Transforming stress into strength through yoga

MANILA, Philippines - It is by deliberate design that one of the leading yoga studios in Metro Manila is on Ayala Avenue, the heart of the Philippines’ largest financial and business district  “and probably the stress capital of the country,” according to certified yoga teachers MJ Dino and Margaux Lim of Urban Ashram Manila, a leading yoga learning center in Metro Manila with studios in key urban hubs.  

In addition to the usual commute in and out of Makati that usually takes two hours on a good day, the average Makati denizen also experiences a daily stream of stressors like ambitious corporate targets, tight deadlines, office politics, peer rivalry, to name a few. In response to all these, the body fights back with adrenaline surges and other unconscious biological processes like heightened blood pressure and raised glucose levels.

They are collectively known as the “‘flight-or-fight response’ which was very helpful in the days when we had to hunt for food and defend ourselves from prey,” says Dino, who until recently was an advertising executive responsible for a significant amount of her agency’s business. These days, those unrestrained responses of the nervous system originally designed for survival lead to constant bodily aches and pains, headaches, hypertension, and even strokes and heart attacks.

Both survivors of mega-stress-filled corporate careers, Dino and former data analyst Lim were among the first students of the Brixton and High Street branches of Urban Ashram Manila.  They viewed Urban Ashram as a haven for corporate warriors like them to recover their composure, balance, and inner calm through yoga.  One of the first few things they were taught as students and extensively trained as teachers was to be highly mindful of their body while focusing on the breath.

Convinced that the more people practice yoga the more they gain from it, Urban Ashram has made it a mission to appeal to those new to yoga. Its most widely attended classes are the Flexibility Not Required (FNR) series that eases new practitioners into the standard yoga poses with the help of blocks, straps, and bolsters. Classes for newcomers are also held all Wednesdays and Fridays of October at the Ayala Triangle Gardens. “We constantly assure newcomers that they don’t need to be strong or even flexible to benefit from yoga,” says Lim.

With constant practice comes a gradual loosening of the muscles and connective tissues around bones and joints and a reduction in aches and pains. A typical yoga session, after all, is intended to take the joints through a full range of motion, “squeezing and soaking areas of cartilage not often used and bringing fresh nutrients, oxygen, and blood to the area,” observes a study.

The FNR classes are also for experienced practitioners who want to refine their own practices and gain a deeper appreciation of the foundation poses.

FNR classes are often paired with classes on breathing or pranayama. As a student learns to breathe properly and with better control, her mind and body begin to relate in a more conscious way, ushering in a sense of peace, stillness, and equanimity.

Introduction to yoga workshops that include trial classes is also held free of charge by Urban Ashram at its Ayala Avenue and Pasig branches. A session will be held on Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Ayala studio. Online registration is required through www.urbanashrammanila.com.