10 days without a post on the blog, oh waouh it’s been a long time that it had not happened! It should be said that between jet lag, holidays in New York and now looking for work and apartment in Toronto I am how to say .. a little overwhelmed? Let’s say I’ll need a little time to find my marks. In spite of all these upsets I wanted to come back with a subject that is close to my heart but also about which you often ask me: my practice of yoga. I had spoken about it a few months after starting in this post. Since my practice has evolved, my knowledge and my relationship with yoga also.
First of all small reminder there are several types of yoga: hatha, vinyasa, yin, ashtanga and many others. For my part, I have been practicing Ashtanga and Vinyasa for a year and a half. There are also several ways of living his yoga practice: by seeing only the muscular side and flexibility or by appreciating the practice and its benefits as a whole. From my point of view yoga is not only lived during its weekly session but on a daily basis. It is a very rich discipline and can really change your way of life.
How does a yoga session work?
It is surely the question number 1 that I receive the most, it is true that even if one hears more and more talk about yoga the unfolding of a session is often a mystery.
At the beginning of the session we are often seated, concentrated on our breathing, refocused on our body, we cut off the external life to get into practice. We leave everything we do not need outside. This is our moment. Attention is drawn to the course.
In Ashtanga and Vinyasa one heats up thanks to a chain called the greeting in the sun. There are several of them composed of 12 postures. It is an easy exercise to work at home, the more you will master it the more you will be comfortable for the rest of the postures.
The course continues by continuing the sequence of different postures that will work both breathing, lower and upper limbs, balance and of course muscle building. It will sometimes be necessary to chain several postures quickly and then to hold a posture during several breaths.
The session ends with meditation, lying on the ground, focusing on her practice and thinking about the attention taken at the beginning of the course.
If I had to summarize the course one would start sitting, then standing, sitting again, lying on the ground and sitting again. Deep muscles and breathing. Ideal if you want to improve your balance, your flexibility, your concentration or even control yourself. Ideal if you are looking for a new interior balance, if you are looking to balance your life. Ideal also for people who do not want to compete because only your practice and what you make of it. We do not compare and we do not even look at what the neighbor does.
According to the instructor the postures are given in Sanskrit, the language of yoga, or in the language of the country. I recently tested yoga in Canada and they mix both. I learned in Sanskrit so I should be able to do yoga all around the world without much concern 😉
If you decide to start practicing yoga it may be because you feel the need to upset your habits, you are looking to improve your way of life, it is a great start and a good reason to start but Let us be honest, yoga will not solve all the problems of the earth, you are always masters of your lives and your decisions. On the other hand the really cool thing is that you will meet people on the same wavelength as you and be able to exchange and enrich each other’s experience. Big big positive, especially when we decide to change but that our “environment” is not really turned or influenced by personal well-being ^^
To practice in Valence, I recommend Marlène courses: Tuesday evening Yin Yoga at Vercors Gym in Chabeuil, on Wednesday night Vinyasa at Fitness Park (where I went until my departure).
To practice in Toronto I have only to test a course last Sunday at Yoga Tree Studios which offers a free course for beginners from time to time, I really enjoyed it! Case to follow.
Otherwise, to choose your course the main thing is to feel comfortable with the environment and the teacher.
Belle soirée mes petits loups à frange.
Thanks Marlène for being part of this post, follow her on Instagram !
Photos: Marlène and Brice 🙂