hot yoga: really?

I do not know if you have wondered where I have been for a month. I was on vacation. It’s not because I could not write when I was on holiday but I just wanted to stay away from posts and technology for a while. A technological retreat. Actually, I was not in a retreat. I was visiting a friend. I suspended cardiovascular workout. I just walked in the streets when I wanted to. I practiced “adho mukha vrksasana” (handstand), “pincha mayurasana” (peacock) and “sirsasana” (headstand) when I wanted to but I did do neither a serious workout nor a yoga practice. I have not suspended yoga and cardiovascular workout for so long but I liked it. This meant that I needed such a break.

I suspended gym classes, blogs and yoga. So what had I done for a month? I travelled. I saw new places and learned new things. Good news: I joined “Bikram yoga” classes.
I really wanted to try “Bikram yoga” so much but I did not have any opportunity to join “hot yoga” classes so far. I seized the opportunity when I came across with it. I joined a week long program in a studio.
Hot yoga is a yoga system developed by an Indian yoga instructor named Bikram Choudhury taking traditional yoga techniques as the basis. “Bikram yoga” classes consist of 26 hatha yoga asanas and the class is heated up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 F).
I was thinking that I could easily practice hot yoga since I was a person who had attended many yoga classes and tried different styles so far. I was lucky to take extra clothes with me when I went to the class but before the class, I was asking myself “why I was carrying all those stuff with me because I was supposed to join just a yoga class.”
I entered the studio fifteen minutes before the class began. I stepped in the class and then stepped out of the class in one second. I could not breathe. I felt dizzy as the class was so hot. I found myself thinking how I could practice yoga in such a hot class. I waited outside the studio since the class began. I entered the studio immediately after the instructor. The first class was not “hot yoga.” It was kind of an aerobic class and the temperature was around 32 degrees Celsius (90 F). The class was not hard for me as I was used to cardiovascular workout. My only problem was the hot class. I could not stand it. I felt as if I could not breathe. After taking aa deep breath and then giving it out, I tried to calm my mind down. It ws just an hour and I could do it if I focused on my breath. When I felt so hot, I could get into “balasana” (child pose), rest a while and then catch the flow again. When I thought so, the class was a bit easier for me.
I am a person who likes to “live in the edges” in my nature. Therefore, I decided to join another class that day. I did not know it was the most advanced class in the studio. It was one-hour flow yoga class in a humid 40-degree-Celsius class. I stayed out of the studio since the class began. I entered the room together with the instruction. I talked to the instructor before the class. I told him that this was the first time I would join such a class, I would stand at the back of the room, take a rest when I felt dizzy or tired and then catch the flow again. How could I explain that class to you? It could not be explained, it could only be experienced. The studio was so hot that I did not need to practice any asana. I was just sweating from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. My hands and feet were sweating. I could not stand firm on the mat. I was slipping. I stepped out of the mat and onto the wooden floor. I was thinking that I would slip less on the wooden floor. I was wrong. I was as if taking a shower. No, I could not go on. I looked around. I guess everybody was used to this type of class. They were moving with the flow and practicing their own yoga. Everybody was sweating but not like me. When I looked around again, I saw paper towels in the corner. I got a few paper towels and started to wipe out the sweat in my hands and feet. I am just summarizing the rest of class. Two asanas and drying my hands and feet. Then two more asanas and drying myself up again. I do not want to talk about my heartbeat. Was my heart beating in my brain or in my mouth? I do not know exactly. Most probably, the other yogis heard my heartbeats. I felt myself as practicing yoga in a sauna. In the end, we were resting supine, relieved our bodies with a twist and it was time for “savasana” (deep relaxation and resting pose). Fortunately, the class was cooled down and the humid machine was stopped before the relaxation pose. I liked “savasana” more than ever at that moment.
I have mentioned that “I like to be a warrior.” Next day, I showed up in the studio again This time, I would join two different classes. The classes were classified according to how heated they were, from the easiest to the most challenging. It was my luck or misfortune, I do not know, to join the most challenging class on my first day. The second day, I joined the first two easiest classes in the studio. In fact, the flows were similar to each other. We were doing the same flows almost in every class. The only difference was the temperature of the class. Either my body, mind and soul were used to the heat or the class was not so hot as the day before. The classes were a bit easier for me on the second day. I did not sweat as I had on the first day and I could more easily practice the asanas and flows. Even I could do “sirsasana” (headstand) in that hot class.
It was taking some time to recover after those hot classes. Even one hour after the class, my body was still hot and I was still sweating.
When I woke up the next morning, I was as if I was beaten. Even though I drank a lot of water during and after the classes, I was still thirsty. Thirst was the most important side effect of “hot yoga” on me. I woke up the next morning, I took a few steps and then “oooohhh.” The back of my right knee was hurting. I guessed my muscles were too flexible due to the hot class and I was beyond my limits. The result: I hurt my knee. It was not a serious injury but it was an injury.
At that moment, I thought how beneficial or how dangerous “hot yoga” was for our health? The first thing that came to my mind was that one could flex his/her body beyond the limits in a hot atmosphere and this overflexibility could injure us. I remembered that I was dizzy from time to time during the hot yogaa classes. One could feel dizziness, headaches, nausea and cramps due to hot classes. All these symptoms may be the indication of heat intolerance. In such a circumstance, we should rest or leave the class for a while and return back after relieving our bodies. I do neither think that such hot yoga classes could be good for heart and blood pressure patients. One could not control the body temperature in a hot class and temperature could hit us. Under such a circumstance, the heart, liver, kidneys and other organs could shut down. Therefore, we should consume a lot of water before, during and after “hot yoga” classes.
Some say that people can more easily practice hard and challenging asanas in heated plces since such places help flex the muscles. “Hot yoga” experts note that heat flexes blood vessels, dilutes blood and speeds up cardiovascular system. According to these experts, this type of yoga speeds up blood pressure and metabolism, strengthens immune and nervous system and is good for asthma patients as it teaches how to take controlled and deep breath and increases the capacity and efficiency of lungs.
I have told you about the benefits and dangers of “Bikram yoga.” The benefits and dangers may differ from person to person and therefore it is not possible for us to make generalization. Everybody should live his/her own experience. I was really curious about hot yoga and I joined the classes. Will I try again? I do not think so. It is not my type. Even though I love hot weather and summer so much, I do not feel like practicing yoga in a hot and humid atmosphere. Will I recommed you? Surely I will, but not like “you must include this yoga style in your daily life.” More like this: “Try and see whether you like it or not. Decide whether or not to make it a part of your life.” After all, it’s a matter of style and choice.

