Affordable Yoga Accessories from Fuzzy Flex

Loving this henna design yoga mat bag from Fuzzy Flex!

Do you have trouble finding an affordable entry level Yoga mat and yoga accessories? I love Manduka’s yoga mat and our studio uses their pro series mat but gosh, they ranges between SGD 100 – 150! Because of the outdoor yoga event, I had to hunt for a yoga mat of decent quality. I used to own cheap yoga mat sold in Watson for SGD 10 during promotion but gosh, they are heavy, stink when you first use it and their grip is non existent. Recently I bought a new mat at Bedok Mall FairPrice Finest store and love that it is light, used eco friendly material and at an affordable rate of SGD 49! The fuzzy flex yoga accessories are designed in Singapore but made in China (are you even surprised? heh) and they offers free delivery in Singapore. If you are looking for an affordable yoga mat at a decent quality, you can probably give them a try! Here are a list of retailers they are sold in or get them direct from their website!

Using their Yoga Mat and Mat towel!

Do I look like a yoga hippee here! Heh.

Note : Yoga accessories featured here are bought and paid for on my own. No monetary rewards were given. All views expressed are purely of SomethingBoutRenes’s own.

Real Yoga’s Outdoor Yoga at Singapore Botanical Garden

When most of you are still in bed this morning at 7.30 am after watching Argentina and Netherlands winning the game, there are whole lot of people at Singapore Botanical Gardens! There were seniors practicing Tai Chi, enthusiastic tourists, early morning joggers, dog walkers and us, the yoga lovers!

Our studio organized Monthly Outdoor Yoga which is free for all to attend, and this month, we were at Singapore Botanical Gardens. I love practising in the outdoor! With crisp clean air, clear blue sky and birds chirping in the background, it was liberating! Looking forward to joining the next Outdoor Yoga! If you are keen to participate this free event open to all, you can check out our studio’s website here or their facebook page!

Onzie Yoga Pants

I’ve been following some of the popular US yoga guru on their Instagram and it keeps me motivated to work harder. But I realized one thing, all of these yoga gurus wear really nice yoga outfit and that must be one reason which makes them look good. Haha. My delusional self is acting up again.

Look at Laura Sykora with those beautiful yoga pants! Even her little girl has matching pretty pants!

While I was on the hunt for these pants, Stephanie recommended Onzie, a US brand which is sold by a local blog shop, My Spring Fling. Our local sports shops which carry major sporting brands do not have such beautiful prints, and in Singapore, it is kind of hard to come by affordable ones. Onzie long yoga pants are sold at US65 on Onzie page, which is approximately SGD 81, but I got mine from My Spring Fling for SGD 79 (excluding shipping) which wasn’t that bad a deal! The yoga pants are often out of stock on My Spring Fling and I am just lucky to order in time during their backorder period!

Received my Onzie and tried it during Hot Core class yesterday and gosh, I think beautiful prints does make me does yoga better. I feel oh so powerful in those pants! Haha. These pants however is not as breathable and cooling compared to my Adidas pants but those prints are just beautiful!

Any other brands to recommend for beautiful Yoga pants? I really need to stop shopping and start working out more often. Haha.

I posted this yesterday and got 22 likes! Even my CEO liked it! Haha. Happy like a bird and yes, cheap thrilled. Haha

Real Yoga at Toa Payoh

I’m back on track to my twice to thrice sessions a week yoga regime and am glad that they have opened a new branch at Toa Payoh! The environment of this branch is the most comfortable out of their three other branches! I believe they offer free trials for new customers! Just ask! Otherwise, you can PM me for the sales manager, Lydia, who assisted me!

The mirror at the yoga place always seem to make me look really lean. But when I’m at home, I look all flabby again! Perhaps it’s all in the mind. Haha.

Lego Yoga

Remember a while back I mentioned that I felt like Teletubbies doing yoga? Today, I went for Yoga and it was a painful experience. I stopped going after 4-5 weeks because of work, and tried to kick start my regime today before the festive peak again. Instead of feeling strong and beautiful, I felt like a Lego girl.

Source: Reddit

I am no longer flexible and it’s depressing. I am as good as I first started, and it’s embarrassing when I’ve been practicing for more than a year! Moral of the story is, do not stop going yoga or at least do some stretching at home. RAWR. On another note, I’ve just renewed my Yoga membership with Real Yoga for another 30 months and broke my bank with that! It is approximately SGD 91 per month, so yes, go do the math.

Teletubbies vs Yoga Glow

Source: Here

Went for Hot Core Yoga today and I almost died and I suck at it. I am supposed to look like this but whenever the instructor asked us to use our abdominal muscles and breathe into our abdominal, all I can think of is my Teletubbies tummy. Gosh. I am weak and I hate my useless tummy.

Creepy creepy Teletubbies. Halloween is coming, dress up like one of these and I’m sure it will be a frightful night. Haha.

On a happier note, a young student asked me to complete a survey on tertiary students doing part time. While I was completing the survey, the student asked if I am a tertiary student. I was dressed like this today.

