Follow My Journey in
CEP 811:
By: Emily Leinwand
The goal for my Network Learning Project in my CEP 810 class was to learn how to do yoga, but there is a twist: I could only use online sources and I couldn’t ask anyone in person for help. I started by researching which yoga instructor I wanted to use. I simply typed into google best YouTube yoga instructors. The number one yoga instructor on YouTube, accredited by more than one site is Adriene Mishler. At first, I thought it was going to be easy. I really wanted to carve out time in my day to work on myself and step back from all the chaos in my life. Little did I know that this would be the hardest thing I have had to do in a while. I found a great website that gave me all the beginner tips to yoga. I felt like I was ready, but after one session quickly realized this project was not going to be about the yoga positions and how well I could perform them. It was going to be about me focusing and relaxing during a yoga session. I was not in the zone or mindset to do yoga. I felt guilty that I was doing something else when I could have been accomplishing tasks on my long to do list. I had to figure out a way to be in the moment and focus on the now. Since I couldn’t ask anyone for help from my life, I had to get creative. I found a great ted talk about happiness. A quote that stuck with me was: “We're often happiest when we're lost in the moment. And the flip side: The more our mind wanders, the less happy we can be.” I found another Ted Talk about how “Attention isn't just about what we focus on -- it's also about what our brains filter out.” Through these videos I was hoping to find more information about being in the moment. I wanted strategies to get through one yoga session and feel relaxed and accomplished by the end. Halfway into the journey I found an article. I learned that breathing is just as important during yoga as the moves are. I also learned that using my eyes either closed or opened and focusing on an object could help me too. I also found a YouTube video that gave me some tips. I learned that in order to focus in general, making lists and managing your time were some things I needed to do. I started creating lists and putting them in a drawer to come back to after yoga. I thought I would worry less if I knew that the list would be there after my session. I also tried to get the most important to do list items done before my yoga session for the day. The results weren’t in my favor. I still did not feel like I was enjoying the yoga, or it was making my life any less stressful. After all of my research I was not enjoying the entire point of the project: yoga. I never stopped to think about relaxing during the yoga, I always had my mind on other aspects of my life. Even though I was given different strategies and techniques I never really stopped and focused just on taking 10 or 20 minutes out of my day to breath and relax by myself. I wondered if someone had given me the advice to relax first and do the yoga moves second, if my experience would have been different. I truly feel that because of the person I was during this course and the aspects of life I was conquering it was not the time or place for me to succeed at yoga. I never gave up and took this course and assignment as a challenge. I used the resources I was allotted at the time, and persevered through something that was different for me and my life. I do believe that if I did yoga in a class setting my thoughts and feelings would be a bit different. Although I still think my brain would wonder and make me feel bad about all the things I should be doing on my checklist rather than yoga, I do think getting out of the house and going to a class would have been more beneficial for me. Attending a class with a inspirational yoga teacher would have benefited my journey. I think meeting others and hearing their yoga stories could have changed my perspective on yoga. During the COVID crisis, this was not possible, but maybe this is something I would try in the future and see how different it would be. I am a very social person, and rely on people in my close tribe to life me up when I am down, and give me the strength I need when I am struggling. Who knows what yoga classes and the attendees could have done for me during this challenging time in my life. In conclusion I feel that I was not able to achieve my goal. I am not sure if I needed more time to practice. All I know is that I could not sit through one yoga session and be totally in the moment. Check out my journey in this YouTube video I created. Overall, I thought the experience and concept of the project was great. I definitely learned that learning something from only online resources is challenging. I would have loved to use people from my personal learning network. I was dying for the project to be over so that I could ask my aunt who uses yoga with Adriene and my therapist for advice on how to get my brain to compartmentalize. I learned how much we rely on a variety of resources when we learn new things. It is not just one or the other. I think a combination of people and technology are both amazing when trying to learn new things. I believe they both give different perspectives and ideas. It is important for students to be exposed to different teaching styles and resources. I want them to use what they think is best for them. Every child learns differently, and they should be able to use the kind of tool they need that works best for their specific learning path. Resources: Firman, T. (2019, January 15). There are 254 million yoga videos on YouTube, but these are our 8 favorite instructors. Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.wellandgood.com/best-youtube-yoga/ How to Focus in Yoga. (2015, April 12). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.yogaoutlet.com/blogs/guides/how-to-focus-in-yoga Williams, L. (n.d.). The Beginner's Guide to Getting Started With Yoga. Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-get-started-with-yoga-4165462 Slack, A., H, C., & K, C. (2017, June 09). Stay Focused: 11 Psychological Tips. Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RV_vYsHceQ Ordikhani-Seyedlar, M. (2017, April). What happens in your brain when you pay attention? Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/mehdi_ordikhani_seyedlar_what_happens_in_your_brain_when_you_pay_attention Killingsworth, M. (2011, November). Want to be happier? Stay in the moment. Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_killingsworth_want_to_be_happier_stay_in_the_moment
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Emily LeinwandHello! Come follow me through my MAET program at Michigan State University. I am so excited to learn more about technology and how I can use it in my second grade classroom! Archives |