Pranaworks by Sher

15/09/2025

A throwback pic of my first YTT in India (Chennai). This was a sidetrip we did to Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. Circa 2019.

28/05/2025

Focusing on the good.

23/03/2025

Always finding joy in teaching the classics, and the integration between breath and movement.

21/03/2025

The in-between moments.

I am grateful that I got to share the power of the breath and movement in stress management with some of the women of NAPOLCOM and PNP Mindanao.

14/03/2025

A throwback picture from 6 years ago.

This year, I celebrate 13 years of being a student of yoga, and 9 years of being a yoga teacher-therapist. 🙏

19/11/2024

On this day, a year ago.
Reposting this. 🙏
Trigger warning.

I am going to talk about something which might not be comfortable for yoga teachers and yoga students, but let me share my 2 cents based on my experience as a yoga student and teacher. I have observed that in Davao, the teaching of yoga as a profession has no regulations, so anything goes.

1. Basic and Continuing Education/ Training.
200hrs YTT is just an intro to the teaching of yoga. It is not enough. I was taught early on by my teachers that this is not enough qualification for one to teach, more so, conduct a yoga workshop. A workshop by definition, is another form of continuing education so naturally, it takes a seasoned and a trained expert to deliver a workshop. If you have a basic 200hrs YTT to teach Vinyasa Yoga, then you teach Vinyasa Yoga, and not something else.

2. License to teach.
One has to be trained for something, as a license to teach it. For one to be a Yin Yoga teacher for example, one has to do a Yin Yoga YTT. For one to teach Pranayama, one has to undergo an extensive Pranayama training with a highly qualified and experienced Pranayama teacher. The 200hrs YTT does not cover the intricacies and complexities of Pranayama, especially so that there are contraindicated techniques.

3. Yoga Safety and Anatomy.
Doing a Yoga Safety and Anatomy Course, on top of the 200hrs basic YTT is critical for us teachers, especially because we deal with people and their bodies. Even if you are a medical practitioner, you still need this training before you can even begin to talk about yoga anatomy.

4. Experience.
Nothing beats experience. Period. The years of experience is important to develop the skills of a yoga teacher. One does not become a qualified yoga teacher just because he/she did a basic 200hrs YTT. Why? If the teacher is a beginner in yoga, he/she has yet to fully develop his/her practice. How can he/she be expected to 'help' or 'teach' students, when he or she does not know enough?

5. A yoga student first.
My teacher in India told me that I have no right to teach yoga if I don't have a daily yoga practice. Harsh, no? But as a yoga teacher, one has to have a regular yoga practice. It's simple. You can't give what you don't have.

As yoga teachers we have the moral duty or Sraddha to propagate yoga as yoga, and not our versions of yoga. We owe it to our students 🙏.

15/11/2024

Join us!

14/11/2024

A little throwback.
Circa 2016.
Gianyar home, Bali -Indonesia.