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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Gifts!
My mentor was out for an event in Hawaii and she brought all of the sevas (helpers) a little gift! Inside is an IslandGirl Lip Gloss, naturally scented by flowers, wrapped in heart spotted wrapping paper. Good karma is awesome!
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Blog 18: 2 Hour Meeting Answer #3
1. How best can Hatha Yoga improve strength and flexibility?
2. Alignment is crucial in performing the yoga postures correctly to gain strength and flexibility.
3. During my independent component, the yoga instructors always emphasized how important it is to stack your limbs. Often times I would hyper extend my knee in a pose without realizing it until the teacher told me I wasn't aligned correctly.
Alignment is the relationship between limbs, bones, joints, and muscles that work together to create an asana.
Different teachers can give a student different reasons why alignment is important, so it is better to ask, "What does alignment accomplish?" rather than asking which alignment is best.
4. Both my independent component and bodhitreeyoga.com are great sources that can justify the importance of alignment. Although bodhitreeyoga.com isn't a ".org" or ".edu," it is a yoga studio located in Canada who joined together to write this PDF.
5. I plan to study the injuries of alignment, how and where it's caused, and how to prevent it. Also, I would like to study the many different reasons why alignment is important. Because it differs from teacher to teacher, I will ask the teachers of my studio about their take on the significance of alignment.
2. Alignment is crucial in performing the yoga postures correctly to gain strength and flexibility.
3. During my independent component, the yoga instructors always emphasized how important it is to stack your limbs. Often times I would hyper extend my knee in a pose without realizing it until the teacher told me I wasn't aligned correctly.
Alignment is the relationship between limbs, bones, joints, and muscles that work together to create an asana.
Different teachers can give a student different reasons why alignment is important, so it is better to ask, "What does alignment accomplish?" rather than asking which alignment is best.
4. Both my independent component and bodhitreeyoga.com are great sources that can justify the importance of alignment. Although bodhitreeyoga.com isn't a ".org" or ".edu," it is a yoga studio located in Canada who joined together to write this PDF.
5. I plan to study the injuries of alignment, how and where it's caused, and how to prevent it. Also, I would like to study the many different reasons why alignment is important. Because it differs from teacher to teacher, I will ask the teachers of my studio about their take on the significance of alignment.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Fourth Interview Questions
1. How can Hatha Yoga improve strength and flexibility?
2. What style of yoga can best improve strength and flexibility? Why?
3. How important is correctly aligning yourself in a pose? Why?
4. Why is it so important to go at your own pace?
5. What is more beneficial -- holding yourself in a pose or doing many poses, holding them for a shorter time?
6. What are the perks of gaining strength and flexibility in yoga?
7. Is it better to practice with a teacher or on your own? Why?
8. Is there a difference between practicing at a gym versus a studio? Why or why not?
9. Continuous practice is important in improving strength and flexibility. How do you motivate your students to come back frequently?
10. Do modifications provide just as much benefits as an unmodified pose? Why or why not?
11. What injuries come from misalignment? (How so?)
12. If a student practices every day, what mental & physical benefits come from it?
13. What are some poses that demonstrate that someone has gained strength and flexibility?
14. Why is consistent practice emphasized so much?
15. Many people I've talked to said yoga is easy. How does one challenge themselves while practicing yoga?
16. Since yoga is typically seen as a "women's exercise," do men practice yoga differently? (Ie. Commitment, benefits)
17. In a general yoga pose, which parts of the body do student tend to have a hard time aligning correctly? Why do you think that is so?
18. What is the importance of hip and heart openers?
19. How does yoga create lean muscle?
20. If a student isn't correctly aligned in a pose, will they still be able to improve their strength and flexibility?
2. What style of yoga can best improve strength and flexibility? Why?
3. How important is correctly aligning yourself in a pose? Why?
4. Why is it so important to go at your own pace?
5. What is more beneficial -- holding yourself in a pose or doing many poses, holding them for a shorter time?
6. What are the perks of gaining strength and flexibility in yoga?
7. Is it better to practice with a teacher or on your own? Why?
8. Is there a difference between practicing at a gym versus a studio? Why or why not?
9. Continuous practice is important in improving strength and flexibility. How do you motivate your students to come back frequently?
