Our in-class Iyengar yoga was different than any yoga I have done before. One thing that I noticed about the practice was that the postures were held for several minutes, making this class difficult for me. I had to come out of some of the postures a few times because they were being held for so long. Another aspect of the class that was new to me was how the teacher had everyone watch her as she demonstrated a pose, and then the class did the pose afterwards. In other yoga classes that I have been to, the teacher typically describes and demonstrates the pose at the same time as the class does the pose, so this was a new experience for me. There were several aspects of the practice that I enjoyed. For example, many of the postures stretched the back and legs, which I liked, especially because I was sore on the day we practiced. One of the postures I liked best was downward dog because it stretched my calves and felt nice on sore legs. Overall, I enjoyed the Iyengar class, but I did find it difficult to hold the postures for so long. It was more challenging than I thought it would be, but I enjoyed experiencing a new type of yoga.
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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