Measuring Up My #tieyoga Practice Sites

         I've attempted a "different" way of blogging this go around. Thanks to Christopher Lister for being the first in our #tiegrad cohort to post using Thinglink; overall I'm happy with my experience using this new-to-me tool. I worked very hard to try to find a way to embed my soundcloud audio clips so that if you clicked on one it would just play, rather than take you to the soundcloud site. Needless to say I was not successful with this. If this is indeed achievable, and someone does know how to make that work, I'd love to hear from you!

         Otherwise, these Piktochart visuals offer up a summary of my assessment of my various online yoga resources. Please don't feel the need to listen to every single link (unless you're considering taking up yoga online!), but pick and choose to get the gist of what I liked or didn't like about my online yoga sites.

Namaste

Stretching My Practice #tieyoga

Okay, it’s off to the races. I’m trying a new strategy tonight: blogging in 45 minutes or less. Since my last #tieyoga post and revised plan for regular practice via Haiku Deck, I have had more success with my #learningproject.  I've been more regularly practicing yoga and trying to focus on poses that will support the 5 key postures I identified as targets to improve on. 

Several key factors have contributed positively to my improved yoga practice over the course of this last week.  First and foremost, my Accountability Log, the log of accountability, my #tieyoga journal; it allows for a concrete view of my success (or shortcomings). I leave the Accountability Log  open on my computer (it’s just a basic word document) and as I log out of my yoga site, I open the document and plug in the date, the name of the video I used, running time, yogi’s name, and how it went.  Bam.  Done. And I know it’s there waiting for me on days I’m not so inclined to practice, which often (not always) kicks me in the general direction of the yoga mat.

 My motivation for practicing yoga at home has climbed to a more positive place; I think it’s because I am actually noticing some improvement in my flexibility…What? WHAAAT??? Yes, that’s right, increased flexibility.  That’s a good hook for me. I noticed a similar phenomenon with my #tiefit participation (the #notmylearningproject fitbit thing).  I am feeling so incredibly good with all my #tiefit walking, that I am currently getting out every day. I don’t want to miss a single day. I have set personal goals, such as nothing less than 10 km a day, 12 000 steps minimum as a daily total and walking to/from work at least twice a week.  While the #tiefit community drew me in, it’s now my own progress and improvement that is propelling me forward. Bingo.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Lastly, I follow my local yoga studio, Bikram YogaWestshore, on Twitter and Facebook and recently they shared these 3 photos to emphasize the progress we can make with regular practice over a fairly short amount of time.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

 These photos inspired me to use some of the photos I started my project with, along with some I've taken more recently, in a different way.  I plan to create similar “collage” pics as a way to compare my own growth in my 5 targeted postures. It’s one thing to feel you've improved, but it’s quite another to see you've improved.  I’m excited to see what my #tieyoga growth looks like as I move through these weeks and weeks of practice. It is inspiring to me to see the personal improvements in these pictures over the course of one, two or three months!








It turns out that #tieyoga is alive and well when, a week ago, I thought it might have crashed and burned altogether. It’s challenging to have to figure out my own obstacles to learning and problem solve ways around them without other learners who are working on a similar thing. Many of our #tiegrad group are working on #learningprojects, but the projects are all so different.  Seeking out support from  my peers can be helpful when I am simply looking for a new strategy for my own project or trying to overcome a specific obstacle, but sometimes just to get going you need a buddy who is working on the same thing. Being part of a team is a huge part of our #tiefit success. Being a lone yogi at home has been my greatest #tieyoga challenge. 

In light of my recent shift, I’m now wondering if pursuing this #learningproject on my own is going to make success taste all the sweeter. We shall see….but for now, Namaste.

PS:  30 minutes for the writing. Pics & video took a little longer though.

3.5 Week Update: My #tieyoga Practice

In my last blog post I touched on the fact that my online yoga practice, while regular, was feeling unfocused. There are many different styles of yoga, many different postures, variations of the same posture between styles, and many different, often personal, approaches to teaching yoga. All of these things impact my own practice significantly. Personally, I would like to see my practice become less random in terms of my choice of "class"; I'd like my choice of yoga practice to move to a more intentional and thoughtful place. It was as I reflected on all of this that I realized I was lacking in adequate "prior knowledge"! My yoga experience, previously, has been limited to participation in Bikram Yoga, which is a fairly rigid sort of practice (details are below).  As a learner approaching her learning subject independently, I recognize that there are certain factors that will contribute to my success (or lack thereof), consistent with the Learner Control Principle discussed in Chapter 21 of Richard Mayer's (editor) book, The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (2014).

