Fin.

I can’t believe the semester is over already. I feel like I have come such a long way since I stepped into B126 back in September. I underestimated the power and difficulty of yoga. I thought that it was a very feminine and soft practice. When Laurie first started going through the history of it all, I remember thinking, “Oh geez, there’s no way I’m going to understand any of this.” The names of famous yogi’s were so foreign and strange to me, along with a lot of other terms. After learning more, I realized that even though there was a lot of material, it wasn’t impossible to understand. I can honestly say that leaving this class I know a lot more historical yoga figures than I did when I first came in.

At the beginning of the actual practices, I didn’t find them too challenging. It was basic stretching and balancing. It wasn’t until the second and third week I discovered the more challenging postures. This is about the time that I started feeling the physical benefits of the practice, but not the mental or spiritual. The more frequently I practiced, the better I felt. It wasn’t until one class during savasana when I realized how relaxing and calming it all was. The slowly started getting more of the other benefits as time progressed. Now it has come to the point that when I’m really stressed out or under a lot of pressure, I long for some time to do yoga.

Today we watched the film on Ram Dass. I found it particularly interesting because I’m a psychology major and I’ve heard of a lot of the experiments that were discussed in the film. The practice of yoga and the experimentation with psychedelics have a couple things in common: a heightened sense of spirituality and self-realization. The use of acid and other hallucinogens gives the user a disassociative feeling. They look at themselves in ways they never have before, from a different perspective. Yoga can do the same thing to people who are dedicated to it.

Marcello's Meditation

Class: Meditation
Date: November 23^rd, 2010
Time & Location: In class

On Thursday, Marcello gave us a surprise visit in class. We brought blankets from Laurie’s office. There were only a handful of kids in the class because it was the day before Thanksgiving break. We set the blankets against the wall, so we could rest our backs against something. Marcello gave us a couple hand outs and spent a few minutes explaining the different types of focus points in meditation. Once he was done, we all sat down on our individual blankets. This class was extra special because my boyfriend, Zach, had come down to visit for Thanksgiving break. He has never done any form of meditation before, so I was excited to see how everything would play out. Marcello began by telling us to sit in any position that we are comfortable in. We can have our feet out in front of us anyway we want and we can even lie down if sitting up gets too uncomfortable. I kept my back straight against the wall and let my feet stretch out in front of me. He started off by having us focus on the darkness that is the result of our closed eyelids. He told us to clear our heads and focus on this dark area. Every time we got distracted by a thought, we had to refocus back on this black abyss. I had a very hard time doing this. It was difficult for me to acknowledge this nothingness. I knew it was there, but I couldn’t accept it. It was actually quite frustrating for me because I kept drifting into thought.

Then he told us to focus on our breath and the top of our upper lip. I could do this a little better. Time just kind of flew after the first ten minutes. Marcello tried a few other techniques for concentration. There was a moment where I felt as If I was falling, my whole body and head went forward and I jolted up in a panic. I realized that maybe I just lost control of my body and it took me a couple minutes to gather myself. He then instructed us to grant peace and love to different things. It started off small. We made wishes for ourselves, then our loved ones, then the community, and then the world. He kept talking about a sense of warmth in our chest. At first, it was very visual for me. I pictured slowly moving red embers in my chest. Then I actually started to feel a very subtle sensation of warmth in that area. When he told us to extend our warmth out to different things, my red embers would float out of my chest and spread out to different parts of the room and eventually the world. It wasn’t until about fifteen minutes were left in the meditation that I heard Zach snoring next to me. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want him to wake up startled and disturb everyone so I let him be. Once the practice was over, Marcello said, “if anyone is snoring next to you, wake them up.” I found this amusing, but my boyfriend didn’t later when I told him what he did. All in all, it was a very relaxing exercise that made me extremely aware of my body and mind.

Love

Class: Yoga
Date: November 21^st, 2010
Time & Location: 7pm at Lakeside Lodge

Last Tuesday my boyfriend and I went to yoga at Lakeside. There were about ten student’s total, almost the same number of boys and girls. We set up towards the back of the room, in front of the teacher. We did the normal routine, but she added some extensive calf workouts. There was a position that required us to be in a lunging pose, holding our back leg’s ankle with our hand. I was really proud of myself during this position because I was the only person in the room who was able to do it, besides the teacher of course. I looked to my side and my boyfriend was falling over, with a face full of agony. It was pretty entertaining. During savasana, the noises coming from Papa John’s started increasing. It was a challenge to focus my attention. I focused on my breath and concentrated on a light I concocted in my mind. It was the only way I could focus during the savasana practice.

This is the third to last class of the semester. I will be going to her classes next semester because I really enjoy them and they are conveniently located. She did say that she wanted to find a better class location, which would be great. I’m really enjoying these last few classes because she’s really pushing and challenging all her students.

Meditation...