I said no. She was in shocked and proceed to ask if I just graduated. I said no. She then asked how old I am. I told her 28. She was shocked. Haha. I think it must be the after yoga glow instead of the huge acne on my nose.

New Yoga Pants from Mustafa.

When I was at Mustafa to grab a new luggage (yes I know, yet again, I’ve got a big luggage and a cabin size one, just bought a medium size one!), I tried my luck in search of a more airy and loose fitting yoga pants! It’s after all Mustafa where you can find everything and anything and since both Yoga and Mustafa originated from India, there may be a good chance!

I spotted these rayon material pants that is absolutely comfortable and airy! It costs only $14.90 and found near the Indian traditional clothes department! Love the boho and yoga guru look. HAHA. Added confidence!

Can be worn full length.

Or three quarters!

Preventing UTI

I’m having UTI again, the second time within 6 months. Sucks, this is embarrassing. But on a happier note, I can stay indoor and avoid the haze.

Here are some tips I got from the doctor to prevent UTI and I thought it is useful information for the girls here! This is mainly for us girls and if you think this topic puts you off, do skip it. Haha. The doctor was really professional and shared a lot of useful tips. I learnt a lot compared to the previous young doctor I saw. At least he bothers to share useful information and not just stuff you with medicines. Haha.

• Drink lots of water. It helps to clean up your body. I am guilty of not drinking enough water.
• Don’t hold your pee. Holding causes infection in your bladder. Especially for girls, our unitary tract is shorter compared to guys who are armed with tubes.
• Eat more fruits to prevent constipation. Shit held in the body is located near the bladder and may cause infection.
• After peeing, wipe clean from front to back instead of the other way round. You don’t want bacteria from your ass to come near the front.
• Wash up before sex both you and your partner.
• For the girls, ensure you are well lubricated before sex. Guys just need to be patient. According to the doctor, if girls are not well lubricated before sex, it may break some walls inside and causes infection. I have no idea exactly how it infects the unitary tract though.
• Drink lots of water and try to pee immediately after sex to clean it off. Have a rinse too.
• Drink cranberry juice. Before antibiotics were created, doctors gave women cranberry juice.
• Other than UTI, to prevent fugal or bacteria, try to wear cotton panties, keep your down under clean and dry.

If you are having UTI and your lower back hurts and are having a fever, it may have attacked your kidney. Don’t ignore it, see a doctor and they will give you a jab to make you feel better.

UTI can also happen to children so do share these information with your young girls as well, erm minus the sex part of course.

If you suffer from UTI frequently (more than twice a year), you may be suffering from diabetics (I got it tested and thankfully I’m not). It can also be due to cyst or stone in your bladder. Gosh, I hope I’m not suffering from that because we will need an ultra scan to test for it. If all is ok and you are still getting it, the doctors may need to check you and your partner just in case.

I hope this is useful for you girls!

Just met up with Faith – a church friend – for lunch whom I’ve not seen for a long time. She commented that I lost a lot of weight and actually look lean! Haha. Yay! All thanks to Yoga and Combat classes! Did a holiday special 2 hour combat class today and mid way through the class, I thought my arms are going to fly out of my body! Going to have some serious muscle ache! Haha. I love that I am active and fit these days and I can eat anything I like without feeling guilty or like a whale!

Free Pap Smear this May!

Source: Here

This May, Singapore Cancer Society is offering Free Pap Smear for all female Singaporeans and PR aged 25 – 69 years old! Cervical Cancer ranks no. 9 among the cancers diagnosed in Singaporean women. Each year, 200 women are diagnosed with the disease and 70 of them die from it. It is a highly preventable and curable disease.

I hope I can find the time to arrange for a Pap Smear session this May! Girls! Come lift your skirt and save your life.

Source: Here

Went for Hot Core Yoga yesterday and Ms Smiley (my three layers of tummy fats which appear as a smiley face when I’m sitting down) complained non stop and was F-ing the instructor for a good 60 minutes. After all, I have weak core muscles and non existence abs, all thanks to Ms Smiley’s resistance to leave my body. Yikes.

Will be going for Hatha Yoga later with a new instructor. Wish me luck as I ohmm away before meeting my girlfriends.

My New Running Buddy

I love Standchart’s Manhattan Card! I practically use this card all the time unless the restaurant / shop is offering discounts on other credit cards! Other than their cash rebates (which is far better than points which expire before I can redeem anything), they often have promotions where you can get a sure win gift if you spend XXXX amount within a time period. So during Christmas where I spend quite a bit on presents and gifts for myself, I received this from Standchart! A Sony NWZ – W262 2G Walkman! I have friends who swear by this during their runs and it is the perfect gym / run buddy! Valued at $99, not that bad a deal, runs will be easier without messy earphone wires and the weight and bulkiness of a phone!

