Week 4

    This week, I took a ten-minute morning yoga full-body stretch class on youtube. It was taught by Yoga with Kassandra. She primarily focused on stretching out the muscles and incorporated a short savasana at the end. I usually aim for thirty-minute classes; however, I did not have much time for the longer classes this week. I took this short class with my boyfriend to get a gist of what it would be like to perform in a group setting. However, it was more difficult to get into my usual headspace because he was there.

    Although I practiced with him, my ritual space stayed the same. We practiced in the same area that I usually practice my yoga. As mentioned in a previous blog, I set up my space to have more sacred vibes and calming effects. By practicing in the same space with the same artifacts, it creates an emotional history that elicts certain responses. These artifacts are supposed to help a group feel more together due to the ability to relate to the emotional stimuli. I feel like it was difficult to feel a group-togetherness because my yoga class was so short and he had no emotional connection to any of the artifacts. 

    What is in a specific room or the vibes a room is supposed to have, varies between what each practitioner wants. For me personally, I like to have a quiet, open, plant-filled room. Nevrin mentions in his article that the ritual space varied due to a practioner's personality, taste, and aspirations (Nevrin). Based on how a practitioner sets up their room, can change a person's experience of the yoga they are practicing. I am hoping to have more time to practice longer classes!

Article mentioned: Empowerment and Using the Body in Modern Postural Yoga by Klas Nevrin