Tag Archives: Ashtanga Yoga

Jun26

Beaches, Yoga and Change!

Posted on by
Standard

Hey! How is everyone?!  I’m counting down the week because we leave for vacation on Saturday! I am SO excited.  Michael and I are spending one week in a cottage on the Maine shore.  I’m looking forward to time to unwind, relax and have some fun! Also this week I am crossing my fingers and toes for good news SOON! More on that as it happens but I’ll definitely be sharing with you all!

We had a great weekend.  It was complete with runs, yoga, beach time, barbecues, and relaxing.  I hit the beach late in the afternoon Saturday and only got in about an hour and half of sun time.  Beach time makes me so happy, I love the feeling of swimming in salt water and the sun and sand on my skin! Some crazy thunderstorms came in and decided to head home before I got soaked.  Good thing I did, the storms were so intense the highway was flooding!

Sand Between My Toes!

Before I hit the beach we went to North End Yoga for a 9AM Ashtanga class.  I’d never been to the studio before and was excited to check it out.  It was gorgeous! They decorated so beautifully- a nice combination of hard words, beautiful wall colors and bright but relaxing fabrics for the draperies.  If I own a yoga studio someday (a dream of mine!), I hope it’s as nice as that one! I was slightly terrified to take Ashtanga again.  My body was sore from the first time and I knew what to expect.  I knew it would be challenging and hard.  This class was a half primary series and with half the poses and half the vinyasas it was MUCH more manageable! The flow may have been shorter but that doesn’t mean I didn’t struggle throughout the class.  I was still tight and sore from Tuesday and some of the poses were just not going to happen.  I tried to remind myself that some days we are able to test our limits in yoga and others are meant to be taken easy and do as much as we can.  It was still frustrating but I got through the practice.

Ashtanga is humbling.  It is humbling in so many ways.  From the chants and counting in Sanskrit that I don’t know to the new-to-me Sanskrit pose names,  I feel lost most of the time.  And then there is the physical aspect.  All of the vinyasas tire my arms out, and the jump throughs and jump backs can be confusing and challenging.  Quite honestly I feel like I’m flailing around and just trying to keep up.  When I flow through, I feel completely misaligned. Half the time I am on the left side of the mat and the other half of the time on the right side of the mat but never in the middle.  Every now and then I twist and bind into some challenging pose or find comfort in shoulder stand and realize that despite all of the challenges with Ashtanga I will get better and stronger and it will be easier.  I think this is why I like it so much.  I like the challenge and the reward.

LOVE Wheel Pose!

Michael and I were talking after class and he asked me if Ashtanga made feel like I knew nothing about yoga.  My answer? A resounding yes.  I told him that despite how much I know about yoga I really don’t know that much.  Yoga is a vast practice with lots of different styles and history.  I can’t tell you how many times I hear a story about yoga from one instructor and then a few weeks later hear the same story with some variation from another.  I think this is what makes me so excited to start teacher training in August.  I’m excited for the opportunity to learn and absorb as much as I can about the practice.  I hope that someday my resounding yes, will be become a resounding no.  One can hope right?

Last week proved to be a physical week.  Ashtanga on Tuesday left me with sore arms and tight hamstrings which only seemed to get worse as the week went on.  On top of that I ran a few times in the heat which also was challenging. I’m still trying to figure out how I ran 26.2 miles in that heat.  By the time Thursday came around I was happy to take a lunchtime yoga class and call it a day.  Considering it was my first full week in the new house, with a new commute and living with my boyfriend I was really proud of myself not only for the quantity of my workouts but also the quality.

Workouts Week of 6/18/12

Change can be good for us in so many ways.  For me last week, it was the change of yoga styles and discovering a new practice to inspire me and challenge me.  And on a bigger level it was life changes like a new town, new routine and a live-in boyfriend to keep me motivated and determined to workout.  Working out has always been my time, so it was important to me to keep up with my routine and get my runs in and find the mat and THEN go home to Michael and our new routine of living together.   Week 2 is upon us and despite vacation looming in front of me I hope to have another week of workouts to be proud of! More so, I hope to have MORE changes to announce soon.  Keep your fingers and toes crossed please!

Source: maluna.tumblr.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Do new yoga styles challenge and motivate you? Do you feel like there is a lot to learn with yoga? How were your workouts last week?  Does change motivate you? 

