4-30-11

Finally, a day where I was well rested and had actually gotten to sleep the night before my yoga practice, instead of coming straight from work. I also got to the studio at around 8:45. It is the first time I have been there before 9:00 on the dot in about a month or maybe more. I was a little stiffer than usual because I had just woken up and gone into the studio, but i was able to loosen up rather quickly. Because Jenn had done Yoga with Laurie the day before and they worked on the inner leg, she decided we would work on the outer leg. I am definitely a tight individual, I felt every position with little depth necessary, but used my breathing to gradually get deeper into the posture. The whole practice was much better than usual, it is amazing what a world of difference sleep can make. I also stayed awake during shavasana, which is quite an accomplishment for me. We also busted out the straps today. I like the straps because I am a stiff person, so they really help me out.

4-23-11

One thing that I am noticing at this point is how little of the outside environment I am noticing during practice now. When I first started I noticed every time the song would change, I would look around and notice what everyone else was doing. Now I am so much more focused on what I am doing, the rest of the environment just kind of fades away. The only thing I listen for now, is the voice of Alice or Jenn. The rest of the time is spent focusing on maintaining consistent breathing, and squaring up my hips, proper shoulder rotation, making sure my sit bone is tucked, or a variety of other things. I listen for the cues given by Jenn or Alice, because many times there are things that I am forgetting to do. The most common being, breathing. Somehow breathing always gets lost in the midst of setting up into the posture. Then once I feel I have the posture down I remember to breath. My flexibility at this point has improved a little, but not drastically. Going once a week isn't going to make a huge improvement, but I have been trying to concentrate on my stretching after I work out as well, which has helped. Maybe once school is over I can make Yoga a more consistent part of my routine.

p.s. I was a little bit more well rested this week than last week, but I was still pretty exhausted, and fell asleep during shavasana as usual.

4-16-11

This was a particularly difficult day for me. Once again I arrived just on time for class, at 9:00 on the dot. Overall it was a rough week, not much sleep at all. So this yoga practice was the toughest one I had ever done because I was exhausted. Anytime Alice told us to close our eyes I couldn't because I knew I would fall asleep. I was actually going in and out of consciousness in standing asanas. It is hard to remember much of the actual practice itself, I just no it was a battle the whole way through just to maintain consciousness let alone perform the asanas. I could definitely use some sleep.

4-10-11

Work has been really crazy because we are short staffed so I wasn't able to make it out of work before 9 o'clock saturday or sunday. Due to the fact that I already don't go to yoga enough as is, I didn't want to completely miss out on yoga practice, so I decided to do a home practice on Sunday. It's wasn't my first time doing a home practice. I did P90X for a while and it has a yoga video. So that is the video I decided to do. It is an hour and thirty minute long video that consists entirely of vinyasa sequences. It is definitely not an easy session of yoga when you follow the video, especially the balance posture, that is a hard portion of the video. Doing the video just isn't the same as going to the class. Whenever I go to class I feel like time goes by pretty quickly, an hour and fifteen minute session only feels like a half hour. When I'm doing the video though that hour and a half feels like an eternity. Also, being at home doing it just doesn't provide the same atmosphere, there are to many distractions. Lastly, I have no body to correct my form if I am doing a posture incorrectly. I tried to apply what I learned in class, but it just wasn't the same. I am going to try real hard not to miss another class.

4-2-11

Class was packed. I have a hard time getting to class a little bit early to get a spot, and today I barely even made it in on time for class, walking in at about 2 minutes after 9. There were people front to back, wall to wall. I took a spot right up front next to Jen because that was all that was available. It really didn't bother me. In the beginning I would have been self-conscious about being up front, but now that I have been going to the studio for a while I realize that during your practice you don't really notice the people around you, the focus is on yourself. I'm sure it is the same for everyone else as well, so I don't feel like anyone is watching me or judging me. My cousin Emma was at class again, so that was cool. I was pretty tired from work, so I was unable to stay awake during shavasana, although I tried really hard to. Apparently I was snoring pretty loudly because a couple people asked if it was me who was snoring. I must say I am quite impressed with my ability to wake up just in time for turning onto our sides and sitting up for an ohm. With Alice it is pretty easy because she hits a little gong, but I am usually awake just before she hits it anyway.

3-27-11

This was another Sunday for me. At this point I have been mostly going on Saturdays, and although the class sizes have gradually increased as summer grows nearer, there is still a large difference in class sizes on Sunday and Saturday. Sunday has about half the class size as Saturday, which I attribute to the time of class being the same time that many people probably choose to attend church. Plus most people look at Sunday as a day of relaxation. Alice was teaching the class, and it has been a while since I have been in one of her classes. I definitely like her as a teacher. She is soothing, talking you through each movement. She is also a teacher that you can definitely learn a lot of terminology from. Each posture that we transition into she gives the proper terminology for and the westernized phrase for it. Both her and Jen spend pretty much the whole time walking around the room making small changes to individuals postures. When Alice walks around the room, she continually gives cues. It just seems like the air is always filled with her voice. I don't know when the next Sunday I will be able to make it to is, so this could have been my last class with Alice.

