Definitions of Yoga

I practice Hot yoga more than other practices just because that is what has my interest. Sometimes when I had a very stressful day and don't feel like sweating and dying I'll do something that is more on the meditation, spiritual side. During the Hot yoga I feel like yoga isn't being defined at all as it is in the other classes I have taken. I would say that it is defined as breathing and spirituality whereas hot yoga you arent really focusing on that, you are more focused on not dying. Well i am atleast.

Sivananda Yoga with Jenn

Well.. I did a headstand, so that was fun! I enjoyed this practice although one thing that I kind of disliked about it was the repetition. It definitely warmed up my body and had my heart racing which was the point but I was just counting down til we stopped doing the forward bend, right leg forward, high plank and so on. I really liked when we started getting into the different poses, it reminded me of the other practice we did with Loren, Ashtanga. Jenn was very calm and I liked her personality. The main focus of this practice is preserving the health and wellness. I found this practice very similiar to ashtanga but the difference was that ashtanga is more of an athletic training whereas Sivananda is more focused on relaxation, and full breathing.

Yoga as a lifestyle and culture

I noticed that yoga has been evolving from "traditional yoga" to "pop culture" by taking traditional yoga and adding things that will attract a younger crowd. All over social media I have been seeing ridiculous yoga practices, but they are one's that would attract me and my friends. The one I recently saw was "brewery yoga". Most of the classes that I have seen have been located in Philadelphia or New York. They are probably located in big cities because usually a younger crowd live in those areas. I have also seen puppy yoga which I love animals so that definitely caught my attention but also I thought it was a little odd. Yoga is suppose to be a stress free environment and as much as I love dogs, 30 puppies running around and most likely shitting in the yoga studio sounds like an anxiety attack to me?

yoga as healing

This week was a stressful one. After having one of the worst weeks I have had in a while and still attending kickboxing to distract my mind I needed a relaxing, meditation class. I have been doing classes that I really needed to focus on my movements or atleast I put too much pressure on myself to try so hard to be perfect at each pose. I have taking yin yoga before and I remember blogging about it and saying how "boring" it was. Taking Yin this week really made me realize how important of a class it is. This type of yoga is used frequently by people trying to heal themselves from injuries or whatever the issue is. My instructor told me before about how she is a physical therapist and she had a hip or knee injury and had a much better recovery starting yin yoga rather than doing the therapy. I have heard many healng stories and I was skeptical at first but I kind of agree with everyone. I, somebody who has alot of mental health problems really benefit from all aspects of yoga. I need to go more than once a week but my schedule does not always allow me too, but I try to go twice a week as much as I can.