yoga

Monday…

melanie

tea_time

…blue!!

Hello! It has been such a long time since I last blog. It’s raining now and I am enjoying my Milo with a dash of cinnamon serve with Hup Seng Cream cracker. My all time favourite.

Wishing the rain will wash away the all dust in the air. The haze is indeed very very very bad in these few months to the extent many cancellation of Marathons and outdoor activities which is disappointing for those who has been training and look forward to it. I am no exception, no trail and no walking in the park. So depressing.

Well, lucky me that there’s one thing I love doing. Yoga that it is. I am self-practicing at home and I explored a few new asana (poses) which is really fun! Thanks for the inspiration from Instagram (IG). There are so manyΒ  incredible yogis out there in this world.

You can follow me on IG @gopako to see my daily practice. Not perfect poses I did, but it is indeed a progress of it. Or check out GOPAKO for some sharing of mine.

Ouch~ the rain has stopped. πŸ™ Can feel the heat again. Let’s together we pray for this “man-made-disaster” to stop and get to breathe fresh air back again!!

Petzl Night Trail Run 2014…

melanie

petzl night trail run 2014

How many runs have you ran this year?

1. Brooks 10km
2. Er… 5km Second Chance Run
3. 5km Color Run.
4. This is my 4th run. My 1st trail run. 1st night run. 1st 12km run. πŸ˜›

Honestly, I was pretty worry and scared of this run. I can really feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach until I really sakit perut. But not to the extend of terberak la. It was good to be there early. We met new good friends and managed to get free taping from Spider Tech. I was actually quite worry about my right knee (old injury) and why not try Spider Tech since it’s free kan? So I told the guy who assist me, “My knee ar ada problem. Masa I naik dan turun ‘slope’, rasa macam ‘dislocate’. Bukan ‘dislocate’ lah tapi macam tersekat. (My knee has problem. When I go up and down the slope, it feels like dislocate. Not really dislocate but kind of stuck. )”. Then this guy press, press, press… and he said. Stiff huh? He continue pressing to examine the knee then he start taping. I also got my sprained shoulder tapped at RM10.

A warm up session started at 730pm. It was conducted by an instructor from Celebrities Fitness and I can’t believe it that I enjoy Zumba so much. Well done! So warmed up, tak sabar-sabar to start running pula. Flag off at 830pm for men and 845pm for women.

I thought that I might be gone in km 1 or 2 but by keeping my momentum and breathing, I managed 4km before entering the trail. I can feel the pain on the chest and I though that that’s it for me. But I try pushing myself a bit, imagine myself practicing yoga. I rolled the shoulders to the back, lift the rib cage up, expand the chest and breathe. Hey, it really helps don’t play play and guess what? I was still running in the trail except for going uphill. No stamina at all for uphill. So I run when the route is flatter or downhill and walk/hike uphill. Panting, friend!

In the middle of run, suddenly my knees came to my senses. Hey, they are doing great. I don’t feel any ‘dislocate’ or stuck sensation. It keeps me moving and especially I can feel it supporting the knee during the run. Wow, magic. It is a going to be a good investment for my sports activities next time. Now I know how useful the tapes are to all the international athletes. In another hand, my sprained shoulder got no any better. I’ve gotta pull out from a Volleyball match in the next morning which I have been dying for. Sob sob… Not happy but I believe that it happens for a reason.

Oh, one more thing! The shoes. Salomon XR Mission Trail-Running shoes that it it. I haven’t tried other brands so far but it is indeed a good pair of trail shoes. Good grip. Good grip!

It is very important to get yourself a good gear for sports when protective equipment can save you from injury. πŸ™‚ I wish everybody happy weekend and good health always! xox.

A wonderful Saturday.

melanie

stretch

My respect goes to all fashion designers in the world. You guys are awesome!! Although I am not one of them, but I now know how crazy (in a good way) it is.

