Day 230: 8/19/11-Try Mysore Ashtanga Yoga

Day 230: 8/19/11
New Thing: Try Mysore Ashtanga Yoga    

Inspiration: Winning Free Classes
Cost: $0
Time: 70 minuets                                  
Bottom Line: I saw some of the most flexible people in my life today.

Reflection: You may remember from my Sunday post that I won 5 free yoga classes at the Lehigh Valley Yoga studio. This morning I tried their 6:00am Mysore Ashtanga Yoga class (also known as "Power Yoga"). It. Was. Hard. Essentially, this is that crazy kind of yoga that has people twisting into pretzels. The three main components are the special kind of breathing, the gaze, and the binding of the stomach muscles.The Mysore model of this practice is student led with the instructor making adjustments. Normally, yoga does not feel like a workout to me, but this was definitely a strength builder. I really liked it and want to make is a regular practice. This maybe the type of yoga that I have been looking for without knowing it.

If it seems like I have been doing a lot of yoga as of late, it is because it has really dovetailed nicely with this summer fast. Since a fast is such a bodily discipline, it has been really fruitful to combined a bodily prayer time into this season. I think that I will continue doing some kind of yoga every day (even for just 10 minuets) even after the fast is over.