Final Blog

I have really enjoyed this class, and am so sad that it is ending. I have learned so much about meditation techniques, eastern ideas, and yoga as a whole. As I continue the school year, and life, I will definitely be intigrating regular meditation practices into my daily rutine as well as a yoga schedule. For me the benifits of meditation were amazing and truly were able to help me feel more balanced and in control of my thoughts. It was really fun to try out different techniques and find the ones that worked best for me and ones that were more difficult for me to do.

The lessons that we have learned about western philosophies and concepts I am able to transfer into my everyday life. As volleyball captain it is important to keep a Positive attitude even when things done seem to be going as desired. When playing a tough game, or maybe the referees aren't being as partial as we would like, breathing is an important part in staying calm and in control.

This was an amazing class and I wish it wasn't ending :(

Final Project

For my final project I am working on a A-Z Yoga book with Hannah Searle. We are assigning either a yoga position, yoga vocab, Hindu Text, or any other topic we have studies this year to a letter of the alphabet and writing a brief definition of the subject. We will be adding photos of what that topic means to us to the page along with decoration, and quotes from different texts, or people.

This project represents the wide variety of topic that we have studied in the class and what they mean to us. We want to show that we truley did learn something by touching on each aspect and its place in the teachings of Yoga and the religions of the East.

On Talking

This section makes some good points about talking. Personally I think that one shouldn't talk unless they have something important, and well articulated to say. This section tells us that silence is important becuase that is how one comes to understand themselves. It tells us that words can disgrace the thought that was trying to be expresses by saying that a "thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly." To me this is saying that words cannot always best express an idea.

On Friendship

This section talks about one of the most important things to me, friendship. It tells us that "your friend is your needs answered." It explains that freinds are someone to share yourself with. A freind is someone that you share everything with, in all honesty. We are not to grieve when a freind leaves us because we still remember the qualities we loved about them. We do not use freinds, we do not befriend them for alterior motives. We have freinds for the "deepening of the spirit."

My favorite line in this section is the last2 sentences of the first page:

"And let your best be for your freind.

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also"

On Reason and Passion

This, I think, is one of my favorite sections. It tells us that reason and passion are nothing without the other, that they are connected. It tells us that we are to use reason in out thinking, but execute our actions with passion. Passion without reason is just chaos, and often ends with more sorrow and discontent. Reason without passion doesn't allow anyone else to really feel what you belive and how important your ideas are to you. The perfection is using reason to evaluate what is important and then passionately action on those thoughts and ideas.

On Crime and Punnishment

At first I didn't think I was really going to like this section but after readind it a second time I discovered that I did like the message it was sharing. It talks about how it is not solely the fault of the one who commits the crime, but that we are all guilty when a wrong in done. We are all connected and in turn are guilty as a community for the act of an individual. My favorite line of this sections is:

"And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent

knowledge of the whole tree,

So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will

of you all."

I like how it is kind of "calling out" society and saying that you cannot be free from the wrong committed in the world.

Active Yoga (Thursday)

I really enjoyed the active yoga last week. I was struggling with the meditation recently and really needed to so some active work. My body felt really good afterward, my hip was a little sore, but in a good way. I had dance that night and could tell that my body was feeling really good. Mentally I always feel better after doing something active. Doing active yoga I find to be much more rewarding than just meditation.

On Joy and Sorrow

This was a really beautiful passage.

When it comes to joy and sorrow you cannot have one without the other. Without sorrow you can't appreciate all that brings you jow, and with joy you will never understand that the absense of it is the root of sorrow.

One cannot be created without the other. The things that bring us joy have been made my means of others' sorrow. We have to see beyond our own emotions to think of how those emotions came to be.

As with all things in life there are ups and downs. Sorrow and Joy are the ups and downs that make life worth living. Without the extremes life would be boring and not worth living in the empty inbetween.

Bucket List

1. Get in a fist fight

2. Build a car...then race it

3. Drive across the country

4. Fly on a trapeze

5. Go back to where I was born

6. Live in a different place

7. Deliver a baby

8. Have tea with a stranger

9. Dance "Cell Block Tango"

On Children

This section kinda confused me at the beginning but I did like some of what it had to say. I liked how it said that we should not try to make our children into ourselves, or impress our own thoughts on them because they are their own people who belong to the world. It explains that parents are just vesseles to bring children into the world and guide them through life but not to mold them.

On Marriage

I really enjoyed this section a lot. I think that the wise words written in this section should apply to all relationships and not just married people. It advises us to give part of ourselves to others, but not out whole selves. It makes clear that we need to be able to sand strong on our own within a relationship and not lose ourselves in another person. I like how it says that we need to stand appart because pillers that hold up a buliding stand apart. This is really cool to me because a relationship is a foundation for a life and both need to be able to stand stong alone and help each other support the whole. I also like how it says that one tree should not stand in the shadow of the other. Relationships should be equal, each should be able to shine in their own right.

On Love

This chapter is about love and the good and bad that comes along with it. It reflects that while love can be harsh, and leave you wounded that is not a reason to close yourself off from love. This lesson is a true example of not being able to have to the good without the bad. It also explains that without love, and allowing ourselves to be in love, that we can never live our lives to the fullest. That is maybe my favorite part. Part of the excitement of being in love is the ups and downs. I would like to re-read this section when I am in love and see how it relates to me then. I hope that I can take the advice of the prophet and not be deterred by the negative aspects of love and enjoy all the beautiful things that it has to offer.