This Thursday, I practiced Bikram yoga for the first time. After reviewing the 26 postures of Bikram yoga, I was apprehensive about the class because many of the postures seemed to require great balance, flexibility and strength. However, the class turned out to be easier than I had anticipated, although it was still quite challenging. I ended up enjoying the class much more than I thought I would. The combination of stretching and strengthening moves made the class very comprehensive, in my opinion. Furthermore, I was able to see the practicality in many of the postures. For example, the tree pose is obviously effective for improving balance, while awkward pose strengthened the legs, specifically the quads. Being able to clearly understand how each pose was affecting my body made me favor Bikram yoga over my weekly yoga class. After taking this class, I am curious to see how other types of yoga, like Iyengar and Ashtanga, will differ from Bikram.
At my yoga classes, spirituality is a minor component that is expressed mostly by the instruction from the teacher. For example, she will talk about energy in the body, which could be referring to the soul. Additionally, pranayama is always practiced, which could be used to get in-touch with the soul. Besides the use of certain instructions and words from the teacher, spirituality does not appear to be expressed in other ways. Religion or things related to religion are never mentioned during the class. Based on other classes that I have attended, I think that spirituality is typically a larger aspect of yoga than it is at the class I attend. I think this has to do with my instructor, and how she talks about yoga in a scientific and logical manner rather than in a spiritual way. If the teacher is a religious or spiritual person, that will tend to come through in their class. However, the opposite is also true. Therefore, I think that the extent to which yoga is taught as a spiritua...
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