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Final Journal

  Number 14 and final yoga journal. I started the class by only taking one yoga class at Stockton my freshman year of college and now being a senior, my perspective of yoga has changed. At first, I saw it as a ridiculous exercise that was a trend on the west coast, for example, California. Due to the current global pandemic of covid-19, classes at Stockton were converted to be online. This made it impossible to hold live face-to-face yoga sessions and was hard to truly experience what can be. For me, I preferred the meditative aspect of yoga and also the physical as well but not at the same time. The reason I chose to take this course is for my holistic health minor because I am always interested in alternative medicines and practices to heal the body in a natural way. Not everything can be done naturally, there will always be instances where medical intervention is required. This experience of learning and practicing yoga at home has taught me that Yoga can be done without fancy equ
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Journal 13

  For the 13 th week of practicing yoga, I chose another YouTube video by Yoga with Adriene called “Yoga For Tired Legs - Yoga With Adriene”. This particular one appealed to me because after sitting all day long looking at a computer my legs become stiff and tired. One does not notice the first few days of sitting at a desk for several hours what effect it has on your legs. Most of the time I sit crossed legged, or in some weird position, on a chair, and hours in my legs become numb. It not only affected my legs but my lower back as well. Taking walking breaks several times a day every few hours helps some, but this yoga class went deeper. Adriene makes great videos that are easy to follow along with and has videos for almost every part of the body. Previously I have watched and practiced videos by Adriene that focus on the neck and upper body. The video started off with laying on the floor, backside down, and taking deep breaths, the same way Adriene’s other videos have started. Brin
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Journal 12

  This week is my 12 th week of taking yoga classes online. I feel like I have hit a wall with my yoga practices. Finding videos that are not for beginners but also ones that are not too advanced. The majority of the videos on YouTube are for beginners or the western type of yoga, exercise based. Yoga is taught as a spiritual practice in the east but not in the west. My definition of spirituality is a belief in a greater essence that could be taken in a few different ways. For example, one way could be believing in Jesus like the Christians and Catholics do but another is Buddhism. Most religions have a spiritual aspect to them, but one can be spiritually attached to something that has nothing to do with a religion. Spirituality in my practice space is not necessarily a belief in a “higher being” but a connection to the earth and being grounded. The YouTube video for this week is called “Yoga For When You Feel Dead Inside | Yoga With Adriene” by Yoga with Adriene. I specifically chose
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Journal 11

      This week’s video is “Hatha Yoga: 40-Minute Hatha Yoga Practice with Yogi Mohan | Yoga for Beginners | Home Yoga Practice” by Nada Yoga School. The instructor first mentions that hatha yoga is “a very gentle practice that anyone can do easily and very safely”.   I felt that this practice is not for a beginner who is just starting off but great for those who really want to get into hatha yoga. Some poses required a block to perform but I do not have any fancy yoga equipment, so I used a large hardcover book when needed. The instructor used blocks for a few of the poses to demonstrate how someone could use them as an aid. A pillow was also used as an object to reach and rest on when stretching forward when in a side straddle. The way I used a pillow as support was by putting it underneath my hips to elevate them when laying on the floor. Doing this elongated my spine and took the pressure off of my hips. Extreme flexibility was not needed for this class and I felt like as long as o
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Journal 10

  Week 10 of online yoga. Today's lesson is about meditation and the video that I am using is “vipassana meditation 1 hour sitting” by My Meditation World. Throughout the one-hour video, there were lots of chanting and only a photo on how to sit. I do not think it matters how one sits during meditation, the only requirement is that its comfortable, but to make sure I sat in the crossed-legged position with eyes closed. It was difficult in the beginning to clear my mind with the chanting but after a few minutes, it became easier and easier. I did not get through the hour-long video, but I did get about 40 minutes in. To lessen the background noise, I used noise-canceling headphones so that I only hear the video. The moments of silence were the most beneficial to me because I do not like noises when I try to meditate. From what I have seen meditation is practiced in a cross-legged position, sitting on a pillow or anything of your choosing, the body is relaxed, and the mind is cleared
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Journal 9

  Week 9 I choose to do a quick 10-minute yoga practice because of my busy schedule at the moment. The video is called “Yoga For Neck, Shoulders, Upper Back - 10 Minute Yoga Quickie - Yoga With Adriene”. On the day of my practice, I was feeling tenser around my head and shoulder areas so I thought that this would be a great match. For most of the class, I was sitting on the floor with my legs crossed. The focus was on the head and shoulders, so the legs were not used much. It started with deep inhales and rotating the shoulder inwards with bent arms so the elbows touch. Next, they are rotated backwards with elbows by the ears and at the same time, the upper back muscles are being stretched. Full rotation of the shoulder while fingers are on the shoulders. At first, it hurt to bring my shoulders back but after a few rotations a few muscle knots in my upper back came out. After the shoulder came neck rotations then to the back muscles.   In the video, the instructor performs the movement
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Practice 8

                This week is my eighth week of doing yoga at home via the internet. I choose to do a YouTube video for this week’s practice, “30 min Full Body Yoga - Intermediate Vinyasa Yoga”. The video was 30 minutes long, but this session took me an hour to do. Using a YouTube video allowed me to pause the video whenever I had trouble with a pose to make sure I am doing it correctly. It starts with laying on the ground and crossing your legs while bringing them to your chest. Right leg over the left then switch. Putting arms out then twisting your hips to one side then the other helped me with stretching my lower back. A pause was taken in between each pose and between switching to the other side. I prefer to start in the ground like how this video is because it prepares me for the standing positions. My muscles feel more stretched out and I can go just a little further when the class starts with floor positions. Next was kneeling with hands on the ground while moving the spine up a
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