1. What were your expectations with the class?
- Coming into class, my expectations were to learn the basic poses of yoga. I came into this class thinking it would be an easy and relaxing class that would be a nice break from my stressful business and capstone classes. I thought we would be learning all of the poses I’ve heard so much about from friends who take yoga classes regularly. I expected to gain strength and learn how to become more flexible as the class went on. I was expecting to only do the poses and participate in yoga through the class and not have the opportunity to bring what I’ve learned to my everyday life.
2. How was what you experienced different from what you expected?
- As I said before, I expected to just learn the basic poses. However, I didn’t expect to learn the actual names of the poses or what the purpose of each pose was; I never realized there was a reason to each pose or any actual benefit. I didn’t expect to be using so many different muscles that I would be sore the next day and would be able to repeat the poses without any further instruction. I came into this class expecting it to be easy in the sense that the poses would be done once and then forgotten but I’ve learned that we need to continuously do the poses in order to understand the meaning and reap the benefits and gain the strength. This class is very different than any other fitness classes I have taken at Temple because I can take the poses and techniques I have learned in class and bring them to my home and outside class to practice. I knew yoga was about relaxing and finding a center but I didn’t expect to find a calmness and feel so relaxed after each class and after every time I participate in yoga.
3. How was your attitude affected by the experience of the postures, awareness, breathing and additional factors?
- I would say I had a good attitude coming into this class and wanting to learn about the poses and gain flexibility that I knew I didn’t have. I feel like I have gained some flexibility from the continuous stretching and repetition of poses that we have been doing during the course of this class that I have been able to execute outside of the class room. Understanding that I need to know where my feet and hands are at all times was very difficult to comprehend at first because it seems like such a natural and common sense part of life but it was something I needed to concentrate on.
4. Have you found that what you’ve learned in the class is applicable to other areas of your life?
- Yes. While in the classroom I’ve noticed the benefits of relaxation and the release of stress that I have been able to bring with me outside of the classroom. Now when I am feeling stressed and need to relax I find myself trying to find my center and executing the pose of Uttanasana or Savasana which seem to help with relaxation. Many of the poses were directly correlated with my posture which wasn’t something I was expecting to learn about nor need to learn about. Understanding the reasons behind the placement of my head, hands and feet is something that I will need to use for the rest of my life.
5. What were the most important things you learn in the class?
- This class has been very beneficial in helping with my posture. As a younger child, posture was obviously the last thing on any kids mind, but as we get older it’s important for our body to not have any pain. The poses of Tadasana, Dandasana, and Hasta Dandasana were very helpful in keeping a better posture because it required the correct position of the feet, back, legs, hands and head. Learning the correct posture was something that was very important and is something that will follow me throughout my life.
6. What was your favorite posture and why was it beneficial to you?
- My favorite pose is Savasana because it is very relaxing. After a long day of work and classes this pose is something I look forward to each class. I am able to let go of everything from that day and concentrate on relaxing all of my muscles and releasing all of my stress. My second favorite pose is Hasta Uttanasana because it releases stress and helps stretch my entire body. I like this pose because I can feel the tension in my legs but my focus is on my head and the position of my entire body not just my legs.