Reflection 15

I started to get my presentation in order this class period, and I took notes so I know what I want to talk about when I present. I think I'm ready to talk about what I learned and what I did. I'm going to do a PP presentation about the background of yoga, modern yoga, and the benefits. All throughout I will talk about what I did, and how it affected me. 

I think I didn't learn as much as I wanted to, but it's something I'll be continuing so I'm not very worried as to what I got out of it now. I definitely have an understanding as to what is desired from doing yoga, and how it came to be. All I need to get caught up on is doing yoga, and learning the asanas. 

Reflection 14

This week I got to do more yoga than usual and it was a pretty good experience. I think once you look past some of the difficult poses, it's actually enjoyable, and afterwards you feel more relaxed rather than during.
I had some free time in fitness today and I did yoga. I was feeling pretty tired earlier, but after fitness I felt pretty energized and happier. It's nice to see the positive effects, and I think it's encouraging. Overall, I'm satisfied with the experience and can't wait to share it with others.
Although, I don't have any poses memorized perfectly, I usually just follow the videos and do whatever I remember afterwards peacefully. I'm going to try to get some down pretty well to maybe demonstrate or explain at least, because I don't think I'd be comfortable doing yoga in front of people.

Reflection 13

This week I didn't get to do as much yoga because of class assignments. This week was horrible in regards to how much time I had versus how much time I needed. But since Memorial Day weekend starts today I expect to have a lot of time on my hands when I go away with my family. I think it's really frustrating when on days/weeks that I really need to relax and do some yoga to help with that I have no time to.

Next week I anticipate to start coming up with a way to present all that I've learned so far. I'll continue doing yoga, but as far as research goes, I think I'm done and have been done for a while now. I wanted to get a book before but I just decided to go with what I was doing already, which was watching videos. I stopped the 30 day challenge all together and have just been watching random videos that deal with a specific pose, or yoga for when you're sore, etc.  

Reflection 12

This week I strayed from my 30 days of yoga routine and watched videos that focused on specific poses like the crow pose, sun salutations and the lizard pose. I think learning about poses is equally important so I decided to do that. Some are harder than others like the crow pose because it requires more strength in the arm muscles than the others.
For now I'll just continue looking up more videos focusing on different poses so I can learn more about them and how to do them properly.
I wish I had more time to go more in depth learning this, but I know this will be something I'll continue doing so I'm not really stressing about how little or how much I know for now.

Reflection 11

This week I had a lot of time on my hands to work on this project. I think I benefit way more from the method I decided to use of watching videos before doing yoga. It helps me relax during the process of yoga and allows me to focus more on my movements rather than averting my attention to a video.
I don't think I've really seen any signs of improvement in my ability to do yoga, and I'm not really sure that's a thing. I know your flexibility can improve, and I've seen some minor improvements in how far I can stretch but other than that everything is basically the same. Maybe I'll try to step it up this next week, because I've been just basically doing more floor poses and definitely more breathing. Also, I think instead of doing a video for multiple days, I'll do a video a day. So the 30 day yoga challenge that I found I used the videos for each day as a multiple day kind of thing, but I think I'll step it up a notch and do more.

Refelction 10

This week was pretty hectic since it was my first time taking SATs, taking my Polish School final exams, and attending my sisters communion, so I really did not have time for anything. Even to just sit down and read like I usually do. I did watch some yoga videos after finishing my homework but I was way too tired all week to even consider doing yoga.
Overall though, I think I've learned a lot these past few weeks since the beginning of the second semester, and I'm very glad. I'm just going to keep doing what I was doing and see how it goes from there :)

Reflection 9

This week I just continued doing what I've been doing. I did some yoga for the back as well and it felt amazing. It really helps stretch everything and relax the body.
I think I'm going to try a different approach for doing the poses though. I've been following along videos on YouTube, which has been nice, but I feel like I can't really get the full experience with the amount of time the videos spend on each pose, and having to constantly look up to keep up. I'd much rather take my time on poses that I like more, that I feel are doing more for me, and really get to relax and close my eyes while doing so. I will continue watching the videos I've been watching because I really like the lady that does them, but I think a different method would benefit me more. I'll watch the videos beforehand, and then do poses that I remembered from the video(s) at my own pace, in a much more relaxed environment.
Overall, I really like this experience, I don't really feel stress-free, but it feels nice to take a break from other things once in a while, doing yoga.

Reflection 8

So far this week hasn't seen as much effort like last week, probably because of the transition from no school to homework and tests. Mostly this week, I just focused on other things besides yoga(sadly).
I was thinking of actually getting a book of my own because I know basic information, and I know the asanas, but I'd like to understand the history and growth of it more. I like reading information out of a book anyway, rather than the internet and I think I can get more out of it.
As for the asanas(yoga poses), I really like the channel that I found on YouTube a couple of weeks ago. She makes it very understandable and enjoyable.
So, I plan to hopefully buy or borrow a book about yoga, and just get back into watching the YouTube videos and following along.

