In the traditional Chinese calendar, 2026 is a Bing Wu Year, which occurs only once every sixty years. The Heavenly Stem "Bing" symbolizes flame and radiance. The Earthly Branch "Wu," representing the Horse, symbolizes freedom, action, and progress. Both elements belong to the Fire phase in the Five Elements system, hence it is also known as the Year of the Fire Horse.
The "Fire Horse" is more than a marker of time; it carries the wisdom of "energy interaction" in Eastern philosophy: a reminder that in a year of galloping momentum, one must both harness the power of fire and wield the wisdom to guide it.
In celebration, Manduka proudly introduces the limited edition PROlite Fire Horse yoga mat.
Let the galloping crimson horse emblem, infused with the wisdom of yoga, ignite your passion and courage. Between breath and asana, embark on a steady transformation of body and mind.
Regarding the courage, passion, and transformation embodied by the Year of the Horse, we are honored to invite Manduka China Brand Friend Wendy Wang王倩 and senior Ashtanga teacher Meng Jianwei 孟建伟 for an in-depth dialogue.
May the genuine and moving insights from these teachers bring more reflection and the power for positive change to your own Year of the Fire Horse.
Wendy Wang: Manduka China Brand Friend, senior Ashtanga Yoga teacher. She holds Ashtanga Yoga Authorized Level 2 Certification and was the first teacher in Beijing to obtain this authorization.
Jianwei Meng: Senior Ashtanga Yoga teacher, graduate of Asia Yoga Academy. He began teaching yoga in 2006, with total teaching hours exceeding 10,000. He has studied Ashtanga Yoga systematically under Tim Miller and Chuck Miller, direct disciples of the founder Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and holds RYT certification from Yoga Alliance.
Part 1: On "Courage"
Courage is not about blind challenge, but about honoring the body's wisdom. It is about accepting yourself, understanding yourself, and then breaking through your own limits. Let the fearless spirit of the Fire Horse help you transform the courage cultivated on the mat into inner strength to face life's challenges, achieving balance of body and mind.
How do you define "courage" in yoga practice?
Wendy: In yoga practice, I believe courage is the daring to try to break through one's current self, without being hindered by difficulties. I used to deeply fear backbends, but by letting go of that habitual fear within and through prolonged practice, one naturally breaks through internal barriers.
Jianwei Meng: In the process of yoga practice, it's important to avoid misinterpreting courage as aggressive challenge. True courage lies in reading the wisdom from the body. In my own experience, I once injured my acromioclavicular joint from excessively deepening a backbend, and it took years to recover. This taught me that courage is not just about attempting advanced asanas, but more about respecting the body's wisdom, understanding and following its natural changes, rather than blindly pursuing breakthroughs.
Wendy Wang 王倩
When students encounter plateaus or blockages in their practice, how do you typically help them break through?
Wendy: In teaching practice, methods to help students cross psychological boundaries include breath guidance, phased practice, and awareness guidance. These need to be adjusted according to individual student differences—such as their unique physique, level of practice, and duration of practice—with different emphases at different stages, progressing step by step.
Jianwei Meng: When students encounter plateaus or fears, I guide them to understand and adjust from a holistic perspective. Everyone's body structure and habitual patterns are different, thus requiring personalized guidance. By helping students identify the weakest point in their body and making adjustments holistically, it can help them better overcome mental obstacles and achieve balance of body and mind.
Jianwei Meng 孟建伟
Part 2: On "Passion"
The enduring drive in yoga comes from settling passion into routine, maintaining warmth amidst the mundane, learning to let go within discipline, allowing practice to become a gentle yet steadfast cultivation in life.
How do you understand "passion" in yoga practice? How does it help people maintain motivation for long-term practice during busy times or low periods?
Wendy: Personally, I see the word "passion" as a description of a state at a certain period. Therefore, I prefer to transform passion in practice into "sustainable simplicity."
Simplicity lasts longer than momentary passion. Yet within this simplicity, we should maintain a constant warmth. When practice becomes a need for body and mind, this "simplicity with warmth" naturally becomes an important tool assisting us through different life stages, allowing practice to endure.