Class: Yoga: East Meets West

Date: November 17th, 2010

Time & Location: In Class

So today we had our regular yoga class. We were supposed to have an instructor, Marcello, come in and teach us guided meditation, but he never showed up. So instead, Laurie taught us some in the last fifteen minutes of class. All of us sat on the floor around her as she instructed us on what to do. She said that if we have a hard time sitting up to lean against the wall, so I did. Since Monday, my neck and back have been in immense pain. I can hardly move my neck and my back hurts whenever I do pretty much any movement. This is why I propped myself up against the wall. Laurie instructed us to focus on the breath on our upper lip and invision the cold air that we are breathing in and out. While doing this, I made the air visible by giving it a smoky appearance. The soft white air would slowly be inhaled and then exhaled as it scattered in different directions after hitting my upper lip. She then told us to relax our eyes and jaw, which I immediately was very tensed up. Then we were instructed to focus on any parts of our bodies that hurt alot, focus on the pain, and associate a shape with that pain and wait till it goes away. I tried to do this with my back and neck, but it hurt so bad. In fact, it made the pain worse and made it almost unbearable. After that, I don't remember anything. I didn't fall asleep, but I did completely zoned out. I don't remember if i was thinking anything in that time or if any thoughts were running through my head. The minute she said, "open your eyes," i snapped out of it. All I can remember is my head swaying back and forth in pain. It was a pretty weird experience. I definitely want to take another meditation class.

Lakeside

Class: Yoga

Date: November 11th, 2010

Time & Location: 7pm at Lakeside Lodge

So on Thursday, my friend Dave and I embarked on our journey to Lakeside Lodge to take another yoga class. When we got there around seven, the teacher was not yet there. She showed up a few minutes later and the room was not ready for us as usual. The drop down monitor was on and playing the news and Papa John's was blasting their music. She quickly moved some of the tables out of the way and asked the workers at Papa John's to turn their music down. Then we started class...

We did basic sitting, standing, and twisting yoga poses. The one thing I notice about these classes at Lakeside is that the teacher makes them progressively more difficult with each class. She had us do more balancing poses, which i found very difficult. She also made us hold the poses for longer amounts of time. Another new concept that she introduced to class was the ability for us to control our own movements. She gave us a sequence and would let us do it at our own pace, fast or slow. I really enjoyed this because I didn't have to worry if i was doing it in the same time as her, instead i was doing my own pace. It gave me a chance to close my eyes and not worry about what was going on around me.

I really enjoy this class and if it is still offered, I'll still go to it even after this yoga course is over.

Gentle Yoga and Pranayama

Class: Gentle Yoga

Date: November 4th, 2010

Time & Location: 4pm at Yoga Nine

Last week was insanely busy for me, much like this week will be for me. I decided that Gentle Yoga at Yoga Nine was in the best time slot for me last week, and it was a beginner class so it would be more my speed. I took my friend Keith with me. He was eager to try it, even though his jeans made it difficult for him to really get into the positions. We arrived on time, but class started a little late because Keith had to sign the health waiver and get adjusted. I was really surprised to see my Introduction to Social Problems teacher, Elinor Lerner, there as well.

We started off on our backs and did leg stretches. From our backs we eventually went up to our knees, all fours, and then standing positions. The one thing I noticed about Gentle Yoga is the frequent use of child's pose. It was very slow-paced compared to the other classes I've taken. The class was more my speed, but I was often bored at times. I'm so used to continuous movement and a more challenging atmosphere. I found the balancing exercises the most challenging. The instructor placed a lot of emphasis on breathing exercises. With every movement she would say, "inhale" and "exhale." The breathing stayed consistent throughout. She was helpful because she would often say "Don't forget to breathe," which in turn would make me catch all the times I would stop breathing and I would start concentrating more heavily on my breath.

In my past experiences, much emphasis has been placed on pranayama. I have done single nostril breath. One finger covers a nostril, leaving the other one open. Heavy concentration is focused on the breath and managing it. Teacher's will often make you focus on pranayama in the beginning of class, and let you keep it going throughout the remainder of it. It is through repetition that I have seen the importance of breath. Consistent breathing makes it easier to perform the different postures and allows the movements to flow evenly. I often forget to breathe during exercising, but now I catch myself doing it more often.

Yoga Flow Plus.

Class: Yoga Flow Plus

Date: October 27, 2010

Time & Location: 7am at Yoga Nine

I woke up before the sun today, ready to head over to Yoga Nine for my 7am class. I scarfed down a microwavable breakfast I bought yesterday just for this morning. It was pretty sufficient. I arrived at the yoga studio about five minutes before class was supposed to start. In truth, I feel a little out of place because all the students are older than me and they already know each other. I normally just keep to myself, and perform the rituals that I've adapted after only going there once before. I walked in, took off my shoes and put them in a storage square, along with my purse. Then I took off my jacket and did the same with that. Then I walked into the room and laid down my mat farther to the back of the room. I spent a little more time observing the room itself today because Laurie was in the shop screaming about a spider that she left under a cup, urging one of her friends to kill it for her. Ha ha. There are two photos on the wall. One is of a sitting elephant, and the other one is off a yogi performing a posture. She has more props than I remember being in there previously, ranging from cushions, to mats and blocks.

We started off class laying down and focused on our breath mostly. We did this for a good amount of time because all I remember thinking was how relaxed I felt at that moment. We went through class like I remember from last time, and I think I'm making a small step of progress. I'm flowing through class easier, not having to look up at Laurie constantly. I'm starting to understand the warrior poses more when it comes to how to position my thighs. I was sweating a considerable amount by the time the class was half way through. What I find most remarkable about the class are the abilities that some of the older men possess. These are middle aged men, all in pretty good shape. They're really flexible, at least more than I am currently, and they have excellent balance. I'd expect it from the women in the class, but not really from the men for some reason. A new thing we did in class were handstands. We started off walking our one leg up the wall and then having the other one meet it at the top. Then we had to push off the wall and hold the pose in the air. I actually tried it, but was too scared to actually push off the wall. Perhaps that will be my next challenge to myself.I'm really starting to understand the importance of breathing. It seems like when I stop focusing on my breath, my postures fall apart. All in all, it was a great way to start off my day.