Jun21

Ashtanga Yoga

Posted on by
Standard

Morning! Can you believe it is Thursday already? Time is flying by but I won’t complain! Life is filled with lots of goodness lately and I don’t mind being busy with good things! One good thing in my life is definitely yoga.  In a little over a month I start yoga teacher training.  Crazy, right?  I’d wanted to spend May, June and July really focusing on my strength and getting in to some more advanced poses but I’ll be honest that hasn’t really happened.  I do take yoga 3 times a week on my lunch break but the classes aren’t “creative” and don’t have a ton of challenging poses.  They tend to stick to your standard Warrior poses, Sun Salutations, and standing balance poses with some abs.  Don’t get me wrong it’s a good workout and I enjoy every second of it and it’s definitely better than nothing. We just aren’t getting into lifts, headstands, handstands and advanced backbends and binds like I want to be.

I started looking into yoga studios by the new house and found a few recommended by the staff at the local Lululemon store.  Michael actually has been taking classes regularly at one studio but they start at 5:30 or 5:45 and with my commute and work schedule I just can’t get there in time.  Then I started reading about Ashtanga and realized this might solve all my problems!

Ashtanga Primary Series

Ashtanga is a 90 minute practice and follows the same flow every time.  Each posture is taught with its own Vinyasa and connection with the breath is of utmost importance.  Each movement is connected with either an inhale or an exhale.

It is like using the body to pray with a rosary. Your thoughts are dissolved in the flow of movement, like raindrops that fall into the Ganga (=Ganges) and carried to the ocean.

Ashtanga is meant to be practiced everyday except on moon days.

We don’t practice on full moon or new moon days in the Ashtanga tradition because these are days  to rest from asana practice and observe how mother nature has both obvious and subtle effects on all living things.  Humans are about 70% water and therefore the gravitational forces exerted on us by the relation of the Earth, Sun and Moon create shifts in our energy. Full moon and new moon represent the peaks of such shifts with the full moon building a strong and not so grounded energy while the new moon fosters a very grounded but heavy energy within us.  

The other beautiful part about Ashtanga is that it can be practiced anywhere once memorized.  I’m hoping once I take more classes and become more familiar with the series I can begin to practice at home in the mornings before work.

Yoga!

On Tuesday I went to my first led Ashtanga class and was fortunate to have an amazing instructor who helped me to understand the poses and transitions.  Let me tell you, Ashtanga is not easy.  When they say that it is an athletic practice they are not kidding.  With all of the jump backs and vinyasas your arms and body are warm and burning.  I was sweating like crazy and on Wednesday my whole body was sore.  Ashtanga was definitely a humbling experience.  Here’s some thoughts:

  • If you want to build strength and endurance this practice will definitely help you do that.  I learned that my arms and shoulders are much weaker than I thought and getting through all the vinyasas was hard.
  • The transitions can be complicated but certainly give you something to work towards.
  • The asanas combine a level of strength and flexibility that I haven’t seen in other practices.
  • When you get to savasana you’ll be thankful to be done and have a few minutes to relax your body and muscles.
  • It is a measurable practice.  Since the poses and sequence never change you are able to measure your strength and progression.
  • Connecting your breath to your movement comes naturally in this practice.

I personally loved the practice.  It was challenging for sure  but I learned that I tend to be very comfortable in twists and binds.  They seem to come naturally to me.  What does not come naturally to me is anything that involves being upside down.  Headstands, handstands, fish, etc. all challenge me to trust my body and strength and go out of my comfort zone.  I plan to continue with this practice and will definitely try to attend this class every Tuesday night in hopes to build my strength and find comfort in the poses I struggle with.  Michael and I are taking another Ashtanga class on Saturday morning but at a different studio and I hope the experience is just as good! I hope to memorize the practice this summer and be able to practice on my own.  Time will tell but this is my newest challenge and I am really excited about it!

I need to build my yoga strength again!?

Have you practiced Ashtanga before?  Is this something that would interest you? What type of poses are you most comfortable with?

Jan10

Finding the Yoga Style for You!

Posted on by
Standard

Happy Tuesday! I am having a great week so far, it is much better than last week.  Work is going well and is encouraging and with my big fundraiser behind me I am a little more relaxed.  As you know I am a FitFluential Ambassador and a few weeks ago they were looking for a few bloggers to write for the FitFluential blog.  I was chosen to write a post and am SO excited about it.  It was posted on the FitFluential website yesterday but since I loved the post so much I am excited to share it here too!

