Welcome to Episode #39 of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast! This week, I welcome Huong Nguyen onto the show. She is a yoga teacher from Vietnam, who is the owner of Om Hanoi: Yoga & Cafe.  She teaches yin yoga, therapy yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and hosts yoga and meditation retreats in Vietnam. She also is a certified embodiment facilitator and is pursing further education in somatic movements. 

My conversation with Huong, a yoga teacher from Vietnam, was delightful as we learned more about yoga in Hanoi and about how a rotator cuff injury changed her relationship to yoga and moved her towards Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and embodiment and somatic movement. I hope that this conversation made you curious about spiritual and emotional healing journey that movement can offer.

Tell me more about Huong Nguyen

Huong Nguyen is a yoga teacher from Vietnam, and the studio owner of Om Hanoi: Yoga & Cafe in Hanoi. Huong started to practice yoga 10 years ago, and was first introduced to yoga through Kundalini yoga. After connecting with a yoga studio in Hanoi that was run by some expats, she was drawn in and found something she felt she had been missing in her life. After completing her 200hr yoga teacher training in Hanoi, she took over Om Hanoi yoga studio and began her teaching career. She completed sever advanced courses, abroad and online, and after suffering from an injury to her rotator cuff— she found herself immersed in the world of Qi Gong and Tai Chi. At first, she thought she was seeking just physical healing, but it turned out to be a mental and also spiritual process.

Since the lockdown, she was drawn to the somatic and embodiment world, which has allowed Huong to deepen her relationship with herself and her own healing journey. After completing her embodiment facilitation and coaching certificates last year, she plans to continue to pursue further education on somatic movements.

Curious? Tune into the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast to learn more about Huong and about yoga in Vietnam.

What to expect in the Yoga In Vietnam episode of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast

Huong and I shared a beautiful conversation, and I really enjoyed her explanation about what Qi Gong really is as well as how she defined what soma and embodiment means as well. She brought her calm and peaceful energy with her throughout the entirety of our conversation and I hope you find a sense of joy when you listen to her stare her story.

For the skimmers – What’s in the yoga in Vietnam episode?

• How one’s relationship to yoga can change over time
• The world of soma and embodiment
• A spiritual and emotional healing journey
• Mixing and melding Qi Gong and Tai Chi into yoga
• Seeking out the different styles of movement and different traditions to progress on a healing journey.
• The message that Huong wants to send out into the world

Favorite Quote From Huong Nguyen

“I wish to still work on changing this concept of yoga because it shouldn’t be just physical now and then, go into the fancy postures and very flexible or very strong. I wish to bring more messages  to everyone about yoga as a healing practice. So you go inside. So it’s more an inward journey, not just physical outside. Which is very important for many people right now, but still  it’s to go in and to work with ourself for the healing part and then also for what you can offer out to the world.”

Connect with Huong Nguyen

https://www.facebook.com/Om-Hanoi-Yoga-Cafe-605058369636717/

Want more? Head on over to my website

https://wildyogatribe.com/thepodcast/

Everything you need is just one click away! Check out all the resources here: https://linktr.ee/wildyogatribe

Thank you for tuning in to the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast— be well.

Tune in to more Wild Yoga Tribe podcast episodes

Episode 39 of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast – Yoga in Vietnam with Huong Nguyen Transcript

[00:00:00] Lily Allen-Duenas: Namaste family. And welcome back to the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast today. I’m so excited to welcome Huong Nguyen to the show today. She’s a yoga teacher from Vietnam and is the studio owner of Om Hanoi Yoga and Cafe. She teaches yin yoga, therapy, yoga Qigong, Tai Chi and she hosts meditation retreats in Vietnam as well.

[00:00:26] She is a certified embodiment facilitator and is currently pursuing further education in somatic movements. So thank you so much Huong for coming onto the show today? 

[00:00:38] Huong Nguyen: Thank you, Lily. It’s a pleasure to be with you.

[00:00:42] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you. So much. So how long, how did yoga first come into your life? 

How Did Yoga Come Into Your Life?

