Mentorship

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https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-uWFXRsQf2ndHlDNWhuaVF1OHM/edit

Shanice Smith
626-404-3803

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The most important thing I gained from this experience was the ability to step back and focus on the present. Although the principle may seem simple, it is a concept that most people in today's society tend to overlook. With the way society is, people go about their lives worrying about the past and future. As a result, people tend to forget about the current. They tend to forget about what is going on at that very moment in their lives. That is a big factor as to why people always feel stressed, it is because they are always worrying about something out of their control. In yoga, everything I learned can be tied in to focusing on the present. Breathing techniques, yoga asana, balance...they all draw the attention inwards. Breathing techniques draws attention to the breath. This brings a person's focus on something so fundamental in life that tends to be overlooked and undermined. Asanas bring attention to holding the pose. The fact that poses may be difficult to hold draws a person's attention away from whatever is bothering them and is instead put to trying to maintain the pose. Balance draws the attention to simply maintaining balance. All these examples contribute to the big picture of focusing on the present. My project was centered around finding the best way to reduce stress in yoga. Although my answers were different, what I gained was a way to reduce stress in overall life. This experience has taught me to not spend all my emotion worrying about the future, or sulking in the past, but rather to focus on the moment that is right in front of me...and to make the most out of it. I suppose in a sense, it could be said that I gained a new perspective on life, and that to me is invaluable. Prior to yoga, I was a worry body, always thinking ahead or reflecting on the past that I eventually lost sight of having fun in life. Yoga brought me back. It rejuvenated my drive and passion for life. It is for that reason that stepping back on focusing on now is so important to me.

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My EQ was "what is the best way in practicing Vinyasa yoga to reduce stress levels?" This experience has been able to help me answer my eq with great detail. My first answer was to apply breathing techniques throughout the practice. By taking classes, I was able to experience first hand how those breathing techniques affected the practice. I would notice a significant difference in how I felt when I applied the technique versus when I didn't. Instructors helped me by showing me how to utilize the diaphragm when breathing, and by showing me how it should sound like. The experience gave me first hand experience on my first answer. My second answer was to focus on alignment, then deepen the pose. By taking classes, I was able to get hands on help with alignment. Online articles only say so much, and they only do so much as well since one may not fully understand the instructions, therefore taking classes is the best way to answer this. Through classes, I learned specific alignment for poses I would not have found otherwise. I learned and experienced how focusing on a pose helps with mental stress, but I also experienced first hand how proper alignment impacts the physical stress. It really makes a difference in regards to the burn you feel in your muscles when you hold the pose. My third answer was to apply equal effort in both physical and mental poses. I would not have been able to come up with that answer unless I was forced to do balancing poses so much. Through balancing poses, I learned that there was an imbalance in my practice throwing me off, so I figured the natural cure would be to restore that balance back. To learn simple principles like treat everyone with respect, give it your all...those are not things that are just learned, but have to be practiced. I believe I learned those things, and my answers could not have been answered as they were if it were not for my practice in the studio.