vacation is over!

I started to teach yoga classes last week after one-and-a-half-month holiday. Remember, I was going to an office twice a week to teach yoga. I might have mentioned it in my previous posts. If not, it is an office and I teach yoga at noon twice a week. They went on holiday, I went on holiday and we could not practice yoga for one and a half months. We resumed classes last week.

For two days, I thought about what type of class to teach on the first day. Would it be a flow class, i.e. vinyasa yoga or a calm class i.e. yin yoga? As all the time, I had not decided on the type oof class when I went to that office. I would decide according to the energy of the class that day. I had not decided about the type of the class but this did not mean that I was not prepared. I always bring a notebook to the class in which I have planned different types of flows. I chose one of them according to the energy of the students that day and I start the flow. Sometimes I can add a few asanas spontaneously. Isn’t yoga defined with the adjectives “calm” and “flexible”? So we welcome everything.
I went to the first class. I was so excited that day that I would see my students. I was looking into my notebook. Since it was the first class after a long holiday, I was thinking about whether the peak pose should be a standing asana or a forward bend. I am an indecisive person.
My students arrived at the class. When I looked at them, I saw that they had not stretched themselves for a long time. Then a light lit in my brain. Yes, that day we would practice yin yoga. We would stay in an asana for at least three minutes and stretch ourselves, our muscles and our connective tissues. Why? Because my students had not practiced yoga regularly for about one and a half months and they might have got a little bit tense and lost their flexibility. When we add their daily stress, I think yin yoga would be a good choice for that day.
We started the class lying on our backs and rolling the mat under our shoulder blades. I asked the students to leave aside all their thoughts and feelings and relieve and relax themselves. We stayed in that pose for at least five minutes. Then, they got into “supta padangushtasana” (supine leg stretch) to stretch their hamstrings and then “ardha ananda balasana” (half happy baby pose) to stretch their hips. Afterwards, the opened their legs to both sides and stretched the inner and outer thighs. Thus, their femurs started to wake up from their one-month sleep.
As I decided on yin yoga, the class was calm and serene and we were mostly practicing sitting or supine poses. After dropping the legs from one side to the other like windshield wipers for a few times, I asked the students to get into “twisted roots” to stimulate the spine.
To stimulate the body for a little bit more, I asked the students to roll on their spines and come to a sitting pose. We used “malasana” (squat pose) as a transition asana and then stood up. We stretched our hamstrings with “uttanasana” (standing forward bend) and then we jumped into “adho mukha svanasana” (downward facing dog). This class would be a yin yoga class but I wanted to move a little bit at that moment and therefore I changed the flow and we stood up.
In “adho mukha svanasana”, we first lifted our right and then left legs up and did some “dragon tail” variations. Then, we brought first our right and then left legs to the front and got into “sleeping swan” to stretch our outer thighs. In order to stretch our inner thighs, we got into “prasarita padottanasana” (wide-legged forwardbend) and then into “trikonasana” (triangle). Then came “frog” pose and we sat down again.
We were coming to the end of the class. After “half butterfly” pose, we laid down and got into “cat tail” pose to give our spine a last twist and calm down our nervous systems. Then came “savasana” (deep relaxation and resting pose). We ended the class with a long “savasana.”
At the end of the class, one of my students said, “we haven’t been practicing yoga with an instructor for about one and a half months. I tried to practice some yoga on my own when you were away. After every cardiovascular workout, I practiced frog pose. Could you see that? I  can do it better now when compared to the past and the muscles and connective tissues in my inner thighs are more flexible now. But, I could not do many other asanas well and I had difficulties in doing them today.”
Yes, I have mentioned in my previous two posts about my own experiences. Unfortunately, the body is so lazy. At the same time, it is hungry and it can get whatever you give it. That is, whatever you give to your body, it can take it. It can renew itself, it can get stronger or more flexible. But once you stop practicing your daily workout or yoga, then you can see how your body gets lazy.
This was what my student was experiencing that day. She had worked certain part of her body and that part responded to her.  However, the other parts of the body had forgotten how they were working and behaved as if they had never stretched till that day.
The point of this post? Whether yoga or any other thing or your daily life, when you work, you always win. When you are lazy, then you start losing and lose everything in time. As a person who has never practiced any workout or yoga, you may ask one of your friends who always practice cardiovascular workout and turns yoga into a life style: “Why can’t I be like you? Why don’t I have muscles like yours? Why aren’t I as flexible as you?” You do not have to ask these questions. You just have to think about it. Think whether you spend a certain time of your day at a gym or yoga center or you prefer going to a cafe or a shopping mall with your friends? It is your choice and life style as usual.