Katharina Scheiter, author of the chapter, explains that learner control as a learning approach is more likely to be successful if "learners possess high levels of prior knowledge." (Scheiter, 2014, p. 487)

So, in the spirit of Learner Control Principle, I thought it would be a good idea to research and learn a little more about the different yoga styles.  With some help from Becky Ward's article called, "14 Styles of yoga Explained Simply", I'm building my knowledge base to allow me to make better decisions and choices as a learner, thereby maximizing my success (ideally)! Yay me! What I've learned about different yoga styles follows here:

Ashtanga & Power Yoga—These are both high intensity yogas that incorporates cardio by flowing from one posture to the next. Ashtanga is more traditional and includes the same sequence of poses every class or session. Power Yoga, in contrast, varies the postures from class to class and does not include the more spiritual aspects of traditional yoga. These are similar to Flow, or Vinyasa Yoga, mentioned below.Anusara—Similar to Iyengar but a lighter approach that is more personalized, not quite so serious. Students of Anusara yoga are encouraged to move through the poses in a more personal, expressive way. 

"Hot Yoga - Wikipedia Profile Picture"
by HealthZone - The Star. Licensed under
FAL via Wikimedia Commons - 

Bikram—This is the type of yoga that I have experience with already. It takes place in a hot room, where the temperature is maintained at somewhere around 100-105 degrees and humidity is just a way of life. Imagine doing yoga in a sauna for 90 minutes. There are 26 postures and each one is done twice; it’s the same sequence of postures and the instructor is required to follow the same guiding dialogue for each and every 90 minute class. Thus far, it’s still my favourite yoga option. I recognize aspects of Hatha and Yin yogas in the Bikram method, and it helps, somewhat, to explain my attraction to the Yin style.

Hatha—Hatha yoga, characterized by one pose followed by the next at a relaxed pace, is a basic style of yoga and great introduction to the practice. Hatha emphasizes mindfulness in its approach.

Iyengar—This is a traditional yoga that often utilizes props and instructors/yogis specializing in this style take bio-mechanics into strong consideration in guiding a student’s practice. There are brief pauses between postures. This type of yoga is recommended when recovering from an injury.

Jivamukti—This style of yoga includes lots of chanting in Sanskrit and incorporates a strong foundation based in very traditional and spiritual beliefs. 

Kripalu— The theme of Kripalu is three-fold based in developing awareness, acceptance and growth from your body’s own journey. It emphasizes reflection and awareness in your practice moving towards the holding of postures for extended periods of time. Meditation is also a feature of this style of yoga. 

Kundalini—This style of yoga keeps the body moving continuously with demanding poses. Kundalini is a term that translates to “serpent” and it’s meant to release this serpent-type of energy from your body. Think of those places in your back where you hold tension and stress; that would be the serpent energy. Kundalini yoga’s goal is to tap into that and get it moving so it can be released.

Kundalini Yoga Principle
Image from http://www.crystalinks.com/kundalini.html

Prenatal—Many women choose to practice yoga when they are pregnant; it’s a calm, gentle activity that can easily be adapted depending on the needs of the mom-to-be. This style of yoga can be practiced from the first days of pregnancy, right through postpartum/recovery stage. I used to work in a midwifery practice and the midwife often commented that women who were active in a strong yoga practice generally had an easier time moving through the stages of childbirth and recovery.

Restorative—Restorative yoga does just that—it restores body, mind and spirit. The blogpost where I found a lot of information on yoga styles described this yoga as “group nap time for grownups” (MindBodyGreen.com)! I like the sounds of that! It sounds kind of like Yin Yoga on steroids; you hold just 4-5 different poses for up to 20 minutes each. Restorative Yoga utilizes props and other modifications as needed.

Sivananda--The description of this style of yoga makes me believe it might be one of the more holistic approaches, incorporating "proper breathing, relaxation, diet, exercise, and positive thinking" (MindBodyGreen.com) with the goal of achieving a lifestyle that supports healthy living. It's a relaxed practice that follows the same 12 postures (asanas) each session.
Viniyoga--Similar to Anusara Yoga, Viniyoga is somewhat personalized, but I think the similarity ends there. Educators should be excited by this yoga style which emphasizes differentiation and adaptation based on the individuals needs and strenths. At the basis of this yoga style is a focus on contracting each muscle group prior to beginning the stretching of the posture. In other words, Viniyoga values a good warm up.

   Vinyasa-- Similar to Power Yoga, Vinyasa is derived from Ashtanga yoga and developed 

   out of the aerobics era of the 80's.  This yoga is sometimes called "Flow" and requires        more of a degree of stamina and fitness than something like Hatha yoga would.  It gets      your heart rate up and involves continuous flow, from one posture to the next.

