A Studio as my Ritual Space

We learn that yoga is more than a physical practice. We come to understand that there is a correlation between listening to your breath and the alignment of your hips to cause this ultimate circulation (of both spirituality.. and blood?). It is important to be in a surrounding, and be surrounded by the right people to make this possible.

Professor Laurie Greene, whom I will be taking instruction from this semester both in the studio and in the classroom owns Yoga Nine in Vetnor, New Jersey.

The first time I ever did yoga was in a gym classroom... one of those rooms with the big mirror in the front. I stared myself in the eyes I watched everyone else's motions from my peripherals. I judged. I judged myself, and I judged others. I compared my flexibility to the person I saw behind me. More importantly, I relied on watching someone else's pose in order to correct my own (which I know wasn't correct either).

Professor Greene has a long slender room, that holds maybe 10 people comfortably with their mats. There are no mirrors. You cannot look at the person behind you. The windows are drawn just enough to see the opening to the beach and the sun shining through the buildings. She has several candles and other figures in the front of the room which gives me something to look at other than the butts of people in front of me. I took a space in the front of the room today. I didn't have anyone to look at. I relied on Professor Greene's direction entirely.

Something about her class that I have never seen before is that she will adjust your body to the correct position... and it hurts. I work out everyday, but yoga makes me feel weak. I truly feel that I have no control over my body sometimes. Why is this hard? I can squat double my body weight, my legs are strong. Yeah right, trying warrior poses for an hour straight and your quads will be crying like mine are.

But I'm getting better.

I think its important that this space has minimum bodies and minimum "decoration". You are not on the mat to get distracted by a painting on the wall or cars that pass by. I close my eyes during practice sometimes, but most of the time I have them open. Regardless, there's nothing to draw my attention away from my breath. Sometimes I forget to breathe the right way, but I eventually remember.

Yoga experience day 2.