Vinyasa flow
The site I chose to visit for my midterm was Karma yoga studio, the Allston location, on Commonwealth Avenue. The studio is located inside of a large building, which it shares with a boxing club called The Ring. As I walked up the (many) stairs of the building, smelling the odor of fresh sweat and hearing the boxing instructor loudly drilling and pushing his class, I wondered how there could possibly exist a sense of peace that a yoga center is supposed to provide in the same building. Karma is located on the top floor, through a rather sketchy hallway, but the actual practice space is beautiful and lies through two extremely ornate wooden doors. On the other side of those doors was a completely different world, instantly I forgot about where I had just come from. The room was lined with dark hard wood floors, multi-point star shaped light fixtures hung from the ceiling, the room had a very bohemian feel to it, somewhat of a “trendy” Americanized yoga studio vibe. At the same time I found it very relaxing.
Karma Yoga studio has three locations- one in Harvard square, one in the south end, and the Allston location which I visited. Unfortunately it was very hard to find any information on the history or opening of the studio. However, karma yoga studio claims that it is “an independent holistic fitness studio”. This is due to the fact that at their Harvard location they also feature a gym and a tea bar. This in itself shows the slight Americanization of the yoga lifestyle by Karma, simply by adding a gym. Having been to the Harvard location previously, I actually found the Allston location, despite its somewhat sketchy/hidden location, to be less of a trendy, yoga pant-wearing, Americanized fitness class atmosphere and therefore, while definitely not authentic, more of a genuine experience and less of a “workout”. Karma’s website provides a mission statement that says “We believe that choice, personal attention, and a beautiful, healing environment are essential to the health and well-being of all, We are founded on and committed to the belief that compassion and non-violence are the indispensable components of progressive individual and social change.” and “We aspire to help you transform your body, clear and refresh your mind, and enlighten your spirit.” (Karma).
Upon arriving to class my energy was generally tamasic, I was feeling very dull from a stressful day and had an earsplitting headache. I thought that this yoga class would physically push me to my limits, therefore worsening my headache.
The class was taught by an instructor also named Allison, who was very welcoming and interested in sharing some things about Vinyasa yoga in relationship to what I know as hatha yoga. She explained that Vinyasa yoga falls underneath the category of hatha yoga, but that it is a specific type of hatha yoga, and not all types of hatha yoga are Vinyasa yoga. She also explained that Vinyasa is a more fluid style of yoga, where each pose flows into the following pose.
The room was heated to about 95 degrees for the duration of our practice. This heat is used to create internal heat (energy), increase flexibility, and to flush the body of toxins through sweat. The class consisted of 4 women ranging from early 20’s to late 40’s, two men, one of which was seriously flexible, and myself. Everyone seemed to be regulars, with the exception of my neighbor. We began by sitting on our mats and Allison had us imagine cradling a ball of energy between our hands. She had us focus on this energy for a while, and after some time I began to feel a tingling sensation in my hands, which I found very intriguing. Following that she had us hold our hand to our face and breath on it the way we would to put fog on a mirror. This resulted in a deeper, louder breath from most of the people in the class, a breath which I myself could feel coming from deeper within my body. Our instructor explained to us that this breathing is the kind that we should strive to use during practice. This is apparently called “ujjayi” breathing, which refers to a diaphragmatic breath that is thought to activate the chakras. This breathing technique is important to keep us present, help flow in and out of asanas, oxygenate the blood cells, and maintain energy for practice. It also is used as a mental focal point. Class then began with simple sun salutations, however I noticed a very distinct difference between the practice in class and this practice of Vinyasa, which was the flow of each pose into the next. I found it easy to continue the deeper “ujjayi” breath for a while, however after a short time of practice I found it more and more difficult to remember to be fully conscious of my breath, while struggling to physically follow the flow of the class asanas.
Vinyasa uses pranayama to achieve this flow. What I found truly interesting about the breathing is that in Vinyasa the movements follow the breath rather than the breath being a result of the movement. We held poses for a certain amount of breaths (inhales/exhales) instead of a count. Remembering to use the core as a powerhouse, or source of energy and stability is an essential aspect of proper alignment in Vinyasa yoga. The class consisted of many sun salutations, which went very quickly, and at first I found somewhat tiring to keep up with. As I continued, however, I found that a more natural rhythm began to happen while moving through the asanas and it almost felt as though my body was regenerating or recycling the energy through the poses, I’m not sure how else to describe this feeling, but it just became easier and more natural for me.
Our instructor was very attentive and good at helping us gently adjust when she saw that we were having a hard time with a pose. She also really stressed the importance of knowing your body’s physical limits—and staying within them. She urged us to use child’s pose, use blocks, or make modifications to poses if we found them physically straining in any way. I had an especially hard time with the pigeon pose, finding a comfortable, non painful alignment for my body was difficult, but Allison helped me by adjusting my knee and using a block. This awareness of your body’s limits is a very important part of practice that especially Americanized forms of yoga do not seem to embrace. “You will get there eventually if you take it slow” is something my instructor kept repeating.
At the end of class we had a long, extremely peaceful relaxation in which the lights were completely off and we began by rocking our bodies on our mats and slowly relaxing each section of the body, as we often do in class practice. The room was very warm and I felt extremely at ease. The instructor read us a short excerpt about how it is hard to see past all the disillusionment of material items in life, especially in a society like America. The reading went on to talk about how despite the materials which should really just be seen as obstacles, keeping us from the true enlightenment that is already within. It explained that all you need for enlightenment and peace is already within yourself. After that we had a few moments of complete silence and relaxation. We then finished class with something I had never experienced before, and it was quite the experience—a sea of ohms, as our instructor called it. A sea of Ohms is when each person does 3 ohms at their own pace, whenever they finish with the first ohm, they go onto the next without waiting for the other class members. This created a beautiful harmony of different, but united ohms which seemed to echo off of each other and while listening to this beautiful sound, I too was saying my own ‘ohm’s. The sound of each persons ‘ohm’ was somewhat distinct and it was empowering to be able to hear your own ‘ohm’ loudly filling the room, unhidden, somewhat separate from everyone else’s, while still existing and reverberating in the same room. This was possibly my favorite part of practice. At the end of the class I made sure to assess my overall mood. My headache was completely gone, which truly surprised me but also was very affirming of the positive effect of yoga on the body and mind. Overall I found this experience very pleasant, I felt very refreshed and rejuvenated after class. It was somewhat of commercialized, stereotypical American yoga class, but for the most part I felt that the class at Karma was trying to adhere to some of the traditional values and ideas of Vinyasa hatha yoga, but just applying it to an American audience that wants a “workout” and an upscale experience.
Resources
Gaspar, Lori. "The Many Nuances of Vinyasa." Yogachicago. 12 Nov. 2003. Web.
“Welcome to Karma Yoga." Karma Yoga. Web. http://www.karmayogastudio.com/
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