Laura
Begin
Yoga:
Theory, Culture and Practice
Midterm
Paper
On Tuesday October 9th I
went to Sweat and Soul Yoga studio located on Commonwealth Ave in Boston. I
have been to this location several times but have not been in about six months.
I decided to choose the studio I typically go to so I can evaluate the class
based on what we have learned thus far in our class. This paper will include
what the class was like for instance, the theme of the class and how many
people attended. I will also discuss the instructor Cara and her background in
yoga. Lastly, I will be focusing on some of the topics we have discussed in
class that where integrated into my yoga experience. For instance, from the
text and films I will be connecting Pranayama breathing, Raja Guna and Bikram
yoga to my experience.
Sweat and Soul yoga has been my main
source of yoga practice since moving to Boston five years ago. This was mainly
for convenience and cost, it is ten dollars per class compared to upwards of twenty
dollars at the other studios close to my house. Throughout the years I have
attended many of there classes which offer different themes of classes. On
Tuesday from 7:30 PM to 9 PM the theme was “Beyoncé’s Best” Hip Hop Yoga. Where
as you can imagine, they played all of Beyoncé’s greatest hits throughout the
whole yoga session. I have been to a few on their hip-hop yoga classes where
they play a mix of different songs and it is actually really fun. Obviously,
this studio is focused more on the athletic part of yoga and less on the
spiritual side.
The teacher for “Beyoncé’s Best” was
Cara. Cara is a marathon runner and cyclists along with a fitness boot camp instructor
and yoga instructor. In her bio on the Sweat and Souls website it states that
she relies on her endurance, strength, flexibility and mindfulness to instruct
a purposeful class. She also states her classes are challenging, dynamic,
thoughtful and showcases her high energy level and optimism for her students.
Cara discussed in the beginning of class that she wants this space to celebrate
who we are and to be comfortable and willing to try new moves and push
ourselves harder to achieve higher confidence and achievements.
I arrived twenty minutes early in hopes
to talk with the instructor about her practice and her arrival into the yoga
scene. Cara was very friendly and seemed interested in talking with me about
her yoga practice. Yoga was one of her last accomplishments in the fitness
world she said that she was going to many yoga classes and after two years of
practicing yoga in different studios she decided to get her license in
teaching. She has also recently received her certificate in teaching cycling
classes, which Sweat and Soul yoga also provides. Since Cara seems to be high
energy and boasts about this in her bio I asked her if she ever practices
relaxation or slower moving yoga rather then the high intense classes. She
stated that she does do more relaxed sun salutations in the morning but does
not prefer to teacher those types of classes because she doesn’t find them as
fun or exciting.
When arriving to the yoga studio it
was very clean and dimly lit. There was also incents, mellow music and candles
lit in the front of the room next to Cara's mat. People began pilling in and
within ten minutes there were about forty people in the class, mostly young
women with the exception on three guys. The yoga mats were almost touching each
other that was how packed it was. I do not prefer yoga classes that are this
packed because I like my own space and not have other people sweating so close
to me. The people there were mostly college aged, most of them in spandex short
running shorts and tank tops and most if not all had there own very nice yoga
mats with the towel cover accessory. A lot of the clothes I saw were Lulu Lemon
brand, I recently went into this store but quickly walked out when I realized
that the yoga pants were all around one hundred dollars and sports bras were
close to that price. Also, the people were all very fit looking and looked like
they worked out often. People weren’t
really talking to each other but more focused on getting situated and stretched
before the class began.
The instructor began with the mellow
music and started us with our first pose and some deep breathing. Most of the
breathing she had us practice were deep elongated breaths throw the nose and
out of the mouth. Next we did a sequence of poses and ending the pose in
downward dog. The pace picked up quickly and the music changed, before long, Beyoncé
was blaring and the heat was kicked up to about ninety. Everyone was sweating
and seemed really focused. I have to admit that listening to music that I enjoy
helped me stay focused on the poses and hold them longer then normal. The
instructor did and string of yoga poses focusing on the right side then the
same string of poses focusing on the left side. The poses got increasingly
harder and more drawn out throughout the practice. The last fifteen minutes of
the class was focused on the cool down. The poses were mostly lying on our backs
and stretching and finally she opened the doors and windows to let cool fresh
air in.
