Ethnography on People Who Do Hot Yoga
Yogis
For many people with hectic, stressful lives, relaxation means zoning out in front of the TV at the end of the day or getting some extra sleep at the end of the weekend, but for a certain group of people relaxing does not include this. These people are called yogis; those who achieve relaxation through the art of meditation, breathing, stretching, and finding inner peace. In today’s fast paced society it is hard to find a way to fully relax because people are constantly being forced to push their minds and bodies to the limit, which can result in high levels of stress. Rather than fighting against life’s hardships, people who practice yoga value deep relaxation in order to be free of stress and live each day in peace and harmony without being thrown out of balance by the ups and downs life may bring.
As a college student living in today’s fast-paced society life’s obstacles frequently challenge me, which usually leads to great amounts of stress. Watching TV, sleeping, and working out are all ways to help me cope, but these activities never seem to fully get the job done. I never thought that this horrible sequence of stress would find and ending, until I experienced my first hot yoga class.
I decided to do my ethnography on the subculture of yogis to find out how these people step out of society’s craziness and enter into a world of relaxation by connecting their bodies and minds. Lucky for me, one of my close friends, Jamie Mack, is someone who takes immense pride in yoga. I was able to talk to her about how yoga helps her free her stress and also get a first hand experience of a yoga session myself.
It was like any other Sunday here in Lawrence; I woke up around 12:30 PM exhausted from the night before, and automatically thought of all the homework I had to complete. One of the assignments I needed to get done by the end of the day was going to observe my subculture for my ethnography essay. In the interview I conducted with my friend Jamie,
For many people with hectic, stressful lives, relaxation means zoning out in front of the TV at the end of the day or getting some extra sleep at the end of the weekend, but for a certain group of people relaxing does not include this. These people are called yogis; those who achieve relaxation through the art of meditation, breathing, stretching, and finding inner peace. In today’s fast paced society it is hard to find a way to fully relax because people are constantly being forced to push their minds and bodies to the limit, which can result in high levels of stress. Rather than fighting against life’s hardships, people who practice yoga value deep relaxation in order to be free of stress and live each day in peace and harmony without being thrown out of balance by the ups and downs life may bring.
As a college student living in today’s fast-paced society life’s obstacles frequently challenge me, which usually leads to great amounts of stress. Watching TV, sleeping, and working out are all ways to help me cope, but these activities never seem to fully get the job done. I never thought that this horrible sequence of stress would find and ending, until I experienced my first hot yoga class.
I decided to do my ethnography on the subculture of yogis to find out how these people step out of society’s craziness and enter into a world of relaxation by connecting their bodies and minds. Lucky for me, one of my close friends, Jamie Mack, is someone who takes immense pride in yoga. I was able to talk to her about how yoga helps her free her stress and also get a first hand experience of a yoga session myself.
It was like any other Sunday here in Lawrence; I woke up around 12:30 PM exhausted from the night before, and automatically thought of all the homework I had to complete. One of the assignments I needed to get done by the end of the day was going to observe my subculture for my ethnography essay. In the interview I conducted with my friend Jamie,
Cited: Choudhury, Bikram. Bikram Yoga: The Guru behind Hot Yoga Shows the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fulfillment. New York: Collins, 2007. Print. "Stress of Cell Phone Use Disturbs Sleep, Mood." Stresshacker. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.stresshacker.com/2011/04/stress-of-cell-phone-use-disturbs-sleep-mood/>. "The Meaning of "Namaste"" The Meaning of Namaste. Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/822>. "Why Practice Yoga?" Why Practice Yoga? Web. 09 May 2012. <http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/info/why-practice-yoga.asp>.