Learning little by little.

I have been attempting to go to the studio twice per week and so far it has been not too hard to do, granted the studio being (45 minutes from work and 25 from my house). Last night I got the joy of Joy! Joy who is the owner of Purusha studio and leader of the Seva project has such a vast knowledge of the human anatomy and yoga it is almost intimidating. Okay, it is intimidating and inspiring. I opted for her Hatha flow class tonight as she was substituting for a teacher.

Joy who is the owner of Purusha studio and leader of the Seva project has such a vast knowledge of the human anatomy and yoga it is almost intimidating. Okay, it is intimidating and inspiring. I opted for her Hatha flow class tonight as she was substituting for the regular teacher, Stephanie.

With great energy, she led us through breathing and a number of exercises. Since the class was a beginner or for more lived individuals, I was able to learn a lot of new things like:

1. If you have bad wrists or holding yourself up in dog is hard, you can fold them under and in.
2. Cobra is easier on the back for lower back pain if you move your hands to the front of the mat, so that it does not compress the lower spine.
3. I need to memorize the Hatha lounge sequence.
4. Your hips are always smaller than you think they are. A number of my class members had their legs spread wide when in half bridge. She instructed and guided others to bring their legs in closer.
5. Hatha lounge is good for the muscles in the inner thighs.
6. Moving your wrists in a circle around each other and applying pressure is an awesome stretch and something I can do all day at my desk with little to know effort.
7. I love yoga
8. I already knew 7, but I love learning new things about yoga.

So that’s that, I am sore & learned lots and lots! A successful evening at Purusha Yoga Studio if I do say so myself!

Svadhyaya: Study of great wisdom and self.

 

I just spent the past 2 days practicing the Niyamas or an inward value of Svadyaya. These weekends I am learning are long and every minute I spend at Purusha, I deeply cherish. This weekend we focused on Hatha practice, what Raja yoga is, and the chakra’s.

I am so grateful for this journey & I am hoping to learn to shut my ego down even more and contain my excitement and desire to share. It is a hard thing for me to do. I am a very passionate person but being surrounded by others who are actively working on other things within themselves supports my need to change & I find comfort in that.

This week, I felt like my presence was enough & my excitement still got the best of me. I’ll focus more on this during the week & at work, hopefully, I’ll be stronger next class session.

Saturday night, I had an interesting dream about my pinky finger, it was growing an extended pinky finger, one fell off and the other one grew right along. Much like when a branch sprouts off. I looked up what this meant, it said that having a dream about your pinky meant that you had the ability to speak. I think I am truly developing my authentic voice. I am able to say exactly how I feel, express my needs and desires while holding little misconception. This is something that I have greatly struggled with in the past.

My authentic voice feels comfortable, I am so proud and thankful for what I have learned. I cannot wait to go back for more!

Weekend 1

My first hatha yoga class not devised by Bikram, I am enlightened. I love the Bikram yoga method, it is great for a hardcore workout but it is predictable. Joy mentioned that some people like no surprises like McDonalds, you always know what you’re going to get. I think this is true but I find it easier to get into a meditative state where I can really channel my energy into myself and goals.

But then I went to Stephanie’s class, a teacher of the Purusha method and I am in love with hatha once again. Strengthening through stretching is an amazing thing that I truly believe to be a great work out.

I have continued to read the asana’s and teacher workbook and feel I have strong grasp of the 8 limbs of Raja yoga and the yamas and niyamas. Next I will try to learn the first 30 asanas and the true meaning of yoga from Patanjali.

I can’t wait to deepen my knowledge so I can begin to spread it!