Week 5

This week I practiced Ashtanga yoga and it kicked my butt. An instructor came into our class and took us partway through the first series of Ashtanga yoga to help us get a feel for that form of practice. I enjoyed it. The practice was very physically demanding and the position our instructor has mastered was down right impressive. I can’t even imagine being able to contort myself into the shapes she could get into.

With that being said, not only were the poses different from many yoga classes but the way she ran it and the things she emphasized and said were a little different too. She was big on doing the positions and doing them correctly. She didn’t want anyone to do them kind of how she said; she wanted them to do it exactly how she said. She also focused heavily on stretching for five whole breaths every time you did a pose. You breathe in for five seconds, exhale for five seconds, and repeat that five times. She also talked a lot about strengthening. This class wasn’t just about breathing and stretching but she also wanted us to focus on strength and building strong bodies. I found that very interesting, and in that sense it reminded me of Bikram.

At the end of it we did some meditation, which I really enjoyed. She had us do a few cool down stretches and then focus on regaining our natural breath. By the time I was done I was tired, but also felt a sense of happiness, accomplishment, and relaxation.