My Yoga Experience- Katelyn Smyth

In my practice space, yoga is very much used as a form of meditation, if meditation is defined as a mental state of clarity and focus. One obvious way that meditation is practiced is through the breathing techniques that the teacher encourages us to use, ujjayi breathing. Because ujjayi breathing involves tightening the back of the throat, it requires extreme focus. This breathing technique, because it requires so much focus, encourages meditation. The teacher also explains meditation by telling the class to not let their minds wander, to be attentive to their breathing, and to clear their minds of any thoughts or worries. Another way that meditation is practiced is through closing the eyes, which the teacher is always reminding us to do. Although she does not actually say "meditation", meditation is definitely encouraged through her suggestions.

Yoga is defined in my practice space as much more than just the physical postures. My teacher said in class this week that there are several other ways of "doing yoga" besides attending a class. She mentioned that if you're walking in the park and feel one with your surroundings and feel at peace, that you are doing yoga. Based on my teacher's examples of what doing yoga really is, I would define yoga in the context of my practice space as: a state of connection and oneness with one's environment and concentration/awareness of one's body in relation to the environment. Based on that definition, yoga can be done anywhere, at anytime, and may not be a conscious act. Also, this definition of yoga does not require any physical postures to be done. My teacher's definition of yoga shows in how she teaches the class. For example, she often says that everything she tells us to do is only a suggestion, and that we should always be meeting our bodies wherever they a

Our in class Sivananda yoga practice was probably my favorite practice so far. Although some postures, like the headstand, were too difficult, others, like the sun salutation, were easy but got my heart pumping. I liked the repetitiveness of the class, like how we went through the same sequence of postures for 20 or 30 times. I also liked how we never held the postures for too long, moving quickly from one to the next. Regarding the effect of yoga on the west, I think that yoga has provided people with a unique form of fitness. Yoga is different than other forms of fitness because it often doesn't promote heavy sweating or intensity, but rather slow stretching and strength building that is not supposed to be intense. It also differs from other types of fitness because yoga promotes overall health, not just physical health. We know this because of the many breathing, meditative, and relaxation exercises that are often taught in yoga classes that emphasize mental well-being. I think

After having practiced yoga for some time, it is very clear to me that yoga is part of pop culture. Most of the things that point to yoga as pop culture I have observed outside of my yoga classes, in stores, on TV and the internet, and in everyday life. The yoga classes I usually attend are the classes offered at Stockton on every Tuesday and Thursday. The fact that Stockton offers yoga twice per week demonstrates how yoga has become pop culture. This means that enough people attend the classes for them to be held on a regular basis, which shows the popularity of yoga. Additionally, the selling of yoga props and clothing shows how much yoga is a part of pop culture. In most department stores, like Target and Walmart, there is a yoga section with yoga mats, blocks, and other yoga accessories. The fact that these department stores sell yoga props must mean that a decent amount of people buy them. These same stores also sell yoga clothes, like yoga pants and other fitness clothing that is

This week, I attended a class at Stockton's TRLC for the second time this semester, and with the same teacher, Jason. I have always noticed how at most of the classes I have attended, the teacher always mentions some of the ways that yoga can alleviate pain and be beneficial for the body. For example, this week Jason told the class that the postures we were doing, such as coming in and out of a plank position, were building core strength. He also said that some stretches would alleviate back pain. However, Jason only talks about benefits that have to do with relieving aches and pains, and not how yoga can be beneficial for illness. Other teachers I have had talk more about mental health. At my yoga class with Stevie that I have attended several times before, she always mentions how practicing slow, deep breathing can be used to calm anxiety. She also talks about how some postures, like spinal twists, are massaging the connective tissue of the body. These messages that my teachers o