John Nicholson

   Whether physical, mental, or both, y oga is viewed by many as a healing ritual. Y oga, to us in a way, relieves stress in the body with a little pressure. I would say my practice space would be a healing ritual of yoga considering it's my bedroom. My room is my privacy and where I spend most of my time if  I'm not working. Feeling relaxed is a good way to begin the process of healing.       While doing yoga, Ill keep my space to the minimum of my music softly with the instructor's voice high. I have 2 fans running to keep circulation in my room and usually my window open except for this time of year due to allergy season is in full effect. During the practice, the instructor reminds us of our breath and be in specific postures that aid the healing process. For example, one pose I went into was standing up but bending over with my arms around my head letting it all hang while continuing to breathe in and out of the nose. This really clears my head while forgetting that my

       This week we had two yoga practices in class. The first class was a Lyengar practice with Amita. The second class was an Ashtanga practice with David.  I enjoyed the opportunity to take the classes in class. I have to say I was pretty exhausted after taking it. Amita and David taught in their own personal knowledge, experience, and style that I respected.      During the first practice, Amita demonstrated each and every posture more than once. It was broken down verbally and physically to make sure we got the concept down. I really liked that since I'm not the best at the terminology and poses. She constantly reminded us to breathe and stay grounded and to reset if needed. She had short breaks in between and multiple sets within each position to explain some poses in depth. What her class showed me was that flexibly isn't my best and that I need to work on it. Davids practice exposed it even more            The second  practice with David was definitely a new yoga experi

      A  ritual can be described as a practice of the spiritual body according to an article by Nervin.  He said its a "sensorium" for the person participating in yoga. With that being said, you can say a ritual changes the way the body's chemical reaction. This can be different from a normal, or every day, body change. I will try to notice this change in my next yoga practice.       I think my yoga practices can be  considered a ritual. In my opinion, Yoga to me is a form of exercise. I also think yoga is a form of recovery too, a way you can get the blood flow in your body pumping. The way it makes your body stretch and strengthens the parts of the muscles you don't visibly see, which makes your performances and training better!      I  often wander off in trains of thought and easily get sidetracked/distracted. When I do my yoga practices, I try my best to focus on the poses and the instructor's words. To help me, I often tend to close my eyes, focus, or work o

     M y yoga class this week was thought by Diane Polli via Zoom.  The class was an hour and thirty minutes long. This was such a big  difference compared to what I am used to. It was also different in how the instructor, Diane, wasn't doing the yoga along with us. However, she was very descriptive on how to do them.     At first, I could do the postures well. Midway  through however fatigue set in and I really couldn't do much of the poses towards the end. Balance and stretchability aren't my strong suits. I feel yoga is definitely framed as more than just an exercise. It is a great stress-relieving and mind-clearing thing to do. If I focus on my breaths well enough I get a very happy mindset which not many things help me get that.      Yoga is preferred over running or doing Zumba because it provides benefits that neither of the other two physical activities offers. Running helps clear my mind somedays but I never feel great after running. Running is very uncomfortable f