What Have I Learned and Accomplished?
This inquiry project has made quite the positive impact on my life, certainly more than I ever thought it would! I chose to practice yoga because I already enjoyed stretching and thought it would be a fun and “easy” topic to explore, but I learned a lot of valuable information that will benefit both me and my future student’s for a long time! It’s hard to summarize what I’ve learned in just a few simple points, because there’s a lot of indescribable components to yoga and the exploration of mindfulness that comes with it! As an attempt, I have provided a few of my main discoveries and conclusions below!
- Yoga is not as spiritual or “serious” as many people may think, and anyone can (including children!) can explore and benefit from its practice!
- While meditation is a great tool to pair with yoga, it is not necessary. Listening to music or watching something on the TV works great too!
- I’ve discovered many yoga poses that have provided temporary relief for tight muscles in neck, back and shoulders! This is especially useful when waking up or after a long day of sitting at desks or on the computer! You can search specific poses or routines that relieve pain in basically any part of your body, and highly suggest checking it out!
- Yoga takes time to get used to! In the beginning, it can be really hard to focus and become in tune with your mind and body. I definitely recommended utilizing some sort of visual or auditory distraction when first starting out, I still always use them myself!
- Consistency is key! While you don’t need to practice everyday, regular practice really helps in getting used to the process at a faster rate! Be sure that you set time aside to practice at least three times a week, and I promise you will eventually want to practice everyday!
What Was My Favourite Part?
My favourite part was definitely discovering new poses to explore and being able to share them with everyone here on this blog! At first, I was intimidated and overwhelmed by the idea of having to create two blog posts every week, but i’ve discovered now that it is an awesome form of assessment that allows creative freedom and expression. I especially loved styling my blog and finding new pictures to use every week! I definitely see myself using this form of assessment if I ever find myself in a middle-school classroom, thanks a lot Joanna!
My Go-To Resources
- Yoga Journal – While there is some extra content that you need a paid subscription to get access to (such as certain articles and videos), there is still plenty of free content to get you started on your yoga practice. The resources I’ve used the most are the “poses” and “meditation” sections that can be found on the home page. This website provides nearly everything you need to start and continue your practice!
- Youtube! – I didn’t document all the videos that I have watched and learned from on my blog, but there are so many available! Whether you’re looking for videos of deconstructed poses, kid-friendly tutorials, or calming music, Youtube is definitely your friend!
- I have also saved many articles and websites that helped me get started and build my knowledge about yoga that you can access here!
Where Will I Go Next?
While I won’t be updating this blog anymore, I am definitely going to be keeping these posts for future reference as I continue my practice. I want to be able to effectively implement yoga into my classrooms, so I will continue to research and collect different resources that will help me with this future goal! While I’ll remain a beginner for quite a long time, I’m excited to further my knowledge and hopefully even attend yoga classes at some point in the future! I’m a little sad that this blogging is over, but it feels great to have it completed and be able to focus on my own personal experience! Goodbye everyone!🤎