Week 6 - Wannabe a Newcomer in Yoga

Bodyflow classes have been going really well. I've learned to control my breathing and I am able to hold poses longer by strengthening my core. As I've stated previously in other posts, I'm really beginning to enjoy Yoga. As I was researching more about Yoga over the past few weeks, I've come to learn new terms that are familiar within the Yoga community and also techniques, and delivery methods.
With all of this newfound knowledge of Yoga, I'm considering taking a permanent weekly Yoga class, possibly a Hot Yoga or a Paddle Board Yoga class. As I was reading about Peripheral Participation this week, I started to realize that if I want to be serious about Yoga, then I should acquire the proper known knowledge within the Yoga culture. I can read to learn about Yoga, but it would be best learned with a zone of proximal development (ZPD) setting where I have an instructor to help guide my skills and knowledge of Yoga.  It made me think that this could also be similarly looked at as an apprenticeship as well over time. In the readings from Lave and Wagner, they indicate that newcomers to a community of knowledge have basic knowledge, but utilize their peers within the community to learn and grow those skills. If I take years of classes from knowledgeable Yoga instructors, I could develop the processes and skills to become an expert in Yoga through a ZPD.

Week 5 - Yoga Culture

I'm beginning to enjoy the Yoga portion of Bodyflow class. I have been able to better fine tune my breathing and stretching synchronization within poses each week. I am able to stretch deeper in to poses and my balance is getting better. I can successfully do the Warrior III, which is a standing balance pose. This pose has been really difficult for me so it was really rewarding when I completed the full sequence of this pose without falling over or loosing my balance.

Figure 1 - Warrior III Pose

Since I am now enjoying Yoga, I would like to try a stand alone Yoga class. I've had some friends that have been to a Hot Yoga class and really enjoyed it. I did an search for Hot Yoga studios near me. I found several studios, which lead me to researching more on Yoga and discovering that there are about 14 different Yoga styles:

Anusara
Ashtanga
Bikram
Hatha
Iyengar
Jivamukti
Kripalu
Kundalini
Prenatal
Restorative
Sivananda
Viniyoga
Vinyasa / Power
Yin

You can read about each of these individual Yoga styles here.
My Bodyflow instructor has mentioned that the Yoga we do in class is Bikram, one of the more common styles. In reading about each of the different Yoga styles, I would really like to try
Iyengar Yoga. Its is also known as "Furniture Yoga" because it incorporates props like harnesses, straps, and blogs in to the poses for a different stretch.
Along with my search for Hot Yoga studios and Yoga in general, I found other methods of Yoga incorporation like Paddle Board Yoga. There is a company in Park City that teaches Paddle Board Yoga classes.
I would really love to try both Hot Yoga, and Paddle Board Yoga.
As I was reading about the different Yoga styles and methods to incorporate with it, I referred back to the readings this week about  Cognition and the Culture of Learning. As I read more about Yoga, I learn how it applies to the different moves and sequences. This week's readings talk about cognitive apprenticeship and learning by being within the environment or culture in which the specific knowledge would be applicable in various situations. I began to wonder how successful my learning about Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates would be if I had to learn the basic terminology and memorize poses before physically doing or practicing them (cognitive apprenticeship). I feel like my knowledge is more concise and I am learning more by doing the hands-on approach (cognitive apprenticeship) with Yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates in class, and then I fill in the missing knowledge by research, social learning, and working with experts. The reading states that "approaches such as embedded learning in activity and make deliberate use of the social and physical context are more in line with the understanding of learning and cognition that is emerging from research." I really apply this to my learning in Bodyflow class, because I have been able to learn and grow my skills by doing the poses and sequences within each class.
The readings this week also talked about utilizing tools learned within the culture they are acquired in and how one applies those tools. In Yoga, a person's interpretation of a pose, stretch or sequence can be differently applied and used depending on which Yoga Culture their knowledge was cultivated in. The 14 different styles of Yoga represent the different Yoga cultures a person may know.  Each move (tool) is applied differently within the different Yoga styles (culture).

References 

Brown, J. S. (1989). Cotnition and the Culture of Learning. American Educational Research Association, 32-42. 

Ward, B. (2013, 4 20). MindBodyGreen. Retrieved 10 22, 2014, from MindBodyGreen: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8622/14-styles-of-yoga-explained-simply.html

Giam Life. (n.d.). Giam Life. Retrieved 10 22, 2014, from Giam Life: http://life.gaiam.com/article/beginners-guide-8-major-styles-yoga

Week 4 - Focused on Pilates

I’ve enjoyed the Yoga and Tai Chi portions of the Bodyflow class I am attending, but have struggled to motivate myself to excel in the Pilates portion. For me, Pilates is a lot more physically enduring compared to Yoga and Tai Chi. The Pilates music tracks are fast paced and the moves are sequenced to the fast paced music. This causes me to be more physically exhausted after we finish the Pilates portion of the class. I also feel like the majority of Pilates moves we do in class are focused on the abs. I decided to take an hour-long Pilates class with one of my friends in order to fine tune and accommodate my Pilates skills.

