Overall Essay

For this project I decided to research yoga. I picked yoga because I have always been around sports as I was growing up, so I knew a lot of different types of exercise and what types of exercises help you with certain sports. A question on my mind though was what type of exercise was I suppose to do once I grew up and no longer participated in sports. That is when I decided to do my research project on yoga; it would be a great way for me to learn about yoga as a whole and see if I would be interested in becoming a yogi as I got older. I started off researching articles on all the different parts to yoga; I never knew there was much more than just exercising and breathing! Then I read a book called, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga, by Deepak Chopra and David Simon, and literally learned the seven law of yoga. To finish off my research I took a yoga class at Gold’s Gym to get an experience performing yoga. I enjoyed learning all about yoga, but my favorite part was definitely attending yoga class.

I learned so much about yoga that I was surprised at how stupid I was thinking that yoga was just a good way to exercise and relax. I found that yoga can be used spiritually, to become a better person, to go green, for flexibility, exercise, meditation, and even for pregnancy. Usually when you start to become a yogi you practice all of these parts of yoga, well except maybe not pregnancy yoga all the time, but you put the seven laws of yoga into your lifestyle that you live everyday. I also learned that for every day of the week there is certain yoga laws that you are suppose to follow, whether it is to talk nice to someone or recognizing your unique talents. I also learned in my first research assignment that yoga doesn’t just benefit the physical body, but it helps with the nervous and circulatory systems as well. The most surprising and interesting thing I learned about yoga is why some people take yoga for pregnancy. The people that do this are doing yoga because they want to know what the body goes through to give birth; these people are the ones that want to have a natural birth with no drugs. I just thought that was interesting how people care so much for their babies that they don’t want any drugs going to the baby while it was being born. Another thing that I thought was interesting was the "no snacking plan". People say that snacking usually keeps your metabolism going, but in the article I read it said that not snacking when your not hungry teaches your body discipline. It helps you to decide what your body needs and what it wants. I’m so glad that I researched yoga; it was actually pretty fun to learn something new for once. I like the idea of yoga a lot, but I don’t think I’m quite ready to begin yoga classes; I still just want to be care free and not have to worry about obeying yoga laws everyday. I definitely can see myself reconsidering yoga when I’m older though, I think it will bring me more use when I’m stressed out financially and fat. Overall though I can see why people enjoy being yogis, and I might even join the yoga club one day!

I think I researched this yoga project quite well. I liked how we had to have the small print sources and the multimedia, which gave me lots of basic information before I did the yoga class. I wish I had done a different video for the first multimedia post because I felt like I didn’t learn much from it. Also I loved going to yoga class, I wish I had signed up for the whole month of April that way I could’ve gotten a better view of the lifestyles the yogis lived. If I had gone to all the classes, I probably could have gotten an interview with one of the yogis that were in my class. That interview might have given me a sneak peak to a more personal view of a yogi. Overall though I’m happy with the way I did this research project, I still had fun while learning.

Small Print Source 5

For this week, I wanted to learn how yoga and the Earth really connect, and I got a better understanding fo that when I read, "Get Your Green On", by Allison Wellner. This article was a list of descripitions on how a part of yoga can help the eniviroment. It also gave examples and stories from yogis. Recycling which is very popuar for those who live a green lifestyle is also popular for yogis, because they can pracitve greedlessness, and nonstealing. Astyea, one of the yamas, is referred to as nonstealing because it teaches you to use only as much as you need and to make good use of the leftovers. The greedlessness, Aparigraha, reminds us to respect others' rights to sare a clean enviroment. For most people that take yoga, they find that they suddenly have an urge to save the planet, because they can realize how deep the connection is between humans and nature. Others can feel like the world is changing in class, because they can, "Feel everyone breathing and moving through the postures. There are people in my class I may never talk to, but I feel bonded to them. I realize that if I do my part, and everyone else does their part, then together we can create change" (Wellner). This bond that you can get in a yoga class is motivating, maybe not in changing the world, but to get you to do something. It also mentions that way back in the day, yogis use to go to deep extremes to take care of the environment, such as not doing the followoing things: mold lumps of clay, disturb a puddle, dig in soil, or anything that might cause a bad affect to any organism. They would sometiems even wear mask to make sure they didn't breathe in tiny bugs. Nowadays no one is likely to go to such deep extremes, but by liviing in a no harming lifestyle then you can affect greener daily choices.

I've never been involved with too much go green projects, but I have bought some things that were 100% recycled. I really like the way Wellner did thsi article; it was filled with information and stories. She had it all divided up into sections and then under each section, she had people's stories that told you how they got involved with helping the planet through yoga. Since I've started thsi project I've been ready to take a yoga class, but now I'm pumped to try out a class. I don't think I'll be one of those tree huggers that are all about saving the planet. I think I'll stick with the idea of going green though; I might just end up changing into eating less meat a week, or just buying recycled notebooks.