I was on vacation!

I had been on vacation for about a year. I enjoyed the sun, the sand and the sea in a nice holiday resort in the Aegean cost of Turkey. I guess I could not practice yoga and meditation as much as I had to when I was enjoying myself in that resort. In fact, the reason was so simple. Yoga and meditation have become my new career. I have become a yoga instructor and started to earn my living from these two. When you are on holiday, you try to stay away from what you earn your living. I was working in the press business until a year ago and I did not want to read a newspaper nor watch TV or listen to the news on the radio. So could you get the point? You try to stay away from the business you are earning your living when you are on vacation. Ok, you can stay away from the press business but can you do the same thing for yoga and meditation?

When you go on a vacation and if you are going to spend a long time on vacation, you try to get used to holiday in the first week. You continue living just as how you live your daily life but at the same time you try to get used to the benefits of the holiday. Like what? For instance, I am a person who wake up early in the morning to go to the gym hall and spend at least two hours there. Afterwards, I practice yoga for at least an hour. Do you wonted what I do when I am on holiday? I also wake up early in the morning and practice my daily cardiovascular workout at least for an hour or an hour and a half. Then I practice yoga before breakfast. This means that we cannot give up our daily habits so easily even if we go on holiday. However, we are on vacation and there are also some habits we earn when we are on holiday. Like a good breakfast, swimming, sunbathing, inhaling the smell of the sea, eating some french fries and drinking a glass of beer in the afternoon. These are some habits we acquire on holiday. If you are to spend a long holiday, you add new habits to your daily habits.
As I have said, the first week passes as you add new habits to your daily habits and mix them up. In the second week, you get more used to a comfortable and easy life. The holiday starts to invade your mind and body. You start to be a more peaceful and calm person. Maybe one day, you do not want to wake up early in the morning and you skip your morning workout. Sometimes you do not want to practice yoga particularly if yoga and meditation has become your occupation. Sometimes you want to meet your friends at night and you drink a little bit more than usual. One night you eat salad but the other night you go to a fish restaurant and eat a lot. Sometimes you eat a light lunch sometimes you have a heavy lunch. That is, your habits start to change more and more in the second week.
If you are still on vacation and if you are in the third week, things change more and more. You may suspend your morning workout and yoga more than the previous week. I gave up practicing yoga at home in the third week. It was so hot and I wanted to go to the seaside in the morning. I was addicted to windsurfing this summer and I did not want to miss the calm weather just because I wanted to improve my technique. Therefore, I started to suspend morning yoga practice. I continued to practice morning workout. I woke up early in the morning but after the breakfast, I was rushing to the seaside. After the windsurf, I started to practice yoga on the sunbed. It was an interesting experience. I was not in a studio. I was in the nature and by the seaside. There was no songs or mantras, just the sound of waves hitting the shore. I closed my eyes and practiced yin yoga on the sunbed every day after each windsurfing session. I relieved my tight muscles and calmed my soul down. I silenced my mind. It was so enjoying. I also wrote about it in one of my older posts that yoga could be practiced everywhere. There was no time or place limitations.
Time used to fly on holiday. When the last week came, I thought that “the holiday was about to end. The summer was about to end and the autumn was on the way and I was to go back to my hometown in a few days.” With this thought, my morning workout and yoga were suspended more. I could not wake up early in the morning. Even though I am a person who is used to wake up early in the morning and I could biologically wake up early in the morning, I could not get up. I wanted to lie down on bed in the morning. It was getting colder and it was so windy. I could not windsurf either because that wind and storm was for professionals, not me. No morning workout, no yoga and no windsurf. I rested all week. At first, this made me uneasy but then I thought that I needed a slow life. I am a person who do regular cardiovascular workout, join group classes and teach yoga and meditation for all year. I also needed a holiday and rest but I maintained my daily habits when I was on vacation. Cardiovascular workout was a part of my daily life. So were yoga and meditation. Moreover, I earned my living from yoga and meditation. It was how I earned my living. Didn’t I have the right to rest for a week? I thought for a second and I said, “yes burcu, you may leave your habits aside for a week and enjoy your holiday. What if you did not practice cardiovascular workout, yoga and meditation for a week? You will just calm down your body, mind and soul and you will get renewed.”
The last week of my holiday was calm, peaceful and happy. I stayed away from cardiovascular workout and yoga. I calmed down my body, mind and soul. I can see thaat you wonder what had happened. Nothing happened in mental and spiritual sense. I was feeling myself well. But in bodily sense? I saw how ungrateful the body was. I returned to my hometown. I went to the gym hall the following day. I had to practice a 50-minute cardiovascular workout. It was nothing to me before I went on holiday. It was hard for me on my first day at the threadmill. Then I joined a stretching class. Be careful about it, a dynamic stretching class, not a yoga class. Before vacation, I could do all the poses so easily but it was hard for me that day. My upper back, lower back, my trapezius muscles, my shoulders and arms hurt a lot. The 50-minute class could not pass and end that easily.
What is the point of this post? Yoga and meditation are a way of living. I understand that I cannot live without them. I realized that you cannot leave aside yoga and meditation even if you earn your living from them. Yoga and meditation are a part of my daily life and are indispensable for me. And this is what I learned from this one-month holiday.

