Weekly Journal 11

  Here in the West, I think that yoga is partially taught as a spiritual practice. I think that here in the West, yoga is more branded as a physical practice, however, there are also definitely a population of people who also practice the spiritual aspect of yoga. There are definitely a lot of yogis/ teachers in the West who adapts the Eastern practices, but just choose what they want to practice and advertise to their followers. Yogis in the East have this such deep and immense connection with themselves, and this spiritual practice is a part of their lifestyle. They devote themselves to finding this inward and powerful connection, which can take years or a lifetime. In fact, they even have a mentor, and "shadow" them to really understand the meaning behind it. 

    I feel that the Western practice of yoga takes the marketable aspects of it, such as giving all these benefits you will get out of it. Whenever I do follow videos on youtube, I tend to hear the same or similar statements, such as "connecting yourself to the earth," "bringing your awareness to the earth,"  "looking inward," etc. These statements are constantly said, but I feel that these yogis do not dive into the deeper levels about spirituality. Although the spiritual practice is different here in the West, there is still some sort of connection to their spirituality. 

    In my practice space, I feel that there is not one definition of spirituality. However, I think that spirituality for myself and my practice space means connecting with my inner self as well as having a sense of self awareness. I feel that having a sense of peace and serenity within myself is extremely important and beneficial, which is actually what drew me to this class. The practice of yoga really allows me to clear my mind, have a positive mindset, and deepening this connection with myself. During my practice, I focus on this sensation that brings so much relaxation. Again, although the spiritual practice here is different than the West, I still do feel that spirituality is still somewhat expressed in my own practice space. 

    For this week, one of the practices I completed was this 30 minute Energizing Power Vinyasa Flow with Briohny Smthy on the youtube channel Alo Yoga. This focused on ensuring to engage the core and opening the hips as well our front body. This sequence flow targeted improving our stamina, strength, and flexibility while simultaneously synchronizing our breaths with our movement. I really enjoyed this practice because she explained each pose, while explaining the proper way to do it too. In addition, I also had no difficulty following her throughout the whole video. After this video, I felt no tension within my body because it really worked on stretching and strengthening our muscles. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4ViwsLKoSY

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