YO! Welcome to a brand new column on Healthy Hong Kong, featuring cool peeps from Hong Kong’s vibrant yoga community.
We kick it off with none other than the founder of one of Hong Kong’s first and (in our opinion) best yoga studios — Hema Mirpuri of The Yoga Room in Sheung Wan.
First yoga experience:
In HK at Pure Yoga. I started off by loving hot classes, they’d just introduced Bikram yoga there and that’s how I got hooked. That was around 20 years ago when Pure had just opened.
Thoughts during yoga:
I know we’re supposed to still the mind but it’s better now. Once I stay with the breath, my mind is really at ease and I feel like I’m there, I’m very present now. It doesn’t wander too much (laughing). But in the beginning, honestly, it’s very difficult.
Favourite class:
I like the yin classes, like candlelight yin. I like the slow pace and I feel that you can really benefit from staying in the poses for a few minutes for the body and also for the mind. You’re left with nothing but just the mind and your breath and you’re really in tune to what’s happening and you become more present to yourself.
Favourite pose:
Pigeon is one of my favourites. It’s a very yin pose. I always feel like my IT band is very tight so just to sit in that pose, you either hate it or you love it, and I love that pose.
Strangest place you’ve done yoga:
We [The Yoga Room] do a lot of outdoor events, like silent yoga in the park or at the Peak. We’ve done it at Tamar Park as well. Personally, we went to Yosemite national park last year and I did some yoga there.
Favourite healthy snack:
I like routine! In the morning, I’ll have my papaya and my chia seeds. I’ll put them in the Indian drink, the lassi. I also love avocado. That’s my lunch sometimes, just one avocado with some salt, pepper, a bit of olive oil and lemon.
Favourite cheat meal:
Pizza! I love pizza. The kids love Pizza Express so we go there quite often. Another place we love is Motorino. I’m vegetarian so I love pizza with just mushroom and olives.
Definition of wellness:
It’s about knowing who you are, what your body needs, and finding time for yourself.
I feel like nowadays in Hong Kong, even though we wanna carve out that time for ourselves it’s really difficult. [Wellness is] just knowing that it’s something you gotta do for yourself: eating healthy and exercising every day. It’s very well rounded.
Finally, complete this sentence:
Yo mama so flexible… she looks like a pretzel!
Thanks to Hema for taking the time for our interview! You can find her at The Yoga Room’s office, studios and/or outdoor events, usually with a big smile on her face.
If there are any yogis out there who would like to be featured in YO! just shoot us an email 🙂
charmainenyw
24 November
Thanks for sharing! I’ve only done yoga once in my life (unless you count the sessions I had in high school, all of where I promptly fell asleep) so it’s nice to know what a professional’s experience was like. Will be looking forward to more interviews.
– Charmaine
http://charmainenyw.com
E
24 November
You should def try it! It’s one of the best ways to clear the mind and strengthen the body! 🙂