meditation everywhere!

Is meditation experienced only by sitting in a cross-legged situation on a yoga mat with closed eyes? If so, I can understand why many people do not want to try meditation. Your mind thinks a lot of things until you fulfil many things before sitting on the yoga mat for meditation that when you sit in a meditative pose, your mind cannot stop talking. I can see you wonder why all these things come to my mind? Let me explain.

I went for a walking early in the morning. There is a long walking area on the shore of the sea near the place I am spending my holiday right now. You are not only walking and doing a cardiovascular workout but also you are inhaling fresh air and the smell of the sea. What can a person want one?

I was suddenly enlightened when I was walking today. No, I have not flown nor have I become a guru. I just realized that we can turn any moment or whatever we are into meditation. I can hear you saying, “come on girl, what are you talking about?” But I am serious. I think I have to remind you what meditation is in order to explain what I am talking about.

Really what does meditation mean? When I am saying that “I am practicing yoga”, everyone asks me, “are you also doing meditation?” So, what does meditation mean and how is it done? Are there any rules for it or is it possible to do meditation anywhere and any time?

In simple words, meditation means to be thoughtless but aware. It is confusing, isn’t it? We will be thoughtless, i.e we won’t think anything but we will be totally aware. Or can we paraphrase it this way? To silence the mind. Maybe this is better. To silence the mind… Not to think anything at tha moment but being aware of the moment we are just living. Meditation is not a state of doing something. It is just a state of awareness. For this reason, you do not have to experience meditation by only sitting in a cross-legged position and closing your eyes. We can be in a meditative state anytime and anywhere.

So, if meditation is a state of silencing the mind, being thoughtless, staying at the moment and being aware, then we can be in a meditative state anytime we want. Then how will this happen? I had realized that I can try meditation anytime and anywhere long before but when I remembered it again when I went for a walk today, I wanted to share it with you.

I was walking and I could hear the waves hitting the shore. I was looking at the horizon of the sea. Suddenly there was no sound. Neither people nor stray dogs around me. I was alone in the world. My eyes were open and I was not sitting in a cross-legged situation. Moreover, I was walking. But at that moment, I was in a meditative state. My eyes were on the horizon. I was totally awake, standing on my feet but in meditative state. It was an amazing moment of peace. That was life.

After the walk, I sat at a cafe. Again, I sat by the shore. I looked at the sea. My eyes were open but my mind was again calm. I was totally aware and awake. I was only living that moment. I could feel my inhales and exhales. A few minutes later, my breath was calm. Peace, happiness and serenity.

