A Chat With Christina Syms 

Christina is half-Sri Lankan and half-Filipino, born and raised in Sri Lanka. She has a BA in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Tampa. Christina's professional career was built around the rise of the digital world, as she started off as a social media marketing executive. She spent 2010 to 2015 working as the digital marketing manager of a leading Sri Lankan distillery company. She currently is a digital marketing consultant for the same company. 

Christina discovered yoga while studying in the US and has an experience of 7 years in the science so far. She started off her yoga journey with a foundation in Hatha, then dabbled in Ashtanga, which led her to Vinyasa. Christina stayed with the Vinyasa style for 6 years until she discovered Forrest Yoga in Sydney, Australia in 2014 while training at a workshop. She took to the style instantly after reading Ana Forrest's book Fierce Medicine and found the type of yoga she wanted to teach. She graduated as certified 200hr Forrest Yoga Teacher in May of 2015 in Sydney and has been teaching FY in Colombo, Sri Lanka since. 

What does the term “yoga” mean to you? 

Yoga means the unity of mind, body and spirit in the general sense. To me yoga means the balance of strength and flexibility - physically, emotionally and psychologically. 

Can you tell us when and why did you start yoga? 

I started practicing yoga in 2009 when I was still a student at the University of Tampa in Florida. I was having a really bad day and ended up at a yoga class. And I was instantly hooked. 

Tell us your practice style and how did you choose your yoga method? 

After practicing many styles over the years - I came across Forrest Yoga, it stood out and spoke to me deeply and profoundly. Now, my self-practice and teaching is solidly based on Ana Forrest's method. It is derived from traditional styles such as Iyengar, Hatha and Ashtanga yet it is catered to the modern-day person addressing the perils of their lifestyle. 

After the settling of the mind into silence through the practice of yogic techniques what's your favourite posture? 

I have many favorites - Warrior 2 known as Virabhadrasana II in Sanskrit and it variations is my ultimate fav foundation pose. Dolphin Pose aka Ardha Pincha Mayurasana is an intermediate must-do build upper body strength for inversions. Do love back-bending too; so currently it would be Lance Dodger, it's a high lunge backend. 

When did you first discover your love for fitness and health? 

Fitness, I discovered at the young age 14 but the health aspect came around much later as I entered my 20s and the food we ate, started drastically changing how we looked and importantly, how we felt in our bodies. 

How important is nutrition to you in terms of diet and wellbeing? 

Nutrition is a massive part of my well-being and health. It is possibly more significant than exercise itself. Well informed nutrition is quite rare in Sri Lanka, so I started reading up on nutrition and the various diets on my own 5 years ago. Plus, I am a lover of food and enjoy cooking as a hobby. Chocolate chia pudding with fresh mango and pomegranate is one dish I love to make. 

What obstacles has yoga helped you overcome? 

Everything. Every obstacle I faced as a young adult I resolved through yoga - at 25 I wasn't happy with my lifestyle and my health. I used my practice to face the reality of my life and bit by bit I started making informed changes. Yoga was the discipline I needed to admit to myself when I didn't like something, as opposed to going along with life situations because it was popular or common or the safe thing to do. 

Do u have a particular yoga routine and what is your mindset when you step onto the mat? 

As a teacher I have to be prepared when it comes to my practice. I often pre-plan at the beginning of the week and focus on certain advance poses, and write up a class for that. I practice a 20 min, 40 min or 90 min session a day depending on the day or time factor. I take Ana Forrest's online classes and I also practice my own classes before I teach them to my students. 

What's a typical day in the life of Christina Syms? 

Wake up at 5 or 5:30am, shower and get ready to teach, drink lots of water and blend my smoothie, go teach my first class, have my breakfast smoothie, teach my second class, go home to do all my digital marketing work (I'm a consultant too), have lunch, do more work; yoga related and other, get in my self-practice, shower, have a snack, go teach my third class in the evening, come home, have dinner, prep my breakfast smoothie ingredients, shower, meditate, get into bed by latest 10:30pm - this is what Thursday looks like, it varies day to day but it is full-on everyday. But, that's my life - I'm so grateful to do what I love and make a career out if it. 

As a yoga instructor,what should his or her qualities be? 

Stay true to your practice and path. Figure out the purpose as a teacher. Have your life ethics written out. Practice yoga often and teach what you practice. Develop healthy eating habits - vegan or not. Be truthful about everything, even the unpleasant stuff. Find time to be a student. Meditate. Drink lots of water. Deep breathing as often as possible. Be grateful. Love what you do. Appreciate where you are on your journey. 

To us Sri Lankans why is yoga so important for the times we’re living in? 

Yoga is essential for the modern day person because of the lifestyle many lead. Most people are over-worked, under-valued, highly stressed, emotionally volatile, low-energy, ill-informed on nutrition, unmotivated to get a workout in, binge eat or binge drink type of individuals. This is not a healthy holistic state of being, this type of lifestyle is the sure path way to serious illness. Yoga can help with it all. 

By Sandra De Zilva 
Yoga photographs by M.B. Imran