Saturday morning was my 7th day of Yoga completing one whole week of my 30 day challenge. I rose early and as everyone in the house was rising to start the day I snuck out the door and headed to Kitsilano studio. Half of West 4th was blocked off and being set up for the outdoor street party that most stores get involved with – selling items and hosting games and prize giving. I was too early to see everything break out and headed straight to Yyoga. Flow has always been my first Yoga class love and I am kind of sticking to the Flow classes at the moment so I decided my 7th day would start with a Flow class. I always work up a sweat in Flow without it being too over the top like a Hot class. Using your muscles and strength, twisting and turning into pretzel like positions and holding them for minutes on end definitely turns up the heat. Not only is it great for your body but it also challenges your mind in holding these uncomfortable and challenging shapes to remain calm in a stressful situation. Yoga is not easy but we never learn anything from situations so easily accomplished. My body continues to feel stronger with each class. My mind continues to soften to a calmer and more focused perception of life. I decided as my 8th day was a Sunday that I needed some soft Yin practice in my life after a day trip to Whistler. I did go in expecting some deeper stretches than those offered but decided not to let my perception of what I thought the class was going to be destroy my peace for what it actually was. Instead of getting what I thought my body needed I got what my mind needed and an hour of deep relaxing meditation. Perfect for a Sunday evening! Yin is a more focused meditative practice of Yoga as it is conducted 99% of the time completely on the floor in mild to deep stretches with much longer holds. Some asanas will be held for anywhere from 3-5 minutes so you get a lot of time to focus on your breathing and the sensations that this deep of an opening is giving the joints, muscles, tissues and nervous system of the body. Yin is a great practice for those of us with injuries or for people seeking more of a meditative mind altering practice.
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October 2016
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