A Student's Letter

 

 Activities for Today

This section, as stressed before, is for you to continue stretching on your own. The stretching session has three parts: warm up, alignment and stretching yoga style.

As stated before, it is an honor system, so I trust you will stretch in order to improve your mind-body connection, relax and experience peaceful and quiet happiness in the midst of the challenges we are all facing.

You will continue watching a series of videos that will guide you through the stretching session today.

A former student's letter will illustrate how stretching will help you when you graduate and join the labor market.

Finally, you will explain the benefits of stretching for the muscle groups mentioned below.

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I - Warm Up

Body Warm Up (6:19 min)

Let us do our isolation warm-up routine as we have done in class:

neck

shoulders

arms

torso

hips

legs

ankles

Question 1

Write a reflection about the warm up.

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II - Alignment

Body Alignment (2:00 min)

Close your eyes

Imagine a string pulling you from the top of your head up towards infinite

Elongate of your neck

relax your shoulders

Imagine gravity is pulling you towards the ground, from the bottom of your feet downward

Inhale and on the exhale press your abdomen against your spine

Flatten your back

Tuck in your rib cage

Rotate your shoulder so that the align with your hips

Bring your tailbone slightly forward

Soften your knees

Question 2

Write a response to the alignment exercise.

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 III - Stretching

(20:18 min)

Standing Yoga Poses

a) Follow the Routine.


 Try to memorize this routine since you will be recording it as you do it, and posting it at the end of the semester.

Question 3

a) Describe briefly, in writing, how you feel when you are done.
b) How many poses are you able to memorize at this point?

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IV - Letter (10 min)

Tue 1/28/2020 4:56 PM


Dear Professor,

Happy Tuesday! I hope your year and Spring semester has been off to a great start.

Primarily, I wanted to reach out and thank you for sharing your knowledge of stretching, mindfulness, self-reflection and positivity in your classes. While other courses have surely helped me in my post-grad endeavors, your classes have made a meaningful mark on my well-being and outlook of life. I am realizing this more and more.

Shortly after my graduation in May, I began a corporate office job which has been going well, but leads a quite sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, with the stress of constant emails and busy days, it is easy to get into bad habits -- sitting for hours at a time, working while eating lunch, checking emails at home, etc. Despite going to the gym often, such habits have lasting effects and it is easy to get stuck in a rather toxic routine which spirals into other areas of life beyond just work.

But, I always think back to your classes and the emphasis on being present in the moment, treating your body like a temple and radiating optimism. I take a step back to reflect and remind myself of these principles. It has helped a lot in my happiness, health, attitude and overall way of life.

I hope other students gained as much as I did from your classes. Such knowledge and awareness is invaluable (and very underrated).

Keep doing what you're doing!

All the best,

E. 

Question 4

 Based on the above letter, what does "being present in the moment, treating your body like a temple and radiating optimism" mean?

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Question 5

V - Summarize the benefits of stretching on the following muscle groups (10 min)

LOWER BODY

Lying Hamstring Stretch

 Seated Hamstring Stretch

Seated Adductor Stretch

Gluteal Stretch

Gluteal and Lumbar Rotation Stretch

 Lying Quadriceps Stretch

   

                                

 Standing Quadriceps

 

Gastrocnemius Stretch