Day 21: Feelings, Attitude, and Success

How we feel often influences what our attitude is like on any given day or at any given moment. For example if we feel tired or angry, it might be difficult to be patient with other people. Patience is an attitude that others can sense about our personality. Our attitude then has an effect on how successful we are in reaching our goals, reaching our greatest potential. In the example, being impatient might keep us from being successful because other people might not want to work with us or be around us.
Answer the following question to do a self check, reflect on how these three things influence each other.


Journal Entry #21: Feelings, Attitude, and Success

Complete the sentences below, or in the case of a question, answer with complete sentences. Add reasons if you like for your answers.
1. The easiest person in the world for me to talk to is _______________.
2. The hardest person in the world for me to talk to is _______________.
3. Peer pressure is ____________. Peer pressure is real YES __________ NO________
4. How is your attitude related to your success in school?
5. What are three roadblocks to your success.

Week 20: Equanimity, Composure and Confidence

Equanimity
How do you handle stress and distraction?
If you find that you cannot maintain focus as much as you wish you could , or you think that your grades are suffering due to a lack of composure or confidence, you might need to practice. When our mind is calm and stable, we feel relaxed, it feels good. Many of us have a hard time feeling this relaxed, good feeling, it is very uncomfortable becuase we are not used to it. So we lose control of our thoughts and body movements. We wiggle in our seats, call out, take things personally, and even get angry and frustrated sometimes.
When our mind and body are calm and within our control is it called equanimity. It is easy to have this in normal situations, but when unexpected things happen it is a little more difficult to hold onto. Another word for equanimity is composure, and another personal quality that will help us have it is confidence, self-confidence.

Journal Entry #20: Composure, confidence and equanimity
Write your own definition of these three terms. For each term also recall a time that you used these qualities in your own life, or describe a real life situation in which you wish you could have used these qualities.

Day 19: Quality of Attention

Time in: Bunny breath

Discussion: Quality of Attention
• Review: What is a beginner’s mind (What is your attitude like when you are seeing or noticing something for the first time?)?
• What does quality mean in this case?
• What are different qualities of attention?

Warm up: How does your body feel in these locations?

• shoulders: cow face, crab
  
• neck: swan
• back: rocking horse, cobra, locust
  
• hips: butterfly
• legs: shark
• ankles: downward facing dog
• feet: crane
  

Activity: Share your Creative Flow pose sequences from last class.

Relaxation: Animal visualization

Journal Entry #19: Animal Qualities
Make up three poses for animals which we have not already learned. Name them and try to sketch them on your journal. You will show teach them to the class next week.

Day 18: Beginner’s Mind, Open mind

Lesson 18: Beginner’s Mind
What is a beginner's mind? What does it feel like to have a beginners mind? When were you aware that you were a beginner, what were you doing?

If we can approach things in our daily life with an open mind, ready to start fresh, our days will become more interesting and enjoyable. Try to be receptive, open to new and old experiences with the same enthusiasm. Having an open mind usually creates a positive outlook on life, and allows th eperson to be more creative and imaginative.

Journal Entry #18: Creative Flow
Create a sequence of 5 poses that can be done with a smooth flow from one to the next. Use any poses that we have done in class, try them out in order to see if they indeed flow together.
Draw each pose and label it. If you want to, make up some new poses too!

Lesson 17: Lines of Energy

Energy is everywhere, in us and around us. We can become more familiar with controlling our own energy by practicing in Healthy living class. we will practice controlling our mental energy with thinking exercises, and our physical energy with yoga poses.
In yoga poses we use opposing energy to build focus and stability, this will create focus and stability in our thoughts too. Opposing energy can be used by stretching our body in equal and opposite directions. For example in Mountain pose we reach our feet down into the earth at the same time we reach the crown of head up to the sky. This creates one long line form our belly which points up and down at the same time.
If we can be stable and calm in thought, we will feel the effects emotionally too. It is all connected, like infinity!

Journal assignment #17: Lines of Energy
Draw three figures in yoga poses, choose from the following list. Superimpose the energy lines that move in opposite directions over your figure drawings. Don't worry about drawing skills, simple stick figures or bubble figures are just fine!
Poses to choose from:

• Warrior 2
• downward dog
• ragdoll
• cobra
• gate
• triangle
  

Lesson 16: The Power of Positive Thinking

Think Positive, you can do anything!
You can change a sad feeling or negative thought simply by thinking and breathing as you tell yourself the opposite, tell yourself the positives!

Healthy test taking
Healthy habits create an empowered sucessful outcome. Take care of your mind, body, and spirit, by eating well, sleeping well, and thinking positive. If you do your best all will turn out good.

Journal Entry #16: positive thinking

Positive Thinking, Affirmation
(maybe apply to your upcoming Tests?)

1. Identify a fear, complaint, or goal that you would like to see some change in
   
2. Describe how you feel when you think about this thing, describe how you behave when you have these feelings
3. Create positive change by restating this thing and its feelings in an affirmative manner, start your statement with "I am..."

Example:

1. I hate tests.
2. They make me feel nervous and I can't stay focused.
3. I am calm and confident that I will do well on this test, and I know that if my mind wanders I can return to my breath and re-focus myself.
   

Lesson 15: Energy Renewal

The new year is a time of renewal, with the winter solstice comes longer daylight time, we can come our of the long nights part of winter with new intentions for how we will use our energy. This is similar to the way some people make New Years Resolutions, things they hope to change about their lives. In particular I hope that you will use this period of the year to renew your commitment to yourself, your own empowerment and happiness. Be happy with who you are by making good healthy choices for your body, and also your mind and spirit.

Lesson 15 Activities

Co-listening, active listening
Energy renewing breath: mother earth, celestial(star) father
Energy Drawing

Journal Entry #15, Energy Renewal

Place your energy drawing in your Journal and label it #15.

Energy Drawing Practice:

1. start by picking one color to use, choose a color that seems to represent your energy right now
2. draw one line with that color that represents "energy" in any way that you like (there is no right or wrong)
3. use that first line as inspiration, a starting point for a drawing, poem, short story, or personal journal entry about energy
4. stay connected to your breath as you complete the page, if you don't know what to do next on the page, just breath deep and slow and start your pencil moving again.
   
5. Let it flow freely onto the page whatever it is