The Study Abroad Group did yoga today (06/02/19)! At about 7:50, we went to the yoga studio around the corner. At first, the studio seemed to be someone’s house. We entered through a gate and walked up several flights of stairs and met our yoga instructor. Despite the original nervous feeling, the yoga instructor warmly welcomed us into his studio. We began by speaking on our yoga skill. The yoga instructor was very concerned about our feelings towards yoga. He openly talked about how yoga progress is specific to each individual person, and that we should never feel rushed or worried about the other people. We opened with the basic toe touch stretch, but rather than having stretch focused thoughts, he made sure we focused on breathing. We then did many stretches focusing on our back and legs.
I was honestly surprised with the flexibility I had. My lower back has always been a reoccurring problem for me and was my main concern about yoga. The problem faded away as I focused on breathing over stretching. The yoga instructor told us yoga has three important components: having a conversation with your muscles, breathing consistently and deep, and connecting spiritually with the things around us. The very last stretch was focused around clearing our mind and listening to our body. We laid down flat with our hands on our stomachs while breathing as deep into our body as we could. I have always had trouble with clearing my mind to sleep. During this exercise we focused on the nearest and then farthest sound from us. This allowed me to realize that everything was a stimulation for my ear. With that realization I focused on clearing my brain from the external noise and concentrated on my own breath. Before I realized it, I was fading into a slumber I very much welcomed. This experience helped me realize that my body is under my control, and that I can turn my brain off when I please. This will help me sleep better and meditate with more precision. I was enriched!
Nicholas S