3/19/11

In the last post I made, I made note of the fact that the class sizes had been very small for the past two saturdays with Steve as the teacher. Well, the class size grew this weekend. From what I could gather from conversations, he gradually gathered more and more followers as he substituted for more and more classes.
The practice was pretty much identical to the previous week, but I did notice a slight change in Steve. Since he was a couple weeks in now he definitely became more comfortable with the setting and people. He still practiced at the same time as the rest of us, not walking around the room, but this time he was more vocal, making some verbal corrections to people from his spot at the front of the room. I also feel that even though it was the same practice as the prior week that there was a little better flow to it, which I would also attribute to his growing comfort.
One thing that I have benefited from by doing his practice is my hips have gotten more work, and feel a little more open. Every practice that I have gone to with him as the teacher has had a segment that focused on the hip area.
Since this was the last time I will probably see him, unless he substitutes again I would like to say that he was a very polite and friendly gentleman and I enjoyed having him as a teacher.

3/12/11

This was my second saturday where Steve was the teacher. The class was very small, i think there were only three people there. I also noticed that the class the previous saturday, which Steve was the teacher for was very light on people as well. When I first started going to saturday classes the room was filled from wall to wall. I think this change in class size has to do with the comfort everyone feels with Jen as a teacher. When people choose a yoga studio or class to attend, the teacher plays a large part in that decision. A practitioner of yoga develops a certain raport or relationship with a teacher, and people being creatures of habit tend to not like change. Basically, it seems like when Jen went on break so did everyone else.
Overall it was a good class. He progression and sequence is different from Jens, and he also has us do quite a few different postures that I have yet to do with Jen. So for me having a substitue teacher is a nice change of pace because it mixes things up a bit. I actually wouldn't mind if there was a different teacher every couple of weeks, it would keep the practice fresh and interesting because each teacher has there particular preference in postures.
On a side note, I noticed that Steve like to play the music quite a bit louder than Jen or Alice. It is still the same genre of music though. Also, he plays the music from his ipod while they play them from CDs.

Sivananda Yoga

Sivananda was a nice change from the prior week, which was Ashtanga. It was definitely a milder practice, and as Astanga did, it brought in some postures that I hadn't done before. I feel that Sivananda is a good middle ground of Yoga, its not to slow and boring, where you spend 20 minutes on one posture, and it isn't to fast and challenging like Ashtanga.

Ayurveda

After going through the sheet and checking off the different characteristics I am definitely a Pitta type. Just about every description of a Pitta, described me. Also, as we went through class and talked about each doshic personality I felt that I strongly pulled in the direction of Pitta. At the same time I feel I am more balanced than filling out the check marks on the sheet makes me out to be. In class we talked about how Pitta's can be easily bothered by changes and spontaneity, but I like being spontaneous. I feel that there is a time and place for structure and plans, and a time and place for traveling off the beaten path and being spontaneous. Although I am clearly a Pitta, I am not as overbearing, and feel that I have the ability to be calm and understanding. Overall, I feel that I am a pretty well-balanced individual.

3-5-11

I was not able to make practice this week. I wanted to go on saturday as I usually do, but was unable to because I didn't make it out of work til 9:15AM. I'll make up the day before the end of the semester.

Ashtanga

I definitely find Ashtanga to be a difficult practice. I am a type A personality that likes to be challenged, but I would still shy away from Ashtanga as a practice, especially at this point in time. I feel as though Ashtanga should be a secondary practice. You should start with a practice like Iyengar first, where you will be taught how to do each asana correctly, and where as a beginner you can gradually progress to the more difficult asanas. In Ashtanga you delve into difficult positions right away, and many of the binds it would probably take me years before I was even able to come close to doing them. I also felt that they didn't have enough progression built in to deal with individuals who have never practiced yoga before. There isn't a move that beginners can do in place of the more difficult one to help them progress to the difficult one. One thing I will say about Ashtanga is it definitely heats up your body quickly. I was actually able to get deeper into my downward dog and forward folds than I usually can because my muscles were warmed up quickly. Ashtanaga has a much faster pace to it than I thought it would have as well, it almost feels like your are rushing through the practice. In summation, Ashtanga isn't for the first time yogan, its a practice that needs to be worked up to. Once you get to the level of Ashtanga, it can take you beyond what you thought physically possible.