Jianwei Meng: Passion is indeed important, but it must be built upon a true understanding of your practice and your current conditions. In the beginning, just like seeing an Olympic athlete run can inspire you to try, when you see someone else's yoga practice flowing and light, you can be moved to start.
Passion can bring release and transformation to body and mind. But in the long term, it must complement your feelings about yourself and life. I had a student who was originally very stiff. After we spoke, he developed expectations for himself from both a mental and physical perspective. Carrying this passion, he persisted in practicing on his own for three years. Not only did he complete the Primary Series, but he also experienced significant release in body and mind, and many changes in his life.
Wendy Wang 王倩
During the "renewal" period of the New Year, how can one reignite passion for practice or life?
Wendy: As a consistent, regular Ashtanga practitioner, the meaning of the New Year lies in looking back at the footprints on the practice path over the past year, and then setting eyes on the road ahead. So I think regular practitioners may not need to "reignite"; that temperature of consistent practice is always present. The flame will illuminate the path forward.
For some irregular, intermittent practitioners, this flame born from sustained practice might reignite their practice. Therefore, many Ashtanga practitioners perform 108 Sun Salutations at the beginning of the New Year, infusing their practice with wishes and blessings for the coming year.
Jianwei Meng: The Book of Changes (I Ching) says: "The great virtue of heaven and earth is giving life." "Life-giving is called change." Life is always changing, like a child—after five years, they may be a different person, yet the bond of kinship with you remains as it was.
I think the passion for practice is like the renewal of the New Year; each stage is constantly refreshed. Letting your body change along with the changes of all things in the world is a balanced energy.
Initially, asana is the foundation of our functional capability. It can recharge you when you need physical energy, bring the joy of dopamine, and help us work and live better. As practice deepens, you develop higher pursuits and awareness of your inner self. At this point, we need to spend some time feeling ourselves, moving towards deeper awareness.
Yoga speaks of both Tapas (the discipline/practice of passion) and Vairagya (non-attachment). How does one balance the relationship between the two in practice?
Wendy: First, we need to understand that Tapas is part of the second limb of the Eight Limbs, Niyama (observances). In the Yoga Sutras, Tapas can be understood as a discipline, an action, a practice that regulates the body continuously and without interruption. Only disciplined practice reduces toxins in body and mind, purifying inner consciousness, the body, and the senses.
What we call "non-attachment" refers to non-clinging, not being attached to the achievements of the ego; that is, it transcends worldly desires. It represents a state of inner peace, unaffected by the world's desires and emotions.
Therefore, the relationship between "non-attachment" and "the practice of passion" is actually balanced and coexistent, not opposed. Practitioners need the ability, cultivated slowly in daily practice, to discern what are the desires of the ego. When you can face your true self at every moment of practice, genuine balance will grow.
Part 3: On "Transformation"
Transformation of body and mind is actually simple: let the body remain true. Try pausing, spend 10 minutes just feeling one area. Sometimes stagnation is not necessarily regression; it can also be an opportunity for settling and seeing.
Share a real experience of yourself or a student achieving physical and mental transformation through yoga practice.
Jianwei Meng: I do this every day: observing how students treat their own bodies—that's not just the body, but their attitude towards the world. A person's relationship with their body is always projected onto their work and interactions with others.
Many people don't truly know how to be with their bodies. Transformation of body and mind is actually simple: let the body remain true, don't overload it. This isn't a lack of passion, but allowing the body to accumulate energy for you amidst real changes—like saving money first, then spending it.
Many students, in their practice, fail to recognize that their physical practice is actually causing problems for their bodies. Students often get injured from blindly "opening" their bodies, such as straightening the thoracic spine or developing scoliosis. I often tell them: you need to listen to the body's natural signals, just like knowing to wear a down jacket in Beijing's winter.
