Yoga: Theory, Culture and Practice
Core Yoga
Tiffany Carroca
LesleyUniversity
Abstract
The
theories and practices of yoga can vary in different parts of the world. This
also holds true to different yoga studios in the same city, even on the same
street. Every yoga studio you attend offers something unlike the other and you
are bound to have a unique experience. Taking a yoga class at Lesley University
is very different than a yoga class I attended at Empower yoga studio in
Beverly Massachusetts. Yoga can be added into a workout as a relaxer and calmer
in the middle of a workout, or can fully be a mental and serein experience.
Research
In class we had many discussions on different venues in
the Boston area in which all forms of yoga were offered. I decided that it
might be best to go and visit a site that people in the Boston area may have
not heard of. I wanted a different perspective and would attend a yoga class in
the suburbs. My parents live in the North Shore of Massachusetts, so I chose a
sight in that area. I researched a couple of different places and came across
some interesting venues that were in Beverly, Massachusetts. I chose the venue
called Empower. I did so because I have heard about this specific place and
knew the exact location of it.
Upon visiting the website I was very impressed with
the location. The website was easy to follow and gave a lot of information with
a break down of each class, biographies of each instructor, and very welcoming
words. The motto of the location is “Discover the Power Within.” The website
also talks about the venue being a very intense, physically challenging yoga
practice in a heated room. It says further that it was based on a vinyasa flow that moves
your body and your energy in which you will sweat immensely. The goal is to
combine yoga poses and focus on your inner self to find balance, power, and
more flexibility. One of the owners Tricia states that she wants her clients to
focus on healthy and empowering lifestyles. All of the trainers have extensive
training and their lives are highly influenced by yoga. There were biographies
and experience of the trainers, and a very brief paragraph on how the studio
was started. Tricia Philpot and Lisa Garlitz joined forces in 2003 and started
Empower yoga to promote long healthy lives for their clients. Tricia is an
instructor and Lisa deals with the finance aspect of the business, yet enjoys
hot power yoga immensely. The classes
are open to anyone and they love to have new clients come to their classes.
I looked at a few possible classes, Power Hour and
Core Yoga. Both seemed very interesting, but the Core Yoga class seemed a
little more interesting to me. I liked the idea of yoga being mixed with some
Pilates for a core yoga class. When looking at the website I initially thought
that it was a Hot Core Yoga class because the Power Hour class was, but after
the class I realized that it was just a warm room. The classroom was at 85
degrees, instead of 95 degrees, which a hot yoga class is. Due to the fact I happen
to combine the descriptions of the two classes I did my research on hot yoga
and not just a warm classroom. After reading the biography of the instructor
for the class, Tricia, I knew that the class would be challenging and
strenuous.
The first thing I did research on was a hot yoga
class and what to expect. When I read more into this I found many articles on
the risks and concerns many doctors and yoga instructors have with hot yoga. I
knew it would be helpful to look into this. I did not want to put my health at
risk by any means, and I found some vital information. The one thing that stood
out to me was how body temperature worked and using a towel can affect this. It
is not good to use a towel because it stops the sweat from evaporating on the
skin (Funk). In order for the body to cool, the sweat must evaporate which then
lowers the skin temperature. If there are fans in the room it can help, and
humidity makes this even worse. If your skin temperature does not lower then
more sweating will occur and increase the possibility of dehydration. After
reading this article I knew that I needed to keep hydrated the day before and
during. Also, the heat in the room heats your body and especially the core of
your body. Hot yoga helps get blood flowing and muscles looser. With all this
being affected you can become dehydrated, suffer heat exhaustion, and heat
cramps.
I did further research on hot yoga
and found that it was similar to Bikram yoga. Bikram is ten degrees hotter than
a hot yoga room, has twenty-six different poses, and focuses on two breathing
exercises (Yoga Journal). It also mentioned that you really need full mental
concentration. In the same article it mentioned that hot yoga could be very
strenuous. Another thing I wanted to research was Pilates and Yoga. I was able
to find one article that talked about the use of yoga and Pilates and what to
expect. It article stated “In Pilates, you’re typically taught to strengthen
the core muscles from a reclined position” (Bauman). After reading this I
thought that maybe I would experience some positions like this. After all my
research I thought that I was mentally prepared to sweat heavily, possibly have
great breathing exercises, have a strenuous workout, and be introduced to some
form of Pilates.
Experience
I took a class on a Tuesday that
started at 8:30 AM. I arrived to the studio at 8 AM just in case I needed to
fill in any paperwork and do some research. The instructor arrived at 8:10 AM,
and I was the first in the building after her. She was very helpful and
welcoming. She asked my name, had me pay for my class, told me the materials I
needed for the class, and continued to set up for the class. When I set up all
my materials I began to just look around the studio and try to get a feeling of
the atmosphere. The music was extremely loud and was playing an album by Chris
Brown. I immediately got the sense that the class would not be very mentally
based and quick paced. It seemed as though many people would not be joining the
class. At about 8:25 AM the class filled up very quickly. There were about
25-30 people attending the class. The age range varied but it was mostly
middle-aged women. Once the class started to fill up I focused a lot of who was
in the class and how culture affected the people there. The first thing I
noticed was the clothing women were wearing. I would say that 75% of the class
were in lulu lemon clothing from head to toe. Headbands, sweatshirts, tops, and
bottoms were all brand names, mostly lulu lemon. Everyone had their hair tied
up very neatly, full water bottles, clean mats with special towels made for over
the mats, a towel for personal use, and their own blocks and weights to use for
the class. I felt that the women in the class were very influenced by culture
and what yoga “looks like and should be.” I felt that the stereo-type of what
America sees yoga as was defined in that exact classroom.
