Each week, beginning the second week of the semester, I have
attended a yoga class. Each class was different from one another and during
some weeks I participated in two yoga classes. Week to week the classes varied
and the times that I could attended them changed as well.I usually atteneded
late at night or very early. Throughout practice I learned many different types
of yoga along with learning them in this class. I have now taken over 12 yoga
classes and participated in Ashtanga, Bikram, Viniyoga, Flow, Yin, Sivananda,
and Iyengar yoga. I most often practiced yin yoga, or classes that were labeled
begginers, flow, and hot yoga. I have gained knowledge of the benefits of yoga along with
insight into what a “yoga community” is like.
During My first
practice, I talked about the atmosphere of the area I was practicing in which
was in your studio in vetnor. I was only able to attend your studio once
because of how far it was from me and the way my schedule was during the crazy
last semester of college.
This excerpt from my first post
became one of the most predominate parts of my practice because this was the
space that I practiced in most often even though I mostly attended grow studio.
I liked your studio because it was small and some rooms in grow were the same
size.
In class everyone
was able to experience the different types of yoga to see what we liked and how
we each reflected on it. Bikram yoga was one of my favorite forms of practice.
In my journal entry , I talked about how I enjoy a more physical practice and I
liked the intentions that Bikram yoga has for the body. Bikram constantly had
my attention and I enjoyed the instructor we had for class so much. The poses
in Bikram is the main focus of practice, after my experience Bikram was focused
solely on the physical practice and how much an individual could push themselves
instead of working on breathing techniques. I observed the main focuses of
Bikram to be perfection and focus.” The poses were challenging, but I enjoyed
every minute of it. Compared to hot yoga and Yin class Bikram was a workout and I could
feel my muscles working hard. It reminded me of the hot yoga that I do because
it’s quick and I enjoyed the more physical practice because I felt that I had
more of a purpose for participating in practice.
Next
in class we talked about yoga as a ritual. Ritual practice is basically
something that is done every day or month or year. It could be a tradition or
something simple like brushing your teeth. For me, I didn’t think yoga would
continue to be part of my ritual just because I was not that interested in it
as I kept doing it. It’s something that I enjoy doing once in a while or when I
feel like I need to relax like yin yoga. I enjoy going to the gym more or running.
We all discussed how yoga practice for
some individuals is a ritual because it can mark a state of transition in a
person. Although I witnessed transitions in my friends I did not feel a huge
transition myself. I became more flexible and relaxed though practice but that
was about it. I have danced my whole life so I have always had that flexibility
regardless.
I did not make any
huge transitions through yoga, but I did learn a lot. Ashtanga was another one
of my favorite types of yoga. The practice that we had in class was not
completely traditional however I had a great experience learning some of the
asanas in the traditional sequences. Ashtanga, along with Bikram sculpts the
body; However, Ashtanga adds along the importance of breath with their poses
and Bikram does not. I think that Ashtanga may be another one of my favorite
types of practice because it is relaxing but also physically demanding.
Overall,
as I reflect on my yoga practice as a whole I realize the progress I have made
and the different things that I have learned. Going into this class I thought
that yoga was yoga and there were not different types. I learned that not only
are there different types of yoga but different goals for each type. I also
have learned that yoga is influenced highly by pop-culture in America, that’s
why yoga is thought of as mostly a physical practice. In the east yoga is
mostly spiritual and they practice it almost as a form of religion. Yoga to me
is a physical practice that can be spiritual if you meditate along with
practice. Each person sets the standards of their own practice and it is what
you do that influences how you view yoga.
