Journal Entry #8: Yoga as an expanding culture in the West

                 Yoga has taken on many different forms and practices since its debut in the western world. Yoga in the West is both a physical and cultural movement. In the West, the goals of yoga are varying while in the East, the goal of yoga is singular. Western yoga is associated with goals such as weight loss, body toning, increased flexibility, feeling as though you are a member of a community, and spiritual and mental health. In eastern yoga, your one goal is to release yourself from the cycle of life and death, a purely spiritual journey and end goal.
                 Take a practice such as Viniyoga for example. Viniyoga is a Western form of yoga that has gained increased popularity for its backing by various peer reviewed medical journals in the West. The medicinal and therapeutic properties claimed to be gained through the practice of Viniyoga are supported by medical professionals. Viniyoga maintains the purpose of healing, increasing stability, and increasing flexibility in the lower back, sacrum, and hips. This sort of goal and practice is something that would be unheard of in the East.
                 In my one experience with Viniyoga, despite the boring video, I found it to be extremely useful for me. As someone who has a history of lower back, hip, and sacral pain, I found this form of yoga very calming for my back pain, as it took the class through motions slowly without putting a ton of strain on the injured areas. I felt like the goal of Viniyoga was more to strengthen the core areas around the lower back, sacrum, and hips. This is a practice also performed by physical and occupational therapists when considering options on how to rehabilitate an athlete with an injured back.
                 Just yesterday I received news from an MRI result that I have a bulging disk in my L3-L4 vertebrae, a bulging disk in my L4-L5 vertebrae, and a herniated disk in my L5-S1 vertebrae. This news has really tempted me to join a primary yoga school, specifically one that focuses on therapeutic principles such as Viniyoga. My goals behind this would be to strengthen my core muscles around the injury as well as increase flexibility so that I may return to my fight training as soon as possible.