Wellner, Allison."Get Your Green On." Yoga Journal. Web. 20 April 2010.
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2586?utm source=DailyInsight&utm medium=newsletter&utm content=b&utm campaign=DI 2010-04-16

Live Interaction

For my live interaction, I went to a yoga class at Gold's Gym taught by Erin Yost. It was power yoga, which is an intense workout of the body for a solid hour by doing positions and exercising at the same time. We always kept our heart rate up, there was two two-minute breaks throughout the whole hour class. In this class there were all ages groups of women going from sixteen to fifty. Erin taught certain positions before we started working out a certain part of our body. She also gave us a variety of choices to choose from so we could stay at our own level and not under or over work our body. However, we did end the class sitting quietly on our own mats, as she taught us how to breath correctly so we could absorb as much oxygen as our lungs could hold.

I'm really glad I decided to take a yoga class for my live interaction instead of doing an interview with a yogi. I loved the feeling I got after I left the class, it felt like I had given my body a good exercise that my body was asking for. This class was definitely not as easy as I thought; some of those forty year olds seemed to be in better shape than me (I think it's just cause they knew how to breathe correctly while exercising :] )! It was definitely challenging though, and I loved that! I think if I wanted to get a better view on yoga positions I probably shouldn't have picked a power yoga but maybe a flexibility yoga class instead. This class reminded me of jazzercise but with a yoga mix in it. Overall, I had a good time pretending to be a yogi. I also had a good laugh at how uncoordinated I was.

E. Yost. Power Yoga Class Director. 3 May 2010.

Book Review

For this project I chose to read, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga, by Deepak Chopra and David Simon. This book was filled with information on many different aspects of yoga! This book starts off introducing the philosophy of yoga by describing it as a practical system to awaken your human potential by generating you with a healthy belief system with a more flexible nervous system. Then after describing the purpose of yoga it moves into the eight branches of yoga, which are: Yama (rules of social behavior), Niyama (rules of personal behavior),Asana (postures), Pranayama (vital energy), Pratyahara(senses), Dharana(attention and intention), Dhyana(awareness), and Samadhi(meditation). These are just the eight different branches of yoga that yogis often perform on certain days of the week. The next subject brought up in this book is the seven spiritual laws of yoga. Each day of the week, as a yogi, you are assigned a certain law to follow for the whole day. On Sunday,it's the "law of pure potentiality", which is basically stating that you should become aware of your place in the world and practicing non judgement while you perform yoga poses. The "law of giving and receiving" is held on Monday, and states that you should give someone a gift that day whether it be a kind word of a small gift. You should also take pride in all the gifts you have in your life while practicing yoga positions. The law for Tuesday is the "the law of karma", and you can obey this law by listening to your heart for guidance and asking yourself what are the consequences before making a decision. The "law of least effort" is reserved for Wednesday, and you can do this by accepting yourself and others as they are, and by staying open to all points of view. The fifth law, "law of intention and desire" is for Thursday, and can be accomplished if you write down the things you would like to see happen in your life. Friday's law, the "law of detachment" can be put into effect when you let go of the control in your life and just let things flow naturally. The last law of the week is the "law of Dharma", and this goal can be accomplished when you become aware of your unique talents. This is to help you use your certain talents to help other people out. The last chapter of this book is about meditation. According to Deepak and David, "Meditation is the exploration of your inner world. Yoga encourages you to be as familiar with your inner world of thoughts, feelings, memories, desires, and imagination as you are with the outer world of time, space, and causality" (Chopra 97).

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I got tons of information out it like poses, the laws of the days, how to meditate, and etc. My favorite part to read was the philosophy part. I guess since I've been reading about how to meditate, and how to perform certain positions, it was good to find out why these two authors think yoga is important in any lifestyle. I loved how they didn't force you to think that yoga can only be performed to reach one goal, which might be to become spiritual, or become fit, but they gave you the idea that yoga can be used in however many forms you want it to be used. Also at the beginning of each chapter, it started off with a yoga-related quote, which i thought was cute!

There were some down sides to this book though. Although it was filled with information some of the sections were very long. Most of this information was useful, but there were times when I felt like I was reading the same point of view over and over again just in different wording. I also didn't like how the last pages of the book are just random yoga poses. It's got such a great source of information and then the information kind of dies down when random yoga poses start popping up. If anything, I liked this book more than I disliked it, I definately learned alot more details about yoga concerning how strict the pratice can get. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in becoming a yogi or is a beginner.

Chopra, Deepak, and David Simon. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Print.