[00:00:47] Huong Nguyen: Yeah, I started it about 10 years ago. At that time I was working in the business world, so busy and having two kids as well, and I’m having some problems with my sleep . I was also doing some physical exercises that then didn’t feel suitable. It didn’t feel suitable for me anymore.

[00:01:13] So I try the first yoga classes in Hanoi at that time. It’s more like a Kundalini style of yoga. More curious than interested. And then after that, I found this the first kind of Western style yoga studio in Hanoi led by an expat. It just clicked with me at that time. I was having a better sleep and then fair. I felt much better after the classes. And so also and then I came to the practice on and off for a few years and then in 2015, the studio owner, she also organized a teacher training.

[00:01:58] I joined one of the courses. At that time I was still working. And it’s more for me too, because I’m very interested. And I’m curious about what I’m doing in these asanas.

[00:02:11] Those, the studio owner at that time, headed up brand branch studio in the center of Hanoi and she couldn’t run it. So she asked me to take over. I was very shy and I wouldn’t, I would never dare teaching our leading yoga class ever. I thought that maybe, it’s a way for me to teach and to bring yoga to guide others, which was the initial intention for me when I came to yoga, so I decided to take over the studio with a vegetarian cafe. 

What is Om Yoga like in Hanoi?

[00:02:45] Lily Allen-Duenas: Amazing. And can you tell us more about your cafe? I’d love to hear what type of food you make and what type of classes you hold and what it’s like and where it’s like in Hanoi. 

[00:02:59] Huong Nguyen: It’s a small studio. Typical, late we can hold about 20 practitioners and a cafe downstairs. 

[00:03:10] It’s also quite cozy and small with a very relaxing setting that you can even lay down to see them follow the whole day or relax. In a quiet area in the city of Hanoi. Some of my regular practitioners will come to practice yoga upstairs, where we offer various style.

[00:03:31] Like yin, Iyengar, and inspired Hatha yoga. And then my tai chi and Qi gong classes, yoga flows, meditation.

[00:03:43] Lily Allen-Duenas: Oh, that sounds beautiful. And I love that it’s a vegetarian cafe. So Huong, I know you suffered a rotator cuff injury, and I know that changed your relationship to yoga. Could you tell our listeners more about that shift? 

How did a rotator cuff injury change your relationship to yoga?

[00:03:58] Huong Nguyen: Yes. I had my first injury in the rotator cuff. It was in the second year of my operation of the studio. And at that time I was so much into yoga. I did the Vinyasa flow every day and was so totally into it. We are very lucky being one of the very english speaking yoga studios in Hanoi. So we attracted a lot of yoga practitioners and teachers. So some very high class teachers who came because they like Hanoi, so then they they offered the classes.

[00:04:35] So I was so much into it. And then after one one class, I got this problem now in my left arm.. I kept doing yoga of course. Of course. And the more I practiced, the more injuries I had to my neck and then my back, my hip, my knee.

[00:04:58] Of course not one at the same time, it’s spread out all over and then one time my yoga teacher who did my teacher training said that maybe I should do something else. So after that I was interested in yin yoga. So I took training and yin and took a lot of online courses.

[00:05:19] And then I went to some of the neighboring countries as well, for workshops and so on. And still, it’s better sometimes. And then it came back. I had this training with the Qi Gong practitioner or this teacher from Germany, also a tourist in Hanoi, but then he also had some teacher training.

[00:05:39] It didn’t make much impression for me because it’s very different from yoga. It’s very little it’s it’s not straight. That was all the strengths that we liked in the yoga practice. At first it didn’t really impress me. However, I just did it because it was held in my studio.

[00:05:59] But then after the injury, I started to come back to that practice and it. . It did help me to release those pains. And then I also found some yoga teachers. Some yoga teacher training also combined the tai chi, Qi Gong movement into the yoga practice.

[00:06:26] So a lot of kind of spiral Y movement and waves. Gentle, but also very can also be very strong. And I think that is the way it heals my injuries even though I am still on that path the healing paths of my physical injuries. It is actually turning out to be also my spiritual and emotional healing journey, when I come back to those pains and when I meditate and I see it with every activity throughout my days. I learn and I study more and more, about the body and also the universe. Yoga is the first practice that helps me to connect to my body and then starting to discover and heal.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong – What Is The Difference?

