Style: Yin/Yang
Teacher: Tara Porter
Studio: Rama Lotus

Dark and light, female and male, low and high, hot and cold... Yin and Yang. This style of yoga is a combination of the receptive, releasive Yin aspects with the more assertive, muscle oriented Yang. Different teachers decide how they mix and incorporate the two styles into their sequence, making for a different experience every time. This is the first class I've ever taken with Tara, and she seems to have her own distinct unique style. Today was much more of an emphasis on Yin, with Yang elements in the middle, and ending with deep Yin twists. Her style of Yin was different then other instructors I've met, really taking long periods of time in each posture.

Today my mind was relaxed and quieter then the night before. Moving through the end portion of spinal twists, feelings of deep relaxation began to well up from within, sending soothing energy through my whole body out to the tips of my fingers. Floating into the final relaxation pose I felt more like the observer of my own thoughts then their creator. It was almost like they were foreign individual beings, passing through the plains of my mind like a colorful, noisy and expressive caravan full of chattering characters and wild circus performers. Tara explained that negative energy is released through the softening of connective tissues, echoing Ichih's words last night. That the energy needed to pass through you on its way out, and to not be surprised if you were suddenly feeling angry out of nowhere. This time I seemed to view the thoughts from afar as they began to make their way further into the distances, being replaced with luxurious relaxation and moments later I drifted off into sleep, a dreamland... or somewhere in between.