Well, I did it! The presentation didn't go exactly how I planned, but I have done worse. I brought note cards, and forgot to bring up my last note card which had my amazing ending on it. When I realized I didn't have the exact words in front of me, that when put together just completely tie everything together, I froze (of course). I think I recovered fine from that, I got through the basics of what the ending was supposed to be, but didn't execute it exactly how I had rehearsed. I think that my message got across to the audience and they really embraced and understood it. I wanted them to walk away from my presentation thinking about and realizing that this project is only temporary and that once you present, the stress you were experiencing will subside. I wanted them to realize that all the stress we experience in life regarding grades, assignments, and, of course, our futures, is only temporary.
Overall, this project has seriously helped me with my stress and anxiety issues. And, I know I talk about it a lot, but those were the main reasons behind why I chose yoga for my project. I wanted to do something that would not only benefit me mentally and emotionally, but also physically. I am happy to say that achieved all of that. I am more relaxed and laid back. I am not longer yelling and screaming at people over things that are out of my control. I am not longer staying up until all hours of the night working on assignments. So, I am very thankful that I was given this opportunity to try something new and experience something that I am planning on sticking with.
For my final blog post, I chose the sanskrit word atyanta, which means 'endless'. Although this IS the end of this project, this IS NOT the end of my experiences with yoga. Yoga has opened me up to a completely different world full of relaxation and peace.
Thank you all for following my blog over the past couple weeks. Maybe I'll keep updating yo guys with my advancements in yoga past this project. Stay calm, my friends. And remember, everything is temporary.
Namaste.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Vichara (Post 4)
Hey followers.
So, the time has come where I must present what I have been working on for the past couple cycles. I always dread this part of the project, as I am not that good when it comes to giving presentations in front of large groups of people. I always talk too fast, or don't annunciate enough. One time I just stopped talking for what felt like a minute because I completely forgot what I was supposed to say. But, I am happy to say that I feel confident with that I am presenting tomorrow. My ending is my favorite part, and no I'm not going to tell you what it is. You'll just have to wait and see.
There isn't really much to update you guys on from the past couple days. I've been trying to do yoga every chance I get, but with spring sports starting, I get home so late every night that I barely have time to finish all my homework. Obviously, the yoga helps me stay calm with all of that stress about being up until all hours of the night working on some biology lab or silly math worksheet, but it's still really stressing me out. And preparing for this, and the Les Mis project (which will be amazing because my group is amazing) were taking up a lot of time. Hopefully, it will all be worth it in the end. This entire project has already been worth it. The changes I have seen in my mood, stress, and anxiety are unlike anything I could have imagined.
My title for this post is vichara, which means reflection or continuous self-examination. This was perfect for this post, as it is my last post before I present. My presentation is all about my journey to where I am and what I have learned, in regards to yoga and the brain, but also what I have learned about myself.
Well, wish me luck with my presentation tomorrow. I'll be back on to tell you guys how it went!
Namaste.
So, the time has come where I must present what I have been working on for the past couple cycles. I always dread this part of the project, as I am not that good when it comes to giving presentations in front of large groups of people. I always talk too fast, or don't annunciate enough. One time I just stopped talking for what felt like a minute because I completely forgot what I was supposed to say. But, I am happy to say that I feel confident with that I am presenting tomorrow. My ending is my favorite part, and no I'm not going to tell you what it is. You'll just have to wait and see.
There isn't really much to update you guys on from the past couple days. I've been trying to do yoga every chance I get, but with spring sports starting, I get home so late every night that I barely have time to finish all my homework. Obviously, the yoga helps me stay calm with all of that stress about being up until all hours of the night working on some biology lab or silly math worksheet, but it's still really stressing me out. And preparing for this, and the Les Mis project (which will be amazing because my group is amazing) were taking up a lot of time. Hopefully, it will all be worth it in the end. This entire project has already been worth it. The changes I have seen in my mood, stress, and anxiety are unlike anything I could have imagined.
My title for this post is vichara, which means reflection or continuous self-examination. This was perfect for this post, as it is my last post before I present. My presentation is all about my journey to where I am and what I have learned, in regards to yoga and the brain, but also what I have learned about myself.
Well, wish me luck with my presentation tomorrow. I'll be back on to tell you guys how it went!
Namaste.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Mukha (Vlog)
For the title of this blog, I went with the sanskrit word for 'face'. Pretty self-explanatory, as this is the only post so far where you will see my face because I am actually talking to you instead of typing. Please excuse my um's and so's. Hope you enjoy the vlog!
Yoga Vlog from Lizzy Cutler on Vimeo.
Yoga Vlog from Lizzy Cutler on Vimeo.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Kaarana (Post 3)
Hey dedicated yoga enthusiasts. I have a lot to catch you all up on, but where should I start?
