Jamie Coyne
Professor Douglass
October 10, 2012
Baptiste
Power Yoga
The
yoga studio I attended is called Baptiste Power Yoga Institute in
Cambridge. This studio is based on
an athletic approach to yoga, and as a student-athlete I assumed it appropriate
for me to attend. The rooms in
this studio were well lit, with natural sunlight shining in through the
windows. The sunlight gave the
studio a calming appeal, as did the rest of the room’s atmosphere. What I did not realize before attending
the yoga class was that Baptiste Yoga is a form of hot yoga. Even as an athlete, I think that I
sweat more than the average human, and therefore was not fully prepared for
what was to come.
I
attended class with a man named Samuel as the instructor. Samuel took his first yoga class in 2008,
and since then has become fully devoted to his yoga practices. I talked to Samuel before the class
began and he told me that through the influence of Baptiste Yoga, he has
changed his life to be an inspired and empowered human being. He said that his intention for each
class is to take his students to their breaking point, but to get them there while they are having fun and enjoying their time. I asked Samuel why he enjoyed doing yoga, and he said that
it provides him with the tools necessary for awakening himself within the
present moment. Samuel believes
that “No matter how sick, unhealthy or lost someone is, there is still such a
bright light within them” (Baptiste, 2012). I enjoyed the way Samuel lead the
class with passion, and it was nice to know that he had put yoga at the top of
his priorities before beginning class.
I have attended very few yoga classes, but in my personal opinion, a
yoga class taught with passion is much better than one that is not.
In
the 1940s, Walt Baptiste founded the practice of Baptiste Yoga. Following Walt, Baron Baptiste
continued the family practice and grew it into what it is today. Baron Baptiste has spread his message
of Baptiste Yoga to thousands of people worldwide. Growing up in a family made up of health, yoga and
philosophical educators allowed Baron to learn from his own life experiences
that yoga was a vital part of life.
He learned to use his uplifting teaching style to inspire people both in
their minds and bodies, giving him an opportunity of a lifetime to continue the
growth of Baptiste Yoga.
Baron
is not a spiritual, moral or religious teacher. Rather, he considers himself a student of life and is also
still inspired by sharing his experiences of his own upbringing and training in
yoga. Baron has written four
books, stretched across twelve different languages, that each has become a part
of society’s thinking of well-being.
In the 1990s, Baron introduced “power yoga” to America in a whole new
way. His methods provided
“individuals and groups with a means to access the powerful benefits of yoga
practice for themselves, but without the mysticism and new-age overtones”
(Baptiste, 2012). Baptiste Yoga took off in the mainstream of American
culture.
Shortly
after Baptiste Yoga took off, Baron joined an NFL football team’s coaching
staff, where he became the team’s Peak Performance Specialist and designed a
program for athletes to enhance their performance on the field. Jeffrey Lurie, owner of the football
team, said, “When it comes to training champions, Baron Baptiste is exceptional”
(Baptiste, 2012). The publicity
from the football team helped launch Baptiste Yoga even further into American
culture. Baron’s yoga practice is
highly recommended for athletes, and is growing more each day.
Baptiste
Power Vinyasa Yoga classes combine the physical and mental self. In a heated environment, almost ninety
degrees, the flow of breath becomes vital to surviving the class. The flow of breath while moving with
strength and grace from pose to pose is what gives Baptiste Yoga its athletic
structure. The class moves quickly
through poses, each with its own power and muscle focus. The heat in the class allows you to get
deeper into muscles, and creates a stronger stretch. A key element of Baptiste Yoga is that it is for both
advances and aspiring yogis. It
allows for modification and adaptation to poses for maximum comfort. Changing a posture creates an
individual experience for each participant (Cespedes, 2010).
As Baptiste Yoga emphasizes physical
aspects of yoga, it was inspired by hatha yoga teachings. It is designed to inspire focus,
training and insight needed most in a person’s life. In order to achieve transformation, the physical,
meditational and active self-inquiry aspects of the yoga practice are necessary
(Baptiste, 2012). “Encouraging
participants to reclaim their full potential, discover creativity, awaken
passion, and create authenticity, confidence and new possibilities” is a main
goal of this type of practice (Baptiste, 2012).
This
yoga practice empowers people to create quick results in overall body strength
and confidence. This type of yoga
draws towards athletes because of its ability to challenge and support positive
results in strength and attitude towards oneself. While Baptiste Yoga is practiced by all kinds of people,
spanning from professional athletes to people just looking to stretch more, the
results are always similar. People
are more inspired and want to work harder in virtually every aspect of
life. “The distinctions, practices
and tools of Baptiste Yoga supercharge those aspects of your self and your life
where you are already able and successful and produce breakthroughs in power
and ability where your vitality and way of being or dealing with your life
circumstances and challenges has been less than optimal” (Baptiste, 2012). Baptiste yoga is also known for showing
results in a very short amount of time.
