A student speaks

Have you all seen Jake? He's the tall, quiet, 20 year-old, who comes to class at least 30 minutes early to meditate, stretch, or pursue the elusive free-standing-hand-stand. He's in the teens class AND adult classes. He's dedicated. He's relentless. He's whole-heartedly passionate about Yoga. Yoga has reached this young man.

Jake is a student at Linn Tech, and, in a public-speaking class, chose to speak of his practice. I asked him to share his speech with us.

And this phrase really hit me:

If you have mastered a particular pose physically, there is always progress to be made mentally. The experiences you have spiritually can be far more fascinating than what you feel physically.

Isn't this why we all keep practicing? Because of the bottom-less well of our minds and hearts? Because we learn something new, physically, emotionally, spiritually, every single time we hit the mat? Because we can always go deeper?

Thanks, Jake, for being such an amazing member of our community. And for sharing your wise speech.
~Megan

Jake's speech:

The best workout I’ve ever had wasn’t while playing football, wrestling, or basketball, but in a yoga class.

Every exercise in yoga is designed to work on a specific part of the body. This includes muscles, ligaments, organs, and tendons. When you activate areas of the body, you increase circulation, which increases health. Health is what yoga is all about.

I’ve learned that yoga has many opportunities for psychological advancement as well. If you have mastered a particular pose physically, there is always progress to be made mentally. The experiences you have spiritually can be far more fascinating than what you feel physically.

When I practice yoga, I focus on alignment, weight distribution, and being mindful of my whole body. When you get into a pose, your focus and mental aspect becomes energy. This happens when you get past the effort of whatever you’re doing, and there are no more agreements to what you think you can do. This is where complete mindfulness of the body takes place.

Yoga is also a great way to progress in sports. It is like the spirit of all sports because you’re using strength, flexibility, balance, and concentration. Yoga has been a great way for me to keep myself healthy, and progress mentally also.

~Jake Parris