My Eighth Yoga Experience

Sivananda Yoga

Date 3/6/2014

This was by far my most favorite yoga class on a Thursday. I loved the breathing in the beginning. It really got me in the mindset to practice. However the holding times were hard. I felt my muscles stretching more than usual. When we did the Sun Salutation I could feel myself getting heated but I was able to breathe. This practice really did teach me the importance of proper breathing. I think my most favorite part of the practice was the relaxation. I felt that my mind and body had a chance to catch up and I didn't feel disjointed from my body and mind at the end. The positions were challenging at times but because of how long we would hold them I was able to find my breath in them and to actually achieve a greater stretch. When reading about the practice I did find it interesting that they included proper diet and meditation into the practice. 

Overall, I felt that this was a unique yoga experience and was one I wouldn't mind having again. It was exactly what I needed before taking my big midterm. 

My Seventh Yoga Experience

date 3/4/2014

Place @lake side

Today the focus was hip openings. We did a lot of mini back bends all while opening our hips. This was exactly what I needed to-do today. I felt great release in my hips and hamstrings. I had been in pain for a couple weeks from the yoga classes we were having on Thursdays so this was a little gentler on my body. We did some focus breathing in the beginning of class that really helped me to focus on the class and on what I wanted to get out of the class. I was able to maintain my breath throughout all the positions. As I was able to focus on my breath my balance increase and I actually was able to feel some inner heat. Which was different the heat I felt trying to do the harder positions in the past two Thursday classes. I knew it was a good class when I finally laid in the corpse pose and was able to feel the muscles relax and actually rest my back on the floor.

In this class I really enjoyed focusing on my breath and actually feeling the positive aspects of it on my yoga.

My Sixth Yoga Expereince

Date 2-27-2014
Practice: Ashtanga
So Ashtanga was one of the hardest yoga experiences I have ever had. I felt very much out of my comfort zone and my body was hurting the day of. With that being said I am glad I was able to have the experience. I was truly able to see and feel why an instructor should assign an asana to a student when he or she is ready. Towards the end of the series the positions felt impossible. However if I could have taken my time and focus on learning the asanas one at a time I think I could work up to doing some of the more difficult ones. Also, the traditional way of practicing this series makes it so that the person may be less likely to hurt themselves. Seeing the instructor put a few people into their positions really showed me first hand how people could end up becoming hurt while doing this type of yoga.
When we practiced the Uddiyanna Bandha I was able to understand the dedication and strength that goes into engaging the locks while doing the asanas. Just attempting suryanamaskara A&B I knew it was going to be a challenging class. I did however feel the heat increase inside me. Hearing the noise of others breathing made me conscious of my breathing. It felt weird to make and audible breath. The harder the position the harder it was to focus on my breath and actually breathe. I could feel the rapidness of the class and that also made it hard for me to breathe.

My Fifth Yoga Experience

Date 2/20/2014
Practice: Iyengar
Instructor: Luisa Cilurrzo

This practice was the one practice where I felt I actually learned to proper way of doing some of the positions we have been doing for the last month or so. I absolutely loved the use of props. I felt some of the best stretches I have had this far in yoga. I also felt like it really did help my posture a bit. I know that Luisa did not push us like they would in a true Iyengar class which makes me wonder if I really would like the class.
The props though truly make the practice. I think my favorite part was supta baddha konasana where there was support under the back and head. Just laying there I could feel my chest and back opening up unlike anything I had ever felt before. All my tension in my middle upper back just dissolved. The importance of the perfection of the positions was very evident and made it so that I did not feel as hurt the days following the practice. It was interesting that the practice does not really teach pranayama because most yoga practices seem to teach it. There were a lot of holds that really made me feel and stretch further in my stretches.

Fourth Yoga Expereince

Date February 18, 2014
Yoga @ Lake Side

This week I have had head congestion and have been dealing with being dizzy. Going to class was really hard because of this. I really didn't feel that I was going to be able to do any of the upside down poses. The class focused on breath for the beginning and then used the taught breath to help us in our following poses.

In our lecture class we have learned about breathing, heat and energy. I felt that this breathing created all three things. We inhaled normally the exhaled normally. We then used the backs of our tongues to make our throats feel a little closed. She likened it to pulling the side of a balloon tight to let the air our so it makes a high pitched noise. The exhale sounded like the rushing of the ocean. That was easier to master. I started to feel my core getting warm. I felt the breath in my rib cage which I don't remember ever feeling before. We then did the same motion but on an inhale. This was harder because my body just wanted to breathe in normally. But once I was able to do the inhale and exhale the same my lungs and chest felt the full expand. The control of the breath calmed me down and I almost felt that I could relax all part of my body. This breathing exercise was powerful. My core was warm, I had a bit of energy increase. It just amazed me.
Then we went into the positions the instructor had ordered for us. There were a lot of holds and we were encouraged to use the new breathing technique to help us go further into our asanas. I had a hard time finding this breath but I wish I would have found it because I would have probably gotten a better stretch.

My Yoga Teacher was: Stevee Simone Wolos