Halfway Done!

I can`t believe that I am right in the middle of my semester. I am so grateful! My Multimedia Journalism class inspires me to do so many things that I tend to delay. Also, I learn how to use twitter, how to interview people and how to edit audio and video.

The first person who had the honor to be interviewed was Dragomir LazarovJ. He told me about his experience with sports and gave me the idea to try snowboarding. What a great experience. Also, Flori Ivanova contributed to my passion about snowboarding. She stated:

“Snowboard allows you to explore parts of the mountain shortcuts, pathways that have not been touched yet. There you can feel the soft snow that has just been fallen and the feeling is simply ineffable. I prefer using these virgin places because there I`m all alone with my favorite thing – my snowboard and I can completely concentrate on nothing else, but my passion. ”

It is hard not to fall in love with snowboarding. Now I want to buy whole equipment which will cost me a lot.

Another sport which I tried was Zumba. The instructor Patriciq Vasileva had an infectious energy that makes you believe you could dance like her.  It is definitely a fun and effective workout system. After I spoke with her I thought more deeply about my body. Patriciq Vasileva explained what the sport gives you:

“The first change is internal: the sense of yourself, your body movements. You start to feel lightness, cheerfulness. The movement energizes you. The movement gives you joy and pleasure. It gives a lot to your body, a feeling of confidence in absolutely everything. ”

Well, I couldn`t resist not to challenge myself again so I went to Yoga this week. I wasn`t obligate to make a new interview but I wanted, I needed to do something new. I was studying all day for my Marketing exam and I was eager for some adventure.

I didn`t know anything about Yoga. It was a totally new field for me. I asked, the instructor Denitsa Pashova, question after question to make clearer my perception of this physical, mental, and spiritual discipline. She teaches Hatha yoga. There through physical exercises (asanas) and breathing techniques one prepares his mind for a meditation. Interesting for me was that she said:

“I would like to stress the importance of one principle, which is non-violence or “ahimsa”. Ahimsa is not concerned only with physical violence, it also applies to internal. Even in yoga practices I see that students are not in the “golden middle”. They apply violence to their body, for example, if I say do candle position. I can hold in the pose for five minutes and I tell students to follow their own comfort and get out when they feel pain. Most of them don’t listen and try to hold more. Yoga is not a competition and everyone should follow the capacity of his body, because we are all different. ”

Damn. I was from these students that she mentioned. I thought I should feel pain in order to feel alive, as old people are saying. But dear readers, I am obviously wrong.

As I was doing the Yoga I wondered how to concentrate. That is a big issue for me. When I was little, my sister told me that if I go to a doctor he will probably gave me a diagnosis attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. It was a joke but believe me it is hard for me to concentrate. I was trying not to think about my exam while I was practicing but a thousand questions popped up into my mind.

After the session I asked Deni to give me some tips about concentration.

“The whole practice of yoga helps for concentration. The thoughts of modern people are like a monkey, which jumps from tree to tree. It is necessary that everyone pays more attention to his thoughts. One should simply observe himself. Breathing techniques are a quick way to concentrate your thoughts”

Yes, I prefer breathing techniques instead of some medicine to handle my attention deficit.

Moreover, Deni told me about the asanas (physical exercises) that bring harmony between the left and the right parts of the brain. She stated that in contrast with gym or aerobics, yoga gives energy and leaves you refreshed, whereas from the former you feel exhausted. Also, yoga makes your body more flexible and the asanas have beneficial effect for all body organs. She assured the breathing exercises clean your lungs and help you to use their full capacity.

Another question which bothers me was: Can you do Yoga if you are not flexible?

“Of course you can do yoga if you are not flexible. With time you become more and more agile. The only condition is that you have to be patient, regular and persistent with yoga practices. And remember: ahimsa (non-violence), your body will tell you to what extent you have to do one asana. ”

I had images in my mind of hyper-flexible people positioning themselves into seemingly impossible, pretzel-like positions. Fortunately, you don’t need to be ridiculously flexible to begin a yoga practice.

To end up my story, I would say that Yoga contributes to your sensitivity and self awareness.I made a great decision to go and tried it. I will advise you to do the same. If you are an AUBG student you can go to scapto 1 fitness gym every Monday and Wednesday from 8:30 p.m.