Yoga essay #2 - Grade: A PDF

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Yoga essay #2...

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Andrew Clark Professor Lafley PE 167: Beginner’s Yoga 9 November 2018 How has the practice of yoga impacted your life this semester? After practicing yoga twice a week for a semester, I have noticed changes in my physical ability and strength. I am more flexible and agile in the way I move and hold poses. I can hold difficult or challenging poses for long periods of time without giving up and losing my balance. I can even bend my body into weird shapes like a pretzel and not untie myself after a few seconds. Yoga has taught me how to adapt to challenging poses on my mat and how to hold poses with dominance and firmness. Yoga has also made mental and emotional impacts on my life. It has helped me adjust on a spiritual level and taught me how to better deal with stress. I have learned how to reduce pressure and tension I feel, not only in my body but in my mind. As someone who experiences anxiety and depression, yoga has accentuated and emphasized my ability to deal with certain kinds of pressures found at a top-tier university. Through many poses, stances, breathing exercises, and bends, I have reached new heights in how to manage and treat stress. I have never taken a yoga class before, this is the first time I have done so. I have seen “yoggies” on their mats in parks and studios before, and I have always wanted to try to do the same poses as I have seen. I never expected to learn so much about yoga, I had no idea about the yamas and the niyamas, or how to even do some of these poses. But with a wonderful and insightful teacher, I have accomplished a lot this semester and I have learned a lot. A lesson that

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I can take from my mat and apply it to the real world who be the practice of breathing (pranayama) and how to sit. I couldn’t believe one of the most challenging aspects of yoga was learning something as simple as that. Learning how to inhale and exhale properly using the alternate nostril breathing technique helped me achieve stability and calmness. Sitting at my desk for hours, hunched over and wheezing, I felt stuck. After a while, my back would hurt and I would feel like I was left without oxygen. Taking these aspects I learned from the mat and applying them to the real world, I can better concentrate and focus on my work. Yoga has educated me on being cognizant of my body by reminding me to sit up straight, breathe steadily, and how to center my attention on what I am trying to accomplish. One of the biggest takeaways from the yamas and niyamas was svadhyaya. Svadhyaya means self-inquiry or any study that helps you understand yourself. These definitions all offer us different paths towards educating ourselves. Svadhyaya is about making time to know ourselves better. By making the necessary changes in our life, the more honestly we know ourselves, the more we are able to be in control of our moods and emotions. Basically, the yamas were principles to live your life around while the niyamas were right practice observances. One niyama I did not choose but I have been working on already was tapas or self-discipline. I have been persistent and determine to graduate by attending every class, reading, and submitting projects on time. Tapas taught me resolve and self-control when I am faced with hard choices. My least favorite pose was the eagle pose. I could never figure out how to adjust my shoulders in the right position. I always looked very awkward when I would do the eagle. My favorite pose would have to be the cat and cow pose. When I would practice this I would immediately feel my spine crack and my hips adjust. The best alignment cue was “close your

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eyes”. When I would hear that phrase I would think anything was possible. Closing your eyes can help you to disconnect from visual stimulation and find more stillness. Closing your eyes in a challenging balance pose helps you better find your center. I would love to take another yoga class if my schedule will allow me to do so. After college, I envision myself taking the knowledge I learned from this classroom and applying it to real-world situations. I might even one day teach yoga to students or to friends interested in learning about relaxation. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who is feeling stressed out and overloaded. People, like myself, who suffer from anxiety and depression can find happiness in a course that values emotional and physical fulfillment and intellectual discovery....