Julianne Smith
Laura Douglass
Yoga: Theory, Culture, and Practice
October 10, 2012
Vinyasa Yoga at the Samara Yoga Studio
The Samara Yoga Studio, located in Somerville’s Davis Square, offers a variety of classes taught by instructors experienced and trained in their specific area. I could not find much about the history of the studio, but it was founded within the past 3 years by Nicoline Valkenberg. On its website, the Samara Yoga Studio describes each of their classes and the different level of experience at which each is taught. These classes include meditation, vinyasa, yin yoga, anusara-inspired, dynamic flow, form and flow, yoga of energy flow, and slow flow. For the midterm I decided to attend a vinyasa yoga class instructed by the studio’s founder, Nicoline Valkenberg.
I visited Samara Yoga’s website to research their classes and theory, but I mainly chose it for the convenience it offered in terms of location, price, and time. The description reads; “Vinyasa yoga is the experience of joining, or unifying a sequence of poses in an intentional way to create a flow of movement that requires us to cultivate an unbroken stream of awareness and breath” (Samarayoga; 2012). From this description, I was expecting a slower flow of transitions that emphasizes an integration of breath and motion and even breathing exercises similar to the pranayama we practice in class, but the class turned out to be a lot more fast paced and physically focused.
On the website, the meaning of the name, Samara Yoga, is given. The studio is located on Elm Street in Somerville and from that, Nicoline Valkenberg was inspired to name the studio after the fruit of the elm tree, the samara. The website states that samaras are the “winged pockets which carry the seeds of the parent tree further then they would otherwise be able to travel on their own” and that “the fruits of one’s efforts and growth have a way of spreading far beyond the source of that labor” (Samara Yoga, 2012). This idea of effort transcending its source and spreading through out all parts of life is fundamental to Samara Yoga’s ideology. It also reflects the vinyasa concept of ease with transition permeating not just your action in yoga, but in life. The instructors at Samara Yoga aim to give their students the ability to bring themselves further than they thought they might otherwise. This value was apparent from the supportive manner in which Nicoline Valkenberg taught the class I attended.
After paying and taking my shoes off, I retrieved two blocks, a blanket, and some sort of strap; all of which I had no experience with or any idea of how to use in terms of yoga. I found a spot on the side of the studio room in the middle. The room had a very clean, but welcoming feel to it with bright natural lighting and hard wood floors. It was smaller than the room we use, but big enough to fit around twenty people comfortably. The class I attended mainly consisted of white women in their twenties and thirties and two or three men also white and somewhere between twenty and forty. This demographic suggests that the class is going to be more westernized in terms of theory and practice.
The instructor was a younger, white women named Nicoline Valkenberg. She was a guiding voice through out the whole class; prompting, advising, and demonstrating. Nicoline has completed over 200 hours of Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training under Yoganand Michael Carroll and is working toward completing 500 hours of Prana Flow Yoga training with Shiva Rea. I will actually be using quotations from one of Shiva Rea’s articles in Yoga Journal later in this paper to dissect vinyasa yoga theory.
During the class, Nicoline instructed on poses and breathing in a very supportive, but non-controlling way that allowed people to guide themselves through the poses. Through out the class she gave options that suited everyone’s abilities, and demonstrated the use of equipment as well. She began the class with three “ohms” in unison. From there we began transitioning through different postures that lengthen the body and enhance muscle stability. I did recognize some of the moves from our class, such as tadasana (mountain pose), adho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog), and savasana (corpse pose). There were many I had not done before such as eka pada rajakapotasana(pigeon’s pose), utthita trikonasana (extended triangle pose), and natarajasana (lord of the dance pose). Some of the newer poses were really challenging, and I could definitely feel the effects of them on my muscles the next couple of days.
I found this class to be difficult because of the poses, but it was more so the pace at which we transitioned from one posture to the next. It was a very fast paced class, and I found myself brought up to a state of rajas for most of the class even when we were in poses such as savasana. Because of the class pace and my lack of experience, I had trouble focusing on both my movements and breathing. Often they did not match up, and because of this I could not get into a type of flow of movement explained in the class description. I tried employing some techniques from class to transition to sattoa. With difficult poses, I scanned my body for tension and tried to work with it/accept it rather than fight it, but I would find myself just settling into a pose as it was time to transition. I also realize that I get into my own mind sometimes and tell myself something is going to be difficult, and I did not do a good job of being in the present. When we reached the end of the class and went into savasana I had a hard time relaxing my body and mind, but I focusing on my breathing helped. We closed the class with three “ohms” in unison. I could really feel those three “ohms” come from a deeper breath inside me, and that helped me to leave the class feeling better about the experience.
