We're at the half-way mark! We've completed all 20 Asana Workshops, which really means, asana poses beyond count.

Week Two is about getting beyond the physical workouts and coming to terms with reading and learning. Sore muscles are no longer an issue; it's time to get some serious reading done. It was the week of anatomy pop quiz and baby steps in teaching poses. It was the week of ?By now you should know this'.

Personally, it was about tidying my notes and making sense of my own scribbling. It was about the great self-discovery that I could now do certain poses that I previously could not do. It was also about pacing, being aware and taking care of our bodies, especially when this course is so intense that any severe wear and tear can literally put you out of the class.

So week two was really learning this truth the hard way. As much as I want to have enough core muscle to do this and enough flexibility to do that, I can only really do so much and leave the rest for time (and gravity). While I am proud to say that my body is still all intact, I did learn my lessons. Earlier in the week, I over-stretched my right hamstring in trying the monkey pose. So imagine my frustration now that I am flexible enough to bend to a straight left leg but not a right. And I learnt what muscle fatigue was: I actually over-exerted myself and the fatigue resulted involuntary muscle spasms, twitches and cramps.

Today is the first day since the course started that I did not practice at home and did not do any exercise. I can only do myself the service of resting my body sufficiently so the twitching will die down and I'll be in good shape to work it out again on Monday.

Hint: the tibia is the long bone in your leg that is connected to your toes. The other one is the fibula. So remember T for toe and you won't get it wrong.

The class with Vincent was a fun change. The dynamics were different. Also the switch of rooms was a welcome change. I don't know about the others but it felt brighter and fresher in the Kappha(?) room. Also, I feel slightly depressed when I see the Macau ferries in view, that's why I always stay on one side of the room where I can't view Shun Tak.

This week, after the Monday boost, it felt that our group's morale is running low. All of us felt aches and pains in parts of our body. Mid-week I felt really sluggish no matter how much I tried to perk myself up. Both my wrists and arms hurt the rest of the week and I've got this nagging back pain too, albeit from one of our Asana workshops where we practiced our backbends. I've always had a weak back from lack of core muscles, so that's my primary goal - to develop it. We all felt beat and battered and my guessed is Wanda noticed it as she was gentle and forgiving in some of our Vinyasa class. Nevertheless, we were all looking forward to Friday. Not so fast though...

Thruthfully, I really find the Discussion Group Chapters too much. This weekend, all I did was read them, but I still didn't get pass Chapter III. How am I going to read them all for the next 10 days I've no clue. I'm starting to panic and slightly frustrated as I feel that I'm running out of time. I wonder if it's only me that feels this way? Did my other classmates finished it all up? Time to ask tomorrow.

Am I looking forward to tomorrow's class? I'm not so sure. I really didn't get a break to re-charge and all that. But I'm excited that we'll be starting our teaching class, time to test what I've learned for the last 2 weeks.

I came across Yoga Limbs' 20 day intensive teacher training course just a few weeks before it was due to begin and enrolled the following week, a day after I left my job in finance. I had been training with a personal trainer for some years at a gym and enjoyed yoga and pilates as a compliment to that regime. It was not until the end of Day One, however, that I began to seriously question whether I was mentally or physically prepared for 4 hours of flow practice and 6 hours of asana workshops daily. I went to bed that evening utterly destroyed, as if I'd been hit with a tranquilizer gun.

My classmates and I returned to the studio the next morning, somewhat defeated to say the least, and that second day was spent literally going through the motions, trying to keep our chatarangas above water. It wasn't really until Day 4, close to the end of Week 1, that the magic of yoga began to reveal itself in each of our bodies. Personally, that was the day that I began to physically feel a fresh crop of blood flowing through my muscles, experience a new energy and lightness in my vinyasa and actually visualize the functioning of each of my organs and the movement in each of my joints as if I were a computer generated image in a documentary on anatomy!

This was also the day that our first meditation exercise, one that actually lasted 20 minutes but only felt like 5, made us realize how far we had come in such a short time on our metaphysical journey.

By the close of Week 2, as expected, much of this euphoria has mellowed in to an acceptance of the fact that not everyday will witness a breakthrough. As the practice becomes more vigorous, my body has certainly yielded to pain and fatigue that has ultimately caused pain (wrist, shoulder, knee, you name it). As the 3rd week begins, however, and I scan my body and mind to assess my progress, I remind myself that for change to happen, one has to push at the outer edge of comfort.and watch that edge expand and widen. With that in mind, I'm looking forward to the change that takes place over the next 10 days and to carry that forward into everyday life.

