1. Do you
feel like your yoga asana and meditation practice has helped your level of well-being? List three effects
and which practice(s) helped you for each.
It has helped with my well-being a great
deal. Three ways in which this class has helped me are as follows: 1. I can
feel where my muscles are, even the smaller ones. This helps my form when
weightlifting. 2. I know how to stretch parts of my body that I didn’t know I
could stretch. The best example is my lower back, which I have had problems
with for as long as I can remember. I am no able to alleviate some of the
pressure there just by doing a simple stretch that I can do any where and at
any time. 3. I sleep better. A lot better. Especially on a day when I do yoga.
But I know how to calm my mind much better than I used to, and I know how to
just shut it down and go to sleep.
2. Have
you noticed that your stress levels have been easier to control as a result of
your practice? Please explain specifically
what you’ve done to control your stress, and how the practices have helped.
I suffer from some pretty severe anxiety resulting
from some hard things that happened to me when I was a kid. Most of it is
physiological and I can’t do much about it. But, breathing techniques
definitely help. In yoga and meditation I have learned how to take a step back
and reset. It doesn’t work every time, but I can do it often enough to be
helpful. I’m very grateful for the ability.
3. Has
your physical health improved during this semester as a result of your
practice? How and in what ways? Be
specific.
As I said above, yoga has made me a better
weightlifter and it has made it easier for me to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Sleep is the foundation of health. Without it, no amount of sunshine or
exercise is going to make me feel healthy.
4. Has
your emotional health improved as a result of your practice? How? Are you less reactive? What happened in those
specific situations?
I am FAR less reactive than I was before I
started taking meditation at the beginning of this year and yoga has only added
to that. As I said above, I’m able to take a step back and breathe now. It’s
much better. I used to get really stressed out or annoyed or even full-on angry
at work when I felt overwhelmed. I don’t often feel overwhelmed anymore. Just a
few nights ago, I was getting my butt kicked bartending and I just wanted to
stop. So that’s what I did. I stopped for about 90 seconds, went into the
freezer, focused on my breath, and when I came back I was completely ready to
work again.
5. What effects have the yoga practices you've learned and practiced
had on your energy levels? List the three most important and state why you
think they helped.
I wouldn’t say that yoga has done much for my energy levels,
unfortunately. I’ve been under a lot of pressure the last few months. I lost my
fiancée, my home, my bed, my dogs, everything I own. I’ve been without a home
for months. I’m moving to Hawaii in four weeks and I’m completely unprepared. I’ve
been able to keep my stress levels low and I’ve been able to sleep, thank God,
but I can’t do much about my energy levels being as depressed as I have been
lately. They just aren’t there.
6. Have
your relationships to family, co-workers, and others changed as a result of
your practices? Explain how. Please be
specific.
Absolutely they have. Yoga and meditation
have a wonderful way of peeling back layers of narcissism. What I mean by that
is that if you walk around feeling disconnected from everyone, feeling as
though their motives are always impure while yours always have some good
reason, you will find yourself treating people very unfairly. I’ve done that
for most of my life. Yoga and meditation have improved my spirituality, made me
feel more connected and empathetic, and helped to relinquish the stranglehold
of control that I’ve had over my life. I treat everyone so much better now. I
listen. I don’t rage out. I’m calm. I care so much now. I want to know what’s
wrong and why. I’m ready to apologize and seek a solution at a moment’s notice.
7. Has
learning about basic nutrition changed the way you select food, or changed the
foods you eat? In what ways?
I’ve been big on proper nutrition for
years. That old saying “You are what you eat” is literally true. You are made up of those things that you put into
your body, both physical and emotional. If we consume garbage, then garbage we
will be.
8. Is
taking better care of your physical body by consuming more nutritional foods
contributing to your overall health and well-being? If not, why not? What
specific things have you noticed that are improvements?
Of course it does. More energy, more
confidence, and just an overall feeling of increased well-being.
9. Do you
feel like you think before you speak more often? Has what you’ve learned about ahimsa
(non-violence) helped you be a kinder person? Why or why not?
My answer above answers this. Words can be
violent. I try very hard to be more selective in how I use them.
10. Do you
look forward to your practice, or struggle finding time for it? Why and how has it been a pleasure? Or what
do you think are the real reasons behind your struggle?
I look forward to my practice and I struggle to find time for it.
Depression, anxiety, and a lack of living space have made it hard for me to
ahsana, but I do yoga nidra and a few simple stretches every single night. I
still try to meditate as often as I can get myself to as well.
11. In what ways has learning about the Kundalini Yoga system and the
energy body complemented your yoga practices or your understanding of yoga
practice in general?
Again, I think it just helps
me to be more aware of my physical body and helps to improve my spirituality.
12. How has learning about the energy/astral body and the chakras
changed the way you think or feel about yoga?
I was surprised at how indepth
it is. I thought yoga was just stretching, but there is much more to it.
13. Is yoga more than just a physical exercise for you? Explain why or
why not.
I don’t believe that there is anything as
just a physical exercise. I do a lot of different things and each one of them
contributes to me emotionally and mentally as well as physically
14. Explain the most profound or important insights that you have
realized from your meditation practice.
That there is more to life
than meets the eye. I’m not kidding about spirituality. I had NONE before I
started meditation and yoga. I thought that what I see is all there is. I was
arrogant. I feel much smaller now, and in a funny way, much dumber.
15. Have you found yoga to be a
deeper or more interesting study than you thought it was when you first started
class? Why?
Absolutely. I thought I was just going to be stretching and maybe
learning how to be a little more mindful. The energy body, Kundalini, chakras,
all of this stuff is so interesting and I’m looking forward to exploring it
further.
16. How will you integrate or
use what you've learned about the yoga practices as you go forward on your
life's path?
Like every other physed class I’ve taken, this is the root of
something that will grow into a mighty oak as my life goes on. I will never
stop doing yoga, just like I will never stop meditating, just like I will never
stop biking or lifting weights. Without these things, I am nothing. I have nothing.
I don’t function. They are the basis for everything else that I do.
