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Yoga Journal 3/27/18

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 are. This suggests that the physical aspect of yoga is not as important as being mindful of the body.

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