week 14

This weeks prompt is What is the role of the body? How is the body approached and how is the body seen as a vehicle for experience of the divine?

In my yoga class that I regularly attend is that the role of your body is to focus on your mental state and your breathing. Basically just focusing on your body itself. My instructor walks around reminding us that we can do this, don't sell yourself short. You can do this just focus on this position and breathing and you will succeed. She will walk around and talk about how our body is our temple. We need to cherish our bodies. We should push our bodies to the limit that out brains think that we can handle and go beyond that.  

week 13

For this week we had an in class meditation session. I've always heard good things about meditation and how I should try it. While we were doing it in class I could not "empty my thoughts" I couldn't sit still, I couldn't keep my eyes closed. I was very antsy. I'm not sure if it's because I had a long day and I couldn't concentrate or if meditation just wasn't for me. I've always wanted to try meditation and I'm a little bit upset that I couldn't get the full effect of it. In the future I will like to practice it more, because I believe the benefits for meditation is exactly what I need. 

week 11

No prompt. no journal entry.

week 10

Weekly Practice Journals: Theme: Definitions of Yoga --How is defined in the context of your practice space(s)? What kinds of connections are made to this definition and your group practice? Are there connections made outside of the context of the practice space?

Yoga is defined as a way of life in my practice space. I feel that overtime I go to my yoga class I feel a form for connectiveness. This class you feel on a spiritual level. before class we all sit on our mats and do a moment of silence for those who pray. Every time i go to class a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I forget about real life for an hour and just strictly zone in on myself, which I rarely do anyways. I feel that after taking this class this semester that yoga has all different types of meanings to different people, may it be a way of life, may it be for religious reasons, may it be for health benefits, it all has a meaning to someone. 

week 8

This week was spring break, I went to florida to visit my family again. While I was there my sister and I went to another yoga class together. This time it wasn't on a beach. We went to love yoga center. This place didn't feel as if it was a ritual yoga studio. It felt more of a "gym" environment. We did a bikram class and it just didn't feel right. This was not the kind of experience I was hoping for. Nothing about this class made me feel like I can conquer anything. I would not recommend my sister to go back there. 

Weekly Practice Journals: Theme: Yoga as a Lifestyle & Culture -Yoga has made a transition from "traditional culture" to "counter culture" to "pop culture" here in the West. What have you observed about yoga that firmly establishes it as "pop culture"? What has been the effect on yoga in the West?

In my regular yoga studio in north field Brittany tries to keep is as traditional as possible. It is easy to branch off into the "new" type of yoga. The yoga that people think that yoga is. Let me explain, for instance they believe yoga is just a form of stretching and to look cute. Girls these days don't understand the true meaning of yoga. They just want to do yoga because the mainstream perceives that girls who do yoga are just 10x hotter than the girl who doesn't.