From my very first blog I discussed how my real and true grasp of yoga came from my suburban mom practicing it with workouts on old DVDs on an even older DVD player. Since that time I have had my own growth and experiences with yoga from that traditional view. This very same idea of masculine tradition lead me to my first evidence backed by a psychological article study stating, “Thus, a link between yoga and femininity was prominent in men’s minds, as they readily attributed other men’s hesitancy to practice yoga to this link” (Motzkus, Jarry 502). This attribution between men seeing yoga as inherently feminine was something I had certainly thought of but this article specifically notes research on this outdated idea.

From the teachings in my Mind and Body course to my own self led practice of yoga I felt my view had been completely altered especially having stuck with this for so long the changes became much more prevalent. My own grasps of kundalini experiences, something in total honesty I did not have faith in myself with, but as time went on and I stuck with the practice I not only moved better physically but felt innately better as well feeling a wholeness and altered state while practicing. As time went on I began noticing these feelings this benefit finding moments of growth. With this growth I began to feel more self-confident and a relatedness towards my friends. I also wasn’t the only college student feeling this way even more specifically about vinyasa yoga as this study states, “Overall, these results suggest that there may be an immediate positive impact as well as a more sustained longitudinal benefit of vinyasa yoga on affect among a nonclinical sample of young college students” (Gaskins, Jennings, Thind, Becker, Bock 67). Finding this study not only on college students but also directly towards vinyasa yoga was so interesting to me having been doing for the entire semester. Within another study focusing on MTM treatment with yoga in college students Drs Chen and Manoj find “Such opportunities for the practice of yoga by college students can influence their decision-making and sway the pendulum toward the perception of greater advantages” (Chen, Manoj 4). These positive effects in self-image and relatedness towards friends noticeably changed for me. The action of yoga created a pathway for better involvement in mental state not only for me but also these students. The implementation of yoga as a standard practice or requirement shifted the thought from yoga being seen as feminine or unnecessary to a need that became enjoyable.

As I continued to practice and found myself continuing to do so even when not necessarily needed such as odd hours of the night or even right after work, but the most interesting time was simply to help myself. A way out of my headspace and to go to an “other” This teaching of mindfulness that accumulated over time led me to this research study going on to say, “Similarly, Buddhist and psychological models of awakening have proposed that prosocial behaviours can be enhanced through training in mindfulness” (Aikman, Verhaegen, Ram 8). These trainings in mindfulness from meditation and breathing all the way to yoga a more physical approach intrigued me because these are practices that stem back thousands of years reaching forward to psychological studies today on how it truly impacts the connection we share. Another similar finding within another research article poses, “This suggests that practitioners become less attached to judgments about their appearance and more accepting of themselves” (Genovese, Fondran 57). I felt this deep awareness within self as I practiced especially towards the action of meditation and through began to be more self-confident.

These moments of an altered state of conscious being creating a more inner focused self this qualia experience fashioning up more accurate ways to explain my inner most ideas. These experiences throughout classes and self-practice keeping up with it making schedules and then turning to it in times a stress formed a crutch like experience with the yoga and meditation combo. Beginning with only following YouTube videos fumbling my way around on a carpet to truly getting into the experience finding myself in new positions I could not have accomplished before and doing so without a guide. I remember back to a phone call with mom as she encouraged me to continue on with this practice and I shrugging it off but now I really would see it as not only a fun activity but truthfully a tool to use as a way to alter my mentality and shift my self to another experience of my current state.