Final Journal Write-Up

 Kaitlyn Gonzalez 

Final Journal Write Up

GIS-4636-091

December 9, 2020 

    Over the course of this semester, I have learned a lot about myself and the yoga practice. At the beginning of the course, I was not able to do a lot of things because of my surgery. Nevertheless, learning the basics of yoga set me up for success when I was able to practice later in the semester. I've always been interested in yoga and its history, but this class enabled me to get more immersed in it and ask questions about its origins, and how it's practiced in the west versus the east and its origins. When I first was able to practice yoga after my surgery, it was a bit hard to get moving again, after being basically on crutches for 3 months. There was so much tension in my body, and my body felt weak. I think that in this way, yoga has helped me in the more physical aspect. But in many ways, it has also helped me with the spiritual and mental aspects of yoga. As I got to practicing slowly but surely, my strength started to build up and the tension in my body begun to lessen. It felt great to finally be able to move around, and not feel the tension in my legs or hips from being on crutches for so long. 

    Yoga has really helped me in many ways during this practice. At first, I began only practicing once a week, simply to write the yoga journal and do the practice. I realized how much the yoga did for my body and mind and wanted to practice more, and now I am doing it at least once a day for about half an hour. I have seen such a difference in my body and how I feel every day. When I do the yoga practice in the morning, I am able to take on the day better and be calmer. If I do it at the end of the day, I am able to take all the built-up stress from the day and release it. Those twenty minutes have become a part of my daily routine, and have contributed to me taking care of myself more. I can truly say that yoga has changed my routine and my daily life one by one. Now I look forward to doing my practice each day, even though it may be virtual through youtube videos. This has been a different experience for me, since I am so used to in the past doing classes through the community, and with other people. I still find myself missing that kind of aspect of it, and connecting with the class and the teacher, but once I can do a class like that again, I will learn to appreciate it more. I find myself looking for different kinds of yoga to try, and looking for ways to challenge myself. I think that the emergence of yoga online and through the use of videos has made it a more pop culture as well. But you can look at it in a different way, that it is making yoga more accessible to people around the world. With the internet, you are able to practice yoga from anywhere in the world, without having to go to a class. This is also important because of the pandemic as well, and there are fewer gatherings going on. You are able to practice your self-care routine from the comfort of your own home. At the end of each practice, even if I am doing it at home, I try to incorporate a mediation even if it's short. For me, the meditation aspect of it wraps up the whole practice and makes me feel at ease. In the west, I think that it is not taught as much of spiritual practice, but more of physical practice. Every single video I have done has focused more on the physical aspect of yoga, and less of the spiritual aspects. 

  

    Since I am doing most of my practice virtually and through videos, it's important that I set up my space so that I am able to focus on the practice 100%. For me, this means lighting a candle, opening my window, and closing my door. Sometimes I will play white noise if there is a lot going on in my apartment or outside in the street. The white noise drowns out all of the background noise, and then I am able to fully focus on the practice itself. I have a huge window facing the street, and I am able to do my practice and look at the scenery around me in Atlantic City. This is one of the things that I love at the end of a long day, I am able to just roll out my mat and focus on myself for that half-hour, and not worry about anything else. I think that my practice can be seen as a ritual because it is something that I have included in my daily routine. It is something that I have implemented into my schedule and something that helps me every day. 

    Being that I am a social work major, our professors, and other social work professionals really emphasize the importance of self-care. I have always kind of brushed it off, not really taking it too seriously, thinking that I had enough self-care in my routine. The truth was that I did not have a lot at all. Doing this yoga practice weekly, then daily, made me realize that I need to put more time into myself and my wellbeing. Prior to this, I did not have time just for myself. Sure, I could relax and watch tv, but it wasn't something that connected me more to myself. Yoga has helped me connect to myself and the world around me. It might be a placebo effect, but when I am doing the practice I feel more connected to the world around me, and my mind is completely clear (on a good day) of all of my other worries. Some days it can be hard to focus, but I've been practicing trying to focus more on the practice, and I think I will get there slowly but surely. I have had some struggles along the way, especially with my surgery and doing some of the poses. Yoga has helped me in that way too though, with my balance and getting more active. 

    In conclusion, yoga has helped me a lot in the past, and now in the present now that I have been doing it daily. I plan to keep doing it every day, as long as I keep up with my schedule. Like I had said, it is something that I look forward to doing every day and implementing in my routine. I think that as my responsibilities grow, and I go into my final semester as a college student, this is something I need to keep doing in order to keep myself in check. Keeping up with this self-care routine is important because I am again, able to have that time just for myself. I have also set some goals for myself within the practice, such as trying to eventually do a headstand, which is something I have not been able to do yet, but I am working on it. I am also looking to eventually do a full split, which is something that I have been stretching with every day. Once I am able to do those things, I will feel alot more accomplishment in the practice, and continue from there to set myself up with new goals and new challenges.