Tales of My Buti Yoga Experience - The Bend Magazine

Tales of My Buti Yoga Experience

The Bend’s Managing Editor, Kylie Kinnett, takes on Buti Yoga for the first time

Words by: Kylie Kinnett  Illustration by: Jarred Schuetze

I can probably count on both hands the amount of yogabrclasses I have attended in my life. I have tons of friends who love and swearbrby yoga. I have multiple friends who have or are currently going through trainingbrto become a certified Yogi. However, any of the approximate 7 times I have beenbrto a yoga class were more so to tag along with a friend in order to hang out and the workout component was merely an added bonus. Which was exactly the casebrlast Tuesday, when I went to a Buti Yoga class at Yoga Time Studios with mybrfriend, Alex.

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The donation-based class ended up being the best thing thatbrhappened to me that week. Immediately upon walking in, we were greeted bybrco-owner, Leah Bess Murray, with a beautiful smile and a rather calmingbrpresence. She asked if we had ever been there before, I signed a waiver, and webrlaid our mats out.

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Buti Yoga has been a trend in the health and fitness worldbrfor a little over a year now. There are pages and pages of articles on Googlebrthat rave about the practice. I had little to zero idea of how it worked orbrwhat it focused on before stepping foot in the class that day. I’ll paint you abrpicture. Imagine a song comes on, with a very catchy beat (What song are you imagining? Mine is “Temperature” by Sean Paul because, duh), and you can’t helpbrbut to begin swaying your body along to the rhythm of the song. Essentially,brthat is what an entire class of Buti Yoga feels like.

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Buti, which is a Marathi Indian term for “the cure tobrsomething that’s been hidden away or kept secret,” encourages those whobrpractice to look within and discover their full potential in this life. Itbrevokes emotions in you that allow you to become one with the rhythm of thebrmusic and feel empowered. So, what is it exactly? 

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It is a yoga practice that blends together tribal dance and primalbrmovements, plyometrics, and vinyasa-style yoga. It incorporates movements ourbrbodies not only crave, but flourish from. Hormones get balanced, chakras becomebraligned, your endocrine system is nurtured, and you are able to see just howbrmuch rhythm (or lack thereof) you really have. It is challenging and fulfilling.

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I am by no means a fitness expert. My glory days of being abrhigh school athlete are far behind me and my primary source of cardio these daysbrare the stairs in the office that lead to my desk (I know, but it’s okay…I’mbrworking on it people). And, I won’t lie to you, this class kicked my buti (seebrwhat I did there). It was intense; I had to go into Downward Dog multiple timesbrto catch my breath and then catch back up in the sequence. But, it was worth it.

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The music, booming with bass and rhythm, never stops – whichbrin turn, encourages you to never stop either. Even if you are switching to a newbrpose or movement in the sequence, you never stop moving your body. It wasbrempowering; it made me feel bold, loved, accepted. Although there were only 6brof us in the studio, there was an infectious energy that spread from the instructorbrto each of us.

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At the end of the session, the music changes to a softerbrmood, the lights are dimmed, and we took a trip to meditation station – where yourbrthoughts are encouraged and your spirit is calmed. With an essential oil blendbrspritzed on your face and a peaceful, slow transition back to a seated position on the mat, the class ended and I was ready to conquer the world with my new-foundbrself-love and empowerment.

brbrWhen it was all said and done, I was reminded ofbrwhat my mind and body are both capable of – and that was the most liberating part.brI was also sore for a solid 4 days, but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere,brright.