Exploring body, emotions with yoga practice

I took Vickie’s Sunday class and tonight’s class. Her classes throughout the week have the same theme and for the most part are the same class.
Sunday’s class was pretty packed and we had to accommodate all the bodies and arms. In order for us to move our arms Vickie had us put our hands near our ears like we were covering our ears, which made me giggle to myself and think of muffin ears, which is what I mistakenly always refer to scenes in Old School where the Vince Vaughn character says “Earmuffs!” and his kid covers his ears and they can say “adult things.”
The things that we really focused on on Sunday were that Vickie reminded us to come back to our intention (which she reminded us tonight as well), our breath and if necessary to “start over.”
In yoga practice one sets an intention at the beginning of class. It can be anything from having a strong practice to practicing patience to sending peace into the world to sending energy to someone in your life needing a little extra love. That’s my favorite intention. If someone I care about is having a hard time I like to focus my intention/energy on them.
Another thing Vickie mentioned throughout class was that one of the great things about yoga is that it is a practice, which means you can start over. A yogi can start over with each practice or even each pose. Each practice and each pose is a new beginning.
Lately in Vickie classes she has put a focus and emphasis on opening the back of the heart. Once you figure out where that is it is an amazing discovery.
For many of us, myself included, we sit at a desk and computer most of the day hunched over compressing the back of the heart.
There is a lot of energy back there, including emotions.
I’ve always struggled to answer the question “Why do you practice yoga?”
Besides the obvious answers of exercise and it makes me feel good there are some amazing benefits to regularly practicing yoga …
If you examine just one pose, such as a seated twist, you will be amazed at the physical, psychological, emotional, internal benefits. Not to mention anatomical focus, therapeutic applications, physical internal and external benefits …
Since actively practicing yoga I have challenged myself, humbled myself, learned how to stay calmer in stressful situations, learned so much more about myself along with my limitations and the amazing things my body can do.
In both Sunday’s and tonight’s classes Vickie focused on the last half an hour on Restorative practice. What a nice treat! I really needed it tonight as I had to come home, do laundry, figure out dinner, pack and do a little work and then, of course, blog.