November 23, 20009 Yoga Session
Monday Week 13
Today i went to the 8:45 yoga session because i had to make one up and also because i knew that today our actual yoga class was going to be the post test, so we werent going to do an actual yoga session
I had a really great class. I loved it. It was face paced and seemed like power yoga. I was doing a lot of down facing dogs and forward lifts. we did vinyasas, chaturangas. One of the things about this class was it was harder to hear and follow along, usually Sharkie walks us through our workouts and maybe ive just gotten use to her way but i can usually follow along with my eyes closed, but this class she called out positions and sometimes i missed them and was in downface dog instead of child. We did alot more poses that were based on the core and upper body. We didnt really roll around like we do in Sharkies class but it was still a great workout and i did sweat more than i have ever done.
It is a great workout i hope i make it to wednesdays, if not i will try to do yoga at least once or twice before thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Creative Yoga
November 18, 2009 Yoga Session 20
Wednesday Week 12
I was actually really excited for todays class, i came in with the need to do the wheel, the pedant and the tripod. It was nice to do yoga today, it was definitely what I needed after a full night of writing a paper and working on a presentation. I did well on my presentation so i was happy going into Yoga.
Before our yoga session i set out to prove to myself that i could stop counting breathes, do the pedant and also relax and release some anxiety. Alma and I walked in and started practicing but we werent warmed up yet so it was a little bit harder than it was later in the workout but finally we did it and when we did it was alot easier and it definitely happened and it was very fulfilling.
Another part of todays instructions was that for about ten or fifteen minutes we got to do yoga on our own. It was nice because we were already in vinyasa and in free flow moving with our body. The way i did it was i started with a forward fold that went into warrior 2 into triangle into inversions into warrior 2 and back into downward facing dog. Each of this poses i held for about 5 or 6 breathes.And then i did it again but on the other side. It felt really free and liberating. Then i did a simple sun salutation C.
After that we got started on faster vinyasa yoga and i started sweating alot. We did some inversions and today we also did the boat and the locust which felt really good and opened up my back. I really liked todays practice and we also got to relax and at the end of it i was really happy and less stressed. Which is what i wanted. Overall i love my semester with Yoga!!!!
Wednesday Week 12
I was actually really excited for todays class, i came in with the need to do the wheel, the pedant and the tripod. It was nice to do yoga today, it was definitely what I needed after a full night of writing a paper and working on a presentation. I did well on my presentation so i was happy going into Yoga.
Before our yoga session i set out to prove to myself that i could stop counting breathes, do the pedant and also relax and release some anxiety. Alma and I walked in and started practicing but we werent warmed up yet so it was a little bit harder than it was later in the workout but finally we did it and when we did it was alot easier and it definitely happened and it was very fulfilling.
Another part of todays instructions was that for about ten or fifteen minutes we got to do yoga on our own. It was nice because we were already in vinyasa and in free flow moving with our body. The way i did it was i started with a forward fold that went into warrior 2 into triangle into inversions into warrior 2 and back into downward facing dog. Each of this poses i held for about 5 or 6 breathes.And then i did it again but on the other side. It felt really free and liberating. Then i did a simple sun salutation C.
After that we got started on faster vinyasa yoga and i started sweating alot. We did some inversions and today we also did the boat and the locust which felt really good and opened up my back. I really liked todays practice and we also got to relax and at the end of it i was really happy and less stressed. Which is what i wanted. Overall i love my semester with Yoga!!!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Yoga Tone Abs
November 9, 2009 Yoga Session 18
Monday Week 11
Someone told our professor today that we were not doing enough working out on our abs. As funny as it may sound, today i told one of the other yoga girls that i was feeling sore on my upper body and was more flexible and bendy but that my abs and stomach was not getting more tone. Haha i got exactly what i asked for because today we worked out our abs.
We did a lot more boats and core strengthening asanas. It was nice. It was a little more fast paced, but it is the eleventh week i expect it to be...
Like normal we began with Sharkie telling us to notice our breathing, and as soon as i do that i still start counting seconds. But once the routine starts i notice i stop. One of the ab vinyasa we did today really felt like it was working our core and our arms. We started in downward dog and lifted our legs for hold of about 5 breathes...going into runners lunge and then warrior one on the right side. Back in downward dog we held a plank and went from high to low, then we dropped our chest to the floor and did a cobra and into upward facing dog. Back into downfacing dog. The we got up into a forward fold and went into a high chair and we held this almost ten breathes and again followed the vinyasa but with the left side. It really did make me sweat and got me to feel the pull in my abs.
Monday Week 11
Someone told our professor today that we were not doing enough working out on our abs. As funny as it may sound, today i told one of the other yoga girls that i was feeling sore on my upper body and was more flexible and bendy but that my abs and stomach was not getting more tone. Haha i got exactly what i asked for because today we worked out our abs.