10. Do modifications provide just as much benefits as an unmodified pose? Why or why not?
11. What injuries come from misalignment? (How so?)
12. If a student practices every day, what mental & physical benefits come from it?
13. What are some poses that demonstrate that someone has gained strength and flexibility?
14. Why is consistent practice emphasized so much?
15. Many people I've talked to said yoga is easy. How does one challenge themselves while practicing yoga?
16. Since yoga is typically seen as a "women's exercise," do men practice yoga differently? (Ie. Commitment, benefits)
17. In a general yoga pose, which parts of the body do student tend to have a hard time aligning correctly? Why do you think that is so?
18. What is the importance of hip and heart openers?
19. How does yoga create lean muscle?
20. If a student isn't correctly aligned in a pose, will they still be able to improve their strength and flexibility?
Thursday, February 7, 2013
2 Hour Meeting Answer #2
1) What is your essential question?
How best can Hatha Yoga improve strength and flexibility?
2) What is your second answer to your essential question?
Consistent practice is key in enhancing strength and flexibility.
3) What are three details to support or justify your second answer?
In my third interview, I brought my questions to my mentor, Antoinette, and her new manager, Monique. They were very firm believers of this answer. Like many sports or hobbies, one cannot perform better without continuous practice which brings me to another justification. When I started at Yoganette as a beginner, I was unable to do chaturanga (tricep push up) correctly but within a couple months practice, I have improved and am able to hold myself up longer. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, there are sports scientists who work with athletes to improve their performance in their sport. This is similar to yoga because the yoga teachers (as well as the practitioner) consistently condition themselves to train and improve their practice for the benefits.
4) What source helped you prove this answer is justified for your essential question?
What confirmed my second answer for my essential question would definitely be my mentor, Antoinette. I've always had an idea that consistent practice would best improve strength and flexibility, but I never thought that it would be one of the most important aspects.
5) What do you plan to study next with your second answer and why?
I will probably research a lot about sports science/medicine/performance because that's the more general topic for sports. There isn't much research about consistent yoga practice, so I figured that sports in general would be fine. I plan to understand it as much as I understand the purpose of yoga in order to make connections.
How best can Hatha Yoga improve strength and flexibility?
2) What is your second answer to your essential question?
Consistent practice is key in enhancing strength and flexibility.
3) What are three details to support or justify your second answer?
In my third interview, I brought my questions to my mentor, Antoinette, and her new manager, Monique. They were very firm believers of this answer. Like many sports or hobbies, one cannot perform better without continuous practice which brings me to another justification. When I started at Yoganette as a beginner, I was unable to do chaturanga (tricep push up) correctly but within a couple months practice, I have improved and am able to hold myself up longer. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, there are sports scientists who work with athletes to improve their performance in their sport. This is similar to yoga because the yoga teachers (as well as the practitioner) consistently condition themselves to train and improve their practice for the benefits.
4) What source helped you prove this answer is justified for your essential question?
What confirmed my second answer for my essential question would definitely be my mentor, Antoinette. I've always had an idea that consistent practice would best improve strength and flexibility, but I never thought that it would be one of the most important aspects.
5) What do you plan to study next with your second answer and why?
I will probably research a lot about sports science/medicine/performance because that's the more general topic for sports. There isn't much research about consistent yoga practice, so I figured that sports in general would be fine. I plan to understand it as much as I understand the purpose of yoga in order to make connections.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Independent Component 2 Plan Approval
1) For the next Independent Component, I plan on creating my own sequences of yoga postures along with performing it at home. Since I'm working now, it's difficult to take classes as often as I used to but I figured I could be creative and create my own class at home. Each sequence will focus on different parts of the body. It sounds very basic, but it will take a lot of research to see what poses are recommended to go together that will accommodate me. For example, I have scoliosis so I must make sure I included gentle, yet effective poses in my sequence. Every week I will create a sequence and perform it 4 days a week. Also, I will make sure that the sequences will last long enough to fill a 90 minute time slot. The difference between this independent component and the last one is that I am coming up with sequences that cater to my body's needs, not depending on videos.
2) As I stated earlier, I believe my plan will meet the 30 hour minimum. It will probably take about 30 minutes to create a sequence (once a week) and I will make sure it will last for a 90 minute time slot. Then I will perform my sequences 4 days a week (which will give me 6 hours/week). If I continue this from 2/10-4/25, it will give me around 66 hours.