I have them pause, spend 10 minutes just feeling one area. A student told me: "Teacher, it feels blocked here, the energy can't get out."—That is often where emotions are suppressed. Yesterday, a student suddenly cried during seated meditation, speaking of a relative's passing they hadn't let go of. The body not opening is often because the heart isn't ready to let go.
Jianwei Meng孟建伟
When you see students seemingly stagnating or afraid of change, what methods do you offer to help them?
Wendy: Because I practice Ashtanga, we have a traditional sequence passed down by our teachers. I guide students in collective exploration according to this traditional lineage sequence.
Jianwei Meng: Actually, I'm not used to saying students always want to move upward. Like when traveling, I often prefer to sit down and quietly watch people come and go—stagnation is sometimes to let you settle down, to truly see the scenery before you.
Life is like practice; you understand the scenery along the way, then you'll feel light, and practice will have meaning. Maybe at some stage your physical expression improves, but truly understanding yourself often happens when you quiet down to read a book or listen to a song.
If you are in such a state, try to slowly calm down through pranayama, meditation. Many problems will naturally unravel.
What, for you, is the greatest obstacle to transformation? How to break through it?
Wendy: In the Yoga Sutras, there are nine obstacles (antarayas): disease (vyādhi), mental inertia (styāna), doubt (saṃśaya), carelessness (pramāda), laziness (ālasya), clinging to sense pleasure (avirati), false perception (bhrāntidarśana), failure to attain a firm ground (alabdhabhūmikatva), and instability in maintaining a ground gained (anavasthitatvāni). These are all forms of mental distraction that greatly hinder our practice.
For me, as a yoga teacher, currently the greatest obstacle to my transformation or growth is likely that, with increasing age, I inevitably encounter societal limitations in thinking and action regarding age. I hope not to lose the heart to explore the future, life, and all the unknowns, and the pursuit of passion. The way to overcome it, I think, lies mainly in continuous, unceasing practice and dedication.
Jianwei Meng: For me, the greatest obstacle to transformation is "understanding"—seeing clearly one's true needs and balancing the people and matters in one's reality.
A person never lives as an isolated individual. It's like the seventh series in Ashtanga—if the background work isn't done well, practice can hardly deepen.
My greatest personal subject now is interacting with my daughter—both maintaining the relationship and letting her understand that "people have emotions," that parents also have expectations and limitations. Everything has two sides; you can't only show the beautiful parts, you also have to let her see those parts you don't want to face but must experience.
Complaining about heaven and people is meaningless. It's better to handle the present moment, handle the voice within the heart here and now—rather than always worrying about "what I want to become." This, perhaps, is the most real obstacle in practice.
Part 4: On Refined Practice for the "New Year"
Speaking of the sense of ritual for the Lunar New Year, Teacher Meng Jianwei recalls his mother's handmade "Little Horse Steamed Buns," carrying the festive aroma of dates. Wendy says sitting with family for a hot dumplings is the warmest ritual of the New Year.
People often say, the degree of one's practice can be known by spending an extended period with family. During the New Year holiday, Jianwei Meng teaches his family some simple yoga practice methods, reminding them to pay more attention to health. Wendy, who usually maintains close connections with family, prepares some of her specialty dishes for them on special holidays, offering the sincerest blessings from her heart.
For practitioners, how can one maintain a regular practice routine amidst the lively atmosphere of family reunion during the New Year?
Wendy: Regular practitioners don't need to deliberately force practice during holidays, as it has already become a habit, part of daily life. There's no need to strictly maintain practice during the festive days themselves. You can wake up early and do some Sun Salutations, or do a full practice. You can also not practice, and peacefully accompany family in leisure—this in itself is a form of "non-attachment."
Jianwei Meng: During the New Year holiday, with no work, you might have more time to quiet down. The meaning of the New Year lies in giving body and mind the opportunity to "renew" and change a bit.
You can read a book you've always wanted to, meet someone you haven't seen for a long time. You can also appropriately change your practice routine, allow yourself not to practice for two days. Pausing can allow you to feel bodily changes more clearly.
