Day 7

date: 10/13/16
time: 2:30
instructor: Joann McGarrity
style: Ashtanga

I think I like Ashtanga practice we did with Joann. I think the fact that it can build on itself, as a beginner through to advanced levels (Like Joann and Laurie who still didn't have certain positions) makes it a very focused physical practice. I like the focus on improvement and the repetition that, like Joan says, can still vary day to day ( "some days I have it, some I don't"). I don't know it Joann's instruction was the typical Ashtanga style, if so I definitely do not like that style. Joann was a nice instructor, but not detailed and that led to some confusion throughout the class and sometimes it led to some positions not quite feeling right. She recommended some Ashtanga practice videos and I'm definitely going to look into them. Something I did notice was an improvement in my ability to square my hips in most of my positions and pay attention to how I rotated and opened my hips - I attribute this to the very informative harness class from last week. This improvement definitely made this practice feel better than most of my practices have before.

I think our class in particular generates a unique sense of community in that we are all fairly new to these varying practices and that we are all pretty open to the different styles and instructions. The community built in our class, however, I think is only the hint of a community respective to actual yoga studios. The sense of community in our class is very minute, only really noticeable when we are doing the physical practice. In typical classes, all there is is the practice so the sense of community is easier to build. I think a community feeling is important to a practice because it generates a comfortable environment in the studio and allows people to feel safe as they push whatever boundaries they're pushing in the practice. I don't yet have a solid sense of community from my practice. I noticed at Yoga 9 that there is a very good sense of community, all the people there seemed very friendly and to know each other fairly well. I definitely think finding a community like that would definitely help me maintain my practice - even just going with Melissa and Gabby the last few weeks has helped me stay consistent with my practice.