How bout this. This past weekend, I went to Nashville, TN (don't ask why- I won't have a good answer). It was a fun experience, up until things started going downhill. So I flew into Nashville Friday afternoon, which means that I was supposed to fly home. But, as karma or something like that would have it, my flight for Sunday night into Philly got cancelled. Not surprised. Bad things always happen when I travel with my grandparents (one time, we were supposed to fly back from Florida, but missed our flight, so we had to drive. Yep, trapped in a little car with my grandparents for two days straight). This time it wasn't as bad; only 15 hours. Still, I am scarred for life. Anyway, as you can imagine, my stress and anxiety levels (as if not already high enough from being away for a whole weekend) were through the roof. How was I going to get home in time to do the hours of homework I had due for Monday? I can't miss school on Monday, I have tryouts. I gotta get home. So, we started our journey late Saturday night. We stopped at a hotel right before leaving Tennessee, as we had been driving for about four hours already. We slept for about six hours, then got in the car and continued driving. After about eight hours, the bad weather started. Snow, sleet, rain, ice, literally anything you could imagine we experienced. Once we got into Delaware, it took us three hours to get back to my house because the roads were so bad. At this point is was already 8:00. So, what was the thing I did right when I got home? Nope, not homework. Nope, didn't watch Netflix. I went right up to my room, turned on my meditation music, and did a little yoga.
It's kind of amazing how much yoga has helped me over the past couple weeks. I feel like it has changed me (for the better, obviously). Normally, in that situation, I would storm upstairs, slam my door in frustration and anger, and lay on my bed trying to figure out how the heck I was going to cram four hours of homework in before I fell asleep that night. But yoga has made me realize that being frustrated at things that are out of your control won't do you any good. Instead, you can exert your frustration and anger into yoga! I did some of the basic moves I explained in my last post for about 15 minutes, and then went back downstairs to start my homework. After taking those 15 minutes for myself and worrying about nothing other than myself and those poses, I was calm. Everything else that had just happened was the past, there was no point in being mad over it. The only thing to do now was to calm down, relax, and get as much homework done as possible.
To document my progress, I am going to take pictures of me performing the poses every couple days and post them. Now, remember I am not a professional, but hopefully these will somewhat resemble the pictures of the professionals in my last post.
For this week, the title of my post means 'reason'. I am strong believer that everything happens for a reason. So, looking back and reflecting on my experience this past weekend, I realize that my misfortune must have happened for a reason. So, overreacting and freaking out about it wouldn't have done me any good, and yoga reminded me of that. Yoga reminded me that sometimes, you have to take a breathe and focus on nothing other than yourself.
Stress before yoga: 7 (I've got a lot of tests/quizzes/long term stuff due this coming week, so my stress has been pretty high. I have tryouts coming up this week, which I'm not too worried about)
Anxiety before yoga: 7 (My anxiety was through the roof right before I did my yoga. I had just gotten home, after fearing that I would be trapped in the middle of nowhere, which would result in me missing another day of school, which means I would have missed tryouts. It just would have been one bad thing after another if things didn't go as surprisingly well as they did)
Stress after yoga: 3 (I was still a little stressed, as I now had hours of homework to complete, but while I was practicing I realized that I should just be happy that I made it home in time to get a little work done as well as a decent amount of sleep)
Anxiety after yoga: 2 (My anxiety decreased immensely after my yoga, as I had time to slow down my breathing, close my eyes for a little, and even stretch a little after being stuck in a car for an entire day)
Namaste.
Comments:
Avery Ryan (Brown)
David Weiss (Red)
Sarah Kollender (Yellow)
It's kind of amazing how much yoga has helped me over the past couple weeks. I feel like it has changed me (for the better, obviously). Normally, in that situation, I would storm upstairs, slam my door in frustration and anger, and lay on my bed trying to figure out how the heck I was going to cram four hours of homework in before I fell asleep that night. But yoga has made me realize that being frustrated at things that are out of your control won't do you any good. Instead, you can exert your frustration and anger into yoga! I did some of the basic moves I explained in my last post for about 15 minutes, and then went back downstairs to start my homework. After taking those 15 minutes for myself and worrying about nothing other than myself and those poses, I was calm. Everything else that had just happened was the past, there was no point in being mad over it. The only thing to do now was to calm down, relax, and get as much homework done as possible.
To document my progress, I am going to take pictures of me performing the poses every couple days and post them. Now, remember I am not a professional, but hopefully these will somewhat resemble the pictures of the professionals in my last post.
Attempt at Tree Pose
Attempt at Pigeon
Attempt at Warrior
Attempt at Upward facing dog
For this week, the title of my post means 'reason'. I am strong believer that everything happens for a reason. So, looking back and reflecting on my experience this past weekend, I realize that my misfortune must have happened for a reason. So, overreacting and freaking out about it wouldn't have done me any good, and yoga reminded me of that. Yoga reminded me that sometimes, you have to take a breathe and focus on nothing other than yourself.
Stress before yoga: 7 (I've got a lot of tests/quizzes/long term stuff due this coming week, so my stress has been pretty high. I have tryouts coming up this week, which I'm not too worried about)
Anxiety before yoga: 7 (My anxiety was through the roof right before I did my yoga. I had just gotten home, after fearing that I would be trapped in the middle of nowhere, which would result in me missing another day of school, which means I would have missed tryouts. It just would have been one bad thing after another if things didn't go as surprisingly well as they did)
Stress after yoga: 3 (I was still a little stressed, as I now had hours of homework to complete, but while I was practicing I realized that I should just be happy that I made it home in time to get a little work done as well as a decent amount of sleep)
Anxiety after yoga: 2 (My anxiety decreased immensely after my yoga, as I had time to slow down my breathing, close my eyes for a little, and even stretch a little after being stuck in a car for an entire day)
Namaste.
Comments:
Avery Ryan (Brown)
David Weiss (Red)
Sarah Kollender (Yellow)
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