!

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  32. wow yoga championship?? lol so happening ya

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  33. asiong32 ---jogging is not bad at all. malay mo---eventually--yoga na

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  34. fufu--its Philippine Yoga asana championships. do you have a similar competition in Malaysia?

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  35. Since there are countless styles and each school takes after an alternate style, you should concentrate on the one that resounds with your identity. yoga certification thailand

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