2-26-11

February 26th I walked into yoga nine and there was a substitute teacher, Steve. Now that I have been going to yoga on a weekly basis and have practiced under multiple teachers I am definitely noticing how each teacher is different, and how much the teacher controls the atmosphere of the room. The general practice was much like all of the past saturdays that I have been to, we did a vinyasa sequence. The big difference was his teaching style in comparison to Jen's. Jen and Alice, whom I have done yoga with at all my previous sessions, don't spend much time on their mat doing the different asanas that they call out. They spend a majority of their time going around and correcting form in each posture, walking between the row of mats. Steve on the other hand spent his whole time on his mat performing every motion that he called out. I have two theorized reasons as to why he takes this approach to teaching. Number one, because he was new to the class and didn't feel comfortable yet. And number two, because he is a male teacher in a class that is largely filled with female practitioners. Jen and Alice have no problem using their hands to fix some ones form in an asana, but as a male touching a female to fix a posture it becomes a little bit more awkward of a situation. This is especially true when from my experience there are new comers on a daily basis, who may not be familiar with the practice or comfortable with the idea of a teacher touching them to correct their form. The next time I practice with him I will see if anything changes in his teaching style.

Iyengar

In class we did Iyengar. First off, I would like to point out that her shorts were funny, I'm sure there is a different outfit that can be worn to show the legs other than the adult diaper she was sporting.

Some likes that I had of the practice were, I liked the fact that the teacher takes the time to make sure that you are performing each move properly, so that you are getting all you can out of the exercise without sacrificing your form. So I personally like the way that she adapted moves to fit my personal issues of a tight lower back and hamstrings due to knee surgeries. I think for someone just getting into yoga that an Iyengar class would definitely be a good class to start in, in order to get a strong base for proper form. That being said I don't know if I would be able to stick with Iyengar as a permanent practice because it seems very boring.

I also like the premise behind Iyengar because it is very individualized, the main focus is on the develop and improvement of yourself.

2/19/11

This was my second saturday, and it was a super windy day outside. I was happy because I was able to get out of work in time to stop at home first and wash my feet. The past few times I had been real self-conscious about my smelly feet, because my overnight job is labor intensive, so I'm on my feet all night sweating. The previous saturday my feet didn't smell very good and I was worried someone might notice. Plus I'm not a big fan of my own feet.

Despite the windy weather it was another crowded day in the studio, saturday definitely draws in more people. (Everyone is off from work and class starts later on saturdays than during the week.) It was another day where I felt quite exhausted from work.

Another interesting thing that happened was my cousin Emma showed up to class, she was surprised to see me.

Noticing many of the same people there that I had seen on the previous saturday and also some people that I had seen on Sundays, I tried to take notice of any rituals that they might perform each time they go. I noticed everyone likes to bring with them the same apparatus each time. Some people like to have 2 blocks, some like to have a blanket, some like to have a bolster or a wedge, some like to use 2 mats for extra cushion, and some like to do any combination of the afore mentioned, and they grab these same things every time when they go in. I also noticed that everyone seems to have a preference as to where they are set up in the studio. I know personally i like to be set up against the right wall when facing the teacher. I also like to be in the front row.

Something I forgot to mention about the previous saturday, one of the moves we did was with a strap, where we put the strap behind our heads and on our foot, and put our foot into the air. I think it is noteworthy because it was the first time I had used a strap in class.

This time class was a vinyasa sequence, with a concentration on core, so a lot of the exercises towards the end were core oriented. Something I noticed is that vinyasa seems to have the same sequence of moves in the beginning, (forward bend, upward dog, downward dog, all the warriors, etc.) so the first 45 minutes usually consists of this, and the last 30 minutes is where the variation comes in. I do like vinyasa though, because you are consistently moving, and because there is a variation at the end to keep each time you go interesting. I also specifically enjoyed this class because it worked my abs quite a bit, and being a gym guy I liked that.

This time at the end I was able to stay awake during shavasana, so I paid attention to see if she read a passage from a book. I also, peeked to see if she was holding a book in her hands, she was, but she didn't end up reading any passages from it.

Something else I took note of was the music she played, it seems teachers have specific preference when it comes to CDs, Alice used the same CD both times I went on sunday, and Jenn used a different CD than Alice, but the same one both times. I'm not sure if the choice is based off of melody and rythym to match the specific practices or if it is solely their personal preference. Another thing i wanted to mention was Alice was in the class as well as a student.

2/12/11

February 12 was my first saturday. The previous two weeks I had been going to the sunday class, but because I am scheduled until 9 in the morning on sundays at work and class begins at 9, saturday is a much better day for me to attend class. If I can get out of work early on sundays I'll get a second day of class in.