As we discussed in class a type of Guna
is Raja, which typically associates with the feelings of mind racing, hyperactivity,
having a hectic lifestyle and needing a fast pace lifestyle to feel content.
Also, we need to change the way of quickness in order to achieve Sattva or
mindfulness. In order to do this it is suggested that Rajas to drink herbal tea
and heavy spicy foods and have yoga practice that contains long holds and slow
deep breathing. However, myself being a Rajas person knows this is very hard to
do. Calming the mind and sitting still is very hard for me to do. I also
believe that Cara the yoga instructor has a Raja Gunas. She is attracted to
high impact sports and is very fit and energetic. Therefore, this is why we are
both drawn to highly work out focused yoga like hip-hop yoga.
In Muktibodhanandas book on Hatha Yoga
Pradapika he states “ Perfection of hatha yoga is achieved when there is
leanness of the body, tranquil countenance, manifestation of the inner sound,
clear eyes, diseaselessness, control of mind, active digestive fire and
purification of nadis (78).” This to me sounds nothing like Rajas however does
have some Raja qualities in it like for instance, active digestive fire. I
choose this hip-hop class because I was more drawn to it, rather then thinking
about what my body and soul would have benefited from. It’s hard to change your
ways of living but I understand that change must happen in order to have mindfulness.
I found it interesting that this studio
that is based almost solely on exercise yoga begins the each yoga class with a
breathing exercise. In the beginning of the class I attended, Cara called it
focusing on the breathe and that we should always be focused on our breath in
our practice she also stated that if we become distracted to refocus our
breath. Breathing is a huge aspect of yoga even in the practices we do in our
classroom, we are instructed how to breathe and when to inhale and exhale.
While reading Rama, Ballentine and Hynes article on breathing they state that
the breath can change us in a spiritual way. He puts a lot of emphasis on
taking time to practice mindful breathing and that even our normal breathing
changes who we are over time. “ However, when one sits down and deliberately
begins to work with the breathing and to manipulate it, he can gradually begin
to see changes in the way his body functions, even, in some cases in its
appearances (13).” Huge emphasis is put on the breath and its important to not
only Eastern yoga practices but also American practices. To me, focusing on the
breathe and the importance of breathing is one of the only links Americanized
yoga and Eastern ancient practices of yoga have in common.
A type of Bikram yoga was used in
the yoga class I attended. However, on the website it is not advertised as Bikram
yoga and states on the website that “ Our classes our heated to about eighty
five to ninety degrees.” After watching the film Yoga Inc. I wonder if they do
not state that they offer a form of Bikram yoga because of the lawsuit that
happened. I do see the benefits of a heated room for instance, you sweat A LOT,
I believe purifies the body and helps get rid of the toxins in your body.
However, heated yoga classes are much more difficult and you must stay focused
on your practice in order to not let the heat get to you.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed my “Beyoncé’s
Best” Hip Hop yoga class at Sweat and Soul Yoga. I found it very challenging
and it was important for me to keep my mind focused. I also found the loud
music and dark lighting helpful to keep me focused. Eastern yoga and Western
yoga are two very different types of practice, Eastern yoga seems to focus more
on the spiritual side of yoga were Western yoga tends to focus more on
exercise. However, I believe both yoga practices have breathing in common. They
both place a huge emphasis on the breath and stress that breathing is important
to stay focused and reach enlightenment.
Resources
Sweat and Soul Yoga (2011, Februaury
20) Information
and Rates. Retrieved from http://www.sweatandsoulyoga.com/yoga/schedule
Rama, S., Ballentine, R., and Hynes, A.
(1981). Why breathe? In Science of
Breath. Honesdale, Pa: The Himalayan International Institute
Muktibodhananda, S. (1993). Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Bihar, India:
Bihar School of Yoga.
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