Day 8 by Autumn Blanton

Day 8!!!!

Today we had our final day of yoga with Dr. Reese! Our session consisted of completely restorative yoga, a variation of yoga where you support your upper or lower body to feel the effects of the position in the other half. It is very relaxing, especially if you use pillows and blankets like we did. Dr. Reese led us through fish pose, supported bridge, twists, and finally, shavasana where we got to lie down and rest with our pillows and blankets! Dr. Reese is an amazing yoga teacher and we all deeply enjoyed the yoga she has taught us for the past two weeks. Next, we practiced our breathing with Ms. Shivani as she led us through alternate,

humming, aum, and jerk breathing. This time, we did all of the breaths together without stopping which helps you be more focused on your body and what you're feeling as you breathe. Then, we had another presentation from Ms. Sanchez who showed us the importance of conscious language. We learned that your brain listens to everything you think and say about yourself and others, and in turn, makes that into your reality. You have to be aware of the language you choose to use to shape your day and life into what you want. For example, having a positive outlook on a task you don't want to do would make it more enjoyable than constantly dreading it. The laws of conscious

language are to be specific and decisive when speaking, feel your words and speak with power, and make everything you say a decree with authority and connection. You can also use sentence stems like "I am," "I can," or "I love". A good practice to incorporate into your days is meditating for 7 minutes in the morning and at night making an outcome map at the end of the day for your future plans! An outcome map is made by making a circle in the middle of your main idea and adding branches for the specifics of what you need to do to accomplish it! Also, work in 5 moments of being grateful per day, try to see perfection, and always give to others. After lunch, we spent some time practicing for our presentations next week.
This time, Avery guided us through the Aum breath as a couple other students continued preparing. Next, Mr. Warren led us through forward fold poses including a standing one, and a couple variations of warrior two. We spent a couple minutes in guided meditation and recalling certain moments in our lives, envisioning the phases of the moon as we moved past these moments. We then took some time massaging our feet with

sesame oil, focusing on the muscles that are connected to our spine and brain. Mr. Warren then taught us about the 3 sister crops: corn, beans, and squash. These three crops are planted together because they provide each other structure, the beans growing up the corn and supplying nitrogen into the soil to help the squash grow big. He then offered us a delicious soup of these crops that we ate for our evening snack! Finally, we spent a bit of time working on our slideshow for next week and resetting the room for a final exciting day of yoga and mindfulness tomorrow!