Week 6: Healing

I followed along to an Iyengar yoga video on YouTube. The video was called Iyengar yoga sequense for release of stiff neck and upper back, and was posted by Iyengar Yoga Video Yoga Vastu. The video was about 34 minutes long and it was instructed by a woman, while a man was demonstrating how to do the poses with her assistance. The theme for this week is healing, so I made sure to look up a video that focused on just that. Last week Amita Bhagat mentioned that Iyengar yoga had many healing purposes, such as alleviating pain or cramps during one's menstrual cycle, promote healthier organs, mental health, and even regular body pains.

Amita mentioned how props were used in Iyengar yoga to support people who struggled with some poses or had healing purposes. Throughout the class, props such as a bolster, blanket, ledge, the wall, and blocks were used. These props were used to help alleviate back and neck pains and to open up the spinal cords and theoretic area. Whenever I hear about yoga, I always hear about its health benefits and healing purposes along with the spiritual aspect of it. Iyengar yoga is filled with stories about how the founder created the poses and props to help people heal, and yet that is told in many different ways throughout the world for different yoga methods.

Before starting this specific video I was a bit hesitant and unsure about how I would feel about it despite the fact that I wanted to do more with Iyengar yoga. It was pretty easy to follow along because the instructor was taking her time and made sure that the person that was demonstrating the poses was comfortable and doing it right. I found that using the props made things very easy and a bit more comfortable although, towards the end when I laid on the blocks, it was a bit uncomfortable because I wasn't used to it. By the end I was feeling a bit more grounded because I put all my focus in following along while trying to ignore outside noises and disturbances.