Weekly Journal Entry #1

                      As someone who has been practicing yoga for almost three years now, I can bring a more experienced perspective and outlook to the room and give a good read on the environment and the people training around me. The physical environment is rather simple, I frequently practice yoga in tandem with various other martial arts including wrestling, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The environment that I practiced yoga in tonight was simple, a matted floor with matted walls, bare as can be. I enjoy a practice space that is light on earthly distractions while I am practicing both yoga and the martial arts, and I believe that the two have many similarities in terms of proper practice and the mindset during practice.
                      The class I attended was an Advanced sweat yoga class designed for well conditioned athletes and fighters as well as experienced yoga practitioners. In the room during a session such as this you see men and women who take great care of their bodies and maintain a peak physical form. That being said, everyone also shares the mindset that there is always room for improvement, be it in yoga or in matters off of the mat. This unique blend of martial arts and yoga creates a training environment that breeds competition and encourages and motivates everyone in the room to improve themselves so that they may further improve others in the process.
                     While performing Yoga in this particular setting, I focus on my breathing throughout. In such a harsh and heated environment with other top-level athletes, I am motivated to push myself throughout the session and maintain focus on my breathing instead of how tired my muscles feel, or how hot my body feels. I take a similar approach when training martial arts. I am always trained to remain calm in adverse situations, a skill that is applicable not only to the martial arts, but to Yoga, and even to everyday situations in life. My goal for this particular session is to get a good workout in and improve myself in some way, whether it be mentally, physically, or spiritually. This environment breeds a desire to improve for fear of falling behind the others in the advanced class, and I feel that this environment is best for breeding high-level athletes and efficient human beings in the community.