In my opinion, meditation is something like this. You do not have to try meditation by sitting in a silent and dark room with candles around you, closing your eyes in a cross-legged situation. You can be in a meditative state anytime anywhere. One of my yoga instructors said so some time ago. Those days, I was interested only in asanas not the entire world of yoga. It was then when I started to get interested in meditation. When my instructor said so in one of the classes, I just spoke to myself and said, “hey man, are you kidding me?” The words which meant nothing at that time has become so meaningful for me nowadays.

Just as my instructor said, if you really keep your attention and focus on what you are doing when you are walking, if you are aware when walking, this is meditation. Or if you drink your tea with total awareness and feeling the total taste of it, this is also a meditation. If you eat your meal by being aware of its taste, by focusing on the moment, this is a meditation. Similarly, if you take your eyes from the book you are reading or from your computer or whatever you are doing at that moment when your mind is tired and look at a fixed place, this is also a meditation. The mind is tired and this is its method to renew itself even if you are not aware of it.

I am on the seaside right now. I can hear the sound of the waves. I am tired of trying to focus on what I am writing. My mind is so tired. I left my notebook away for a while. I looked at the sea. A huge water flowing, renewing and changing all the time. This is a short moment of meditation in my daily life. Let you think! I am sure you will find short moments of meditation in your own daily lives..

as I like it!

I am on vacation. Maybe you have noticed. I am posting fewer articles these days. I also have to have a holiday, boost my energy and get ready for the winter, which I do not like so much. So, I am writing less and my posts on twitter and facebook are less than usual. This is holiday! I have to charge myself up and welcome winter more fruitfully.

When we become a yoga instructor, our business is with energy. Many people join yoga classes to feel better. Both bodily and spiritualy. Therefore, we, yoga instructors, should have high spirits and energy so that we could please our students. For this reason, summer is a time to charge ourselves up, particularly for a person like me who lives just for summer. This is who I am. Even though I am a yoga instructor, I am not a saint or a guru. I accept the duality of life in many areas but it is not true when it comes to summer and winter. For all these reasons, summer is a season in which I live my own way and be just myself. Being yourself and living the life your own way and as you like it? Has it made sense to you? Believe me, it meant nothing to me five or six years ago. When someone told me “living your own way and as you like it” before I met yoga, I would just ask “what does it mean?” However, I have a different perspective now.

I am on vacation. I am not supposed to live the same life I am living in my hometown. It is called vacation. However, one cannot give up his/her habits so easily. Like what? Like waking up early in the morning. I am a yoga instructor but I have wrote about it in my earlier posts. I like to drink in social occasions. When I am with my friends or at a meeting, I do not say, “no I am a yoga instructor and I never drink.” For a couple of nights, I am drinking because of some social events and it can be wise not to wake up early in the morning and have some rest. But unfortunately, my biological clock is working and I wake up early in the morning. Really early. So that I have waken up, I walk the dog and then I either ride my bike or have a walk around the area. It is my habit to do cardiovascular workout every day. My body wants it. After that, I do one-hour yoga to stretch my body. Sometimes “vinyasa” yoga and sometimes “yin” yoga. Then, I have a good breakfast and go to the seaside and spend the day there. My days were like this until today. I can see you ask what has happened today. Again I woke up early thanks to my biological clock but my body did not want to leave the bed. First the evil in my body, which I call “my ego” poked me. “Come on, get up and ride your bike. Burn some calories.” Then my soul said, “no, I am feeling tired today and I will go on resting. What if I do not do cardiovascular workout today? Nothing happens. Just enjoy your holiday.” And I listened to my soul. It was a good idea to listen to my soul and behave as I like it. I slept well till 8 a.m. This was the first time that I had slept until 8 a.m. For a long time. Then I walked the dog. I made tea and have a good breakfast. I drank Turkish coffee and I felt so well. Later, I went to the seaside. The sea was wavy. Not a problem. It was hot and without the wind, it was impossible to stay on the shore throughout the day. Thanks to the breeze, I spent the whole day by the shore. I swam and rest on the sunbed, I swam again, I swam again and again. I do not know how many times I swam that day. In the afternoon, the waves were bigger than the morning. Therefore I could not swim so much. It was ok. I do not have to think swimming as a cardiovascular workout all the time. I behaved as I like it. I would have been sorry not to do cardiovascular workout and burn calories five or six years ogo.

Don’t we just live our lives as others instruct us? Don’t we always do things that we do not want to but just because we have to? We meet some people just because we have to. We smile to people whom we do not like just because we have to. We go to a dinner or a wedding just because we have to. Among all these “have to” things, where do we stand and don’t we have a responsibility to please ourselves?

