5 Star Reviews

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – Episode 2

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5/5

I love this entire episode. The transitions between the real world and its fairy-tale like effects is so beautifully done. Even though some people might think that the storybooks are too grotesque, fairytales actually started out quite dark in storytelling. I’m impressed with Moon Young’s assertive nature when it comes to her company and with Seo Ye Ji’s acting skills! She really just does what she wants, so cool.

Our two main leads have an undeniably chemistry every time they look into each others eyes. We also discover the dark past of Gang Tae and his brother. How is a little boy that mature when his brother has down syndrome and his mother commits suicide… And what is this butterfly the keep on going about? I especially enjoyed it when Moon Young came to help Gang Tae and his brother in the middle of her book signing, it’s pretty awful how his brother was treated in public. It’s the best when the heroine comes to the rescue and surprises our male lead.

The relation that Moon Young makes about the red shoes she wears at the ending of the scene and how some things are meant to be no matter how much you avoid totally creeped me out. And finally what makes this episode 5 stars is the awesome ending OST (Heize(헤이즈) – You’re Cold (더 많이 사랑한 쪽이 아프대) I can’t wait til it’s out on Spotify. Definitely adding that to my next yoga playlist.

K-Dramas

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – Episode 1

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4/5

I was excited to see Seo Ye Ji return to a new drama after Lawless Lawyer. The story-book character setting definitely drew me in and reminded me of some stop motion animation. The vibe is bit unsettling but it’s also what makes this drama alluring. The first episode dives right in to the Moon Gang Tae (our #ManCrushMonday, Kim Soo Hyun) who has a brother with down syndrome, but his brother displays high emotional intelligence as he can tell when Moon Gang Tae brings home a fake autograph signed as Ko Moon Young (Seo Ye Ji), the famous children’s book author.

Nothing seems to phase Moon Gang Tae since he’s worked at a psychiatric hospital for 10+ years. When he prevented a knife stabbing with his bare hands, I was slightly disturbed by his calm disposition. And the flashbacks of Ko Moon Young’s past was scary as hell. That being said, I was also enthused to see his partner in crime: Jo Jae Soo (Kang Ki Doong, pictured above), who played an equally comedic character in Eternal Monarch. I also enjoyed the blatant promotion of the drama in the drama with the bus-stop ad. Clever. Docking 1 pt because the episode shows a bit too much blood for my liking, which makes it gruesome.

Final Thought: Super excited about where this is going as it seems to touch on the point of mental health awareness and even in life that ‘It’s okay to not be okay’ sometimes. Definitely something I can focus on for a future intention for my next yoga practice

Yogi Life

CorePower Teacher Training

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How much does it cost to become a yoga instructor? There isn’t a straightforward answer. There are all sorts of payment plans depending on which training and what was being offered that season. It’s so secretive to figure out the pricing when I tried googling online. I’ll explain which training I chose, which payment plan I was on, and my experience in figuring out which studio I wanted to go to for teacher training.

  • Why I chose CorePower Yoga to do my teacher training

    • Easy commute after work (literally 2 blocks from my full-time job)
    • Time flexibility (I could do teacher training after work and on the weekends, and have 1 year to make up any classes and still get certified)
    • Cheapest plan I found without going abroad (There are definitely cheaper plans available if you can pay for a flight to go abroad to Thailand, Bali, etc. for an immersive training. Going abroad would’ve been my 1st choice if I had the time)
    • A yoga teacher convinced me with a coffee date, during which she bought me a Matcha latte with oat milk (keep in mind, they are commissioned with bonuses to reel students in to participate in teacher trainings)
    • I liked the consistency of the CPY format of classes (I like hot yoga + vinyasa flow)

  • Why I chose the 200 hour teacher training

    • It is Yoga Alliance Certified, so it’s recognized in the yoga world (not only at CorePower) to give you the flexibility to teach anywhere (unlike the Yoga Sculpt program)
    • The class size was about 14-15 students per 2 co-lead instructors and 4 coaches (I found this out at my coffee date), so I felt like I had sufficient attention from the instructors. Plus, they were a cool group of women!
    • The 200 hour training is for all level teaching and has heavy focus on the breath-posture-cue for each asana vs. the exercise aspect of sculpt

  • How much did it cost?

    • The MSRP price was around $3300 in the Bay Area in 2019
    • I was a black tag member (BTM) so I got the 20% discount (best if you have this because you’re going to be attending about 60 yoga classes in 2 months) – BTM is about $150/mo for me (Bay Area)
    • If you sign up and pay a fee a couple months before the start date, they also run a promotion to get $XXX off (I got $200 off)
    • They also run a scholarship for $500 at each studio (I did not get this)
    • Tip: If you are cash strapped, they offer discount pricing on Teaching Training (TT) and BTM if you work at the studio. It mostly involves cleaning and checking students in at minimum wage (I didn’t have the luxury of time so unsure of this discount)
    • You do the math 😉

  • How much time did you invest and was there a good ROI (return on investment)?

    • 200 hrs = 200 hrs of time invested and a lot more hours in practice teaching (this is the bread and butter anyway)
    • You get what you put into it (I really wanted to teach right after, so I completed everything within the 2 months so I could get my certificate asap)
    • About half the class, 6-7 of us, became yoga instructors (part-time because many of us already had full-time jobs) after the program

  • Did you complete Extensions?

    • Extensions is something CPY advertises as TT comes to a close. It is about $500-$600 more for an additional 4/5 weeks of practice and lessons on Theme-ing and creating music playlists for your class. My instructor already prefaced this, so it didn’t come as a surprise. It is yet another revenue generator for CPY. I wanted to audition asap and didn’t want to invest more dollars, so I took a different route and did something called Intensives (which are free – more to come on this).

All in all, it’s never easy dropping a few grand on a yoga training, but if you’ve been thinking about it for a long time, definitely give it a go! TT has changed my life for the better in ways that can’t be quantified in numbers and helped my own practice immensely. From self-correcting my form to being able to connect on a different level with other humans, it’s been rewarding in more ways than one.

K-Dramas

Eternal Monarch: The King

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3/5

TLDR: Eternal Monarch is about a King = Lee Gon (Lee Min Ho) who survives an attack from his evil uncle at a young age. Then discovers he has a key to a parallel universe where he finds Jeong Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun). It has some suspense, action, and a bit of light hearted comedy.

I watched the entire series every weekend with my husband who has a man-crush on Lee Min Ho and his spectacular outfits in Eternal Monarch. I couldn’t take this drama seriously because every moment that was not action-filled was a spot to run a CF for their next product placement. My husband is still convinced the Iron Man type face mask has special powers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a boba drink advertised more than I’ve seen ‘The Alley’ boba drink. I am so “convinced” that ‘The Alley’ is the best boba drink in the world… I’m unsure if this was the only way to get funding/sponsorship for filming this series, but it happened A LOT. Lee Min Ho’s acting is pretty meh despite how handsome he is on screen. My favorite character is Jo Young, his body guard who has a very stoic personality but acts a-fool in the other world as Jo Eun Seob. He is a delight to watch in both worlds.

Redeeming points for this drama: A Happy Ending (I’m a sucker for these but this one wasn’t super satisfying), Superb OST playlist (Orbit by Hwasa was one of the first songs I added to my yoga playlist), and Kim Go Eun (she’s such a natural actress)

It was an alright drama but not something that I would ever rewatch. I do wish I had some diamonds on my coat that I could sell off for money though.