Nasyitah: Yoga and I, English and the Descendents of the Dragon

Went to the gym for classes yesterday morning. One was Hi-Lo, an hour long session combining high and low impact aerobic moves. The instructor energetic and friendly, her routine fun and challenging and the music was good. I liked the instant "high" the class gave me.

The class which follows was Yoga. Despite my history with the exercise (I fell asleep and snored in a class) I thought I will give it another go cos a good friend swears by it. (In fact she told me the reason I fell asleep was because of a restless mind.) Maybe age has made me more grounded. This time round I didn't fall asleep. Thank GOD! The instructor gently guided us through a series of yoga stretches and poses. Didn't feel strenuous at all. Didn't seem challenging. Definitely not fun. So I thought to myself: Okay! That's enough Yoga to last me for a LONG, LONg, LOng, Long, long time.

Then I woke up this morning and, ooowwwwhhhooooooo, I felt deep muscles that I didn't even know existed aching away. My Yoga session yesterday was so deceptively innocent! That I guess is the beauty of this form of exercise. It gently reaches into your body and works it without you being aware of it and I did feel very zen-like and serene at the end of the session.

I suspect it is good for me. It is exactly what I need to counter my adrenaline-filled and anxiety-driven self.

HHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

One CAN'T JUST do the things one likes right? Things that are fun, exciting and purely indulgent right? (These are rhetorical questions in case you try to answer them.)

Just look at the China in Pek Siok Lian's Crazy About English. The intensity at which the people of China, especially Beijing, embrace the learning of English in anticipation of the Beijing Olympic Games is just phenomenal. The documentary offers a glimpse into the ordeals and triumphs of the people learning the language. It features a cast of motley crew, the two most memorable ones for me are the oldest and the youngest of the lot. The former is an old grandpa who began learning the language in 2001 when he is 68 while the latter is an upper primary school girl who attended an intensive 10-day English camp. The grandpa has since formed a Learn English Club for seniors and is one of the 200 qualified English-speaking volunteer guides at Beijing's Forbidden City while the little girl's dream to work in a "big American company and make a lot of money" appears to be within grasp given the drive and ability she has shown in her language acquisition.

I don't know if the grandpa and the little girl love English at the beginning. What is quite apparent to me is that they, like the rest of the nation who holler English words and sentences from their seats in community club classrooms; squatting, sitting or standing at the school parade square; packed into a multi-purpose hall of an army-like camp, have found a purpose for doing what they do albeit physical and cultural difficulties. Guided and driven by their sense of purpose, these people never give up, no matter how difficult it got.

As the Chinese saying goes: Those who can endure the bitterest of the bitters will emerge the man above all man.

It is perhaps time that we take a good look at ourselves and see that it is the process of sticking with and conquering the subject/task/routine/topic we never seem to do well in/is boring/is difficult and therefore dislike, is what will make us into the man or woman above all man.

Moral of the story for this comfortable Singaporean Chinese Woman? STICK TO YOGA

What about you? What is the moral of the story for you?