Collaboration Credits
- Venue: Guan Zhong · Zhongzhou Axis Local Culture Museum 观中·中轴线在地文化博物馆
- Apparel: Manduka, Shan Xia You Jia 山下有家
- Photography: Tao Zhou 周涛
在中国的传统历法中，2026年是六十年一遇的丙午年。天干“丙”，象征火焰与光明。地支午，即马，象征奔放、行动与进取。二者五行皆属火，因此，也被称作「火马」年。
「火马」不仅是时间符号，更承载了东方哲学中「能量互动」的智慧：提醒人们在奔腾向前的年份，既要借火之势，也需驭火之智。
值此之际，Manduka特别推出「PROlite FireHorse马年限量款瑜伽垫」。
让奔腾的赤马图腾，携带着瑜伽的智慧，点燃你的热情和勇气，在呼吸和体式之间，进行一场稳定的身心蜕变。
关于马年所承载的勇气、热情、蜕变，我们很荣幸的邀请到了 Manduka 中国区品牌挚友 Wendy王倩 以及资深阿斯汤伽老师孟建伟，进行了一场深度对谈。
愿来自老师们真实而动人的分享， 能够为你的火马年，带来更多思考和积极改变的力量。
Wendy 王倩: Manduka中国区品牌挚友，阿斯汤伽瑜伽资深教师，她拥有阿斯汤伽瑜伽二级授权认证，是京城首位获得该认证的老师。
孟建伟: 资深阿斯汤伽瑜伽老师，毕业于亚洲瑜伽学院，自2006年起开始教授瑜伽，总授课时长超过10000小时，曾跟随阿斯汤伽瑜伽创始人帕达比·乔伊斯的嫡传弟子Tim Miller和Chuck Miller系统学习阿斯汤伽瑜伽，并获得全美瑜伽联盟（RYS）认证。
Part 1 关于「勇气」
勇气不是盲目挑战，而是尊重身体的智慧。接纳自己，了解自己之后的打破自己。让火马的无畏精神，带着你将垫上培养的勇气转化为面对生活挑战的内在力量，实现身心的平衡。
在瑜伽练习中，您如何定义“勇气”？
Wendy：在瑜伽的练习中，我认为勇气是敢于尝试打破现有的自我，并且不被困难所困扰。我曾经很惧怕后弯，但只要放下内心对后弯的习惯性恐惧，通过长时间的习练，自然而然会打破内心的障碍。
孟建伟：在瑜伽的练习过程中，要避免将勇气误解为一种激进的挑战，真正的勇气在于从身体中读懂智慧。
在我的个人经历中，曾经因为过度加深后弯动作而导致肩锁关节受伤，后来花费了数年的时间来恢复，这一经历让我明白，勇气不仅仅是挑战高难度体式，更是尊重身体的智慧，理解并顺应其自然的变化，不盲目地追求突破。
当学生练习遇到瓶颈时
您通常如何帮助他们突破？
Wendy：教学实践中，帮助学生跨越心理界限的方法包括呼吸引导、分阶段练习和意识引导，这些方法需要根据学生的个体差异进行调整，比如根据学生身体个性、练习程度以及习练的时长，在不同时期做出不同侧重性的引导，循序渐进。
孟建伟：当学生遇到瓶颈或恐惧时，我会引导他们从整体的角度去理解和调整。每个人的身体结构和使用习惯不同，因此需要个性化的指导。通过帮助学生找到身体最弱的点，并从整体上进行调整，能够帮助他们更好地克服心理障碍，实现身心的平衡。
PART 2 关于「热情」
瑜伽的持久动力来自将热情沉淀为规律，在平淡中保持温度，在自律中学会放下，让练习成为生活里一场温柔而坚定的修行。
您如何理解瑜伽练习中的“热情”？ 它如何帮助人们在忙碌或低谷中 保持长期练习的动力？
Wendy：热情一词，我个人认为它是某一时段状态的描述，所以我更喜欢把热情在练习当中转化为「可持续性的平淡」。
