Yoga House lets the gentle force be with you

Sunday, July 18, 2004
Hera Diani , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Wiggle your big toe, wiggle your big toe.
The mantra Uma Thurman repeated in Kill Bill Vol. 1 to revive her stiff feet after four years in a coma did not work for me as I bent over and tried desperately to reach my toes.
Did it mean I was not cut out to do the 5,000-year-old exercise of yoga? Will it end my short dalliance with Sting and Madonna's favorite workout?
"Don't be afraid to do yoga just because your body is not flexible," said instructor Yudhi Widyantoro from Rumah Yoga (Yoga House). "There are modifications and levels in doing it. Just do a posture or a movement at your own pace.
"Don't force it as you can get injured."
Although it has never been part of a huge fitness boom, yoga, like the methodical principles of the discipline itself, has enjoyed slow but sure growth in popularity in the past few years. Several fitness centers have added yoga to their roster of aerobics and other classes, and spiritual foundations and institutions have also come on board with yoga instruction.
Its ability to heal and give peace of mind is what lures frazzled urbanites. Benefits reported from regular yoga practice include strengthening the body, increasing flexibility and concentration, weight management, improving blood circulation and concentration, as well stress management.
Not surprisingly, demand for yoga increased at about the same time as the monetary crisis hit in the late 1990s.
"People were seeking a way to reduce stress. With media reports about celebrities practicing yoga, they also became more interested," said Yudhi, who took up the activity 15 years ago.
Dealing with stress and a chronic health problem also attracted restaurateur Amalia Wirjono.
"I had terrible asthma when I was a child, and was dependent on medication which had side effects. Yoga worked for my asthma and it reduced my dependence on the medication," she said.
The practice also helped release stress and fatigue, as well as keeping her figure in shape.
"And the exercise is very simple, only 90 minutes a day and you can do it all by yourself at home," said Amalia, who has been a regular practitioner for the past four years.
Along with friends Dian Mediana, Tami Arifin, Anita Pasaman and Afi Shamara, she decided to establish a more conducive setting for people to relax and unwind than a crowded gym.
"Because of the trend, yoga has become commercialized. However, there are many unqualified yoga instructors, which is dangerous as they can cause injury. We want to prevent that," said Amalia, pointing to Yudhi, who has obtained his teacher's certificate from an institution in Australia and makes regular visits to India to upgrade his skills.
The women opted for the concept of a house, bathed in the dominant color of lavender, to serve as a warm, cozy sanctuary from the mad rat race going on outside.
Although there also comprehensive services aside from yoga, including reflexology and reiki, the healing therapy based on the transfer of energy to the patient, yoga is really what Yoga House is all about.
The several types of yoga classes on offer consist of Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa or yoga flow, Manasa, yogalates and baby yoga.
Hatha combines yoga postures with breathing technique, as well as meditation. Iyengar, taken from the teachings of yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar, emphasizes proper alignment in each posture for balance and strength, with the extensive use of props to assist people in maximizing their abilities in each posture.
Ashtanga and Vinayasa are similar to Hatha in their postures, but Ashtanga is done in a strict and intense sequence, while Vinayasa is practiced in a rhythmic flow with the breath.
Manasa yoga is the practice of Hatha yoga, with a particular focus on the mind.
"I do yoga and pilates," Madonna raps in her song American Life, and both practices are combined in Yogalates class, which is designed to strengthen the muscles, bones, tone the body as well as create a sense of inner calm, health and well being.
As for yoga for babies, it is said to enhance the bond between a baby and its mother, as well as other family members and nannies.
"Yoga reduces (the need for) chemical medication. Each posture has a therapeutic function. The snake posture, for instance, improves the functioning of the digestive system," Yudhi said.
It all sounds very tempting to calm the nerves and get a great workout to boot but, except at the Indian cultural center in Menteng, Central Jakarta, yoga classes are not cheap. Still, there are long waiting lists for classes at most places.
According to marketing guru Kafi Kurnia, it is likely that the high fees come from yoga's exclusivity as the exercise activity of the elite.
"It's a New Age sport and has become a trend, so to give a sense of exclusivity, they charge you a lot. But perhaps they have to pay high wages to the teachers as well," he said.
Rumah Yoga charges a walk-in fee of Rp 100,000 per session. The membership fee is Rp 300,000 annually, with a 10-session package of Rp 750,000, five-session package of Rp 400,000 and Rp 270,000 for the three-session package.
Baby yoga costs Rp 55,000 per session and there is an extra fee for yogalates.
Amalia said there were special fees to accommodate people on limited incomes.
"We also have a community class for students or people from the low-income bracket. It's only Rp 20,000 per session."
-----------------------------------Rumah Yoga Jl. Lamandau No. 19, South Jakarta Tel. 021-7393266/739 3267 Fax. 021 739 3267 www.rumahyoga.com -------------------------------------

Labels: culture, urban

Posted by hera at 2:00 AM | Permalinks | Comments

Bengkulu: Finding diamonds in the rough

Sunday, July 04, 2004
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Bengkulu

