First yoga class since some time in October. Wonderful.

Now that I have a permanent contract and a full-time job again, I immediately became a member of the corporate gym again. It’s all for the yoga classes – I’ve never used the gym for much else. The same instructor is still running the class, which was very good news, because I like his style. The classes he does at our gym are “dynamic vinyasa yoga”, which is mostly based on ashtanga yoga. He deviates a bit from the standard sequence, so each class doesn’t follow the exact same pattern, but in general his approach is quite close to ashtanga yoga.

Yoga appeals to me for several reasons. One of the most important ones is that it requires your mind to be present and active as well as your body – if only your body is involved, it isn’t yoga, it’s stretching. Unlike something like, say, aerobics, you need to think about what you are doing, you cannot just ape the instructor. In fact if you try to imitate someone else, the postures are likely to either hurt you or be ineffective.

A necessary side effect of this focus on awareness is that yoga is never rushed. (As long as the teacher is any good.) There is time to explore each posture, tweak it slightly and feel which way is more “right” – even though ashtanga yoga is a dynamic kind of yoga, with a lot of movement. And there is no one in the front of the class shouting at you (we’ve got a boxercise class next door, and their instructor seems to shout all the time) or pushing you to do more. The only thing a teacher can do is show the postures and correct your pose. The rest of it is up to the individual.

Ashtanga yoga also pays a lot of attention to breathing. Every movement is syncronised with the breath. Breathe in – stretch up. Breathe out – bend forward. Etc. In addition to the direct physical effects, i.e. breathing that fits the exercise, this helps me concentrate. It also gives the exercises a definite rhythm – sort of like a dance, without any music.

Some people like to do yoga in the morning. I much prefer the evening. I don’t want to go straight to my desk after a yoga class. After yoga, I feel so pleasantly tired, but at the same time very relaxed, both in the body and in the mind. I like to just savour this feeling for a good while.

Common types of yoga in England:
Ashtanga yoga focuses on movement in sync with breathing.
Iyengar yoga emphasises precision and tends to hold each posture quite long.
Classes labelled as hatha yoga or just yoga can be anything, but tend to be less vigorous.