Saturday has a different teacher than sundays does. Sunday is Alice and saturday is Jenn. Right of the bat I noticed saturdays classes are much more full than sundays. Most likely because sunday is a day of rest for most people. This time when I entered the studio I made it my goal to study the over all atmosphere of the class, based on our discussion in class of Nevrins article. What I ended up really noticing was the different relationships people had with each other. Its not really a place where anyone is real serious. For the most part many of the people know each other, and the first 5 to 10 minutes before and even a little after 9 is spent catching up with people you haven't seen in the while. Right about this time the weather is starting to warm up every so often, and beach season is nearing in, so it seems everyone is starting to get back into their practice. There was also a different energy in the room, it just seemed more lively. I attribute this to multiple factors, the number of people, the fact that it was a saturday and not a sunday, and the weather was warmer that day.

Once the class started Jenn said that it was going to be a vinyasa day, so we were going to be focusing on our breathing. In Alice's class we have done segments of vinyasa, but the whole class isn't vinyasa. I've done vinyasa before so I knew what to expect, but as usual I had some trouble with the timing of my breathing. Breathing is something I really have to focus on because I end up breathing in when I'm supposed to be breathing out and out when I'm supposed to breathing in. As Laurie has pointed out this is probably due to my lifting back ground. So, I really tried to key in to Jenn's voice so I could follow her signals when it came to the breathing. Jenn's teaching style is somewhat similar to Alice's because she doesn't spend to much time actually doing the yoga, but spends more time walking around and checking everyones form making small corrections. My overall impression of her is that she is a free spirit.

At the end of class when we were in shavasana I wanted to see if she also read a passage from a book to the class like Alice does, but I ended up falling asleep. I was extra tired from work.

Second time at yoga nine

This session at yoganine we focused on opening up our ajna chakra. So in many of the postures that we assumed Alice would remind us to focus energy to our third eye. The progression of postures this session was quite different from last time. We still did child pose multiple times and upward and downward dog, but many new moves were introduced, such as warrior one and warrior two. I found my breathing was more natural this time and less forced, which allowed me to concentrate on other things like engaging my legs. I also listened to the music more this time, krishna was repeated a lot in the song. At the end of the session, we ended in corpse pose again, but she didn't recite a verse from a book this time.

When the yoga sessions are over I can definitely feel the effects, everything feels more open, my blood feels like it flows better, and I feel a little cleansed.

Bikram Yoga

After doing this form of yoga I believe it is my favorite form. After reading about it, and already knowing myself the beneficial effects of heat in association with your muscles, this yoga would probably be the best yoga for me. I consider myself an athletic individual, working out at least 4 times a week, not including yoga. Due to this fact, my muscles get sore and stiff, so when I stretch or do yoga it can be painful. The heat would definitely help alleviate that pain, and i think would help in improving my overall flexibility and openness. Another aspect of the Bikram yoga which I liked was the fact that we did everything twice. It has the feel of doing sets in an exercise, and it allows me to set a mark on the first time and try to surpass it on the second time. Overall, I liked the flow of it as well. When I am done with school after this semester and my schedule opens up a little bit I will look for a local Bikram class that i can attend.

First day of yoga

So, yesterday was my first day of yoga at yoga nine in LBI. In preparation I did an hours worth of stretching the night before, so I would be slightly limber for my yoga session. My preparation didn't end up helping out that much, each move was still a challenge.

The studio itself is quaint, just a room with hardwood floors. In one corner of the room is a desk with a computer, and next to the desk is a couch. Surrounding the desk and couch are a myriad of yoganine merchandise, and some yoga videos. Also in this nook of the room is the shelving unit that has all the yoga mats, yoga blocks, blankets, and bolsters on it.

The instructor had her mat set up at the front of the studio, and at the back of the studio she had a cd player, playing music.

Before the class began, she explained to us that the days session would be focusing on opening up the sides. Then we began with childs pose, with our head on the yoga block. We held the childs pose for a considerable amount of time. (note to self: use a blanket as padding next time because my knees and shins were in some pain) It is hard for me to remember the exact order we went in and every position that we did. In every position that we were in though, she told us to focus on driving into the floor, whether it be our hands in upward dog, or our feet. The most consistent reminders she gave us were drive into the floor, focus on your breathing, and feel the inner parts of your feet and legs pushing toward each other, or engage the legs. She talked about prana when she told us to breath, "let the toxins out and new life in."

We only did one balance posture, or only one that I consider to be a balance posture, which was tree.

To end the session we layed in corpse for a while, probably close to ten minutes. During that time period, she read us a passage from a book about nature. "Wouldn't it be funny if the trees got sad in the fall because their leaves fall off....wouldn't it be funny if the rain got sad in the summer because the rainbows didn't last...wouldn't it be funny if the flowers got sad in the spring because they had to close up at night..." I can't remember the whole thing or the exact order, but I do remember those particular lines.

Overall, it was a good experience. I felt my muscles loosen up, and blood circulate better through my body. I look forward to the next session.