Throughout the semester, there have been many changes in my actions and habits. I used to view Thursday nights as a night to go out, but that definitely changed for the better. Over these past few months I have undergone a lot of changes in perspective, determination, perseverance, beliefs, insights and just my attitude in general. These changes were subtle that I did not even realize it until I read through my weekly blog entries. 

I tried to consistently take the Thursday night class at Yoga Nine, but some weeks I had to take it another day. The first time that I took that class, I was shocked at how challenging it was. I knew I could handle it, but I definitely expected less. I was attracted to the fact that it was challenging and meditative – yet different from any yoga I’ve ever taken before - which kept me going back every week.

I spoke about rituals in week two before I even learned the phases of them – only labeling it as a ritual because it was a repeated action. It was interesting to me that I mentioned, “The sounds of everyone's breath becoming synced up with the instructors command creates a sense of oneness or community. When I tap into that Ujjayi breath with everyone in the room, it feels powerful.” This powerful transition phase only became stronger each time that I practiced yoga at Yoga Nine. Also, the ritual space continually made me feel comfortable each time I went there because it is cozy with nice décor, not just a large open room.

The topic for week four was yoga as an exercise. I stated that I believe yoga is definitely more than just an exercise, saying: “It has a huge mental and spiritual component to it. It is very different from running because you are not connecting with your breath when you run or work out. Those activities are more goal-oriented; for example, you set the goal to run two miles to burn some calories. Personally, I think yoga is not goal oriented. Though I do like to make progress in the poses, I do not set specific goals as I would when I run. I use the practice of yoga as a time to focus inward, come into a meditative state, and become mindful of my breathing and thinking.” These beliefs have only been strengthened throughout the course. Learning about all the revolutionary texts have made me realize how much mental determination and focus one must have to partake in specific types of yoga.  

  October 7^th was the best class I have taken. Since there were only three of us, we were able to use the ropes and harnesses on the wall, which filled me with happiness because I love being upside-down. I learned an amazing tip from this class; how to breathe through your chest while being inverted. I took that with me and reincorporated it into my life and my part time job of being a gymnastics instructor, and I am very thankful for that.

Over the course of the semester, what I realized is that the whole ritual experience was warped when I took a different class at Yoga Nine with a different instructor. I felt the most comfortable in the Thursday night class with Laurie. However, the community feeling always helped me to stay engaged. “When I tapped back into the present moment and heard everyone's breath, it helped me to focus and become more mindful. Community is truly a huge part of the ritual process of yoga because it creates a like-minded, high-energy environment.” Community is truly a huge component of the practice. With everyone emitting the same energy through breath, it has the ability to create liveliness in the room that can truly motivate and move you, even on your most stressful days.

Yoga may be on the brink of pop culture, but I did not experience that in my time spent at Yoga Nine. At this studio, yoga is revered and practiced in specific sequences that engage both the mind and body equally. Whereas, other studios may be more centered on yoga as a physical, pop culture, where the heat might be raised so that people can sweat and work towards skinnier or more muscular bodies. Though this is NOT the focus at Yoga Nine, the practice was always engaging and muscle strengthening. We did a lot of core exercises along with many postures that helped to increase my flexibility. I think the most beneficial pose for my flexibility was pigeon, since my hips are very tight.

Physically, I noticed a lot of progression with my binds throughout the past few months. I did not even know I was able to hold them in the beginning! Also, I feel that my balance has improved a lot through practicing inverted triangles, headstands and handstands. My overall flexibility has increased as well, which I am grateful for.

A lot has changed for myself mentally. I did not realize it as it was happening because I was caught up in the fast-paced reality of everyday life, but looking back on it, I realize I’ve gained a lot of new concepts and positive qualities. For starters, I think that my determination and patience have increased. The first time I took the hour and a half class with Laurie, I was waiting for it to end because I was very fidgety. However, after a few classes, I felt excited and ready to take each class. I was able to reincorporate this patience back into my daily life with all of my relationships. I also cultivated a great deal of mindfulness in each class, which helped me to deal with the stresses that school could bring about.  Most importantly, the seed of non-attachment has been planted in my mind. I will strive to live a life of non-attachment from physical and mental suffering, along with not identifying with material possessions as much as I used to. Living a life of non-attachment, mindfulness, compassion, patience, and determination, are in my opinion, the best qualities to have and ultimately the best way to exist. Thank you for all that you have taught me!

