Exit Interview Questions

(1) What is your essential question?  What is the best answer to your question and why?

What is the best way in practicing Vinyasa yoga to reduce stress levels? My best answer is to apply breathing techniques throughout the practice. Breathing is important because it is a core principle in Vinyasa yoga. The breath is what moves the body and helps it flow from one pose to another. Stress is separated into a physical and mental aspect. Physical stress looks like muscle tension and a lack of flexibility. Breathing effectively tackles both types of stress throughout a practice. As breathing techniques are applied through poses, more oxygen is allowed to flow into the body and muscles, allowing for muscles to relax. Stress is a result from the over activation of the nervous system as well. Breathing techniques in yoga utilize the diaphragm, so when a person breathes, the diaphragm and all the surrounding internal organs are bunched up together and slowly released on the exhale. This process done repeatedly relaxes the nervous system which then in turn calms the body down.   With more oxygen flowing into the body, it also allows for more oxygen to reach the brain to help with brain function. Compared to my other two answers, this is the best because it deals with both types of stress effectively.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

The process I took was mainly through taking yoga classes. Researched played a role in guiding me along the path of where to look in yoga, but ultimately all 3 of my answers derived from a personal practice. During my practice I would stay alert and aware of how my body was feeling. I kept in mind the before and after feeling my body had after a practice. Through practicing, I was able to notice when I would feel more relief in one area, less in another, or relatively equal with both. My teacher's instructions guided me in my practice. Teaching me breathing techniques, teaching me alignment, and teaching principles in yoga that can be applied to life. I arrived at my answer through research, physical practice, and the willingness to correct my mistakes.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

I encountered problems with finding mentorship. At first I had an unclear understanding of what mentorship was, and didn't really utilize my first one as much as I could. Even though I could have still gone to the 24 hour fitness, I was forced to reevaluate my whole senior project and what I was doing with it. I noticed how I really wasn't feeling the full effects and benefits of yoga from attending a gym class. I wasn't seeing much progress, and I wasn't feeling much better also. As a result, I had to search for a studio that would take me in. I did countless google searches for local yoga studios, and I emailed every single one with a description of my project. When emails weren't working, I started to visit the yoga studios and ask in person. I encountered some people that seemed excited to help me, and they told me to contact them, but I never got replies from them. Luckily though, I got an acceptance from Antionette from yoganette studios and began my mentorship there.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

My first most significant source is my mentor Antionette. Of all my yoga teachers, she is amazing. Unlike the others, she focuses strongly on alignment and making sure a person is doing the pose right so that they can experience the full effects of it. She is kind, and funny which makes it easy for the student to connect to her. She is also very knowledgeable about yoga and provides me with detailed information with whatever I ask. She has helped me the most in my personal practice. 

My second most significant source is an article entitled "Ujjayi Pranayama- The Victorious Breath". I chose this article because out of all the other ones, this taught a valuable breathing technique and went into full detail as to what it entailed. It talked about the benefits and the way it should be done. It provided examples and created illustrations as to how to do it. After reading this article, I started applying this technique in my practice, and it was the  best thing I've ever done to change my practice. It was great and this breathing technique helped me in bettering my practice. I give credit to this article, cause without it I wouldn't be breathing victoriously.

(5) What is your product and why?

My product is "maturity". Throughout yoga practice, I found out that there are poses that I don't necessarily excel at. Due to my condition of flat feet, balancing poses are extremely hard for me. At times though, it can get very aggravating since the women around me seem to do it so easily, yet I struggle with something that looks so simple. At first I would always be pissed at myself, but over time I learned to accept that I can't be good at everything, and I learned to except that I do have flaws and inconsistencies. Prior to that, I was a pretty proud guy. I had this unrealistic notion that I can do it all, but through yoga, I was humbled and learned that I have strengths AND weaknesses as well. I didn't just stop there though. Through yoga, I was able to learn to identify and accept my flaws and inconsistencies, but also I had to learn to work at it in order to improve myself. It is not enough to identify what you need to work on, once identified, the person needs to go and improve those inconsistencies. That person needs to try to make themselves better. Make themselves a better person. Yoga has thought me to be humble and it has also taught me to work on bettering myself, and I believe that that can be considered as maturity.