Did you notice something different? Last night, I decided to change the look of my blog and try to make it more professional-looking with my limited website skills. I will probably be tweaking it every now and then until it looks just right, so please bear with me. Still figuring out this whole HTML thing. I would appreciate if you could provide some feedback and let me now what you think. If there's anything bothering you or doesn't work on the site, I would love to know so I can fix it. Thanks!
Now with that out of the way, onto the topic for today: yoga! The first time I took a yoga class was a gym class during my senior year of high school. Since then, I really enjoyed it, but hadn't gone to a yoga class until very recently. The full extent of my yoga practice was doing a few sun salutations in the morning and P90X yoga videos.
About a month ago, I finally decided to sign up for yoga classes. A local studio offered an unlimited introductory week deal for only $20. I ended up trying four different classes to get the most bang for my buck! After my first week, I definitely wanted to continue practicing, so I bought a month of unlimited yoga. I try to go at least three times a week.
My favorite classes are:
Hot Power Yoga (60 mins)- The room is heated to about 85-90 degrees and we really get sweating! The instructor for this class is really energetic and fun. She plays upbeat hip hop music, tells us stories about her life (in which she drops a few f-bombs), and works us HARD. We do a lot of core work with crunches, planks, etc and I really feel it in my abs and shoulders.
Vinyasa Flow (75 mins)- I love this class because the instructor is sweet and super nice. She does give us a hard workout sometimes with a lot of push-ups and core work. Vinyasa yoga connects the breath with movements, flowing and breathing from one pose to another. Each breath and pose is controlled, increasing awareness of the body.
Yin/Yang (90 mins)- This is the longest class I go to, and I try to make it on Sunday afternoons. The 60 minute yin part of the practice is holding a pose for a long time, about five minutes. Holding a pose for longer periods allows the body to relax into the pose and get a deeper stretch in the connective tissues. Being in stillness also trains the mind to meditate on the sensations of the body. My mind tends to wander all over the place during the yin practice, and I am working on the meditative aspect of this class. For the last 30 minutes, we transition to a gentle flow practice. We go through a series of poses, connecting breath with movements, and then end in savasana. I always leave this class feeling deeply relaxed.
Stay tuned for my next post, where I will discuss the benefits of yoga for runners!
Do you practice yoga, either on your own or at a studio?
What is your favorite type of yoga?
