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.