During
my experience at the Baptiste Yoga studio, I went through a series of
feelings. At first I felt
overwhelmed. The class was very
fast paced and I was constantly moving and breathing heavily. I was constantly behind in poses and
trying to catch up to everyone else.
While I am usually also behind in our yoga classes at school, I was
further behind than I have ever been.
I was continuously lost trying to perfect each pose. It took a few minutes for me to realize
that I was not going to be able to make it through class if I kept trying to
make everything perfect. This was
the point where I made a decision that actually helped everything. I decided to follow the Baptiste style
and adapt my poses to make them work for me so that I could keep up with
everyone else. Thankfully I made
this decision because it saved my experience. Rather than trying to be perfect, I did my best and kept
moving with everyone else. I felt
more comfortable already and was just beginning to be affected by the heat.
I
started to focus on pranayama, the emphasis on breathing, in order to help
combat the heat. I was sweating a
lot and breathing heavier than usual.
I needed to focus on matching my breathing with my asanas. At some points during the class, Samuel
would remind us to focus on our breath and make sure that we were exhaling and
inhaling while we moved a certain way.
Occasionally we were told to let out a large breath. I enjoyed letting out large breaths
because it made me feel the difference in how breath affects the body. Samuel also emphasized the importance of
being in the now and accepting what my body was telling me about what positions
felt good and which ones did not.
I appreciated that Sam put emphasis on coming out of positions that we
not comfortable because it made me feel like I could actually listen to how my
body felt rather than pushing it into painful positions.
While
I only attended one of the Baptiste Power Yoga classes, I could feel myself
changing a little bit already. As
a non-flexible person, I found the heat of the class actually helped me to
stretch my muscles deeper than they have ever been stretched before. Even though the heat was overwhelming,
and I came out of the yoga studio drenched in sweat, I actually enjoyed the
feelings in my muscles. My body
felt accomplished and experienced a sense of lightness that I rarely ever
feel. I had more appreciation for
sensing my breathing patterns and it felt good to take deep breaths that
corresponded with a deep stretch.
Another positive thing about focusing on my breathing was that I spent
less time thinking about how much certain positions hurt.
A
big difference between our in-class Hatha Yoga and Baptiste Power Yoga was the
speed of the class. Baptiste Power
Yoga moved so quickly that often times I found myself struggling to keep
up. Being pushed to move quickly
in a hot climate created short, quick breaths because I kept getting so
tired. In our Hatha Yoga class it
is fairly easy to keep long, deep breathing consistent. The temperature between our room and
the Baptiste room was obviously a lot different as well.
Savasana
was also different in the Baptiste room and did not last as long as it does in
our class. I enjoy the meditation
phase of class a lot. It allows me
to clear my mind and let my body relax, something I often never have time to do
during the week. In the Baptiste
Power Yoga class, savasana only lasts a maximum of five minutes. Personally, I really wanted it to last
longer. I am not sure how long our
savasana lasts because I am usually too relaxed to keep time, but it is always
longer than the time that was allotted in the Baptiste Yoga class. I was a little disappointed, but too be
honest I probably would not have been able to handle the heat for that much
longer anyways.
I
found the Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga to be much more enjoyable than I was
expecting. While the heat took me
by surprise, I actually appreciated the stretch it allowed my muscles to go
into. In Vinyasa yoga fashion, the
poses done during class were not held constant, but flowed from one to the next
(Faulk, 2009). While emphasis was
placed on controlled breathing, I sometimes found it hard to keep my breath
constant and had to catch my breath with quick short inhales in order to make
up for how tired I was getting.
The
emphasis of yoga being about the individual in Baptiste Yoga is a key element
for a lot of people. There is no
right or wrong in this type of yoga, but rather just what is best for each
person, their mind, body and soul.
I enjoyed this type of yoga and have realized a lightness that I would
not have gained without the experience of Baptiste Yoga. The ability to move from pose to pose
in a fluid motion with controlled breathing with each movement creates a sense
of identity that everyone should experience in their life. My body felt like it was one with my
mind and I came out of class more connected than usual.
Works Cited
·
Baptiste Power Yoga. (2012). Baptiste
Yoga. Retrieved October 7, 2012 from
http://www.baronbaptiste.com/about/baptiste-yoga/
·
Baptiste Power Yoga. (2012). Classes. Retrieved October 7, 2012 from
http://www.baronbaptiste.com/the-boston-studios/classes/
·
Baptiste Power Yoga. (2012). Community.
Retrieved October 7, 2012 from
http://www.baronbaptiste.com/community/teacher/heather-patnode/
·
"Baptiste Yoga - Boston Live
Sessions Preview." Vimeo. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. Retrieved
from
http://vimeo.com/18126112.
·
Cespedes, A. (2010, July 31). Baptiste
yoga training. Retrieved from
http://www.livestrong.com/article/190283-baptiste-yoga-training/
·
Faulk, S. (2009, Nov 18). Facts on
baptiste yoga. Retrieved from
http://www.livestrong.com/article/2961-facts-baptiste-yoga/
No comments:
Post a Comment