Workshop: Deepen Your Practice with Ed Namchai

A lil' Q & A with Ed Namchai

Ed's dropping by in September to conduct his very own workshop at Surya Yoga & Pilates! We managed to get him to do a little Q & A session with us. This is how it went.

But first, let's read up a little on Ed!

Ed Namchai or Kanisorn Namchaiswadwong, hails from Bangkok, Thailand. He is known for placing 1st in Thailand's 5th Yoga Asana Championship in Bangkok 2008. He is a 4-time Thailand Yoga Asana Champion and placed 2nd in International Yoga Asana Championship in Los Angeles in 2011. He is also the overall champion of the Malaysia International Yoga Competition in Kuala Lumpur in 2013.

Ed is a Yoga Alliance Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 200) and now recently also a Bikram Yoga instructor. Ed currently teaches at Yoga Elements Studio and Lullaby Yoga in Bangkok. His class is always energetic, informative and good fun. He enjoys volunteering his time in nonprofit organizations teaching yoga to kids and the elderly.

Watch Ed in action at the 2012 Malaysian International Yoga Competition

Check out this other snippet of Ed!

Before yoga, Ed pursued sports and many exercises including even aero boxing! Since he exercised regularly, he just decided to try out yoga because it seemed interesting. Ed did not take it with any faith that it will change his life, but it did! With continuous practice, yoga has blended completely into his life. It has brought him not only physical health improvement, but also a peaceful state of mind.

Now, on with the Q & A? Here we go..

You mentioned that Yoga has now completely blended into your life. What little daily things Yoga related do you do? In what way did your life change? Was there a transition period or did the changes happen instantly and naturally?

My friends said my personality changed. Perhaps the practice of yoga gives me a sense of how to align my body when I stand, walk, sit and so on. That’s some of the physical changes. In mental level, Natarajasana invited me to come out of comfort zone, Sirsasana armed me a weapon to fight the fear, Urdva Dhanurasana revealed my hidden potential and Shavasana equipped me an ability to find peace in the chaos of daily life, for example. There are many ways in which yoga practice has changed the experience of myself and living. So if you ask in what way my life change. The better way! The line between old and new me is blurred. These changes are the continuous process and still keep transforming me and everyone who practice yoga.

Before you started Yoga you were an exercise buff, whoah! It says you were into dance exercise and even aero boxing and only by chance did you do yoga and thus began your lifelong love affair. Did you ever wish you started yoga earlier? What would you tell other exercise/cardio buffs about yoga?

Everything happens for a reason in the right place and time. If I started yoga earlier I’m not sure if I’m going to carry the practice along or quit yoga before I love it. So it doesn’t matter at what time or age I started my first yoga class. I just continue my practice and find that it always brings joy to my life. Yes I would encourage everyone including those exercise buffs to try their first yoga class. But I would let their learning habit reveals the answer to themselves how yoga brings joy to their life. They have to experience by themselves, cannot be told.

You have impressively won many international yoga championships. You are Thailand's Yoga Asana Champion 4 times in a row! Also, champion of Malaysia's International Yoga Competition and not forgetting ranked number 2 in the world for the international yoga asana championship in 2011. How do you prepare for these competitions? Any memorable moments? Any funny moments?

The competition has changed the way I practice. I take less group class, but more practicing on my own. People think I’ve been working on many advanced poses, but I’m actually working on basic. Strong basic will build up the advanced one naturally. Every moment is memorable. Behind the stage we, the competitors, shared the love of yoga with each other. We shared our practice and techniques in asana. And you know that the fun is doubled when we share and practice together.

Your blog posts at yogacadabra.com are very good! Very detailed and passionately written! Do you have a personal life motto? Something you hold true to your heart?

I like Aristotle’s quote – “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” That summarizes the way I practice.

It seems that yoga has brought you places! You have practically traveled the world! Any particular place you love the most and hope to return?

I love to travel and see the world. There’re still many places I’ve never been to. And I hope the path of yoga will lead me to those places. I love sea and beach. So if I have time for vacation I always return to my favorite beaches in Phuket or Krabi in Thailand.

Would you like to say anything in particular to us Malaysian yoga enthusiasts about your workshop this Sept 6th and 7th at Surya Yoga Studio?

The name of this workshop is “Deepen Your Practice”, not “Deepen Your Pose”. So it would help you find the way you practice. After that you will be able to work on the depth of the pose on your own later. You will see the new possibilities because some obstacles will be removed. So come with the open mind to experiment what your body can really do, and then just have fun with it.

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Overall, we at Surya Yoga feel that Ed is a pretty nice guy with incredible skill and talent! Gotta love how he is fantastic with kids too. Join us this September for Ed's workshop! More details below. Have a great day guys! Don't miss out on the early bird promotion. 

 Namaste

Deepen Your Practice : Yoga Workshop with Ed Namchai

Per Session : RM100

Per Session Early bird (before Aug 17th 2014) : RM 80

Backbend Breath by Breath (2.5 hours)

Saturday, 6th Sept 2014 11am - 1.30pm

Backward bending is the natural ability of human. But if you always have a hard time doing backbend, this workshop will provide you a toolkit to help you deal with it. We are going to explore a breathing mechanism of our body and find out the appropriate way to breathe while doing backbend. Working on some key muscles involved in backbend, strengthen and then stretch them out. Building a strong and stable foundation of backbend. And learn how to deal with the gravity as you go against it in some backbends, and go with it in other backbends. Overcome all physical and emotional limits and let's bend like a pro!

Neck, Shoulders and Back Therapy (2.5 hours)

Saturday, 6th Sept 2014 2.30pm - 5pm

Many people spend many hours a day at the office desk or in front of the computer, reading, writing, texting, mousing, typing and so on. If you are also doing so, you might notice each day how tight, even painful, your neck and shoulders are. Even though yoga should be the answer to this problem, sometime careless practice of yoga aggravates it especially if you are too much crazy doing backbend and inversion. This workshop will introduce to you many gentle movements around your neck area and some asana that help relieve the tension in that particular part. Also you will learn some easy exercises you can do during the day at your desk.

Arms in Action (2.5 hours)

Sunday, 7th Sept 2014 11am - 1.30pm

Playing with many arm poses will stretch you in new ways. A little bit more openness in your shoulders, elbows and wrists can make a big improvement in many more complicated poses. In this workshop you are going to play around these joints of your arms and create different and much deeper stretches for them. It also includes strengthening exercises for your arm muscles. At the end you are going to experience how your amazing arms help you perform many different poses, especially inversion and arm balance.

Demystify Your Hips (2.5 hours)

Sunday, 7th Sept 2014 2.30pm - 5pm

Perhaps there is nothing wrong with your back or your knees. If they are hurt, maybe you can blame your hips. Tight hips can lead to problem in many parts of your body; lower back, pelvis, sciatic nerve, knee pain, to name but a few. Leave your comfy sofa and come to this workshop to explore the mobility of your hips. We are going to work on many big and small muscles around hips and thighs, relieve their tightness and strengthen and energize them. And, of course, you probably want to try some asana that challenges your hips. You got it!

Please contact us at mysuryayoga@gmail.com or 0162027417 Jo/ 0378036044 (studio)