平淡比一时的热情更长久，但是在这种平淡当中，我们应该保持持续的一种温度，当练习成为了身心的需求时，这种「有温度的平淡」自然而然就会成为辅佐我们在不同生活阶段中的重要工具，这样练习才可以长久下去。
孟建伟：热情确实重要，但它必须建立在你对练习的真正理解和你当下的条件之上。一开始，就像看到奥运会选手跑步会让人产生尝试的冲动一样，当你看到别人的瑜伽练习流畅而轻盈，也会被触动而想开始。
热情可以带来身心的释放与蜕变，但长时间来看，它必须和你对自身以及生活的感受相辅相成——我有个学生原来身体很僵硬，和我交流后，他从心灵和身体感受上对自己有要求，就带着这股热情，自己坚持练了三年，不仅完成了一级序列，身心也得到了很大的释放，生活上也改变了许多。
新年“焕新”期间 如何点燃对练习或生活的热情？
Wendy: 作为一名阿斯汤加的持续规律习练者，新年的意义在于回头观看过去一年中习练路上的脚印，然后又会把眼光放在前行的路上。
所以我觉得规律练习者可能不需要重新点燃，那种持续练习的温度是一直存在的，火光会照亮前行的方向。
对于一部分不规律的间断习练者来说，这束持续练习会生出的火光或许可以重新点燃他的练习。
因此，许多阿斯汤加习练者会在新年伊始时，去做108个拜日式，将对来年的祈愿与祝福带入到练习当中。
孟建伟：《周易·系辞传》言：天地之大德曰生。生生之谓易。生活始终在变化，如同一个孩子——五年后他或许已成为另一个人，但与你之间亲情的连接始终如初。
我觉得练习的热情，就像新年的更迭一样，每个阶段都在不断更新。让你的身体跟着世间万物的变化而变化，是一种平衡的能量。
一开始，体位法是我们行为能力的基础，可以在你需要体能时为你充电，带来多巴胺的愉悦，帮助我们更好地工作与生活。随着练习的加深，你对内心有了更高的追求和认识，这时候我们就需要花一些时间感受自己，走向更深的觉察。
瑜伽既讲Tapas（热情的修行）
也强调Vairagya（不执着）
如何在练习中平衡两者的关系？
Wendy：首先我们要知道Tapas是八支的第二支Niyama（内制）里面的，在《瑜伽经》里，Tapas可以被理解成是一种纪律，一种行动，是规范身体持续不间断的一种践行。只有规范身体的练习会消减身心的毒素，让内在的意识、身体以及感官更纯净。
而我们所谓的「不执着」指的是不依恋，不执着于小我的成就，也就是说它是超越世俗的欲望。它代表的是内心平静的状态，是不受世界上的欲望和情感的影响。
因此，「不执着」和「热情的修行」这两者的关系其实是平衡并存的，并不是对立的。需要习练者有能力在平日的练习当中，慢慢培养，辨认出什么是小我的欲望。当你在练习的每一时刻都能够直面真实的自己，就会生长出真正的平衡
PART 3 关于「蜕变」
身心蜕变其实很简单：让身体保持真实。试试停下来，用10分钟只感受一个区域。有时停滞未必是退步，也可能是沉淀与看见的契机。
分享一个您自己或学生通过瑜伽练习 实现身心蜕变的真实经历？
孟建伟： 我每天都在做这件事：观察学生如何对待自己的身体——那不只是身体，更是他对待世界的态度。一个人与身体的关系，总会投射到工作与人事中。
许多人并不真正懂得如何与身体相处。身心蜕变其实很简单：让身体保持真实，别超负荷。这不是没有热情，而是让身体在真实的变化中为你积蓄能量——就像先存钱，再去花。
很多学生在练习的过程当中，并没有认识到他身体的练习，反而给自己的身体带来了问题。常有学生因盲目“打开”身体而受伤，比如胸椎变直、脊柱侧弯。我常对他们说：要像冬天在北京知道穿羽绒服一样，听懂身体自然的信号。
