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What is yoga?
How do I get started?
What kind of class should I
take?
What style of yoga is best
for me?
How should I dress for
class?
What should I know before
coming to class?
What if I can't even touch
my toes?
What do all these different
class titles mean?
What will yoga do for me?
What is yoga?
While there are many ways to explore this subject, let's just say that
yoga is best defined as a lifestyle. Yoga is more than a bunch of
circus-like contortions done while hyperventilating. These days yoga
is depicted in ads, journals and movies as a pastime that magically
bestows a sense of calm and self-mastery to practitioners. Yoga is
dramatized as an art that automatically quiets you and renders you
socially bearable. These days, yoga is hyped as sexy, athletic,
fast-paced and mind-altering. Until rather recently, yoga enjoyed a
reputation as a mindful, meditative practice designed to neutralize
stress and invite emotional equanimity. For most of us, the best way
to clear the mind is to exhaust the body first. This is the way some
yoga classes work. What you'll start to notice the more you do it, is
that yoga is a lot about concentration and that the effects are
cumulative. There is so much to consider in a given pose, that we
don't have time to be thinking about all the other things going on in
our lives. So during class, we have a chance to unplug, to
momentarily shelve those thoughts, for later examination. In this
process, many people come to experience greater clarity and mental
acuity. What we call yoga today seems to be an amalgam of ancient
exercises, British gymnastics and Indian Wrestling techniques... no
one knows for sure.
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How do I get started?
These days, almost every gym, health club and fitness center offers
some sort of
yoga class, and in most major cities yoga studios are easy to find.
Just keep in mind that at a yoga studio, the atmosphere and levels of
dedication & guidance are often
more conducive to yoga than is a gym's ambiance. Of course we always
recommend Yoga Grove! But to be dedicated in your practice, it's best
to choose a studio at a convenient location. If you decide that the
Yoga Grove is where you want to be, check out our schedule, and pick a
class that will provide the challenge you're in the mood for. If you
have questions, feel free to call or email us, or to come check out a
class underway. Make any special conditions known to your teacher,
and don't underestimate yourself. And whatever it is that's keeping
you from trying it, CUT IT OUT AND COME TO CLASS.
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What kind of class should I take?
What style of yoga is best for me?
The answers to these questions depend on your attitude, your physical
condition,
how shy you are, and what you expect to get out of class. Some styles
of yoga are more rigorous than others. What are you in the mood for?
A good work out? A good stretch? Stress relief? Increased energy
and mental clarity? Meditation? Look at our schedule and click on
any highlighted class name for a description. Call us, or email us
with your questions. From there, determine what kind of effort you
can muster up in class and then come do it.
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How should I dress for class?
What should I know before coming to class?
Do yourself a favor: wear comfortable clothes. Choose materials that
are light and allow freedom of movement without being too baggy. You
want your clothes to stay put.
Do yourself another favor: Refrain from eating anything solid for at
least two (better yet, three or more) hours before class. We might do
twists or inversions, and that food will be in the way.
Don't underestimate the power of company: it helps to enlist the
enthusiasm of another interested person, so feel free to bring friends,
family and cohorts to class.
Be polite: the yoga studio is a sacred space. Please remove your
shoes, and turn off the cell phone before entering the classroom. If
you have some big emergency that means you need to keep your phone on,
just tell your teacher, we can deal with it.
Do your fellow students a favor: Remember that a big component of a
yoga class is breathwork. When students are forced to inhale someone
else's body odor or perfume with every deep breath, it can become a
noxious experience. So please try to keep body odor (no
matter how "natural") and strong
perfumes to a minimum. It's best not to wear either in class.
There are cotton swabs & alcohol in the bathroom for this purpose.
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What if I can't even touch my toes?
So what if you can't touch your toes. It's not important.