   Yin Yoga—This yoga’s name has its origin in one side of the yin-yang concept and              focuses on long, deep stretches. The postures are held for approximately 5 minutes and      this style of practice is known to alleviate pain and stress. There is significant             emphasis on breath and breathing.

In moving forward, I'm going to consider what it was, specifically, that I liked or didn't like about an online yoga session. While I think it's important to try out different styles, I also think it's important to focus on the ones that are the best fit for me.  I admit to starting a video session and stopping it in the first five minutes more than once (okay, maybe more than 7 times). I recognize that I was jumping in to some videos without an understanding of what they were offering me.  As a #tieyoga student, it's important to know my own preferences and be able to make decisions based on the information available to me in the synopsis for each video. I believe I'll be able to make more informed choices after learning more about the various yoga styles. #tieyoga is definitely a work in progress!

References

Scheiter, Katharina.  (2014). Learner control principle in multimedia learning. In Richard E. Mayer (Ed.),  The cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (pp.487-512). Cambridge University Press. 

Entering into week 3 with #tieyoga -- An Update

This week I thought I would try something different. This is a little out there for me--oh my goodness, listening to my own voice is not my idea of a good time--so thanks in advance for enduring!  I don't think I'll blog this way again, but it was good to try.  So, here I am, on Soundcloud, bringing you "Entering into week 3 with #tieyoga -- An Update."

And once you've had the pleasure of listening to my audio-blog...enjoy this fun Harold's Planet cartoon, Yoga For Wine Lovers!

#tieyoga – Day 8

So, it’s been just over a week since I started working on my #LearningProject for EDCI 569, #tieyoga (yoga online) with the goal of practicing 5 times per week.  In terms of frequency, I’m pretty much there. My motivation is extremely low, however, and most days it’s like a cloud that hangs over my head and when I go to practice, it’s often done begrudgingly.

 

Problems:

Border Collie Lex loves yoga.

• While I have set some goals (improving flexibility and practicing 5 times weekly), I believe my goals need word.  Aside from the frequency of practice, I don’t have any truly measurable outcomes.  As well, I haven’t made a commitment to my method of tracking and reporting on progress.  Basically, I’m lacking an assessment plan.
• Practicing yoga in the middle of the day, in a busy household that has no available “yoga space” is not relaxing. The dogs, the kids bickering, my husband grinding coffee, someone playing loud music or loud…something…almost continuously throughout my 30 minute session somehow impacts the level of relaxation achieved and negatively impacts my motivation.
• Finding the time, even though it isn't a huge time commitment, and ensuring that time slot coincides with those minutes in the day when I don’t feel exhausted…this is a challenge too, one which, again, impacts motivation.

Positives:

•          Some days I practice yoga and I would have done nothing active otherwise
•          I’m getting some coursework completed every time I practice
•          I’m always glad I did it…okay, I never regret doing it.
•          My physical flexibility is showing minor signs of improving

Strategies for improving the success of my online yoga practice:

1    1.  Make an assessment plan

a.       Tracking Progress

                                                               i.      Choose a pose from each target area (forward bends, back of the legs, hips, back bends, for example) and take before, during and after pics to track progress (improved flexibility)

                                                             ii.      Video footage of my practice

                                                            iii.      Each day reflect on the session (just jot down a couple of notes, how I felt, what I noticed, etc)

                                                           iv.      Blog a minimum of once weekly

b.      Record “practice” sessions using fitbit device

c.       Reflect, anecdotal ly,  on my “online learning”

                                                               i.      Using videos, pictures, reflections to record a brief comment following each practice session

      2. Try the other yoga site, Do Yoga With Me and continue to explore other sites through #yoga on Twitter.  Thus far, I've really only explored the paid site, My Yoga Online

      3. Force myself to stick to a scheduled time, when the house is quiet, or quieter; create a #tieyoga schedule, and FOLLOW IT.

      4.   Recruit a yoga buddy or buddies; my husband has said he will practice with me and I’m sure I could get one of my kids to join in an evening session. Misery loves company. Lol, kidding, I’m not miserable.

      5. Set up a #tieyoga space, even if it’s “portable” or temporary in nature, to ensure I have a location in the house that isn't high traffic and to allow my mind and body to make a mental association between the space and the activity.

This sounds like a solid plan, improved from my first blind leap into my #LearningProject on January 14^th. Here are some pics, taken today (Jan 24th), of my postures in these early days of online #tieyoga practice.

Funny how when I'm in the posture, I think I've gone so much deeper than this. Must be the lighting.

Looking forward to more flexibility as it comes.

Watch for #tieyoga updates!