[00:07:21] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yes, yoga is so healing and I’m so grateful that you found different styles of movement and different traditions to help you find and progress on that healing journey. So some of our listeners might not know much about Qi Gong and Tai-Chi, or they might not even really know the difference between the two.

[00:07:47] Could you explain a little bit more for our listeners? 

[00:07:50] Huong Nguyen: Qi Gong is China has been practiced for thousands and thousands of years. And it was a practice that was based on ying and yang, the Taoist principles in, in the east.

[00:08:02] Qi means energy. So it’s the prana, the subtle movement that moves the body and the whole universe. In Qi Gong, the Qi that we work with is to connect the Qi of the universe with us. And Gong -that means that work. So work with energy. Because the energy is very, it’s subtle, it’s soft and gentle, so we will need to slow down.

[00:08:29] You as you move slowly, you breathe slowly. And so the breath, the movement and the conscious the consciousness are combined together. So the mind, body and breath. Same principle as yoga, but in a different kind of moment, which is much more gentle. It’s quite slow. It’s very easy to do actually you can, it’s more a standing practice.

[00:08:58] So you stand on your feet. So it’s both grounding, but also you still, you move the upper body and the shoulders a lot around the arm and the shoulder area. To open the Chi she passes in your body so that if there’s no stagnancy of chi, there’s no sickness.

[00:09:20] According to Chinese medicine. It also has sequences, a lot of them.

[00:09:25] Lily Allen-Duenas: And you said that Huong you said that you teach these yoga flows that also incorporate Qi Gong and Tai Chi? Yes. 

[00:09:34] Huong Nguyen: Yes.

[00:09:35] Lily Allen-Duenas: And what is that like? How do your students respond to that kind of mixing of different styles and traditions? 

[00:09:42] Huong Nguyen: So normally in the class, tune into the breath with the body. Then I would do some practice, maybe mostly on the floor. It’s a yoga posture on the floor because in tai chi and qi gong to go, it’s mainly standing. So then we will sit or lay down on the floor . Then I will incorporate some postures. So instead of going into a vigorous Vinyasa yoga class, they may choose to go into my class. They still move on even a more gentle way to take care of their body.

[00:10:16] Lily Allen-Duenas: I think it’s amazing to have those offerings of places and spaces and classes that are more restorative and peaceful. So I think it’s really beautiful to mix in. And I have always been so interested in Tai Chi and Qigong. I’ve only taken a little online class here and there, but I would love to learn more about it. Did you study Tai Chi and Qigong in Vietnam or somewhere else? 

[00:10:44] Huong Nguyen: Yeah.

[00:10:45] Yes. I studied in Vietnam. First of all, it was actually from a German. He came to stay in Hanoi . He offered the classes. But he was a traveling martial art teacher. So he went into China and Japan to study Qi Gong and, and so it was my first training for level one.

[00:11:08] Unlike the system of yoga, which is very, you have your yoga teacher training courses every way. And they can be very professional and with certification and so on. It is not like that with Tai Chi and Qi Gong. And you have to maybe go to China to study them in Japan or in Vietnam, then.

[00:11:35] It’s more a pass on practice. So you will have to follow a teacher who will then, show you, teach you everything. So here I joined with a local group, and we keep that it’s a daily practice, early in the morning by the lake. With a group of normal when people just so we all in practitioner practitioners and follow the teacher. And then I also do the courses online. So that to know more about the movement.

[00:12:06] Lily Allen-Duenas: That makes complete sense. Yes, It’s not the same at all as yoga teacher training, and they’re now everywhere around the world and there’s millions of yoga accounts on Instagram and different things. So I know what you mean. And Huong could you tell us more about, somatic and embodiment. I love that these are things you’re interested in and I’d love to hear more.