I am currently working on new harem pants by demand and also to stock up GOPAKO which has been running out of stocks for a month. Because I am working on my own, it takes me some time from picking the fabrics to drafting and sewing. Drafting the pants is pretty hectic because of the fabrication. Spun cotton or viscose is indeed very comfortable but it is a killer to draft and cut. Next, I have to send them for a special outerlock and unfortunately, their machine is under repair. A couple of days delayed. Darn my luck. Just this week, I managed to get all the pockets ready to be assembled on the pants. This is just step one.

Next, lots of research. Mood board. Mix and match arrangement. Props preparation. Fuh~ I have to organize all these for photoshooting which I enjoy most. I love planning and organizing my work. I am supposed to have a beautiful girl friend of mine to be my model, but understandable that she is packed with her schedule. I can’t wait and needless to say I can’t afford to hire a model just yet. With no choice, I have to be my own model. Yikes, so embarrassing to strut, strut, strut and pose. But I did some wonderful stretching though. Click here for some stretching exercises which I personally find them useful for runners as well as daily activities.

Above is one of my favourite shots. Not professionally taken but, okay-lah. Boleh pakai. Geez, so uncomfortable I felt like a clown more than anything else. So tiring – no joke. Hats off to all the models out there.

I will also be launching a new activity shorts in October which got me absolutely thrilled. They are made with lycra with fold-over waist band and are manufactured in size S, M, L and XL. Do check out GOPAKO in October for more information.

Next will be marketing and publishing. So many things in hand. So many to learn. So excited. So not ready. Mixed feeling.

There’s a saying. What we learn becomes a part of who we are. I hope you enjoy learning as much as I do. Have a nice weekend. ~ Melle

Good Morning…

melanie

good_morning

… today is my 8th 7.5k steps walking. Yes, I am getting myself back on track with morning walk and jog sometimes, depending on my condition. I will end my session with 15-30 mins stretching, including a few yoga poses.

As usual, I spend my own sweet time stretching and enjoy the beautiful sound of the birds chirping. Then comes Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I) pose which is one of the exercises. As I lift my head up to finalize the pose, I saw these beautiful leaves from a tree. It has been sheltering and giving me fresh air during my entire stretching session. Silly me, how can I not notice this earlier?

It is so beautiful and from now on, this is going to be my favorite spot for my morning stretching. I am grateful to God for the beauty of nature.

I wish you all a beautiful Tuesday. ~Melle

Sun Salutation…

melanie

Sun Salutation

… finally I got the infographic for Sun Salutation done. πŸ™‚ I can now share the sequence with everyone.

Anyways, did you know?

Stiffness of the body can be due to 3 main causes.
1. Muscular tension/ muscle bulk.
2. Tightness in the tension/ ligaments.
3. Toxic deposits in the joints.

By practicing Surya Namaskar also known as Sun Salution, it stretches, massages, tones and stimulates all the muscles, vital organs and physical parts by alternatively flexing the body backwards and forwards.

Here is a series of 12 easy-to-follow steps. Repeat both side of the legs to complete 1 set. Let’s do 5 sets a day, 3 times a week or everyday if possible. πŸ™‚

Happy practice and have a lovely evening.
Love and peace, Melle.

Happy Saturday…

melanie

doodle

….Β  I was doing this while waiting for a friend of mine for dinner. It’s not that she is late. I am early instead. I rather be the early one so that I can spend some alone moment doing something that makes me feel good and happy. Yeah, I doodled. Enjoy every bit of it. πŸ˜€

Today, I will continue with my experiment with GOPAKO. Hope that I also have some extra time to doodle. πŸ˜€Β  I wish you all a happy weekend. Luv, Melle.

melanie

sahasrara

…I drew this and was told that it looks like Sahasrara.

Sahasrara is either located at the top of the head in that one area, or a little way above it. Sahasrara chakra symbolizes detachment from illusion; an essential element in obtaining supramental higher consciousness of the truth that one is all and all is one.Often referred as thousand-petaled lotus, it is said to be the most subtle chakra in the system, relating to pure consciousness, and it is from this chakra that all the other chakras emanate. When a yogi is able to raise his or her kundalini, energy of consciousness, up to this point, the state of Samādhi is experienced.

Meditating on this point is said to bring about the siddhis, or occult powers, of transforming into the divine, and being able to do whatever one wishes.

Wikipedia.