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 one could touch their toes and bring their knee up to their chest, they would be able to take this class without a problem. Despite the couple of problems I had, I did quite enjoy taking this class because of how the instructor explained all the positions step by step. At the beginning of the video the instructor mentioned that it is easy can be done safely, this helped me calm down a little bit because at first, I thought that this practice was going to be on the more difficult side. I sometimes have trouble staying in positions that require being upside down because all I can focus on is the blood rushing to my head. After the practice, I felt more relaxed because all of my muscles were stretched out and after sitting at a computer all day completing online classwork it was much needed. This practice was enjoyable to do but felt longer than I could handle on that day. Although I did not get through the entire video, I still think that I got quite a bit out of this practice. If I had to change anything about this practice to make it more suitable for me is doing it backwards. By backwards I mean start from the end of the video and work my way to the beginning. Starting on the ground is like a warmup for the poses done standing up and those that require balance. The reason I prefer it that way is because of dance classes I took when I was a child. The class would always start with floor stretches to prepare the body for more involved work. The body is used as an object to find enlightenment. It is taken seriously by tantra and is the source of infinite delight (Hatha Yoga: The Pradipika). Hatha yoga incorporated physical practice with meditation in the way that an average person thinks what yoga is.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHO5bjvjkVA&t=2078s

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