Week 1 didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought it would be. Admittedly, I expected the worst - with my physical abilities at least. I thought I will just be massacred and would made an expensive mistake. I was proven wrong. I feel my body responds to the three Vinyasa sessions a day, quite positively to my absolute delight. I cannot believe I'm eating healthy too and finding myself not reaching out for a salty snack which has been the staple of my "diet". And thanks to an early start, I had to learn how to eat breakfast on the correct hour - in the morning!

W is for Wanda, and Wanda is wonderful. A real well of knowledge, I am absolutely amazed by her physical and mental abilities and her dedication to Yoga. But most of all, by her genuine empathy and kindness to us all. I am grateful that I am given the privilege to deepen my practice under her guiding wing.

Dennis is the Big Daddy - strict and funny. I like it on how he takes care of us all - keeping us in the straight and narrow. And providing yummy food too.

I've got no complains, but (hahaha, there's always a "but") I wished I got my hands on the manuals and notes a little early so I'd have more time to read it ahead. I must admit, the quantity of the reading materials overwhelms me. There's too much to digest and finding it hard to find enough time at night to sink it all in in my tiny brain of mine.

Welcome to the world of intensive yoga teacher training. The idea is to complete a 200-hour course within four weeks. So here I am, having completed my first week, having gone through three yoga practice sessions and two workshops everyday during the past five days.

Day One, I went home sore, tired and demoralized. Working out (and falling over) amongst a class of advanced yogis certainly didn't help. Worse yet, our instructor showed me how my alignments were improper but were somehow never corrected. As a result, many of my poses were actually incorrect. It dawned on me that my previous two years of yoga practice were literally in vain. Even my most basic standing and sitting postures needed work. And I'll be ready to teach in four weeks' time, are you kidding me?

Well, it does get better. By day Three my body has adapted and I don't feel sore anymore. Everyday I find myself sitting deeper, twisting further, and standing firmer. I've also learnt some anatomy and teaching skills along the way. Our instructor Wanda is Wonderful, encouraging, and far more knowledgeable than any other teacher than I've ever had.

My advice for any interested yogi is to come with an open mind. Yoga is about peace and non-violence. So look to others as role models, not competition. Having other yogis join in our practices and workshops mean more student input and sharing. Be happy, friendly and make new friends. Us four girls laugh, sweat and encourage each other everyday. Also, prepare to devote yourself to the course. Make use of spare time to improve on your weak areas - do lunges during TV commercials, wash your dishes in tree pose, do twists before you go to bed. Dedicate your weekends to revise your notes, read and meditate.

Yoga, after all, is our own personal practice. I may weigh only 89 lbs, but never mind me; I'll be working my way. The practices and workshops will only make us better. Best part yet: this course comes with Lunch.

It has been exhausting, yet enjoying week for me. I have never done so much yoga in my life. Four hours three lessons of yoga practices a day. I really cannot believe I can do it. It has been really intense as I expected.

A week has already passed; the first day of the camp was the worst. First waking up at 630 was bad enough for me. I struggled getting up, I was so tired, hungry and totally lack of energy during the first day. My whole body was aching, my legs were shocking. And I ask myself can I really do it. Tuesday was also tiring; my body is starting to realize that for the next four weeks, it needs to wake up at 630. Wednesday, my aching is gone and I start to enjoy my yoga practices. And I can feel that my core muscle is building up, I am getting stronger.

During my first yoga lesson, before knowing who my team mates are. There was a guy sitting in front of me doing all these difficult, challenging poses. And I know I could not do it at all. I was scared, I feel like I am not prepare to take this teacher certificate at all. The most challenging part for me is that I have to teach. I do not know exactly what to do standing in front of these people. My mind instantly shut itself down. The part I hated the most is anatomy, I am not a biology person, and I know nothing about them at all. And I still hate them after a week. The creepiest part was meditation. I can never believe I sit in cross leg for 20 minutes. I can feel that my body spinning, I can sense that there is air all around my back and my forehead. I can't believe how calm and still my body and mind become.

The whole week of tough training, I know that I can do it. Not only my body is getting stronger, my mind is getting stronger as well. I had learnt that I have been learning the wrong aliments for the past two years. Realizing that the right aliment make life so much easier. I am really grateful that I have such a wonderful, caring teacher that she is willing to teach us everything that she know. And she let me know that nothing is impossible, you should be ruling your mind and not your mind ruling you.