YAMA Teacher Feature: Meet Angelita!

YAMA Foundation brings yoga, art, and meditation to Hong Kong’s most vulnerable populations.  Our work relies on the dedication of a team of specially-qualified and gifted teachers to deliver accessible wellbeing programmes to communities in need.

Volunteer writer (and recent 200H teacher training graduate) Alanna Sethi met up with YAMA teacher Angelita Li over Zoom, to talk about yoga and Angelita’s work with YAMA.

AS: Hi Angelita! It’s so great to chat with you today. To start us off with a little bit of sharing about your journey with yoga, art, and meditation? 

AL: Hi, Alanna – nice to chat with you too!

When I was a kid, my mum was amazing with all sorts of craftwork, like sewing and painting. She both inspired and influenced me and I ultimately ended up also following a path of artistic expression – but with music.

I remember in the early 90s, I tried to get into meditation. I kept trying to meditate but couldn’t seem to achieve that state of total calmness and peace that everyone talked about. . So I came to the conclusion that maybe I didn’t have “the talent” for it, and that maybe meditation wasn’t for me.  Then one day, I discovered the guided meditation app Headspace and all of a sudden, I got it!  I finally understood what a meditation practice is and what it looks and feels like – and that all that time before, I had all these misplaced ideas idea of what meditation is supposed to be.  Since that realisation, I have been able to cultivate a regular practice of meditation and mindfulness.

Similarly with yoga, I started practicing about 10 years ago – around the age of 40 – because I wanted to be more physically fit and healthy. One day, during a Vinyasa class, I had a very strange experience where I felt like my body was being physically moved around by someone else.  I completely freaked out until I understood that I wasn’t feeling present.  After class, I went home and researched yoga: it’s history and origins, yoga’s most authentic roots, and the honest meaning of yoga. And that is when I realized that yoga and meditation were meant to come together and it all clicked!

AS: Wow! That sounds like an incredible journey, Angelita! Looking back, are you able to share how your yoga practice has evolved from when you first started?

AL: I have been practising yoga for almost 10 years now.  In the past, meditation was very much a key self-care tool I used in my day-to day life. There were times when I just didn’t have time to practice asanas but if I took five minutes to meditate, I could be completely refreshed and energised to keep going another six to seven hours.  I was a canto-pop performer at the time, so this pick-me-up was so important.

These days, I usually have a daily 45-minute yoga and meditation practice. Every day is different though because sometimes I want to sweat, sometimes I’d like a more relaxing stretch,…but there is always an element of pranayama breath practice and 15 minutes of meditation. Sometimes I also add in some Karma Yoga to find ways to support my local community. 

AS: That’s so generous, Angelita – and I can see that you really do care about helping others. Could you share more about how you came to YAMA Foundation and what you do for YAMA today?

AL: When I was living in Sai Kung, I was looking for a classically-trained Indian yoga teacher.  By complete coincidence, I found one, living just two houses away from me!  That was how I began my yoga practise with Isha Foundation - founded by Sadhguru. I took all the Isha Foundation courses, including an inner engineering course, which is about making the best of ourselves to serve others.  I was very passionate about this idea of service and I really wanted to go to an ashram in India to take this one particular teacher training. Unfortunately it was a six-month course and very expensive, so I couldn’t make it work.

I researched more on teacher trainings with authentic and traditional yoga lineages – especially those that also had outreach programmes.  I was particularly interested teaching yoga in prisons so that I could help and serve that community – which is how I found Hersha.  Through Hersha, I found YAMA and learned that they were doing outreach at Tai Lam Women’s Correctional Centre. 

So, I joined the YAMA team of teachers and, before the pandemic, I taught yoga classes at Tai Lam a couple of times a month, I taught classes at ImpactHK a few times a week…I also worked on YAMA’s Here To Be programme for teen mental health as Programme Leader, where I liased with programme participants and supported outreach to organisations and schools across Hong Kong.

I currently teach a weekly group Chair Yoga class at The Nesbitt Centre, and I also support YAMA as Administrative Assistant, assisting the back office team and managing translations from English to Chinese.

AS: It’s so inspiring to hear about all the ways you contribute, Angelita!  I wonder if you have someone you admire and look up to?

AL: Wow, there are so many! Off the top of my head, I would have to say Hersha. First off, because of her yoga lineage and her teachings which I find deeply resonant.  I love her teaching methodology which has helped me so much through my life.  Also as a person –how Hersha behaves in all situations….she is the first person I’ve met who achieves everything with such grace:  making a living, supporting her family, running a foundation… She’s never grumpy, never seems stressed, and always has a very calming and kind energy about her.

AS: Hersha is so lovely – I definitely agree, it’s so wonderful to be guided on your yoga journey by such an inspiring person!  Perhaps you could share a little about the effect practising yoga has had on you, as a whole?

AL: Yoga has made me a stronger person. I feel grounded and connected. Yoga helps me see things clearer and makes me feel complete. I feel like this is my purpose, and it feels great!

AS: Such positivity – that’s so amazing!  Would you have any advice for someone who is a bit on the fence about trying yoga for the first time?

AL: I think that for many people, they don’t want to try yoga because they don’t know enough about it.  But I think timing is everything.  When people are ready, they become curious.  Then I invite them to join me, and we can practise together.

So I think it’s all about timing.  When the time is right, it will happen.  We can't force anything.

AS: That’s really insightful, Angelita – thank you for that.  Do you have any thoughts to share with someoneone who might be going through a tough time?

AL: Yoga is the best place to be. When we run into turmoil, uncertainty, fear, emotional wavering, just pull out your yoga practice and ride out the wave.

Be patient with yourself – take your time with yoga, we all have a different pace. But once you catch the wave, you won’t want to stop and it’s a great feeling.