Singapore #Fitspo of the Week Maya Pu: 'I am working on a better version of myself every day'

Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl up on Instagram or Facebook!

Name: Maya Pu (@puxiaojuan)

Age: 41

Height: 1.59m

Weight: 49kg

Occupation: Business Development

Status: Married with children

Food: I basically eat everything, but will moderate the fried stuff.

Exercise: In a week, I do handstand practice five times, calisthenics practice twice and I go to the gym once or twice.

Q: Were you an active person when you were younger?

A: Not at all! I was just trying to avoid any type of exercise as much as possible.

What did you get into as you got older?

I started yoga more than a decade ago, where my main motivation was purely health. Then I gradually became more dedicated and it became part of my life since.

However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I could not go to the studio and practise yoga, so I started following YouTube and also looked into different types of exercise. I realised there is no one type of exercise to give you all, so as the pandemic restrictions eased, I went to the gym and got into calisthenics because I really wanted to do a pull-up.

What made you want to start teaching yoga and Pilates?

To be honest, I never thought of teaching because there is so much to learn in yoga. I was encouraged by my friend who was taking the Yoga Teacher Training Course and she shared with me that I could learn more by taking up the course and sharing my practice with others.

I went for it and later, I really got the opportunity to share my learning and become a teacher. That makes me very happy!

Did becoming a mother change your views on fitness?

It only made me think harder of how I can keep up my journey. It is so important to have "me" time and every mother should try to find this time for themselves.

When you were younger, did you experience any incidents that made you feel insecure about yourself?

I used to be bullied in school. I was bullied by my classmates in secondary school and it affected me for long time. I finally realised that silence is definitely not the way to defend yourself.

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

At work, when I feel I do not know much about the topic being discussed. The only way is to study and pay attention. It is just like all the other things you like to do in life – you put your heart in and it will pay off.

Did you ever struggle with your body?

Yes, after birth. I was quite depressed because everything about your body has changed. For example, your skin is not tight anymore and the tummy is the most difficult part to get back to shape.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

Yes, because a healthy body is the best body. But to maintain that, you need to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Do you get any comments about your body?

Yes I do. People say that I am very toned or getting toned, and I look much healthier. I am happy with these comments as it affirms the direction I am working towards.

If you could change anything about yourself, would you?

Yes, I am working on a better version of myself every day.