In my opinion, pleasing ourselves is more important than anything. It is better not to do something instead of doing it just because we have to. When we do something because we are obliged to do it, people understand it from our face and stance and they do not show that they understand it because of their own obligations and grace. Don’t you think we live a fake life that way? Don’t we violate the principle of “satya” (truth), one of the fundamental ethical values of Ashtanga Yoga. Fake meetings, fake smiles and fake lives… What if we live just as we like it? We say things that we like to say but without hurting others… Saying what you think and as you like it does not mean being rude or hurting others. What if we see people just because we want to see them… What if we do sportive activities and yoga, go to work or write just because we want to… Or more simply, what if we eat and sleep when we want it, i.e. To live the most fundamental aspects of life as we like it… Hugging a person if we want to… Kissing our loved one if we want to… Without spending a second. Without thinking if it is a shame or not right for that moment. Doing it just because we want to do so at that very moment because we may not have another moment. The only true moment is the moment we are living right now. Therefore, won’t we feel better if we live the way we want? Won’t the principle of “satya” be a part of our life and won’t we live a real life? What is your idea?

question of the day

I always say that I love summer so much. Summer has come at last however something has happened to the weather. It was like fall during last week in Ankara. It was cloudy and cool all the week long. Sometimes it rained. You may think that we are living in the United Kingdom, not Turkey. It is not my type but I am helpless. I have to stand this weather. I cannot swim nor can I sunbath. The best thing is to do more cardiovascular workout and yoga.

It was again cloudy and cool when I went to my yoga class last week. Unfortunately when it is cloudy and bloomy, I am also cloudy and gloomy. I went to the class with these feelings. I looked into my notebook to decide “what type of class to focus on that day.” I could not decide. I checked the notebook again and I saw a vinyasa flow that I had not done for some time. Flowing throughout the class. Yes, this was the best. Action would be good for us in that gloomy day. It would boost our morale, raise our spirits and make us happy. Naturally the peak pose would be “sirsasana II”, i.e. the headstand in which we also use our arms. In other words, “tripod headstand.” Yes, everything is ready and “action.”
We began the class in “sukhasana” (easy sitting pose). We did smooth lateral stretches and then a gentle twist, which was followed by table pose. It would be a “vinyasa” class so we got into a flow at the beginning of the class. Exhale “marjaryasana” (cat pose), inhale “utthita balasana” (extended child pose), exhale “ashtangasana” (knee-chest-chin), inhale “ardha bhujangasana” (baby cobra) and exhale back to “marjaryasana” (cat pose). We did this vinyasa flow for five times.
We stayed in the table pose to warm our bodies more. We opened our right leg backward and then bring it to our chest. Then we stood strong on our left feet and we moved into “eka pada adho mukha svanasana” (one-legged downward facing dog). We pulled our leg to our chest and opened it up for five times. This flow was followed by a classical vinyasa flow, including “adho mukha svanasana” (downward facing dog), “phalakasana” (plank), “ashtangasana” (knee-chest-chin) and “ardha bhujangasana” (baby cobra). We again stood in table pose and did the same series on the left side. Then we stayed in”adho mukha svanasana” (downward dog) and regulated our breath. We were resting in downward dog, not in “balasana” (child pose).
The group felt warmer but I was not seeing the sun shining above my head for days and I was still gloomy. This meant that “we would go on warming ourselves up.” Another series was on the way including “uttanasana” (standing forward bend) and “utkatasana” (chair). Then we added “anjaneyasana” (low lunge), “parsvottanasana” (pyramid pose/intense side stretch pose), “ashva sanchalanasana” (high lunge), “parsvakonasana” (extended side angle pose) and “vasisthasana” (side plank pose). After doing the series for a few times, we did another vinyasa flow consisting of “trikonasana” (triangle), “virabhadrasana II” (warrior II), “viparita virabhadrasana” (reverse warrior pose).
The next vinyasa included “uttanasana” (standing forward bend), “utkatasana” (chair), one-legged chair, “garudasana” (eagle) and without touching the foot on the floor moving into “ardha chandrasana” (half moon), “virabhadrasana II” (warrior II), “adho mukha svanasana” (downward facing dog) and “eka pada raja kapotasana” (pigeon). We first did it on our right side and then the left side.
The last vinyasa comprised of balancing poses including “virabhadrasana III” (warrior III), “urdhva prasarita eka padasana” (standing split), “utthita hasta padangusthasana” (extended hand-to-big-toe pose), “natarajasana” (dancer’s pose), “vrksasana” (tree pose) and “tadasana” (mountain pose). The peak pose would be a balancing asana.
Following “prasarita padottanasana” (wide-legged forward bend), I asked the group to put the top of their heads on the ground and try “sirsasana II” (tripod headstand). I helped them all in lifting their legs up and finding their balance. The bodies were all warmed up and all the class did the pose successfully.
After a few forward bends and twists, I ended the class with “savasana” (deep relaxation and resting pose).
So what was the theme of the class? It was summer but the weather was like fall. We may face such situations in our daily lives. Everything would turn out to be bad when we were living a very good life. Could it be possibe to accept such sudden changes in our own lives, adapt ourselves to the changing conditions and then change like we do in our yoga classes? How could we stay in difficult asanas throughout the class? Surely with the help of our breath, by focusing on our breath. Could we make calmer, more clever decisions and give such reactions if we focus on our breath, take a deep breath or count a few breaths before reacting when we face a challenging situation or a sudden change in our daily lives? Here is the question of the day! What about focusing on your breath and thinking for a while before answering it?

