YOGA and MEDITATION – ACTIVITY

From the past months, I’ve only loved the idea of yoga but I have always fallen short in practicing it. After initiating this activity I have found the practice of yoga exhilerating and beautiful . Though it was normally out of my lazy comfort zone , where at some point I even thought of giving it up , but I managed to complete the cycle or mandala of 48 days . During the course of the cycle , I learnt new asanas or yoga poses and the benefits associated with it .

The following are my Learning Outcomes on the same –

LO1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

Yoga was a self engagement activity where in only I could assess myself and identify my strenghts and the areas which needed improvement . Since the lockdown , with no rigorous timetable and routine to follow , physical and mental fitness had already taken a toll . So even before starting with the practice , I had to convince myself first and then get into it. I observed that at certain times where I could no longer balance myself or continue doing aasanas , I simply gave up . On top of that , with no sports or physical fitness, flexibilty and the will to practice yoga had already reduced . It was challenging at first , but the days improved and so did my practice . The space in me which easily gave up was my weakness but despite that , pushing myself a step further everyday became my strenght .

LO2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

If a sport , fitness program or yoga for instance is practiced or performed after a year of no regular exercise , then it is quite obvious that our bodies will certainly respond to it and make it even painful in the initial stage . The body and flexibility became a challenge and to be able to mold it in aasanas was another one. Along with that , to be able to make up the mind was also a challenge awaiting to be overcome . On days when I felt like doing nothing yoga was certainly a challenge until it was taken up and completed . It was refreshing though , at the end. There were some aasanas which were quite daunting to even look at , like taadaaasan , balaasna , setubandhaasana ,chakraasna , vrikshaasna.

Along with the yoga poses , I also focused on meditation . It required stillness and patience which I found was a difficult path for me to follow . But I had to keep it ongoing as per the activity that I’d taken up

LO3 – Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience :

For this CAS experience , I had to plan out a daily yoga and meditation session on a compulsory basis , so as to be regular each day . I had to plan out the timings well in advance and prepare a list of yoga poses or aasanas well in advance so as to avoid confusion at the last minute or during the yoga & meditation session . Henceforth , a planning was quite required prior to begin with the Yoga and Meditation CAS experience .

LO 4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences :

I had taken up this experience for a period of 2 months and was already committed to it . There were instances where I felt to give up due to the fact that yoga , exercise and meditation did require patience , time and focus . I often lost my patience with it because of my inflexibility and the lack of exercising habit that I’d developed in the previous year . It was challenging to stick to this activity and also enjoy it as this should not be force upon for the sake of practicing yoga and meditation . Hence , I attribute myself to showcase learning outcome 4 which states and discusses about commitment and perseverance since this activity did demand the former and latter.

LO 6 – Demonstrate engagement with global significance

Mental Health has gained the much required attention in the past couple of years especially during the pandemic and global lockdown for almost an year . I have seen people around me and related to me who have had their mental health compromised and severely affected during the lockdown . Also , during the same time , a lot many influencers and people around talked about measures which should be taken into account to prevent our mental health from deteriorating. And Yoga and Meditation , were of course recommended by almost everyone . By practicing the same , I was able to recommend it to my near and dear ones as well since it helped me to not loose my mind , and think of negative thoughts as little as possible . By doing so , I did contribute to a preventative measure of global significance which is mental health .

LO 7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions .

Yoga and meditation at first seemed too much of work at the first instance since it is a physical and mental activity which would require commitment and dedication . I also knew the consequences of my choices , as both the activities have immense advantages to oneself and to also the people around them . With so many qualities associated with yoga and meditation , it does seem as a fruitful activity but there is also a sense of dedication and the religious practice and commitment which follows the same .

LEARNER PROFILE ATTRIBUTES — The following are the learner profile attributes that I could identify with this CAS experience :

Knowledgeable – Before practicing Yoga and meditation , I actually looked up at the internet for multiple reasons for why a person should practice the activities and what all benefits , that the person could gain by practicing the same . I also searched about the origin of it and the important role it plays in a person’s life. This short research gave me an insight towards Yoga and meditation and with the necessary information which I thought was required.

Balanced – Yoga and meditation enhances mental well being and by contributing it time from our ever busy schedules actually helps our overall well being in the long run . By incorporating it with our rigorous academic curriculum , one actually aims for a balanced life where very aspect of it is fulfilled by activities such as these .

Principled – Yoga and meditation are activities which are only effective when practiced for a certain period of time and not just day’s or two days’ task . It requires discipline and commitment to follow through the entire process and routine .

Reflective – Yoga allowed me to be reflective upon my own thinking , well being and overall perspective of my personal development due to its so many advantageous benefits.

EVIDENCE –