Yoga for Stress

Yoga has been a huge stress relief for me these past couple months. The breathing combined with exercise and the learning element have really been relaxing to me. I don't realize it during the practice, but afterward I feel like a different person. It really does alleviate the amount of stress I feel from day to day, and I can tell a difference in myself if I haven't made it to Yoga all week. I carry more tension in my body, and my perception is a lot more clouded.

I have participated in Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga so far, and both seem to alleviate stress. There are many different types of both Hatha and Ashtanga yoga, but the Hatha that I have experienced focused much attention on stretching and releasing tension from your body. We all know that when we are stressed we store tension in different areas of our body. I store my tension in my shoulders, which I didn't realize until I began Yoga. I have learned specific poses and yoga stretches that help get rid of the tension in my shoulders and elimiate stress in my day.

These stretches combined with breath and the learning process all help to create a more well rounded individual. My teachers have been stressing the importance of understanding what each pose is doing for your body, and how the pose combined with your breath work together to help your body. Initially, I found it easier to focus on one thing at a time, and now finally a couple months into Yoga I am finding myself understanding the comination of techniques and the importance of incorporating all into your practice. I am finally able to focus my attention to all things during a practice, and not just one at a time. I think in a sense the different elements have become one element in my mind, and so its easier now for me to understand and apply.

Each yoga session is spent with 5 to 10 minutes of relaxation and meditation. This time of the practice has been hard for me in the past because I found myself resorting back to my "monkey mind" as my teachers like to call it, or my mind racing with thoughts of what I have to do and stressing about how little time I have to do it in. This area of the practice has also become more clear to me. With my understanding of the different elements, I have also become a calmer individual at the end of the practice. I am appreciating the relaxation time more, and what it does for my stress level. Its a good time to just clear my mind and not think of anything. This wasn't possible when I first started, but it certainly is now.

Yoga and Meditation

In the last yoga class I attended, I tried to focus on the meditation part of the practice. This is an area that I find myself most baffled by. I really have a hard time focusing and meditating at the end of practices, which I think is due to my lack of understanding.

For me its hard to just sit still and empty all of my thoughts; I have to be doing something. When I spoke to my instructor, she advised that I practice my breathing and really focus my breath on my energy. Whether it be to increase or decrease my energy, I need to find myself in a state of clarity and balance. I was also told that depending on my energy level, there are certain practices and poses that can help me move from agitation to relaxation; therefore, helping my meditation at the end of my practice.

My instructor also told me to try laying flat on my back, and imagine a glass of water that moves from empty to half full with my breath. She said that by focusing all my attention and energy to this glass of water I will forget my daily thoughts, and eventually be able to control my thought flow. She suggested that after I focus on the glass of water for a while, to bring my awareness to my body and focus on spots of tension. I was told to find the tension spots, and try to focus my breath to those spots in order to release the tension.

In my opinion, this is a lot to think about when you are trying to clear your thoughts. I am use to work outs that require me to just focus on my body and areas that have been injured, so to not push them too far. The mental aspect of a work out is foreign to me. I think I need to focus on one thing at a time, and then move on to the next. I also think that if I am able to understand the meditation process better, that I will be gaining more from my Yoga sessions. It could also help my understanding for the spiritual aspect of Yoga.

Update on cultural immersion project

I have been attending yoga two to three times a week now for the past month. This past week, I went monday and wednesday, and I had two different instructors. I tried to take a little information from each instructor, to help me better understand the theories behind all the techniques that are believed to create a more well rounded individual.

My first instructor had a very calm style that was aimed at creating peace and clarity in her students, so to help them focus all of their attention on their practice. She spoke softly and gave detail about each pose and our breathing techniques. She plays soft music in the background, and cooridinates her poses and whole practice to go with the music. A quicker paced melody would play at first, and a slower more relaxing melody towards the end. This instructor put more emphasis on our minds, the art of being able to clear your minds so to become one with your practice.

My second instructor this week is one I have had before. She places most emphasis on our breathing techniques, and believes that if we can find the perfect breath then we will be at one with our practice. She also plays a soft music in the background, but doesn't really utilize the melody like my other instructor. This second instructor demonstrates her practice a lot more than my first instructor; she doesn't speak as much in an attemp to calm us.

Both insturctors speak of spirituality and repeat chants that go along with their beliefs and practice. I think Yoga is a great work out for me, it helps me work muscles that i typically can't really get to with my normal running and hiking. However, I am still trying to understand the spiritual aspect of the practice. I don't know that I'll ever be as spiritual with my yoga as most are, but I'm entertaining the idea of it. I think it really could help people that don't really relate to a specific religion.

Cultural Immersion Project - Yoga

For the past month I have been attending Yoga classes three times a week. I have participated in Yoga before, but it was a University offered course, and not nearly as spiritual as the ones I am going to now. Yoga, to me, has always been a form of exercise and nothing more. Of course I believe exercise is good for your mind, body, and soul, however; I have always been confused about how people connect with their God through Yoga, and the whole spiritual aspect of this practice. For this project, I am trying to get more involved in the practice as a whole, not the exercise part of it. I am trying to take in the spiritual end of things, and the background music; the breathing techniques, and the idea of clearing your mind and soul so that you become one with your practice.

I have attended a Catholic church almost my whole life. Since I have been in college, however; I have been trying to experience other organized religions, different from Catholicism. Lately though, I have realized that I don't really identify with any specific organized religion. I believe in spirituality and God, but I don't believe in the rules and regulation that go along with organized religion. This is an enormous part of this project for me. I have heard of people practicing their prayer and staying in touch with their spirituality through Yoga. I really like the idea of this because I find it hard to sit down and pray and be spiritual unless I have a specific place to go. Yoga is peaceful and perfect for just that.

Yoga has a few different breathing techniques that I have been introduced to so far. It's suppose to help you focus your attention on your practice, rather than what you have to do that day or other various problems currently in your life. The breathing out and in as your move in and out of poses helps you concentrate on your balance and posture. I know when I run, or go to the gym to work out; I always have music or a magazine to make the time go by faster. These breathing techniques can help your mind as well as your body.

Whenever I work out on my own, I am always thinking about all my errands I have to run, bills I have to pay, appointments I have to make, school work I have to get done, etc. Its exhausting to be working out and having my mind run wild. Before, when I participated in Yoga, I kind of laughed at all of the techniques they use to get you to become one with your practice. That means no thinking about your daily chores. Now though, I'm trying to understand it better, and actually practice it as well. I am starting to believe too that they really do know what they are talking about.

Yoga has the power to help you become a more well rounded individual. It can minimize stress, and increase muscle tone. It can supply a complete workout in less than an hour, and can help you focus on your mind, body, and soul all at the same time. I anxiously await class each week, it really helps me start or end my days well, and helps me stop stressing, which is something I struggle with.