Yoga at Home

Decided to practise Yoga in the limited space I have this morning and am glad I practised for almost an hour before giving up. Hah. If you enjoy practising Yoga at home once in a while, you may like this app I downloaded for free as a background music companion. It is a simple app that provides customisable soothing music for yoga, sleep or a home massage if you like.

Relax M. (yoga tunes works too but with only 2 free tunes)

Relax Melodies allows you to pick the ambience music you prefer, for instance, over here, I’ve picked river, flute and birds. Ohmm.

It

Running around the neighbourhood’s park.

It has been a long while since I put on my running shoes and I’m glad I did! Decided to go for a short jog and explore the neighbourhood’s park and finally cover the entire perimeter of the lake! The air is so clean! Running in a park sure beats running along a busy road! Enjoying the nature’s gifts and loving all pretty things that God created for us. Enjoying life’s simple pleasures.

This is so beautiful.

Yes! I love this earth!

Someone did this. So cute.

As you can probably see, instead of running, I was busy snapping. Haha.

Yoga in a Park

The beauty of working afternoon shift is the free time I have in the morning! This morning, I explored the park near where I currently stay and had a 40 minutes yoga session before a drizzle spoiled all the fun! The benefit of having a park just 5 minutes walk away includes yoga at a park, evening stroll and a walk (or run) in a park!

The corner I found for my private yoga session!

I was discipline enough to only manage eight rounds of sun salutation, six rounds of Warrior one and four rounds of Warrior two. You will notice that the rounds dwindle as I progress as the inertia kicks in as I progress. Haha. It was followed by random stretches for a bit.

The view I had all to myself.

The fun benefits of practicing yoga in a park are (1) enjoying a dose of vitamin D from the morning sun, (2) breathing in fresh clean air compared to stuffy and humid air, (3) taking in the spirit of carefreeness and ignoring all the strange stares from passerby and lastly (4) taking in a private moment of self awareness with a view.

The not so fun parts of practicing yoga in a park are (1) finding a quiet and private spot without ants or bugs, (2) lack of mirror to correct your poses and (3) the need to clean up your yoga mat thereafter.

It has been a fun session and I will surely do it again!

Aspiring Yoga Goddess.

With my obsession with yoga these days, practising a minimum of three times a week and occasionally two sessions each time, it only makes sense to grab more workout clothes! I bought two yoga pants, one top and one sports bra all from Royal Sporting House. They are having a sale and major brands are having a one for 10% and two for 15% discount.

Here are my favourite brands for my workout outfit:-

Reebok: For their yoga tights! It is comfortable, doesn’t give you camel toe, stretchy, looks good and affordable.

Addidas: Love their sports bra / padded top! They tend to have those with more support and paddings which is excellent for flat chested individuals like me!

With my new outfits, I’m on my way to becoming a yoga goddess. Ohmm.

Get Real!

Source: here

It has been almost six months since we picked up Yoga at our neighbourhood community centre and we never regretted it. It is a great introduction to Hatha yoga and we learn all the basic poses like Sun Salutation, Warrior 1 & 2, bridge poses and all. However, after six months, we felt that there is little growth and it is no longer a challenge.

Thanks to Steph, who introduced me to Real Yoga via Groupon, I tried out three lessons and love what it did to my mind and body. It is tough, much tougher than our classes at the community centre, it almost felt like boot camp, but you can really feel the difference it does to your body. Also, I am the competitive sort and I love that it made me push myself harder during each lesson. Plus, when yoga is practiced in a hot studio, it made us sweat like a dog, which is great for our skin!

I just signed up for Real Yoga’s unlimited promotion package at $1860 + GST for a period of 12 months plus 4 months! What prompted me to sign up with Real was the fact that they have a new branch in Tampines in addition to their Centrepoint branch (which is closer to our home), their hot yoga studio, affordable package (compared to other yoga studios) and their yogi master’s no-frills, no-nonsense attitude in class. In addition, Lydia, sales personnel that Steph referred to me, was experienced, patient and friendly! I was sold.

If you are interested to get in touch with the sales personnel who assisted me, drop me a message / mail and I will let you know privately. Meanwhile, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will stay strong and persevere to enjoy the benefits of this ancient knowledge. You can also read more about Steph’s sharing on other yoga studios here!

We survived the 10 lessons (missed 2 technically) Elementary Hatha Yoga class and signed up for another 10 Intermediate Hatha Yoga class.

My arms and legs are still aching from the first Intermediate class.

Kelly Clarkson’s song which goes “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is ringing in my head all this while. I’m sure I’m getting stronger because I do need the strength to get through each class which will progressively gets tougher. Hah!

Dragon Boating

As the Sports Captain of my company’s Social Recreation Committee, I assisted to lead a dragon boating event held last weekend and gosh, we had a splashing good time! It is my first time trying dragon boating and the technique is rather different from canoeing!

Even though the weather was a little wet initially, it all turned out well! We also rowed towards Singapore Flyer which gave us great pictures against our cityscape! It was cloudy and all that day but I was still toasted like a lobster there after! Hah.