我会让他们停下来，用10分钟只感受一个区域。有学生告诉我：“老师，我这里堵着，气出不去。”——那往往是情绪压在那里。昨天一个学生打坐时突然流泪，说起亲人去世一直没放下。身体打不开，常常是因为心还没准备好放下。
当你看到学生看似停滞或害怕改变时，
您会提供哪些方法来帮助他们？
Wendy：因为我是练阿斯汤加的，我们有一套传承的序列，我会按照上师传承的这种传统序列来引导学生共同探索。
孟建伟： 其实我不太习惯说学生总想往上走。就像旅行时，我常常喜欢坐下来，静静看人来人往——停滞，有时是为了让你沉淀下来，好真正看见眼前的风景。
生命和练习一样，读懂沿途的风景，你才会轻松，练习才会有意义。也许某个阶段你身体表达越来越好，但真正读懂自己，往往是在你安静下来读一本书、听一首歌的时候。
如果你在这样的状态里，试着通过调息、冥想，慢慢静下来。反而很多问题会自然解开。
对你来说，蜕变的最大阻碍是什么？
如何突破阻碍？
Wendy：在《瑜伽经》当中有九大障碍，那么这九大障碍是分别是疾病（vyādhi）、头脑迟钝（styāna）、疑虑（saṃśaya）、漫不经心（pramāda）、怠惰（ālasya），依赖于感官享受（avirati），妄念（bhrāntidarśana），无毅力（alabdhabhūmikatva），成果不稳定（anavasthitatvāni），这些都是一种内心散乱，对我们的练习有很大阻碍。
对于我作为一个瑜伽老师来说，目前对我的蜕变或成长最大的障碍应该是，随着年龄的增长，难免会受世俗对于年龄大的种种思维和行动上的限制，希望自己不会失去对未来、对生命、对所有未知一切的探索之心和热情的追求。破解的方式我觉得主要在于持续不断地去习练和付出。
孟建伟： 对我而言，蜕变最大的阻碍是“认识”——看清自己真正的需求，平衡现实中周遭的人事物。
人活着从来不是孤立的个体。就像阿汤第七序列，背景工作做不好，练习也很难深入。
我自己如今最大的课题，是和女儿相处——既要维系关系，又要让她理解“人是有情绪的”，理解家长也会有期待与局限。事物都有两面，不能只呈现美好，也要让她看见那些不愿面对却必须经历的部分。
怨天尤人没有意义，不如处理好当下，处理好此时此刻心里的声音——而不是总在担忧“我想成为什么”，这或许才是练习中最真实的障碍。
谈到农历新年的仪式感，孟建伟老师回忆起母亲手作的“小马馒头”，那是带着枣香的年味。 Wendy老师则说，与家人围坐吃一顿热腾腾的饺子，就是新年最温暖的仪式。
常常有人说，修行的程度如何，长时间和家人待一段时间就知道了。在过年的假期时刻，孟建伟老师会教家人一些简单的瑜伽练习方法，提醒家人多注意健康。平日里就与家人保持紧密链接的Wendy老师，则会在特别的节日里，为家人做一些自己的拿手菜，献上一份内心最真诚的祝福。
对于习练者来说，
如何在与家人过年团聚的热闹氛围里，
保持平常的练习规律？
Wendy：规律练习者不必刻意在假期强求练习，因为已经形成习惯，成为了日常的一部分，没必要一定要在节日那几天保持练习。你可以早起做点拜日式，也可以做全套的练习。也可以不练，安安心心地陪伴家人游玩——这也正是一种”不执着“。
孟建伟：过年放假了，不用工作，你可能有更多的时间能够安静下来。新年的意义恰恰在于让身心有机会“焕新“变化一下。
你可以读一本一直想读的书，去见一个很久未见的人。你也可以适当变换一下练习规律，允许自己两天不练习。 停下来，反而能更清晰地感受身体的变化。
合作鸣谢
- 场地：观中·中轴线在地文化博物馆
- 服装：Manduka，山下的家
- 图片摄影：周涛
- 文章链接