Reflection 7

This week I've just been continuing doing yoga, mostly in the afternoon or at night. I thought I would be able to in the morning before work but I'd rather sleep in the morning. I'm just following the 30 day yoga challenge by yoga with Adrienne on YouTube, but I'm not doing a video a day. More like a video every few days, so I'll repeat the techniques of a video for a few days before moving on.
I definitely enjoy this a lot, it's not a lot of effort but I think it's a good thing to be doing. It really helps a person relax and take a break from everything else. This week especially has been great because of spring break, which gives me more time to do yoga and relax and just forget about everything. I'm just going to continue doing what I'm doing so far for these next few weeks.

Reflection 6

This week I had time for yoga! I found a YouTube channel that has so many videos about yoga that are very informative and perfect for beginners like myself. I decided to start off with a 30-day yoga challenge. So far they've been pretty easy with a lot of stretching, deep breathing, and holding. The video is very easy to follow and all the things I've read about prior to actually doing yoga have been accurate - really feeling everything, being aware of every move, and enjoying it as much as possible. I definitely felt very pretty good after following the video, probably because I started something that I was very excited to start and because it felt good not really thinking about anything other than what I'm doing at that moment.
I'm going to try to commit to doing yoga in the morning before I have to start getting ready for school or work. I feel like it would be a good way to start my day and relax me. But knowing how lazy I am, and how much I like to sleep in, I will probably do yoga after school or practice.

Reflection 5

This week, like predicted, I did not have time to do any research or actual yoga. Although, I think I needed a method to de-stress this week with all the assignments that were due. I really wanted to do something for my 20% time, but with the hectic schedule this week it was impossible.
I plan to start doing yoga asanas this weekend and continuing with that throughout the entire week, as well as spring break. Yoga asanas are the actual yoga posses that you would most likely picture in your mind when thinking of yoga. There is still a lot of breathing and meditation involved, but now you're focusing more on what you're doing. I think this will be a good escape from this week's rough schedule and maybe I'll be more inclined to do yoga everyday depending on my experience with it.
For the yoga poses I planned on reading how to do them from the website, but it was suggested that I watch a video which is probably better to follow. I'm really excited to finally start the physical part of this project, especially with track season starting. Yoga will definitely aid me in stretching after practice, as well as relaxing me as the school year comes to an end.

Reflection 4

I think I managed to balance research and actually doing yoga this week very well. There is SO much to learn, and I think research will always be a big part of this project. But as I continue with this project I think more of it will be actually doing what I've been learning about.
This week I did more breathing exercises as well as eye exercises. The eye exercises sound kind of funny but I was very intrigued as to how yoga could potentially "improve" your vision. Oddly enough, it was kind of relaxing and not strenuous once I got the hang of it. And the breathing exercises do calm you down while thinking about absolutely nothing except how you're breathing.
I'm not sure how much I will be able to get done the following week because of school-related things,  but I plan to start doing actual poses very soon. :)

Reflection 3

This week I focused more on the physical part of yoga. I read about some positions and what they do for your mind and body. It seems to be that yoga improves concentration, posture, and anything really. I find it pretty cool how something so simple has so many benefits.
The next step for me, is doing yoga. I'll start out with breathing exercises and move on to other simpler poses. This is going to be the hardest part because I'm very easily distracted and you have to remain very concentrated while doing these poses. Hopefully the benefits listed will occur :)

Reflection 2

This week I learned more about how to actually do yoga, when is the ideal time to do yoga, and what yoga does for you mind and body. There are many steps to yoga asanas. For asanas yoga, you must be alert and conscious because it involves a lot of sitting, standing, and balancing postures to increase flexibility. It can help keep the individual physically fit, control stress and many other things.
Yoga overall improves concentration because of the requirement to be aware of what you are doing at all times, while staying relaxed.
I think when I'm done finding out more about this, and understanding it better, trying it out will be very fun. This seems kind of hard to do so I really want to know what I should be doing so I can get the full affect or at least say I tried very hard. I'm enjoying this project so much because it's not just about yoga, it's about spiritual connection and mental and physical health. I believe this project will definitely help me in the long run when I need to deal with stress.