I really learned a lot about breathing in Pilates during this class. I am able to focus on my breathing for Yoga and Tai Chi because the movements are a lot slower than Pilates. I realized that when I got to the Pilates portion of the class, the music and moves were so quick and fast paced that I forget to pay attention to my breathing. My lack of knowledge transfer could have been the reason that I was really struggling with Pilates.

The Pilates class I attended only had 1 other person in it besides myself and my friend. All 3 of us were beginners and the instructor took the time to explain each movement and answer any questions we had. She told us that steady breathing between the movements is so important because it allows the muscles to contract faster and perform more efficiently. Our instructor focused on moves that worked our legs, stomach areas, and upper back. The instructor asked us which areas we liked and didn’t like in Pilates and also what we struggled with the most. She showed us how to keep our core (stomach area) strong as we moved throughout different Pilates moves. She indicated that by having a strong core and strengthen that core, we will be able to breathe and move throughout the poses better. I really felt that this instructor was able to really help me strengthen component skills like my breathing and strong core to better perform various Pilates movements.

Reflecting back on the Pilates class I attended and the reading by Ambrose on How Students Develop Mastery, I realized what an expert the instructor was in teaching Pilates. She was able to instantly see how we struggled in different poses, and took the time to stop and fine tune our individual poses and issues we had. She was excellent in identifying foundational component knowledge we would need in order to be successful with the movement. Later that week, I went back to Bodyflow class and applied the knowledge I had learned from the Pilates instructor, and I actually found myself in a flow-like state of mind. I instantly remembered to concentrate on my breathing and core while carrying out the Pilates movements. I had a much easier time with the Pilates portion of the Bodyflow class after attending the Pilates class.

This is my favorite move the Pilates instructor taught me. It’s called the Mermaid. It incorporates balance, breathing and focuses on working the lower back and lateral sides of the abs. 

Week 3 - Tuning and Transfer in Yoga

My instructor for Bodyflow class uses an Advance Organizer by letting us know which poses/stretches in Yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates we will be doing throughout each class.
I really like knowing which moves we will be doing because I can decipher which poses or moves I already know, and which ones I don't know and want to focus on. It also helps me better prepare myself for each move throughout the class.
As my knowledge base for Yoga grows, I find myself relating my own memorization of the moves to the theories of knowledge we learned about in chapter 4 of Learning and Cognition by Michael E. Martinez.

Lately I've experienced a lot of Tuning with my schema for Yoga. Many yoga moves like Flip Your Dog incorporate smaller moves that attribute to a larger movement. A larger movement involves a series of small movements in order to complete the large movement. I didn't realize that the smaller yoga movements made up the larger movements, until the instructor started breaking out each larger movement by smaller poses.  Flip Your Dog is a larger movement and combines a series a 4 sequential small yoga movements:

1. Downward Facing Dog

2. Psosas Stretch

3. Side Plank

4. Upward Facing Bow Pose

I am able to do these poses individually by themselves relatively easily. I really struggle with Flip Your Dog between the transitions of these moves. I can easily apply the concept of knowledge transfer when I combine these small moves in to the larger move of Flip Your Dog, but I still struggle with the flow of my balance in between the moves.
This has also caused an alteration of my procedural knowledge as our instructor takes multiple smaller yoga moves, and combines them in to a larger movement. I know each small move within declarative knowledge, but sometimes the instructor will piece together small moves in to a larger movement and thus changing my procedural knowledge for different larger movements.

Week 2 - Motivation to flip the dog

I've attended 4 Bodyflow classes in the past 2 weeks. I find myself enjoying the class more and more with each session. I really enjoy the change of pace between yoga, tai chi and pilates throughout the class.
The gym I attend provides yoga mats for members, but they are a little older and some are torn. I've noticed that several people in my class bring their on yoga mats that have carriers. I decided to purchase my own mat and carrier because I was getting tired of having to sanitize the gym mats. I bought my yoga mat at T.J. Maxx on sale and then I purchased this carrier on Amazon. I really like my new mat, it has a better grip than the mats provided by the gym. My hands and feet don't slide as much when I use my new yoga mat.

I've been practicing my breathing techniques and it's been a lot easier to stretch deeper and focus more throughout the class. After the first week of class and breathing exercises, I noticed I had more energy and was intrinsically motivated to go to class this past week. I really found myself relating the readings last week about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Initially, I was extrinsically motivated to attend Bodyflow class so I could write about my experience here which is a required assignment for this course that I want to complete successfully. But now, I find myself getting excited every time Tuesday and Thursday's Bodyflow class comes up because I am noticing my increased progress.

In Tuesday's class we learned a new move called "Flip the Dog." It begins in a downward dog position, and then you elevate one of your legs, and slowly rotate your body to flip over. I kept falling over every time I tried to flip my dog. I have decided that this is one of the really hard yoga positions that I will strive to achieve.

Here is a video of the yoga move "Flip the Dog":