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Friday, March 25, 2011

GRADUATE GOING QUACKY

















As I sat at a Psychology luncheon all dressed up and ready to graduate the next day, each of us graduating members were expected to "by tradition" stand up and explain what our future plans were.  I wondered if it was a ploy to let the Professors congratulate themselves on what a wonderful job they had done in mentoring such brilliant students.  Psychology is obviously a non-finishing BA degree.  If you aren't mastering or specializing or interning... you are basically as good as have majoring in a University Studies degree.  No offense to US degrees.
The pressure was on as brainiacs of our graduating class were standing to name off their future plans... one was even set up to work with Cambridge a professor because the professor was so impressed with the student's Senior Project.  I thought just the act of graduating was an accomplishment.
As I stood there thinking of what I'd say, I became very aware that I dreaded the thought of getting my Masters.  It's expensive, it's a ton of work and when I researched programs, I couldn't find any to my liking and then actually becoming a Psychologist...  Working with people and listening to their problems and trying to get them to change sounded wearing and sometimes unproductive.
Everyone knows the quote by Elder Packer, "the study of the doctrines will improve behavior quicker than the study of behavior will improve behavior."  Beating the story, the feelings, and the details to a pulp to get to the bottom of the underlining problem is exhausting!  The more I studied about Western thought or psychology, the more I realized that becoming a counselor was not really for me.  I admire them, love that they exist, and don't want to be one.
My degree brought me something unexpected.  It wasn't the certainty of what is but rather a skepticism and a critical nature.  More of a mistrust in the mainstream world.  Using a more positive word, we would call it greater awareness.  Most of the awareness is drawn by a type of research that was required of me in assignments.
Since I have graduated, that has meant something to me.  I feel ready to take on the world and be picky with the information it gives me.  Given the tool of research and identifying reliable scientific sources I've felt confident in my own research.  Lately, like I have mentioned, I am falling in love with Yoga.  Eastern thought focuses on the act of letting go instead of fighting the matter to an analyzed death.
With yoga, I am able to continue the research I started for my senior project and focus on its effects for me.
Tonight as Robbie, Doug and I were nurturing our injuries with a chiropractic percussor and a chiropractic table, it all made so much sense to me.  Doug was showing us our ligaments and tendons that were ailing us in an anatomy book.  Rob was showing me stretches that the physical trainer wants him to do for his injured knee.  Most of them were variations of yogic postures but I honestly don't know how anyone is expected to do their stretching postures for homework if they aren't walked through some key steps first.
There is a method to the sequence of yoga.  You start in a certain position and breath a certain way in order to warm up your body.  You strike your pose and as you stretch, you breath into it.  You lengthen as you inhale and stretch or twist as you exhale.  After each pose you counter it in order to balance your muscles in the body.
I really like this holistic stuff.  No, I'm not going quacky on you but it all just makes so much sense to me. Listening to your body, cleansing it, stretching, meditating, being aware, and mindful makes so much healthy sense.  Its all about being aware of your body and its upkeep and really living... as opposed to medicating a half dead body to let it live half dead for the next 20+ years.
So recap.  What did my degree do for me?  It helped me discover the basics.  Going with your instinct and intuition about health and anatomy.  It gave me the gift of being confident in my own personal research.
We live in a society of marketers spewing crap in order to gain.  My favorite thing lately is to analyze the health products that are out there.  What they claim and what their selling points are.  It's all marketing.  Robbie and I were in Costco finding all sorts of stuff in the vitamin isle.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm a believer in Western medicine--it's what saved my husband this last winter from Meningitis.  It's more of the mentality that bothers me.  Costco had a pill for everything!
Anyway lately I am doing Yoga classes once or twice a day.  I feel incredible.  Do your own research and get back to me.
AND P.S. Back to my luncheon, I was honest, I said I was going back to California with my husband and finding a job.  And Dr. Kinghorn chimed in (my mentor in meditation and stress management) and she'll become a Yoga instructor.  I laughed and thought sure...that'd be fun and well... it is :)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

YOGA IS GOOD FOR YOU














Recently I've been enveloped in corepower yoga training to become a yoga teacher.  I've been really enjoying myself.  Oddly enough, I consider it an extension of my Psychology degree.  The science of the healing and preventative effects are continually manifesting themselves.  I have much more studying and training to finish but I'm not going to lie, sign me up on the Yogi for Life List.  To be continued I'm sure.