I took class at Yoga Nine Thursday night. We did many core engaging postures. We also did a few twists, lunges, warriors and inversions. It was challenging for myself to stay in the lunge because my quads were so sore from a workout I did the previous day. However, I stayed mentally focused, and overcame the burning sensation.

Yoga can be considered a religion mostly in Eastern cultures. In the West, most yoga studios are directed at perfection of the body, or gaining more mind control and spiritual enlightenment. However, it is not normally treated as a religion here. Every yoga studio I have been to has been focused on increasing flexibility, sculpting the body, or getting rid of toxins (hot yoga).

Since yoga was cancelled Thursday night at Yoga Nine, I decided to take a class this morning at 9:30 at Grow Yoga. I took the all levels class. It was interesting to be back here because I used to have a membership last year, so the space and rooms looked familiar. The room was also heated.

I wasn't quite able to get too deep into that meditative state while practicing here, probably because it was a different community of people that I wasn't used to. However, I did think the class was good, and I got a good sweat in. It was suitable to all levels because with each posture, there were further, advanced options if you wanted a challenge. I think this was a great way to start my day.

This week I practiced yoga on Thursday night at Yoga Nine. The focus of the class was on binds. This was pretty challenging for me, but I realized I was more flexible than I thought I was. When practicing a bind while in a twisted triangle, I did not realize I could reach and grab my other wrist until Laurie pushed me limits and showed me I could. I appreciate those adjustments because they make me realize what I am truly capable of.

Though the class was difficult, I felt that my muscles were very stretched and elongated afterwards.  I realized this during Shivasana at the end, when Laurie told us to focus on what felt different in our bodies. I was a bit stressed throughout the day because I was very busy, but after I practiced, I felt more clear-minded and relaxed, which just shows how much of a positive effect yoga can have on a person's mental health. 

Tonight I took a class at Yoga Nine that I loved. The focus was core strengthening so it was a bit challenging at times. We also did some hip opening positions such as pigeon, which is always hard for me because I am not flexible in my hips and have weak ankles, but I was content in that position.

The end of class was the best because we worked on inversions such as head stands and hand stands which are my favorite. Laurie taught us the correct positioning of our hands, chest, neck and ribs which made it easier to do. Shivasana felt extra good at the end because we had just worked really hard throughout the class. To finally come to stillness after intense focus and movement is a rewarding feeling. This was definitely one of the better classes I've attended.

On Wednesday I took a class at Yoga Nine with a male instructor. Right from the beginning, I felt comfortable and had a feeling I was going to have a great class. I really enjoyed it and remained engaged the whole time, mainly because it was very physically demanding.  Also, there were only three people who took the class, so the instructor really focused on proper positioning and adjusting. We practiced inversions and a few postures that called for intense focus, like headstands, crow and a few others that I have never tried before.

It is evident that yoga in the West has become a "pop culture" because it is part of the work out fad that is happening today. People want skinny and toned bodies, so they take hot yoga or other types, in hopes to lose weight and "look fit." This physical marketing of yoga can be due to the many uncertified instructors and studios there are nowadays who take any physical practice and call it yoga. Most of them don't even understand the meaning or origin of it, which is why the West has turned the traditional religion of yoga into a pop culture movement.

I took Yoga Flow with Joyce on Tuesday. She conducted it as more of a technique class, considering we spent most of the time perfecting Chaturanga into upward dog into downward dog. She taught us how to properly transition without over-extending your shoulders.

At first, I thought I was going to be the only one in the class because I showed up just on time. However, about 5 minutes later, two more people walked into the studio and warmly greeted me. It was then that I realized that having a sense of community while practicing is very important to me. Though it was only us three, It felt right hearing everyone's ujjayi breath sync as we started the class.

I recognized myself becoming disengaged about a half hour into class. My thoughts were wandering and I was becoming impatient. I realized this was probably because it was a slower class and less challenging than Yoga Flow Plus, which I normally take. However, when I tapped back into the present moment and heard everyone's breath, it helped me to focus and become more mindful. Community is truly a huge part of the ritual process of yoga because it creates a like-minded, high-energy environment.

I practiced at Yoga Nine on Thursday night, after the Ashtanga practice in class. It was a little challenging to do both in one day because Ashtanga was more difficult that I realized it would be, even though we did a modified version of it. I have been going to Yoga Nine just about every Thursday for the past month, so it is becoming a habit or ritual for me.

