Enjoy this short, simple yoga flow in the Filipino language.
Yoga flow and practice by Teacher Joana Medina
Words and voice over by me
As a yoga teacher and practitioner, this is a tender moment for me. It’s my first attempt at expressing my desire to decolonize my own practice of yoga, and to share this expression with others. Any insights and feedback is always much appreciated ❤ I’m hoping to do much more, and thought I’d dip my toe in the water with this sweet, short sunny flow.
If you’re a yoga teacher, I shared the words at the end of this page so you can use them in your own classes. If you’re curious why I’ve made this, I share more below the video.
Namaste, mga kaibigan at kapamilya.
Other resources:
- AUDIO ONLY of this practice on my Soundcloud
- A post about Teacher Joana long ago. Much thanks to her for allowing me to use her content
- Guided Meditations in Filipino
So, letting this out into the world, I feel a bit shy ~ but I also feel a bit brave, a bit badass.
Right now, I am actively doing the work of decolonizing myself and unlearning conditioning that’s lived in my mind for over three decades. For me that looks like freeing myself from:
- doing my yoga and meditation practice solely in English
- beauty norms mostly started and perpetuated by white culture
- the “this is mine, that’s yours” individualistic thinking that engenders capitalism and makes sharing so foreign to me
- the modesty about my body and beauty that got embedded in my country when Spanish colonizers gave us their wrong interpretation of Jesus’ words and teachings
- the fear of scarcity that comes with the “this is mine, that’s yours” mentality of capitalism, that makes us want to have more than our neighbor because that somehow is supposed to make our lives better
- the over romanticization of productivity that makes it so that rest is an activity for the unworthy and taking the time to feel and process emotions can be seen as lazy-do-nothing excuse activities
- the comparison of my beauty to others
- the fear that makes me feel not to write all this
A lot of these things come up for me repeatedly and I now refuse to keep on living with this lens. I’m understanding that a lot of these feelings stem from both a) the culture I grew up in, where colonial mentality is still alive and kicking, and b) the unhealthy capitalism that makes us consuming machines where work and consumption define who we are. One of the things that makes me feel is, angry. The other thing I feel is compassion ~ for myself and everyone else living under this lens. Maybe it’s not you, maybe it’s colonial capitalism.
Now that I’m here, I refuse to be beaten down by anger and sadness. And so here’s my attempt at making the world I move in a bit more brown.
Instructions in Filipino ~ Yoga sa Wikang Filipino
Humingang malalim paloob at iangat ang bawat braso palangit.
Humingang malalim palabas at yumuko patungo sa lupa.
Hinga paloob, iangat ang dibdib at tingin.
Hinga palabas habang papuntang chaturanga o anumang bersyon ng vinyasa ang para sa iyo.
Hinga, itaas ang puso sa langit.
Hinga, adho mukha svanasana. Itaas ang kanang paa at humakbang paharap. Anjaneyasana. Mag-inat pataas.
Hinga palabas at umikot pakanan – kanang kamay pabalik, kaliwang kamay paharap.
Kaliwang kamay sa lupa at kanang kamay paharap para pahabain ang gilid ng katawan. Ngayon tumungong vasisthasana. Humingang malalim.
Gamit ang kanang paa, bumalik sa anjaneyasana at tumungo sa virabhadrasana II. Iangat ang puso, viparita virabhadrasana.
Bawat kamay sa lupa at bumalik sa adho mukha svanasana. Ngayon itaas ang kanang paa at umikot para sa camatkarasana. Iinat ang dibdib.
Bumalik para humarap sa lupa.
Magpahinga sa balasana o muling mag-vinyasa.
Itaas ang kaliwang paa, humakbang paharap. Anjaneyasana. Itaas ang braso at mag-inat pataas.
Hinga palabas, umikot pakaliwa – kaliwang kamay pabalik at kanan paharap.
Kanang kamay sa lipa, kaliwang kamay paharap at pahabain ang gilid ng katawan. Ngayon, tumungong vasisthasana. Hingang malalim.
Gamit ang kaliwang paa, bumalik sa anjaneyasana at tumungong virabhadrasana II. Inatin ang dibdib, viparita virabhadrasana.
Bawat kamay paluba, bumalik sa adho mukha svanasana at itaas ang kaliwang paa, umikot sa camatkarasana. Humingang malalim paloob.
Muli, humarap sa lupa at magpahinga o mag-vinyasa.
Dahan -dahang tumungo sa harap. Hingang malalim paloob, iangat ang bawat braso sa langit. Humingang malalim palabas.