Final Blog

My journey through this course, Yoga: East meets West, has made me see the practice of yoga in a new light. Prior to this course, the only yoga experience I had was Baptiste. In this experience the studio was always filled to maximum capacity, the same series of poses were conducted, and the teachers used a lot of motivational dialogue. Taking classes at Yoga Nine and in the classroom on campus was completely different to this experience. Classes were very small and personalized in Ventnor; a few times I had one on one classes with just the teacher and me. The dialogue was very instructional, focusing on the body positioning, the health benefits, and the constant breath control. I feel as though these classes helped me understand why I was doing each pose rather than just doing it because that is the pose my teacher called. I held positions longer and felt exactly what muscles were working and was given knowledgeable explanation on how these positions were beneficial to my health. This made me understand each pose more rather than just knowing the Sanskrit name for it.

I tried to take in as much as possible in my first class or two in this new studio. I took in the smells of the incense, the sounds of the calming music, and the sights of all the Buddha decorations and yoga portraits. It was not until after these first couple of classes that yoga practice started to become a ritual space and practice for me. Once I walk in and am receive my warm greeting, I take off my shoes and go into a mental place that is difficult to describe. The quiet and calming environment surrounding me contributes to this mindset. Once I situate myself in my space on my mat, I am able to check in with myself and take a break from the chaos of the real world. My practice as a whole provides me with the quality time with myself I was unaware I desperately needed. Practicing in a community with like-minded others where you will not be judged allowed for my personal growth in my practice to occur.

Being completely honest, going into this course I did not expect to learn much. Due to yoga being such a hot topic in pop culture, I did not think there was much more than the poses, the sweat, and the toned bodies. Everywhere you look now a days you can find a yoga studio. More and more people want to become yoga teachers, own studios, and be famous yogis. Social media is used to portray the yoga practice in such a trendy light to make others want to join. Everything related to yoga can be easily purchased; books, clothing, incense, props, anything. Practicing yoga is now seen as the “cool” thing to do. After taking this class, I find it all kind of humorous because that is not how it started. Old yogis were seen as outcasts and extremists. They did not practice yoga so they could post about it on social media or get a desirable body, they dedicated their practices and lives to good work and God.

As cynical as I some may be when it comes to pop culture, I do believe there are a lot of people in Western society that turn their yoga practice into a lifestyle. From my short experience practicing yoga on a fairly regular basis, I have not found some amazing form of enlightenment but I have found a change in perspective. Practicing has given me a chance to decompress. It has given me a window of my day to be with myself, focus on my body, and let my thoughts come and go knowing my life will be waiting for me when I am finished. This distress time has allowed me to go back out into the real world with a different attitude, not because someone gave me motivational words to think about, but because I felt good about myself and my place in life and wanted to take on whatever came my way with that same attitude. Yoga is not the same for everyone. To some it is strictly exercise, to some it is the latest trend, to some it is a way of life. Just like anything in life, yoga is what you make of it.