Abs workout

The simple and effective abs workout I've tried recently...

Can do it with alternate-leg,


Both legs,


And sideways.


Resting lower back on the mat to prevent the back from arching when lifting the leg(s), thus prevent aching or injuries on the back.

Strong like a Tree

Someone asked why his foot of the standing leg in a Tree pose (Vrksasana) is hurting so much causing him couldn't stand for long.

I had the same problem. The method I used is similar to what we need in Arm Balancing poses, in the opposite way.

Instead of putting all the weight on the standing leg, try 'claw' the foot firm into the mat - press the ball of the foot and all toes into the mat. And micro-bent the knee of the standing leg, using the strength of the thigh to take some weight off the foot and this will be less stressful for the ankle.

By doing so, the thigh is more tiring but it's a good workout for the leg.

Yoga @ Yoga Now, Langkawi

Yoga Now is 15 mins walk from the Cenang main beach road (quite far, should have drove in), behind the Rasa Restaurant. There're signboards at the junctions so it can't be missed.

At the end of the road, we saw a small traditional malay house, with a big blue banner.


The temperature outside was killing, but practicing inside the house was peaceful. It was a traditional Hatta class. The class started and ended with 3 OMs and chanting, I couldn't understand the sanskrit chanting but it sounded different from the Invocation chants I heard in other classes. We rested in Shavasana for a few minutes in between each pose/series. During the class, we listened to the sound of the wind chimes hanging outside the house, and felt the breeze through the windows.

I love the Sun Salutations the most - the flow was graceful like a dance. I forgotten how many we had done, but it wasn't as tiring as I thought it would be.


A combination of ab exercise, inversions, arms & standing balancing, forward & back bends, seated twisting and a full 10-minutes Shavasana refreshed my body and mind. It was a great lesson for my asana practice, as well as my daily life.

Homemade yogurt

During our Korea trip, 1 of the morning we had breakfast at a hotel that served fresh strawberry yogurt. Not those individual can that we buy from supermarkets. It was served in a big bowl like soup, with toppings like almonds and nuts. I had it with pieces of fresh oranges.

After coming back home, I miss the fresh yogurt. I then searched for the recipe on the net, surprisingly it's so easy! The only thing I needed to buy was a food thermometer.

I reused a spaghetti sauce glass bottle for measuring the amount of milk I need and to store my yogurt. I do not have a heating pad, I wrapped the bottle of warm milk + yogurt starter with towels, then put inside a food warmer bag and left it at a corner in my kitchen.

I didn't want it to be too sour, so I left it for about 9 hours (overnight). I woke up in the morning, sliced some strawberries, mixed it in the yogurt, and placed it in the fridge.



Homemade yogurt is not as thick as the commercial ones. It tastes great with the appropriate sourness yet feels so fresh especially to eat it with (lots of) fresh fruits.

BREATHS, BANDHAS & DRISHTIS workshop with Azmi

The first session of the workshop was mainly theory, and seated breathing practices. It was relaxed yet energizing for a Saturday morning. Ujjayi breathing alone made my body feel warm. Breath is an important part in Yoga - always breath comes first before the pose; inhale to lengthen, exhale to deepen. Long and soft breathing helps in claming and stabalizing the body.

During the short break, we had fruits and vegetables juice for a light refreshment before going into a more physical session of the workshop.

Bandha means inner locks. Locks of energy in different parts of the body to acquire strength for more challenging poses. I still can't differentiate the feeling whether it's 'locking' or squeezing these parts, though squeezing the muscles seems like giving me the results that I wanted.

More than 1 hour of asanas in exploring different Bandhas, then we proceeded to the Drishtis session. It was a short 15 mins or so Sun Salutations and some Vinyasa poses emphasizing on our Drishtis.

It was a very 'Ashtanga'ish workshop, tiring to me. I skipped the last few Vinyasas and came straight to Downward Facing Dog. The most beneficial part is about breathing, learning to breath right with the poses makes pratices more joyful and enjoyable.

Waiting for Part II workshop.

Cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting

I found the best simplest cupcake recipe (I added vanilla extract but not baking powder). The texture and taste are both great!

There're left-over oranges in the fridge, so I thought of making some orange flavoured frosting.

I used the frosting recipe here, with some modifications. I used the whole block of PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (which is 250g), fresh juice instead of extract, and added the icing sugar to the sweetness I like(around 3/4 cup).

Chocolate chips cookies

After finishing a packet of Famous Amos, I felt like baking some chocolate chips cookies. I used the recipe from Joy Baking.



Why the recipe uses un-salted butter and salt? So that we can adjust the saltiness? Anyway, I used salted butter (that's what I have at home) and skipped the salt :p