We did a lot more boats and core strengthening asanas. It was nice. It was a little more fast paced, but it is the eleventh week i expect it to be...
Like normal we began with Sharkie telling us to notice our breathing, and as soon as i do that i still start counting seconds. But once the routine starts i notice i stop. One of the ab vinyasa we did today really felt like it was working our core and our arms. We started in downward dog and lifted our legs for hold of about 5 breathes...going into runners lunge and then warrior one on the right side. Back in downward dog we held a plank and went from high to low, then we dropped our chest to the floor and did a cobra and into upward facing dog. Back into downfacing dog. The we got up into a forward fold and went into a high chair and we held this almost ten breathes and again followed the vinyasa but with the left side. It really did make me sweat and got me to feel the pull in my abs.
Double Yoga
November 16, 2009 Yoga Session 19
Monday Week 12
Todays yoga class was really a workout and im not sure if it is because we did double yoga with a partner or because i have been incorporating some of the yoga advances that the other instructor taught us to do last wednesday.
Double yoga was really cool we did alot of stretches with a partner!!! It was nice because sometimes we cant bend that far and they pushed us. One of the coolest ones was when we did the double downward facing dog, although i did not get to see when Sharkie demonstrated it because i was the student she was demonstrating on. But people started clapping and after when i looked around and others were doing it, it looked really awesome but i did now know how to set it up. The other cool one was being sat on while in childs pose because it really opens up your hips.
Another really cool thing that happened today was that i was finally able to do the upward bend other wise known as the wheel. It did hurt a little on my muscle on the upper back of my legs. But it was really cool to do and i have noticed that my balance and flexibility is getting stronger.
What i love about the wheel is that i have never been able to do it and now i can finally. It opens the front of my body alot and stretches out the back of my legs, i am not sure that its suppose to be liberating but it definitely is. I cant hold it for ten seconds but maybe five.
Today we also did a breathing relaxation at the end. we started breathing in through our right nostril and breathe out of the left nostril and back and forth and definitely relaxed me.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Be Silent!! Be Still!!!
November 4, 2009 Yoga Session 17
Wednesday Week 10
Wow todays session of yoga was a more athletic type of Yoga. One in which we moved alot, we did stretch alot but we also moved more rythmically to our breathes. As we inhaled we moved into a new asana and as we exhaled we moved back to our central strengthening core position.
Today was nice because we did a sun salutation with the instructor and then we did it again two more times on our own. Now this may not sound like such a big deal but to me it is because i can go at my own pace with my eyes closed and finally feel like im entering a state of relaxation.
We have got use to our warrior poses but now i am focusing on dropping my hips lower and holding them still longer. My triangles are also lower and more straight but what i have realized is that i am again shaky like i was two months ago. And although in the past i wouldnt have pushed myself so i wouldnt look like a novice or beginner now i dont care, because i have realized that no one is even looking at me.
Today sharkie also taught us how to breathe easily by breathing like darth vater she asked us to breathe like he breathes and i couldnt help but say "Luke I am your father" haha!!! I always have to have fun, even when im relaxing. We learned a new twist today from the pigeon pose it was a deep stretch. It was nice, and i do feel like today i broke out a sweat because we were moving so fast, in a vinyasa!!!
During our final relaxation period it was once again hard for me to stay still but i accomplished it at times! I kept repeating be silent, be still! Be Silent! Be Still! It helped me lay still and focus on my breathing.
Wednesday Week 10
Wow todays session of yoga was a more athletic type of Yoga. One in which we moved alot, we did stretch alot but we also moved more rythmically to our breathes. As we inhaled we moved into a new asana and as we exhaled we moved back to our central strengthening core position.
Today was nice because we did a sun salutation with the instructor and then we did it again two more times on our own. Now this may not sound like such a big deal but to me it is because i can go at my own pace with my eyes closed and finally feel like im entering a state of relaxation.
We have got use to our warrior poses but now i am focusing on dropping my hips lower and holding them still longer. My triangles are also lower and more straight but what i have realized is that i am again shaky like i was two months ago. And although in the past i wouldnt have pushed myself so i wouldnt look like a novice or beginner now i dont care, because i have realized that no one is even looking at me.
Today sharkie also taught us how to breathe easily by breathing like darth vater she asked us to breathe like he breathes and i couldnt help but say "Luke I am your father" haha!!! I always have to have fun, even when im relaxing. We learned a new twist today from the pigeon pose it was a deep stretch. It was nice, and i do feel like today i broke out a sweat because we were moving so fast, in a vinyasa!!!
During our final relaxation period it was once again hard for me to stay still but i accomplished it at times! I kept repeating be silent, be still! Be Silent! Be Still! It helped me lay still and focus on my breathing.
