So now that I’m hooked….what to do….
Try lots and lots of different styles of yoga of course! After those first few consecutive Vinyasa, pardon me, heated Vinyasa classes I was ready for something a little gentler. My knees and hips had been bothering me after class, and while the cheap mat may have been a little bit to blame, I was worried I was over extending on warrior poses or something. I wanted to focus on alignment and see that I wasn’t my own warrior’s worst enemy.
Iyengar yoga, from what I’ve read and seen, focuses a lot more on being sure your body is aligned properly and holds poses for a longer period of time. Props tend to make a big appearance with this style and it was definitely welcome. Here’s the problem - the emotional/meditative benefits of yoga are intended to be one in the same with the physical and that’s essentially what has attracted me to practicing in the first place. So while I absolutely needed a slower alignment class mixed in with the Vinyasa classes, I didn’t leave feeling all glowy like before. So I think we can scratch this style off the list as the “go-to” style, but it has definitely worked its way into my heart.
One thing I really did take away from this class is a love of props and restorative poses. Rebecca Pacheco of Om Gal posted this amazing video that officially sold me on the bolster and helped me take my new prop love home with me. Taking everything else I’ve learned home with me is proving to be yet another challenge. But I am going to try. Otherwise I’m going to need a separate job just to fund this yoga habit. We’ll get to that in another post…