to be obsessed or to let go?

When do you earn something? When you insist on earning it or when you give it up? You may think how this question came to my mind. It’s so simple. Something happened a few days ago and I just thought about this issue. When can we earn something we want? When we desire it a lot or when we give it up and let it go?

I go to gym club at least five days a week. After an hour of cardiovascular workout, I sometimes do weight workout or sometimes I do yoga by myself. Actually, I do weight workout one day and the other day I do yoga. I also join classes almost every day.
Now you may say that I am so talkative again. Why am I writing about all these? It’s simple. Something interesting happened in my yoga practice a few days ago. There is a fitness instructor whom I love so much in the gym club. He is in his early 20s. Moreover, he is so flexible. He has not done yoga before but he is a dancer. He likes to do yoga with me. If the gym club is not so full that day, he gets his yoga mat and sits beside me. He can do almost all asanas. He is not only flexible but also strong. What do I say all the time? Strength is as necessary as flexibility in our yoga practice. In my opinion, 50 percent flexibility and 50 percent strength.

This young fitness instructor can perform yoga asanas that can be seen on the cover pages of yoga magazines so easily. His body allows him to do so. So we not only do yin yoga and increase our flexibility but also try hard asanas.
The fitness instructor can bring his feet close to his head in “urdhva dhanurasana” (bridge). He can get into “padmasana” (lotus) in “sirsasana” (headstand) and lower his feet to 90 degrees angle with his upper body. These are just a few examples.
I saw that my dear fitness instructor can do everything and I decided to try some hard asanas with him. Like what? Like arm balancing poses. “Bakasana” (crow pose), “parsva bakasana” (side crow pose), “adho mukha vrksasana” (handstand), “bhujapidasana” (arm balancing pose), “eka pada bhujasana” (one hand arm balance pose) are some of them. I try to show him the asanas as much as I can because I still cannot do all of them. I first showed “bakasana”. I can do that asana. Then I decided to show “parsva bakasana.” I would keep my feet on the floor because I could not lift them. I first lift one of my feet and then the other. And suddenly what I saw? I could perform “parsva bakasana.”
I was so excited and happy. I could not understand how I did it. I thought it was “just a coincidence.” I tried again and I could do it again. I told to myself, “ok, I can do this asana.”

How could I do that asana? Why couldn’t I do it? Now what has happened that I can do it? I was so obsessed about many inversions I could not do during last year’s yoga teacher training program. I was thinking that a yoga instructor should do all asanas as shown in “photographs.” In fact, there was no need for that. We may not do all the asanas. We have fears and there are things we have lived and experienced so far. Maybe some emotions were keeping us from doing those asanas. So why were we forcing ourselves?
When the training was over, I was relieved. I left aside all these asanas. Not totally. “Adho mukha vrksasana” (handstand) is still my obsession. Therefore, I cannot do it. But, I have given up “bakasana” and “ardha bakasana”. Look what has happened. I can do those asanas now. And without even working them out. It happened all of a sudden. Of course, I should have made a physical progress when I was trying handstand. My arms should have got stronger when I am trying to stand on my arms. So, this might have been the reason why I can know do the crow pose. However, I got to this point as I was not so obsessed with those asanas.
That day, I thought about all these when I did crow poses one after the other. I gave up and I managed to do. I have to give up handstand. I have to let it go. Maybe then I can do it too. Isn’t it the same in our daily lives? If we want something a lot and if we are obsessed with it, we cannot gain it. But when we give it up, we can see that it happens all of a sudden. So, isn’t it worth giving up and letting go?

before or after?

I was talking to one of my fitness instructors today. I was planning to join his cardiovascular class but I had at least one hour to kill before the class began. I was thinking of enjoying myself with a yin yoga practice before the cardiovascular class. However, when I joined a cardiovascular class after a yoga practice, I had difficulty in catching up with the cardiovascular workout and I trembled during the entire lesson. You can imagine the question I asked to the fitness instructor: “Is it right to join a cardiovascular class after a yoga practice?” Actually, the best was to first join a cardiovascular class and then do my daily yoga practice, but then I had to spend all day at the gym hall as if I was one of the fitness instructors. No, I didn’t like that idea. So what was I supposed to do?