Yoga in the Fall
November 2, 2009 Yoga Session 16
Monday Week 10
Its finally starting to feel like fall and as the leaves fall so do i with every tripod asana pose i try out. Lol. But before i get into the specific asana poses and the routine we did this morning. Id like to start by saying that like the new month started, Sharkie also lead (or lack there of) through a session in which she let us lead ourselves in warming up. I worked with two other girls and we bounced poses off of each other. It was nice to do because we got to stretch what we thought we needed to stretch.
We did that for a few minutes and when we felt stretched we got into downward dog pose and sharkie took reign of the class. She did repeat some of the warm up moves we did because maybe she noticed that the rest of the class hadnt or maybe because she wanted too.
This session i feel like we focused a lot on inversions, extending our triangles and twists and also finally trying the tripod. On one of the backward bends i was also able to finally do the backward bend where instead of doing the bridge we put our hands behind our head and lift both our hips and chest into the air so that our head floats above the ground not touching. I was not able to do it for very long but it did happen.
We also did a relaxation exercise at the end of the class where the instructor ran us through visualizations of colors, i saw the bright reds and the oranges but i think i was too stressed out to follow through the rest and i kept moving and got a little anzy. Which is the first time during Yoga.
Monday Week 10
Its finally starting to feel like fall and as the leaves fall so do i with every tripod asana pose i try out. Lol. But before i get into the specific asana poses and the routine we did this morning. Id like to start by saying that like the new month started, Sharkie also lead (or lack there of) through a session in which she let us lead ourselves in warming up. I worked with two other girls and we bounced poses off of each other. It was nice to do because we got to stretch what we thought we needed to stretch.
We did that for a few minutes and when we felt stretched we got into downward dog pose and sharkie took reign of the class. She did repeat some of the warm up moves we did because maybe she noticed that the rest of the class hadnt or maybe because she wanted too.
This session i feel like we focused a lot on inversions, extending our triangles and twists and also finally trying the tripod. On one of the backward bends i was also able to finally do the backward bend where instead of doing the bridge we put our hands behind our head and lift both our hips and chest into the air so that our head floats above the ground not touching. I was not able to do it for very long but it did happen.
We also did a relaxation exercise at the end of the class where the instructor ran us through visualizations of colors, i saw the bright reds and the oranges but i think i was too stressed out to follow through the rest and i kept moving and got a little anzy. Which is the first time during Yoga.
Coming back to Yoga
October 28, 2009 Yoga Session # 15
Wednesday Week 9
This week we only had yoga once a week because our yoga instructor had to go get an MRI on Monday so we didnt have class. I was looking forward to doing the youga class either else where or trying to do the Asana poses by myself for about an hour and a half but because of all the work i had piled up it became hard to force myself to do it, so instead of doing yoga I ended up going to the gym and running for about an hour. It wasnt the same but it was still exercise and a bit of mental relaxation.
This yoga session did feel a little more difficult. It was difficult for me to do alot of the poses that i usually do no problem. I felt tight and i kept falling especially on the balancing poses. After a bit of stretching and focusing on my breathing it did become a little easier for me to holed poses longer and according to my breath. I have really come to enjoy Yoga and realize that i am becoming more flexible.
As usual we started with some basic stretch poses and moved into asana poses that moved with our breathes. We did warrior sets and some triangles. The triangles and warrior poses are a big part of our yoga sessions and its becoming easier to move without thinking about what the poses are with my eyes closed which i believe helps me relax a lot more.
This week we also tried to do the pendant pose but i failed miserably i was able to hold it with a little momentum going but not for long :( Oh well ill keep practicing and hopefully get it. The pendant pose is like a squat but balanced on our hands with our knees lifted slightly off the floor and our knees on our elbows. It is an arm balance pose that strengthens the core or abdominal area.
Wednesday Week 9
This week we only had yoga once a week because our yoga instructor had to go get an MRI on Monday so we didnt have class. I was looking forward to doing the youga class either else where or trying to do the Asana poses by myself for about an hour and a half but because of all the work i had piled up it became hard to force myself to do it, so instead of doing yoga I ended up going to the gym and running for about an hour. It wasnt the same but it was still exercise and a bit of mental relaxation.
This yoga session did feel a little more difficult. It was difficult for me to do alot of the poses that i usually do no problem. I felt tight and i kept falling especially on the balancing poses. After a bit of stretching and focusing on my breathing it did become a little easier for me to holed poses longer and according to my breath. I have really come to enjoy Yoga and realize that i am becoming more flexible.
As usual we started with some basic stretch poses and moved into asana poses that moved with our breathes. We did warrior sets and some triangles. The triangles and warrior poses are a big part of our yoga sessions and its becoming easier to move without thinking about what the poses are with my eyes closed which i believe helps me relax a lot more.
This week we also tried to do the pendant pose but i failed miserably i was able to hold it with a little momentum going but not for long :( Oh well ill keep practicing and hopefully get it. The pendant pose is like a squat but balanced on our hands with our knees lifted slightly off the floor and our knees on our elbows. It is an arm balance pose that strengthens the core or abdominal area.
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