Reflection 1

This week I have researched the origin of yoga, the history, and the essence. The word basically means uniting, and what you are uniting is the spirit with Cosmic Consciousness. Yoga helps you in that bond by making you conscious of everything around you. I have found out that there have been many categories of yoga that all dealt with similar yet slightly different things such as yoga that deals more with sacrifice or yoga that deals with the liberation of the spirit.
I think this semester 20% project is going to be way more interesting than last marking periods. I like that the fact that there's so much to learn about yoga, and so much background about it. Yoga isn't just about poses and stretches, like most people think today, it's about really feeling everything around you, meditating and liberating yourself from all the negative energy. I'm very excited to learn more and start as soon as possible with the actual techniques. First, I want to educate myself so I know the most that I possibly can.

20% Proposal 2nd Semester

This semester I have decided that my 20 Time Project will be yoga. I've always been intrigued when it came to yoga, because it's something I've heard a lot of people talk about, but never really learned about it myself. I think it's appropriate to learn yoga for this project, because it's not only interesting, but beneficial. My final goal/accomplishment will be to have decent knowledge about the techniques, benefits, and origin/history. I need to research all these things to be successful when learning yoga, and knowing a decent amount about it so I can explain it to others. The easiest part about this project will probably be the research. However, the hardest part will probably be actually doing yoga. I'm not very flexible so I'll definitely have to work on that. This project can be worked on inside and outside of class equally, because of all the research that will have to go into this. I could research both at home and at school, and actually do yoga at home. In class, I plan to research about how it helps with stress, and health overall. I think I can really relate it somehow to health and wellness, since I plan to go into that field after high school. It would be helpful to learn about it, so maybe sometime later on in life I could apply it as well.
I believe this whole website will be a great tool because it includes so much information about the history and origin, benefits, yoga for beginners, and so much more.

http://www.medindia.net/yoga-lifestyle/yoga-orgin.htm

Reflection 13

This week I'm finishing up my scarf or I'm going to try to. It's very time consuming and difficult. When knitting you can only really focus on knitting, because if you look away you can drop stitches or mess up somehow. I've heard crocheting is easier than knitting. I think a lot of factors have contributed to this project and why it's been so difficult. Maybe I chose the wrong type of yarn to start out with. I definitely set my goals way too high in the beginning of this assignment.
Also, I think I should've dedicated more time to this, but it's hard to do that. I think something that isn't so time consuming and frustrating would be better to learn as an in-school project, because of the stress it brings when you don't have time to work on it. This was a good experience, though. It made me learn a little about knitting, and even though I absolutely hate it, I think after this is over, I'll try to knit something easier and smaller.

Reflection 12

I think this whole project made me realize that I really dislike knitting. Over the break I was barely motivated to do anything, let alone knit. I feel disappointed that I'm not as good as I thought I'd be. It's really hard to keep yourself concentrated when doing this, and knowing what to do when you make a mistake. My scarf doesn't look as great as I'd want it to, but I'm determined to finish it.
Over winter break I worked on it, but not as much as I think I should have. I told myself that I'd finish it over break, but I was very lazy. I think what this project did for me the most, was let me confirm who I am as a person. I'd want to continue bettering myself in this skill but I don't think I have the patience or motivation anymore. I'm glad that I chose this as my project, because at least now towards the end I know I don't particularly like it.

Reflection 11

This week I learned something about myself while fixing the mess I made. I learned that I'm better at figuring stuff out on my own rather than following instructions. I did exactly what google said to do on how to continue knitting with different yarn, and completely ruined my scarf last week. Then I decided to just fix it myself with no help from outside sources and somehow managed to get it looking right. Over winter break I plan to work on this a lot even though I have so much to do. I'll try to find time to finish this. I always think I'll have a lot of time and I always get excited when I plan to work on my scarf a lot, but there's always so many other things that need to get done.

I think I'll be able to get it done. I'm halfway there, and now it'll be easier to continue this because I don't have to worry about running out of yarn. Although, I am worried about how I'm going to tie it off so it doesn't unravel.

Reflection 10

I messed up the whole thing completely this week and probably set myself back so much. I tried incorporating the new yarn I got (which was also difficult to get), and I failed miserably. The new yarn somehow ended up on the opposite end that is was supposed to end up on. It looks really horrible because as I was incorporating it, I dropped some stitches, and now there's just a big lump on one side and it's thinner from that spot on. Overall, I'm very unhappy with this weeks progress and I wish I could start over. I thought using new yarn wouldn't be so difficult, but I overestimated my abilities.

Aside from that, I have no idea what to do now. I think I'll just cut the yarn from the opposite side (the side it's not supposed to be one), and somehow make it work. It's definitely not going to be a pretty, wearable scarf, but I guess it's good experience. I want to say that this project taught me that maybe knitting isn't my thing, but that sounds very pessimistic. Instead I'll say that this project taught me that it's okay to mess up, as long as you try.