I had the honor of sitting next to a woman that was
very willing to talk to me about the class and the studio. She said that most
classes were women in their mid-thirties and had some ranging older and younger
but not many. She happened to be in the higher range. Although she did not
disclose her age, she told me she was the oldest in the class. I asked her why
she decided to join a yoga class, and said that her daughters told her it would
be a healthy workout for her physically and mentally at her age. She spoke very
highly of the instructor Tricia, and said she was very focused, determined and
an extremely motivating instructor. She said that the specific class I was
taking was strenuous and fast paced. Not much yoga was involved and was highly
focused on the core workout.
The class began with basic yoga positions. We
stretched our backs with child’s pose and did downward dog and combined it with
other stretches. It was hard to focus on breathing and mentally being in the
class because we were only in each position for approximately five to ten
seconds. I immediately knew that this would not be similar to the yoga that we do
in our class. We then moved onto the “core” part of the class. Tricia said we
are going to start with the hard stuff and go from there. Plank position it was
and we were working out our legs and core. They were very quick and intense
movements, with an attempt to add breathing exercises in. Everyone in the class
was struggling in some way, people were verbally expressing this and Tricia was
very supportive of this. I did not find that to be an issue at all, just not
what I expected in a yoga class. After each set of “workouts” we would go into
child’s pose, have a breathing exercise, and go into downward dog position and
stretch.
It was difficult for me to follow some of the
exercises and poses at the speed of everyone else because I was unfamiliar with
the terminology she used. At one point, clearly picking me out, she said that
if you are unsure of any pose to just look at the person in front of you. She
kept saying things starting with “if you are new or unfamiliar…,” and I felt a
little uncomfortable. There were many times that she would say those things and
I would look at her and she would be smiling at me. I knew that she was trying
to help me out and did not completely single me out with a specific name, but knew
she was talking to me implicitly. On the
other hand, it was nice because she was focused on her new client and wanted
the best experience for me.
I felt many of the poses were held for a very long
time and many people had a hard time staying in those positions, especially
myself. The “breaks” from the core
workout with the yoga was refreshing and very necessary. One exercise that
stood out to me that combined both yoga and the workout was when we were in the
side plank position. We stood in side plank position and moved our free arm
under our arm that was supporting us up, but only using our core to help us do
the movement. It was fun, yet difficult; I did enjoy the challenge though. The
heat in the room did not sit very well with me as well. Although it was not 95
degrees, I am not used to working out in a room that is 85 plus degrees. I felt
very tired at some points and would go into child’s pose or do a slightly
refined version of the workout, which the instructor encouraged to all students
in the class.
I personally enjoyed the intense workout with a
combination of yoga, but I felt that the real practice and meaning of yoga was
lost in the class. I feel the basis for the practice of this class was not yoga
based, but more for living a physically healthy lifestyle. Although that may be
goal in yoga, I feel that the spiritual portion of it was not emphasized much
besides our last exercise. From the very second the class started I did not
feel relaxed or feel as if I was in a serein yoga environment. In our class at
Lesley it may be difficult for me to focus mentally at times, but the exterior
environment is always peaceful and calming. Where as at the Empower yoga
studio, I was so focused on finishing every section of the core workout aspect
of the class that when we finished with a yoga pose my mind was still racing. Once
I was able to relax with a yoga position and free my mind of how hot and sweaty
I was, it was over taken within thirty seconds when I would have to refocus on
the core workout part of the class. I felt that all of the women in the class were
in there to keep in shape and have something social to go to with their
girlfriends. I read an article from Alt HealthWatch that said, “Learning where
your body is and what your body can do is what yoga is about, not reaching for
an ideal or modeling after a picture in a book. If you are just flexible and
not strong, at the end of your range you are going to tear a muscle” (Hot
Yoga). This quote stood out in my head
from the moment I entered the class and set up my mat.
When I leave yoga class in school I mentally feel
relaxed and a sense of happiness and calmness within myself. When I left this
class I could not wait to shower and relax after. My mind was constantly trying
to focus and I felt it defeated the entire purpose of freeing your mind, body and
soul in a yoga class. The only point in the class that I felt relaxed was the
last exercise. The loud background music was changed to soothing and serein
music and my instructors voice went from shouting to calm, cool and collective.
We placed a block on the top of our vertebrae; right below our nape and let our
head relax back. We then took deep breaths and focused on our mental awareness.
As we would breath I was able to feel stretching in my arms, legs, chest, and
mostly my core. The breathing and music really helped me compose myself after a
long workout. Overall I had a good experience attending Empower yoga Studio in
Beverly, MA. I would attend the class again, but only if I was looking to get a
good workout in and not a yoga experience. I hope to try out more yoga based
classes at this specific venue.
References
Bauman,
A. (2005). YOGA & Pilates. Yoga Journal, (186), 22.
Funk,
L. S. (2001). "Hot" Yoga: Physiological Concerns while Exercising in
the
Heat. Yoga World: International
Newsletter For Yoga Teachers &
Students, (17), 6.
Hot
Yoga: Concerns about Possible Harm. (2004). Yoga Studies, 16.
ROSEN,
R. (2011). THE PATH OF THE YOGA SUTRAS: A Practical Guide to the Core
of Yoga,. Yoga Journal, (240), 113.
which
yoga is for you?. (2010). Yoga Journal, (226), A4-A7.
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