The class ended up being different than what I expected based on the description, and I wanted to see if what other sources of yoga theory had to say was similar to Samara Yoga Studio. I looked through our books and did not find much about the actual practice, but an article by Shiva Rea on the website, “Yoga Journal,” describes vinyasa yoga as “a flowing sequence of specific asanas coordinated with the movements of the breath” (Rea, 2012). From our reading I know that asana is one of the eight limbs central to yoga theory, and it focuses on right posture. This concept of unifying breath and movement is reflected in Samara Yoga’s description. It was also present in practice as well. Even though I had difficulty focusing on my breathing, the instructor would prompt us to inhale and exhale during specific movements that matched the pattern described by Rea as “expansive actions [being] initiated with the inhalation, contractive actions with the exhalation” (Yoga Journal, 2012). This practice of inhaling during expansive actions and exhaling during contractive actions was not new to me because when exercising at the gym, I was always taught to breath that way. Recognizing that rhythm helped me to match my breathing with my actions.
There was another important aspect to vinyasa yoga I experienced at the Samara Yoga Studio. Vinyasa yoga “teaches us to cultivate an awareness that links each action to the next”(Yoga Journal, Rea 2012). The underlying theory of vinyasa yoga is to create a flow of actions with a smooth transition. This theory was applied in the vinyasa class by the repetition of the movements for each leg or side of the body. Because we did cycles/sets of motions it was easier to go from one pose to the next after awhile. I notice some people would even pr to the next pose. Although I struggled with the pace of the class, the fast pace may have contributed to the emphasis on transition between actions that is seen in vinyasa theory. Because there were quick repetitive sequences, the focus is definitely placed on transition.
This idea of transition reflects the concept of “parinamavada” in yoga. Parinamavada encompasses the idea that “constant change is an inherent part of life” (Rea, 2012). This idea of constant change and transition connects to a couple concepts we have covered in class. Mainly that everything physical in this life is impermanent. The body is just a vessel from which the soul and mind grows and changes. Vinyasa yoga’s emphasis on transition helps attune the body to changing actions in yoga, but the practice extends to the mind and real life situations as well. Shiva Rea also states that “In vinyasa, how we complete an action and then make the transition into the next is very important in determining whether we will receive the action's entire benefit” (Rea, 2012). Not only is learning how to deal with change and impermanence important, but it is essential to fully experience and evaluate the actions and situations from which we transition.
A final unique aspect of the class I would like to note was the incorporation of music. This addition of music was not an aspect I found in any other description of vinyasa yoga besides the Samara Yoga description. This additive would seem to be a reflection of the teacher and the culture this class serves. It was the instructor’s personal music from her ipod, and it was at a level that I did not find distracting or intrusive. I really did not notice it until the quiet moments of class when we were supposed to be looking inward. I grew up with music constantly playing in the background so it did not really bother me, but at the same time I feel like it appeals to a more western view of yoga and meditation. The existence of background noise can be looked at two ways; as something to block out or something to focus on. I feel like from a traditional view having background music would be seen as an obstacle to meditation, but for people that are not use to meditating, the music can act as something to focus and settle the mind; much like breathing. Because of my background and culture, I enjoyed the addition of music.
Refocusing on Samara Yoga’s description and application of vinyasa yoga, there are certain practices they employ which reflect the theory, but the studio appears to have a westernized practice of vinyasa yoga. The demographic of the class as well the emphasis on physical practice at a fast pace indicates that studio has adopted a western/exercise influenced practice of vinyasa yoga. The website as well as the atmosphere of the studio give a very calm and earthy feel to the student. The session combined breathing and movement, but the prompting for breathing and savasana were not as thorough or as emphasized as the physical movements. I see this as a way to balance between westernized and traditional yoga. Neither way is particularly championed, but nor are they denied.
Although I struggled with this class, I was really glad I could attend it and see a different interpretation/practice of yoga. Vinyasa yoga is a type of hatha yoga, but the fact that the class had a more physical emphasis, faster pace, and background music made me realize differences in yoga cultures. It also highlighted certain parts of the theory we have studied and made me ask questions. I would be interested to go back and see if my experience changes with attending more classes. I would also be interested in attending one of their other classes, such as meditation or slow flow, to see what the differences would be.
Work Cited
A trulygood & jl erickson creation. (2012). Samara yoga studio website. Retrieved from
http://www.samarayogastudio.com/
Rea, S. (2012). Consciousness in motion. Yoga journal, Retrieved from
http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/909
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