Yoga is all the rage these days.  Everyone, myself included, is talking, blogging and vlogging about the benefits of yoga.  Yoga has been shown to decrease blood pressure, improve digestion, relieve low back pain, help with depression and anxiety and build strength and flexibility.  It also helps to calm the mind and body.  Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit term “yuj” which itself means, “to yoke” or bring together the mind, spirit and body.

Kneeling Twist

With all these benefits some people still are not jumping on board.  People who have tried yoga have claimed it does not give them enough of a workout or they like to sweat and they don’t get that from yoga, or it just moves to slow for them.  Yoga comes in a variety of styles and it may take some time to find the one that suits you best.  With so many styles people do not often know where to start in choosing a class.  So let’s break the styles down to help guide you to the practice for you!

Wheel Pose

Antigravity.

This practice is done with the support of a hammock that acts as a soft trapeze for you.  Poses are deepened by the use of gravity while your body is cradled.  The compression-free inversions allow your body to be stretched from head to toe.  The result is a feeling of freeness and a sensation of floating.

Anusara.

Derived from Hatha Yoga, the philosophy of Tantric yoga and intrinsic goodness is front and center.  The focus is on proper alignment and classes are usually fun, playful and light-hearted.

Ashtanga.

Most yoga practices in the west are derived from this.  It is a very athletic and challenging class with six series of poses. You can expect to flow, sweat and be challenged in this class.  The more advanced yoga may memorize the entire sequence, which takes about 90 minutes to complete.

Bikram.

Completed in a room at a temperature of about 105 degrees and will definitely heat your body and have you sweating like you never thought possible.  The class is 90 minutes long and flows through 26 poses with breathe two times.

Hatha.

This is a good class for beginners.  It combines poses (asanas) and breath (pranayama).  The philosophy is to purify the body and deepen the meditation and yoga practice.  Many styles of yoga use Hatha as the foundation.

Hot.

This varies from Bikram in that the room is usually 85-90 degrees.  Ashtanga, Hatha and Vinyasa styles are usually practiced in a hot class.  Benefits include increased cardiovascular effort, increased range of motion of muscles and can help people lose weight.  If you enjoy a Vinyasa or Ashtanga class but are looking to up the intensity or challenge yourself this may be a class for you to try.

Iyengar.

Props like straps, blocks and bolsters are used within this practice.  It is designed to heal the mind and body through supported poses.  This class is appropriate for those who have injuries, or health issues or enjoy a technical class without lots of variety within a pose.

Kripalu.

A strong focus on coordinating breath and movement and alignment, you work within your body’s limits of strength and flexibility.   Combined of three stages, stage 1 focuses on learning the postures.  Stage 2 focuses on holding the postures for extended periods of time and exploring consciousness and awareness.  Stage 3 is a state of mediation where your body moves to poses to pose spontaneously and seamlessly.

Kundalini.

One of the most advanced practices this class combines poses (asanas), breath (pranayama) and meditation in both active and passive form to target the whole body system (chakras).  The idea is to deepen awareness and consciousness, open heart-center and develop strength and character to uphold human values.

Power.

This is a western style of yoga derived from ashtanga.  Often done in a heated room this focuses on breath to fuel the practice. Poses are more advanced and are made more challenging by adding yoga push-ups, and abs.  This class would be challenging for beginners.

Vinyasa Flow.

Often listed as Slow Flow or Vinyasa on schedules this class focuses on connecting your movement with breath.  It follows a rhythmical flow and flows will often vary from class to class.  Instructors usually accompany the class with music. Classes often start on the mat; flow through standing poses, balancing poses and then returns to the mat for seated poses before shavasana (corpse pose).  This class is more challenging than Hatha.

Antigravity Yoga

You will likely need to try a few styles before you find the styles you like and are best for your body.  Remember to listen to your body, some days you may need a Hot Vinyasa class while other days a more restorative Iyengar yoga would be best!

What are your favorite styles of yoga? What are you looking to try?  What style is right for you?

And just a quick reminder that the Sparkly Soul sale goes through January 16th! Use the promo code WHITNEY and you will receive a discount of 15% off! The best part is 25% will go back to my fundraising for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! 

I am also running a raffle here to win great prizes from Holabird Sports, Go Sport ID and other great donors! For more details visit, Prizes for a Cause!