I was set to explore all that Bengkulu had to offer when Sudiyono, my rental car driver, asked my permission to turn on the tape.
As the trip was my first visit to the remote Sumatran province, plus I was traveling solo, I realized that my safety was pretty much in Sudiyono's hands. So, it was a case of anything to keep him happy.
Little did I know that the tape was by the notoriously obscene American rap group 2 Live Crew, but it did not look like Sudiyono understood or took offense at the lyrics.
The comical scene eased my earlier irritation with my slightly built driver, and the receptionists at my hotel in the province's capital, also named Bengkulu, all of whom had no idea where Kerinci-Seblat National Park was located.
That was despite the fact that we could find it on the glossy brochure the hotel provided, complete with a map, its distance from the capital and its description as a home to rare wildlife.
After a five-hour drive to the north, we came across the supposed location. A narrow trail began where the road ended, but there was no trace of the park.
The rather indifferent employee of the Ministry of Forestry's office then told us we needed to obtain a permit from the main office in the city, which would mean another five-hour drive back.
Forget it.
During my five days in Bengkulu, I discovered why the province is rarely mentioned on travel pages, the reason I went there in the first place.
The smallest and least populated province on the island, it lacks the public relations skill, or even the basic will, to make the most of its stunning natural resources.
That is notwithstanding its considerable historical appeal, as one of the few former English colonies in Southeast Asia (the English had sought it out as an alternative for pepper to Banten), and natural charms to rival those found on other parts of the island.
With only about 1.6 million people living in an area of about 19,788 square kilometers, it encompasses a 433-kilometer-long stretch of unspoiled sandy coastline with casuarina trees.
Its pristine jungles are home to tigers, elephants and rhinos, along with the exotic Rafflesia Arnoldy and wild orchids.
Yet, Bengkulu is still a could-have-been when it comes to tourism, holding magnificent potential but weighed down by infrastructure that is, at best, poor.
Try looking for a restaurant, stall or street vendor selling traditional goods, and it will be almost a mission impossible.
"Bengkulu people lack entrepreneurship, unlike West Sumatrans like myself. Maybe it's because the land is vast and fertile," said Sari Bulan, producer of the traditional Bengkulu textile kain besurek, who moved to the province over 15 years ago from his neighboring homeland.
Sudiyono, who turned out to be more cerebral than his choice of music would indicate, said Bengkulu's main shortcoming was its lack of one outstanding tourism attraction to hook travelers.
"Does this mean Bengkulu can be promoted?" he asked hesitatingly when he knew I was from a newspaper.
While also promising myself to send him some decent tapes when I got back to Jakarta, I assured him that his birthplace was worth mentioning -- and visiting -- because it is an outstandingly beautiful place.
We set out again to the east, driving along land where rows of traditional stilt houses neatly stood in line.
About 85 kilometers northeast of Bengkulu's capital, we encountered Curup, a cool hill town and the main producer of local agricultural products. We were met by the pungent aroma of coffee, with people drying out the beans in their front yards or on the street.
The nearby popular hot spring Suban Air Panas, formerly a religious site, turned out to be a bit of a mess, so we continued the ride to the north, passing the lovely mountain lake Danau Tes, and up to Muara Aman, the center of the gold mining industry during the colonial period, before returning to the capital.
The next day, we drove along the coastline to the west, passing bamboo houses with sago palm roofs. Herds of cows showed the coastal area's reputation as a cattle producer, as well as a center for palm oil production.
Standing amid cows grazing with the blue ocean in the background, the yellowish coconut trees and deep green oil palm trees all proved very, very meditative (nobody say Jakarta now).
We stopped at Lais, an amazing place with a white sandy beach and reddish rocks and cliffs. After dropping in at the Seblat elephant training center in Seblat, some 100 kilometers from the capital, we drove back to the city.
The last two days were spent in the capital, a clean, small town which is quite lovely, with many old colonial houses remaining. I recommend a visit to Fort Marlborough and the house of the first president Sukarno, now a museum to his exile in the province during the 1930s, the Old Chinese Quarter near the fort, and Pantai Wisata Sungai Suci -- a serene beach with casuarina trees instead of coconut trees.
Casuarina trees are also the attraction at Pantai Gading Cempaka Beach, some three kilometers of the center of the city, which used to be called the long beach due to its eight-kilometer-long coastline.
I stayed there for hours, walking along the pure white sand or sitting, watching people playing soccer.
At dusk, I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen in my life. As the gigantic yellow ball slowly rolled into the ocean, the color changed from pale yellow to a deep orange splashing the water, the sand and the sky -- it was simply breathtaking.
I have changed my mind. Maybe Bengkulu should just stay this way -- pristine, gorgeous but abandoned -- rather than becoming shoddily commercialized, the bane of so many of our tourist sites. For it's that forsaken quality that is all part of the attraction of discovering the province's secrets.

Labels: travel

Posted by hera at 2:02 AM | Permalinks | Comments