3) My Independent Study relates to my EQ by educating myself about yoga not only as a student, but as a teacher. It'll help me explore different directions of where to take my research since I'll be seeing it from a new point of view. Taking and teaching myself gives me the hands-on learning to know what it takes to improve your physical health through doing and teaching. For example, as a student, I will learn more poses the hard way by physically performing it. As a teacher, I will learn how the poses affect the body with its benefits and I will learn how to modify poses if I'm not able to perfect it.
2) As I stated earlier, I believe my plan will meet the 30 hour minimum. It will probably take about 30 minutes to create a sequence (once a week) and I will make sure it will last for a 90 minute time slot. Then I will perform my sequences 4 days a week (which will give me 6 hours/week). If I continue this from 2/10-4/25, it will give me around 66 hours.
3) My Independent Study relates to my EQ by educating myself about yoga not only as a student, but as a teacher. It'll help me explore different directions of where to take my research since I'll be seeing it from a new point of view. Taking and teaching myself gives me the hands-on learning to know what it takes to improve your physical health through doing and teaching. For example, as a student, I will learn more poses the hard way by physically performing it. As a teacher, I will learn how the poses affect the body with its benefits and I will learn how to modify poses if I'm not able to perfect it.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Blog 14: Independent Component 1
LITERAL
- I, Alyssa Soberano, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
- Antoinette Contreras: 626-965-4000 / YouTube.com
- Independent Component Log
- To complete my independent component, I wanted to take more classes at the studio where I do my mentorship at. However, I made a commitment to my drama club by regularly attending practices no matter how small of a part I received. This caused a lot of difficulty in making time for classes alongside doing homework so I had to find a way to get around it. I discovered the amazing accessibility the internet has to offer! With that, I used a lot of YouTube videos to compensate for the classes I didn't have time to go to and it made up for it quite well. I practiced many different styles of yoga for about an hour to two hours about 3 times a week.
INTERPRETIVE
I have also conducted mini yoga sessions after classes have ended, right before I close the studio. Here are some pictures of me doing a basic, universal sun salutation.
I have also conducted mini yoga sessions after classes have ended, right before I close the studio. Here are some pictures of me doing a basic, universal sun salutation.
Downward dog
Plank
Chaturanga
Updog (NOT cobra!)
Big toe forward bend
- Independent Component tag - This link will take you to all of my updates regarding my independent component including videos, written blogs and pictures.
- Everything I've done in my independent demonstrated well over 30 hours of work. To me, yoga isn't only my senior topic; it's something that I enjoy doing on my own time. Because it's a hobby, I feel like it isn't homework to me. I put my all into it and treat it as if it's something not required to do. Although my independent component didn't quite go according to plan, I discovered loopholes such as at-home yoga videos on YouTube to make up for classes I missed. Of course, the videos don't add up to 30 hours but I like a lot of repetition until my body gets used to it and then I move on to another video. Alongside the YouTube videos, I was able to take a handful of classes and I made sure that I signed up for a different instructor. Taking classes with different instructors on different days was an experience; I learned new styles with a twist of my teacher's preference. So no matter how many hours I've done, I think the content and material that I've learned in one class was very significant.
APPLIED
- Completing my Independent Component gave me a great foundation of yoga and led me in the right direction to build off of it and discover more. Learning by myself through books and videos was a whole new experience compared to going to classes, but both were extremely helpful in showing me where to take my topic next. When I took classes, I guess you can say it was a "hands-on" experience. If I wasn't able to do a pose correctly, a teacher was readily available to be and can make modifications specifically altering the pose for my body. There was always the influence of other people at classes too. Again, if I got lost in the pose, I can refer to my neighbor to get me back on track. The whole yoga environment at the studio alone changes a lot of things. When I did yoga on my own, I constantly read about poses or listened through videos. It was a whole new learning process to me seeing as I've never done yoga at my own discretion, but that's the greatest part about it -- I learned how to do yoga on my own, without the help or influence of teachers and students. If my mentorship at Yoganette Yoga Studio ends, I know that I can rely on myself for a satisfactory (and free!) yoga session at the comfort of my own home.
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