Multimedia Review 2

For my second multimedia review I chose to watch another yoga interview with a professional. I watched, "Prenatal Yoga Interview with Debra Geymayr" by Debra Geymayr. Debra Geymayr is a yoga instructor that specializes in helping those who are pregnant, so she teaches Prenatal plus yoga. In this interview she explains that she has been teaching for nine years now in south Florida, and that she was the first instructor to be able to teach the fourth trimester yoga class, which is called, happiest baby on the block. She works with pregnant people from as little as six weeks up to forty one weeks. Debra explains that this class is suppose to help you be able to connect your feelings, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. She says its very important to learn what the body goes through to give birth, so she teaches you breathing exercises and poses that will you help through the stress mentally and physically while giving birth without drugs or help. This class also prepares you to give birth at different options, which may be at home, in a hospital, or at a birth center. Debra also goes in to explain that "You wouldn't normally give a baby drugs after it is born, so why would you want to give it drugs during the labor process?" (3:47).

I loved this interview, mainly because it was a whole new side of yoga to me. It wasn't just about positions or becoming spiritual, it was about how you can help your baby and yourself during and after birth. Debra also seemed like she was a very down to earth person in the interview which made you believe that she was very relaxed the whole time. I liked that she was calm in the interview cause it made her seem very nourishing and knowing how to handle pregnant women. She also seemed to know what she was talking about when she started to talk about the fourth trimester of yoga. Overall, I liked this interview far better than the previous interview. This is probably just because it was a whole new side of yoga for me, and it wasn't something I had heard of before.



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"Prenantal Yoga Interview with Debra Geymayr." Prenatal Yoga Plus.You Tube, 25 August 2009. Web. 14 April 2010.

Small Print Source 4

"Which Type of Yoga is the Right Choice for You?", by Della Menechella is an article online thats list some common types of yoga you can do. The most common type of yoga is Hatha, and this is about body positions, breathing exercises, meditation, and relaxation; this class has a slower pace so it's for people that are looking for relaxation or flexibility. If you're looking for a good challenge though, Ashtanga Yoga might be for you. This yoga class can be intense because it flows from one body position to the next and connects with how you breath, at a fast pace. If you're injured or a beginner, Iyengar Yoga would be good for you because this class uses a lot of props to help with your body alignment and it's all about staying in certain positions for a long time. Bikram Yoga is Hatha yoga, practiced in a heated room, so it's great for anybody that likes to sweat! If you're looking for a yoga class that has a little variety rather than following the same order of positions, power yoga would be your class to take. Power yoga is the same as Ashtanga, and according to Della it's her, "favorite type of yoga, and even though I am in excellent physical shape, I find it very challenging" (Menechella). There is also a yoga for spiritual enlightenment, and that is Kundalini yoga. This class is all about postures and specific breathing for each posture, it's suppose to help loosen your spine. Kripalu yoga is the last common style of yoga class you can find, and this class is suppose to help you find your inner awareness so it's all about meditation.

I enjoyed reading this article a lot! Usually when I read articles, they're about one aspect of yoga like meditating, breathing, or food, but this one had a variety of information. I liked how Della explained what each class was about and who the target audience was. If I had to do one of these common yoga classes I would pick to go with Hatha yoga, because I would like to experience meditating, positions, and relaxation all in one class. After I got the hang of yoga though I'd probably move on into an Ashtanga yoga class, to go for the challenging side of yoga.

Menechella, Della. "Which Type of Yoga is the Right Choice for You?". Everything Yoga. Web. 13 April 2010.
http://www.everythingyoga.com/articles/choosing-a-yoga-style.htm

Pranayama-Yoga Breathing

The article, "The Importance of Breathing" by Jennifer Bagus is about how people breathe wrong today and the effects of shallow breathing. It starts out by telling us that there are two main important reason for breathing and they are: that it's a way to get rid of waste and toxin in our body, and that it's the only way we can get oxygen to our organs, which is a must to survive. It also mentions some bad habits of breathing poorly, and most of them we don't even take into consideration of them being bad habits. Examples would be: slouching over, places that are not good for our respiratory system, when we exercise we teach ourselves not to breathe if we're struggling, and the more we concentrate on something (Bagus). Jennifer also says that we need to have short and shallow breathing, while we should have slow and deeper breaths. She points out that being in a hurry, getting emotional too easy, having anxiety problems are several reason why we breathe fast and shallow. This is why the yogis have created breathing techniques. They use these techniques not only to increase life span and health but also to be able to meditate so we can reach conscious states.

I thought this article was filled with information. It didn't tell me how to breathe properly like I was expecting, but it did mention what was the incorrect way to breathe. I think we should learn how to breathe properly in health class at school. This might help us quit some of our bad habits such as slouching over. To me, this part and the meditation part would be the hardest part of yoga, because you have to put so much concentration into not concentrating on anything. I'm definately glad I got to read this before I started my yoga class!

Bagus, Jennifer."The Importance of Breathing". ABC of Yoga. 14 March 2008. Web. 7 April 2010. http://http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/pranayama/importance.asp