The fitness instructor made me a scientific explanation. In fact, I was thinking almost the same. He told me that I was using my muscles and tiring them off in yin yoga, a yoga style in which we get into a pose and wait statically in the pose for at least five minutes. I told him that how I could tire my muscles when I just got into the pose and wait there statically without even moving. On the other hand, my mind was telling that he was saying something right.

When doing ying yoga, we stretch and relax our body, starting from the most yang organs i.e. the muscles to the most yin organs i.e. the bones. Actually, we get into a pose and wait statically there however all our organs are stretching to their maximum extend and then relax. Therefore, our central nervous system calms down when doing yin yoga and we passively stretch all our body. Yin yoga helps us relax ourselves and our body. We usually just want to sit, lie down, meditate or take a nap after a yin yoga practice. When all our muscles and connective tissues, and evven bones, are stretched and relaxed, it does not seem logical to re-activate all these muscles, connective tissues and bones and adapt them to a cardiovascular class. And, all this explains why I tremble and have difficulty in the cardiovascular workout after a yin yoga practice.
I try to do yin yoga in one hour till the cardiovascular class in order to save time, not to lose my flexibility and to do my daily yoga pratice. I stretch and relax my muscles, connective tissues, bones and even fascia and calm my central nervous system, and then I join a cardiovascular class without asking my body if it is ready, and then what is to happen happens. My nerves, muscles, tissues and body rebel.
However, this is just what I feel and experience, it is not true for everyone. This is my own experience, another body may feel different. Or we may not feel the same effects when we do a different type of yoga.
For instance, when we do a more actice yoga style, i.e. a vinyasa or ashtanga yoga practice, we are making a kind of cardiovascular workout. In this type of yoga, the aim is to work our most yang organs, i.e. our muscles. During a vinyasa practice, we count for five breath in an asana and then we move into another pose. We also do “vinyasa”s (flows) between asanas. We move from one asana to another by using our breath, our heart rate increases and we even sweat. Then we may ask a question. Will we experience the same things we experience after a yin yoga practice when we join a cardiovascular class after a vinyasa or ashtanga yoga practice? Surely, we cannot say anything definite. However, I joined a cardiovascular class after a vinyasa yoga practice last summer. Of course, I was tired and I was moving from one asana to another with my breath, and cardiovascular class was tiring for me after one and a half hour vinyasa practice. But, I never felt the same with the things I felt after a yin yoga practice because vinyasa yoga was similar to a cardiovascular workout and my muscles worked, not deeper connective tissues or bones. Therefore, a cardiovascular workout was not a big problem after a vinyasa flow.
On the other hand, it will be wrong to say that yoga practice cannot be done before a cardiovascular class. When we think of different types of yoga and how a big world yoga is, such a generalization is not right. Yoga can also be done before a cardiovascular class.

Up to now, we have discussed yoga practice before a cardiovascular workout. What about yoga after a cardiovascular workout? Such a practice is priceless. Imagine that your muscles are warmed up after a cardiovascular workout and you are doing yoga. A vinyasa practice with warmed up muscles… That day, you may try many poses you have not tried yet and even you may be successful in those poses. Asanas that have been impossible for you may be possible for you thanks to your warmed up muscles after a cardiovascular workout. Or a yin yoga practice with warmed up muscles… Muscles have been warmed up, now you do not have to spend time on warming them up. When you are statically waiting in an asana, your tendons, ligaments and fascia will start to open up and stretch as your muscles are warmed up. You may experience a new relaxation, stretch and opening in such a practice. Maybe you’ll scream: “La dolce vita.”
Consequently, yoga before or after a cardiovascular workout? It depends on your body and the type of yoga you prefer. Yin or vinyasa… For me, I tested both yin and vinyasa yoga before such a class. I also tested both yoga styles after a cardiovascular workout. I haven’t forgotten the taste of a yin yoga practice after a cardiovascular class. The yin yoga practice I had before such a class also pleased me, but the class was a bit difficult for me. I was so relaxed and even sleepy at the beginning of the cardiovascular class. I woke up in the first five minutes. The rest of the class was tiring but enjoying. Will I do the same thing again? Why not? That was a different experience. A yang style workout is also advised to wake and warm the body up after a yin yoga practice. What about vinyasa yoga? I think I will prefer “vinyasa” yoga before a cardiovascular class. Why? Because I think I will not have the strength to do vinyasa flows after such a class.
Before or after? Not important. What is important is to have yoga in your daily life, irrespective of how it is and what style you are doing, and to experience yoga everyday.