Due:    Weekly Practice Journals: Theme: Pranayama & Practice: -How is pranayama taught/practiced in your practice space(s)? What is the purpose of breath work in your practice space? Is breath the "focus"of your practice? Explain why it is, or is not.

Pranayama is mentioned throughout the classes that I attend.  It is taught as ujayi or ocean sounding breath.  Deep long audible inhales followed by the same type of exhales.  They are meant to be linked with our movements, and to make sense with the way we are moving.  I wouldn't say that I believe it is taught, but it is mentioned- I believe it deserves way more attention.  Some classes it may never be spoken about or touched on, which is unacceptable because yoga is arguably just sweaty movements without breath - might as well be at the gym.  The purpose of breath work is always described to link your breath with your neighbor, or the person next to you.  If you believe that they can hear you, try to make the person next to them be able to hear you as well, inspiring others to continue the wave.  So in this sense it's more about reminding others around you to breath because it's hard to hear someone breathing at a different pace than you.  Sometimes the teacher calls the breath as it is linked with the yoga postures, but a lot of the times I feel if you haven't been to a ton of classes or taught- breath is just something that you hear others doing and believe that may be enough.  Breathing is said in class to keep you focused, allow your mind not to wander outside of the studio for this hour.  Nothing is every mentioned about cleansing or the powers of deep long inhales and exhales.  I believe that breath is the focus of my practice when I remember it to be.  Some days I walk into yoga and I am distracted and I'm focused on my body or my big toe that hurts at the moment- or how someone just put their mat entirely too close to mine when there's whole studio to choose from.  When I do focus on my breath though, I love my practice.  It is so much more easeful as well as intentional, my body likes when I breath that way.  I've recently tried to make it my focus, and I like my practice so much more.  It's a choice that I make- it's sad to me how the very thing that keeps us alive goes so unnoticed throughout every other moment of our lives. 

Due:    Weekly Practice Journals: Theme: What is the role of the body? How is the body approached and how is the body seen as a vehicle for experience of the divine?

In my practice space in particular I believe that the main focus is strictly on the body itself.  I believe that the theme isn't on how we can meditate while moving, but yet how we can push our bodies to our "edge" whatever that means.  I think what the studio means to convey is stop selling yourself short, stop putting limits on your abilities.  That then manifests in certain poses that are harder than others and are met with grumbles.  People like comfort, they don't like change especially when it physically hurts them.  I then think about the fact that we all literally either signed up online to take this class ahead of time, or we walked in the door willingly with our own two legs.  Why did we come all the way here and pay money to take a class if all we wanted to do is keep our bodies in the comfortable position that they've always been in? If we wanted to not "push ourselves to fulfill our potential" we could have stayed home in our pajamas and done comfortable yoga.  I believe that most people come to yoga studios for motivation and for instruction to do more than they would have challenged themselves to do.  The body is the vessel in which yoga is conducted and therefore having the ability to experience the divine.  I wouldn't say thats the focus at all of the studio that I go to.  I don't believe that I've ever heard the word enlightenment- but the word body or other manifestations of the word body are used constantly.  It's approached as a cloak that needs to be better and needs to be pushed by your mind because if not it will never become anything different.  The vessel will continue to walk along and simply age out.  

Due:    Weekly Practice Journals: Theme: Yoga as “meditation”: -Is yoga used as a form of meditation in your practice space(s)? If so, how is meditation practiced? explained? If not, why do you believe meditation is absent from your "yoga" practice?

In some of the yoga classes I attend, the teachers have recently begun with meditation in the beginning of class.  They explain this is to set our intention for the class, and leave everything outside of the classroom that isn't serving you.  It's 5 minutes that allow our minds to slow down and realize we're in a yoga class and should be focused on that alone.  I don't believe that yoga alone however is used as meditation in our practice space.  I believe that yoga is focused on the sweating part of it, or maybe being so focused in the pose that you aren't thinking on anything but that pose.  The underlying reason for yoga might be meditation, but I don't believe that is vocalized.  Anyone that hasn't been exposed to that aspect of yoga, wouldn't understand that branch I don't believe.  I believe that meditation is absent because the yoga studio is so focused on the speed, and flow of the yoga practice- rather than understanding the true meaning of yoga as it was intended to be. If yoga is the stilling of the mind through movement, then meditation is the same thing except you're not necessarily moving.  So yoga is intended to be moving mediation.  This form of mediation works better for me because every time I sit down and close my eyes, I am 100% falling asleep.  No matter how focused or awake I am... immediate exhaustion attacks me.  I don't feel that my yoga practice is about meditation because of the type of yoga I participate in.  Whenever I enter the room I always wish that I'm in a yin class, or a slow class that is focused on my body alignment and a meditative state.  But instead I sweat and my muscles twitch for an hour as I patiently wait for savasana.  I could of course go to a yoga class that is more relaxed, and put meditation back into my yoga practice.  The only one to blame is myself.