To act like it's a big deal is to broadcast your misunderstanding of
the subject. As a
matter of fact, you don't have to be flexible at all to start. But a
dedicated asana practice typically improves strength, flexibility and
balance. Every class is different, every teacher is different, and so
is every student. As long as you tune-in to the wisdom and the truth
of your own body's feedback, and provided that you work at your own
personal threshold, each pose you do will be perfect. In other words,
do what you can do within reason. If something is physically
excruciating, listen to yourself and avoid pain. Muscular effort is
one thing- pain (especially in the joints) is another. Just do your
best, and make your teacher aware of your special concerns.
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What do all these different class titles mean?
Look on the schedule and click on any highlighted class name for a
description.
Here's an overview of what you might see on our schedule of classes,
in alphabetical
order.
Ashtanga Yoga - surprisingly, this term has come to mean many things.
Literally,
the word ashtanga means "eight limbs", and is not unlike the classical
Eightfold Path which Buddhists consider the model for
the ultimate human understanding of the universal plan, and how to
navigate our way through it. Traditionally, Ashtanga Yoga refers to
the Yoga Sutras, written about 2500 years ago by the revered sage
Patanjali. In a cryptic collection of terse aphorisms, the sutras describe methods by
which one should ideally relate to oneself, to others and to the
divine, in order to achieve enlightenment. But that was then- this is now. Now, what most people think of when
they hear "Ashtanga
Yoga" is a guru in Mysore, South India, named Pattabhi Jois, who still
faithfully teaches a form he learned early last century from
Krishnamacharya.
Ashtanga yoga can be described as an amalgam of South Indian wrestling,
British gymnastics, and other ancient elements. An Ashtanga class starts with
a chanted invocation & surya namaskara (sun salutations), and will
proceed through a relatively unvaried sequence of poses, each held for
a prescribed number of breaths. Guided ashtanga classes are lead
by a teacher, and Mysore-style Ashtanga classes are monitored by a
teacher who allows students to work at their own pace on whatever
series they're working on.
Hatha Yoga:
If we break things down, Yoga means "to yoke" or "to unite." Hatha
can be
translated as "force" or "concerted effort," and when divided into
two
syllables: ha means sun, tha means moon. On a purely physical level,
all
poses have primary and auxiliary actions which are brought into
harmony, to reach neutrality. Hatha yoga is a uniting of opposing principles. Hatha
Yoga can be experienced as the blending of effort & surrender, the
integration of action & acceptance. When practiced mindfully, each
pose manifests intimately balanced rules of biomechanical alignment,
and makes palpable the often overlooked miracles (and quirks) housed
in the body.
Vinyasa Yoga or Vinyasa Flow or Hatha Flow:
The word nyasa means to place, or to
move;
and the prefix vi means "in a special way". Most people take this
to mean synchronizing movement with breath, moving from one pose to
another. Ashtanga yoga uses a vinyasa system to flow from pose to pose,
and often, so does Power Yoga. In a Vinyasa class you'll use breath
consciousness to link an often spontaneous set of poses together.
These classes are physically challenging and end with deep, relaxing
stretches.
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What will yoga do for me?
Yoga will do very little for you if you don't make an effort.
Hopefully it will do more than get you to wear gauzy kaftans, mala
beads and patchouli. What you get out of yoga is what you put into
it. You could just do your poses un-mindfully and use the physical
practice to keep supple and stay lithe, or you can let it be a
metaphor for something else. You can delve into your practice and
lose yourself in the anatomy of the pose.
A dedicated yoga practice can offer a means to improve more than just
your physical self, but only if you're into it. In most classes,
strong emphasis is placed on the breath, synchronizing movement with
respiration, which could awaken the potential for meditation in
motion. Like other ancient disciplines, yoga combines breath and
action, and gives us an opportunity to become more aware of what's
happening in the present moment.
You can make your yoga class a tough physical workout; you can use it
to stretch and strengthen the body to promote relaxation; or you can
turn it into a life-sustaining expression of self-mastery and
personal transformation: whatever you want.
JUST COME TO CLASS.
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