It's 3 pm and your second online class for the day just ended. You are exhausted because aside from the 5 hours of sitting and brainpower expended, you were awake the night prior trying to make sense of your cryptocurrency trades. If you're a cryptocurrency god or goddess, please grace my humble comments section with your crypto wisdom so this crypto noob can sleep earlier 🙏.
I was really looking forward to the end of my day because a pole sister turned yoga teacher invited me to join her free yoga class. Ever the supportive sister that I was, I happily obliged. It made me think about the beginning of my yoga journey because it started with a free ticket to a yoga class too.
My past workmate was a yoga teacher and she gave my close workmate and I her class card. We went in the class with no prior experience but we had our excitement. That was the start of my love affair with yoga. Now, I do yoga for proper breathing and body alignment. It serves as a meditation session for me too.
If you've always wanted to do yoga, I have compiled below what you can expect in a yoga class. Some say that yoga is not for them because they find it boring, I have included my experience with aerial yoga too. Aerial yoga is a bit more challenging than mat yoga so maybe you can give it a shot as well. There's also art in yoga through inside flow or yoga dance flow, you'll find it in this blog as well.
Breathe in, breathe out, find your center and let's start.
There are different types of yoga styles and according to mindbodygreen.com there are 11. Personally, I have tried Hatha, Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga, which are arranged in order of increasing physical difficulty. The first class that I've ever attended was Vinyasa flow for beginners.
At the beginning of the class, the teacher will ask if you have injuries and whether or not it was your first time. By knowing these, the teacher can gauge what adjustments and modifications they will have to incorporate to accommodate you.
The teacher will then invite you to come to a seated position and take a few breaths in and out. They will ask you to be mindful of your thoughts as you slowly let them go. They will tell you to set your intention before you start with the flow.
Depending on the teacher, you might begin with sun salutations. Yoga poses have Hindu names but for the purpose of this post, I'd call them by their English ones. You might want to get familiar with these poses: upward tree pose, fold forward, flat back, low plank, cobra, downward dog, dog split and child's pose. There's no need to memorize them though because in a beginner's yoga class, the teacher will kindly explain the pose to you before the execution.
The flow will be repeated 3 to 5 times. You'll get the hang of it and the teacher will tell you to be mindful of your breathing. Some poses require one breath per movement while there are some that will require more. After the sun salutations, they may add in sequences of their own. Sequences can be standing, seated or with inversions.
One thing that makes yoga appealing to stressed out folks is its philosophy of coming as you are. There's no need to push yourself, no need for competition, you just do you.
Don't underestimate mat yoga though. It's not just breathing, relaxation and doing you. You'll find some poses are challenging but I personally treat them as things that I can work on improving in my next practice. You might also find yourself out of breath, but that's all part of the package.
Around the end of last year, another pole sister invited me to give aerial yoga a try. Since I have a background in the aerial arts, this was a must-try for me. If you are unsure whether yoga on mat is for you, you can give this a try. It's definitely challenging and fun.
The teacher will first assess whether or not you have existing injuries and will adjust if deemed necessary. You'll start with the basic poses first, to get you familiar with the aerial strap and the routines. You'll then progress to the inversions, flying poses and the stretches.
You may have reservations with regards to your flexibility level but the teachers are beginner-friendly and will not let you perform poses that you think aren't for you. My favorite part is the stretching where you will be assisted by the teacher. It hurt but it felt good at the same time! That sounded masochistic, but as far as I know, I'm not. Or am I? 😆
For me, this is the application of art in yoga. The teacher will choose a theme that will be the intention set for the class. It could be strength, power, grit, confidence, grace or gratitude and a song fit for the theme will be chosen as well.
The teacher will choreograph using yoga poses with the music as guide for the flow of movement. Inside flow or dance yoga classes basically teach the students the choreography until everybody gets into the flow. Inside flow classes end with a little group sharing in the end. This is my favorite part because everybody gets vulnerable. It creates a special bond among the participating yogis.
There really is more to yoga than rest and relaxation. Yoga is a philosphy and an athletic endeavor as well. I hope you get to try even one of its variations soon. And if you already have, share your experience in the comments section below. Thank you for reading all the way through my blog. See you in the next one!
She is on a mission to become better than who she was yesterday. A chemical engineer and a financial advisor, she hopes to give value to this space as a motivated individual. She found the perfect marriage of what she wants to do in life and her mission in financial advising. She balances her work and life at the comforts of her home. She loves to meet like-minded people and watch The Bold Type in her free time. Watch this space for tales of self-improvement and self-acceptance, per Mark Manson, "the philosophical tightrope."
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galing maam
Thank you!
Wow. Always wanted to try aerial yoga but too scared to try. hahhahha. Nice practice and photos. 👍👍👍