[00:12:28] Huong Nguyen: For me yoga is the start of my healing process. And then I came to this somatic and embodiment facility. Actually during the COVID lockdown. So everything went online with a lot of courses. I attended the somatic yoga summit during the first lockdown, here in 2020. And then after that I was drawn into it. Of course, and then I was searching and then went into this embodiment world. 

[00:12:59] Somatic is more about the bodies. Soma is of the body. So you will tune into the body. Because I am very much into my mind, so it took me a lot to really know what it is to feel the body. And maybe I think I started to get a glimpse of it with this now. When you can sense the body, you can connect with yourself in that way.

[00:13:27] And it’s actually the healing process. And then embodiment is about the how to, so there are many modalities to embody. So we use yoga, tai chi, qi gong, martial arts, and dance. Also yeah, improvisation relating, authentic, really relating. Those other modalities of embodiment we are using to help people tune into the Soma.

[00:13:55] Lily Allen-Duenas: Beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing more about that. And Huong, could you tell us a little bit more about yoga in Vietnam?

What Is Yoga In Vietnam Like? 

[00:14:04] Huong Nguyen: So in Vietnam, yoga is more of a fitness form. It appears very popularly every way, especially in those big gyms. They always have yoga together with many other things and because yoga is from India, so they hire Indian teachers out here. For some periods, many Indian people will come here and I’m not sure, so sure about qualification that I have heard a lot of complaints about injuries and, being pushed by the teachers and so on, which is not happening in our studio.

[00:14:45] But anyway, for me it’s okay as well. When people can start tuning into the body, through the yoga practice with the breath and their mind. However, I think I wish to still work on changing this concept of yoga because it shouldn’t be just physical now and then, go into the fancy postures and be very flexible or very strong. I wish to bring more messages to everyone about yoga as a healing practice. So you go inside. So it’s more an inward journey, not just physical outside. Which is very important for many people right now, but still it’s to go in and to work with yourself for the healing part and then also for what you can offer out to the world. 

What Is Vietnam Like? 

[00:15:45] Lily Allen-Duenas: Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that and explaining more about yoga in Vietnam and what it’s like. I understand that yoga as an exercise or being pushed too hard, I can understand. That’s a concern for the community. And I think that’s a global concern, but also, could you share about your country Huong? Maybe some of our listeners are dreaming of visiting Vietnam and they’d love to hear just a little bit more about what your country is like. 

[00:16:17] Huong Nguyen: Yes. I love Vietnam. My country is a very newly developed country. So we have been through the war a lot, a long time during the whole history. And so my parents’ generation, they were in the last war. That and then with all this crazy development going on. So Vietnam is catching up quickly and that is giving a lot of challenges to the country. So however, we are also a very spiritual country and although we lost some of the traditions on the way. But I love that at the core, we Vietnamese are religious people in a way. We have those values in the family and in the community.

[00:17:14] Lily Allen-Duenas: So Huong, if some of our listeners want to learn more about you and about your wonderful yoga studio and vegetarian cafe Om Hanoi in Vietnam, where is a good place that they can find you? 

[00:17:28] Huong Nguyen: Yes. Thank you. My studio Om Hanoi yoga in a cafe. You can find it on Facebook. We have another website as well. However, it’s not working at the moment. We have an authentic small size yoga studio, and we are planning to also make a retreat, a small retreat in Hanoi and maybe also outside Hanoi, my city. In the case in the future, when, when things are coming back, when people can travel again. So hopefully you can search for us on Google, just Om Yoga Hanoi Cafe .

[00:18:05] Lily Allen-Duenas: Perfect. Thank you so much for joining me today on the podcast. It has been a joy to be with you.

[00:18:12] Huong Nguyen: Thank you so much for the chance to be with you and share this passion. Thank you, Lilly. 

[00:18:20] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast. My conversation with Huong, a yoga teacher from Vietnam, was so delightful as we learned more about yoga in Hanoi and about how a rotator cuff injury changed her relationship to yoga, and moved her more towards the Qi Gong, Tai-Chi, embodiment and somatic movement. I hope that this conversation made you curious about spiritual and emotional healing and that journey that movement can offer. Thank you so much for listening to the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast. Be well.

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