The ritual begins the separation period as soon as I step into the studio, take my shoes off, and put my stuff in a cubby. Immediately I am welcomed into a quiet, serene, dim-lighted atmosphere where it feels completely different from the outside world I was just in. For me, the transition period begins when I push myself deeper into a stretch, even further than I previously believed I could go. This was very apparent Thursday night because I was very tired and sore already, but I kept focused and in tuned with my breath which helped me to engage in each position maximally. Reincorporation happened when I left the studio and got back into my car to drive home. Being in a peaceful state of mind, this is when I reflect on my day and try to sustain the same feelings and attitudes that are present when I am in the studio practicing. Though it is hard because they are often interrupted with external forces out of my control, I try to keep this mindset throughout the rest of the weekend and following week.

This week I took a Pranayama class on Monday which consisted of only breathing exercises. I realized that the hardest part for me was trying to inhale for 10 seconds, but the exhalation for 10 seconds was easy. I really enjoyed the different exercises and I felt like it was the best precursor to the Yoga Technique class after words. I felt in tuned with my breathing as I started that class, and witnessed the heat build up inside me fairly easily considering I had been still for the first half hour.

On Thursday in class we practiced Iyengar Yoga with Annie, which focused on the details of each posture and movement. At night during the evening class at Yoga Nine, we used the yoga belts and ropes as an aid to get deep into certain poses. On the inversions, it was challenging to manage my breathing and that is when I felt the most heat building up inside me, even though I was enjoying it!

I think there were similarities in both classes on Thursday because we held each pose for a few breaths and got really deep into them. With Laurie we focused on the precision of the warrior postures by making sure the hips were perfectly squared and using ropes for resistance. It felt great to do the back bends with the belt supporting us; I could feel my vertabrae stretching and elongating. My favorite part of the class was the butterfly inversion into the handstand because I love to be upside-down. Overall, I think that was my favorite yoga class that I have ever taken.

I believe yoga is definitely more than exercise. It has a huge mental and spiritual component to it. It is very different from running and Zumba because when you take part in those activities, you are not connecting with your breath. Those activities are more goal-oriented; for example, you set the goal to run two miles to burn some calories. Personally, I think yoga is not goal oriented. Though I do like to make progress in the poses, I do not set specific goals as I would when I run. I use the practice of yoga as a time to focus inward, come into a meditative state, and become mindful of my breathing and thinking.

This week on Thursday during Bikram yoga (though I was extremely tired because I had two other classes before it) I felt empowered to take part as soon as we started with the breathing exercise. Chris's guiding voice was demanding yet soothing at the same time. I enjoyed the series of the poses and I now understanding the reasoning behind the sequence. I have to admit, it was a bit more challenging than I thought it would be. However, I liked how we would focus on each pose by itself, whereas in most of the other practices I've taken part in, it has always been a flow. 

Week 2 practice

I went to Yoga Nine again for the Thursday evening class. I have already created a ritual of going two Thursdays in a row, and plan on continuing to do so. I consider this a ritual because it is a repeated action that is performed, and it is in a sacred environment with others who may share the same mindset and intentions. 

The sounds of everyone's breath becoming sinked up with the instructors command creates a sense of oneness or community. When I tap into that Ujjayi breath with everyone in the room, it feels powerful. Another aspect of the practice that makes me feel comfortable is the dim lighting and neutral temperature of the room. 

There are no specific rules that are stated when you practice; they are basically understood by everyone. Many people use this time to turn inside and decompress from the stresses of the day, so it is important to respect that by remaining quiet, calm and reserved. The behaviors of the people at Yoga Nine are very admirable. It shows that everyone tries their best in their practice and treats it with the utmost respect. I really appreciate that. 

On Thursday, September 15^th, I took an intermediate yoga class at Yoga Nine. I had never been in a long and narrow space while practicing, but I liked the difference, especially because the colors and decor were nice. The lights were dimmed in the room and the temperature was comfortable; I felt peaceful as soon as I walked in. The people who were attending the class all seemed to know each other or the instructor, which can sometimes be intimidating, but it wasn’t at all. Everyone was very friendly and seemed pretty experienced in yoga.

The class itself was amazing because I was able to really deepen my stretching and lengthen my body. I noticed I was able to even deepen my twist in my back further than I thought I could – of course with your push and help. It was the perfect balance of challenging and meditative, even a bit more challenging then I had expected. In the beginning of the class I felt that the room was a comfortable temperature so I thought I wouldn’t sweat that much, but boy was I wrong!