Marta Magdalena has been a professional Ashtanga practitioner for over 10 years. Through Ashtanga, she has made a complete change to her lifestyle and experienced the beauty of a natural birth.
Written by Chen YongJia | Photos courtesy of Marta Magdalena
““Through the daily practices, we learn how to teach the mind to settle in the contentment amongst the biggest chaos of this world.””
Marta Magdalen, 36, is a yoga teacher who has dedicated her life to Ashtanga yoga and has over 10 years of teaching expertise.
Ashtanga yoga, also known as ‘Hatha’ yoga, began as a form of meditation in India 2000 years ago and has evolved into a form of physical practice with six series of practices catering to beginners, teachers, and professionals.
When Marta was first introduced to an Ashtanga class by her teacher 10 years ago, it was really difficult for her. As someone who was not very flexible by nature, she suffered a lot along the way.
“I decided to continue with the classes as something inside me just made me believe that being challenged physically was going to be good for me,” Marta said.
True to what she thought, Marta's life has been transformed by Ashtanga as she embraces and accepts everything about her body and mind. She would look at herself in the mirror, be transparent with herself, as well as reflect about her identity and what she wants to do in life.
“Through the daily practices, we learn how to teach the mind to settle in the contentment amongst the biggest chaos of this world,” Marta said.
Marta spent 15 months in India training and became an Ashtanga instructor. With the same passion, she also met the love of her life during a trip to India, and she left everything behind in Germany to join him in Singapore.
Marta's Ashtanga path harboured many remarkable moments, including her pregnancy. She welcomed her two-year-old daughter into her life in the most natural, active, and unassisted way at the National University Hospital with the aid of one midwife.
“The Ashtanga practice gave me the wisdom to understand my body, and the strength to deal with the hardships during pregnancy. I got the natural instinct of understanding my body and trusting the process,” Marta said.
With that, she got through her pregnancy without needing stitches, which she described as "like a movie or a dream, rather than a real and beautiful experience."
Marta believes that practising Ashtanga will help her become a better mother and wife, as the connection between her and the practice grows stronger by the day.
“Ashtanga would definitely be a lifelong practice for me, and I can imagine in 10 or 20 years, it will slowly shift from more physical activities to just breathing and meditation. I hope it will help me grow and understand things as they are and most importantly, be happy.”
