Writing composition is about an attempt through Rhetoric to change the world. Language allows for abstract thoughts and allows humans to conceptualize a world where people fundamentally love one another rather than constantly run over each other in a survival of the fittest game. (Garrison) Composition is the ultimate human attempt to change the world through language. Rhetoric has changed our world from cannibalistic to human. Rhetoric has been defended as, “a mode of altering reality” (Bitzer). Andrea Lunsford says it best when she describes “Rhetoric is the art, practice, and study of human communication” (Lunsford). In our readings we learned of Joseph who longed to communicate but could not. The human being is not mindless or mentally deficient without language, but they do have a severely restricted range of thoughts because the world they know is so small. Therefore, language transforms human’s experiences
The power of language is the power of rhetoric. How does language work to change our world from cannibals into a working society of one? Language is about persuasion which is the key element that separates animals from humans. Is our entire life about persuasion? Unfortunately, I find this to be true. In every aspect of our life to break down moment by moment we need to ask our self’s Why am I doing this, Why do I think this way? We have and are constantly being persuaded every moment of our life even with the tiniest elements. However, even though we are persuaded by the world we do have language which allows humans to change the world, once again through persuasion. Society is constantly trying to get people to change their ideas to fit into the norm. I thoroughly enjoyed the readying A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. Even though Swift’s ideas where insanely bizarre he made valid arguments that could potentially persuade humans to eat babies. This is a perfect example of how we are persuaded through rhetoric and how language is so powerful we can change the world.
The Greeks root of “technology is techne, an art or craft. For writers not always does writing come easily but according to the Greeks our technical relationship to writing is always with us. Before we can understand writing we have to realize that language existed way before writing. Language is powerful but writing is extremely powerful. One of the most interesting and thought-provoking aspects of writing is that writing allows humans to connect to people we have never met and we will never meet. Writing allows humans to transform their world into another.
James Berlin talks about writing and the pedagogical theories in writing courses as grounded in rhetoric theories and rhetorical theories do not differ in the simple undue emphasis of writer or audience or reality or language or some combination. This is why students hate English. People do not understand the power of language or grammatical elements also English composition is not like any other subject because its abstract and subjunctive. Teachers need to understand that writing is a self exploration a way to change the world through written dialect that last forever.
Composition allows students to open their ideas to explore new ways of expression. Teachers should teach expressivism to students and let students see where writing leads them. Elbow describes one form of self writing as freewriting to help students learn ways to express themselves and learn to that writing is unique.
I believe that composition is the creativity of writing in dialect by expressing ideology and exploring personal movements in writing and finding one’s self.
There is value for educators to teach composition in the 21st century. First off, composition can be extremely exciting and has great power. Composition has the power to change the world and if teachers could show students that with writing students can develop skills for life as well as express their own ideas. Language, rhetoric, ethos, logos, pathos, Toulmin Argument, print, Internet 2.0, all have shaped composition and are the fundamental elements of composition.
I have a completely new outlook on what composition is and how a composition course can and is exciting and interesting. I have a greater appreciation for language and the power of writing.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Yoga Classroom Should Having Writing Elements
Combining the physical limbering of Yoga
Genuinely stretched my creativity.
I touched parts of my talent I was not able to reach before.
Ron Seybold
Not very long ago many Americans associated Yoga with wiry old flexible men dressed in white loincloth who could wrap their legs around their heads. Today, everyone from professional athletes, talk show hosts, and the average Joe, is flourishing with excitement about yoga. Yoga with its emphasis on relaxation, breathing and deliberate movements, is a miraculous fitness workout as well as being incredible for relaxation and meditation states. Therefore, with so many different types and forms of yoga, most people can find classes specific for their needs: Hatha, Astanga, Iyengar, Bikriam, Raja, Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Japa, Hot, Flow, Power, and more. Hatha Yoga’s fundamental object is for individuals to transcend their consciousness and to realize their true self in a state of divine reality. Meditation helps increase awareness of one’s self being centered in the world. Being one with yourself and creating a reality of honesty and realization of the world helps decrease stress, promote happiness, and encourage balance in life. Simultaneously, composition is similar to meditation because composition allows people the freedom to write from their hearts. English composition forces people to open up their minds and write their own ideas. Mixing Hatha Yoga with English Composition would allow students not only to open their minds during yoga class but allow students to incorporate meditation and writing into the yoga classroom. Many people dread writing because of the tedious work and hours of composing. Ernest Hemingway states writing as, “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.” A Yoga classroom should have writing elements which could be an alternative to mediation.
The historic and technical terms of Hatha Yoga are as follows: Hatha is made up for Ha + Tha, the Ha means Pingala Nadi, or sun principle and Tha means Ida Nadi, or moon principle. (Mandilk) Mandilk describes the Nadi as, “psychic passage of energy which can be compared with nerves in physical body” (Mandilk). Essentially, Nadi refers to our nervous system. Hatha Yoga is a balance between Ida and Pingala Nadis, the balancing of mental and physical energy within our bodies. Hence, Hatha Yoga focuses on harmonizing the nervous system, mind and body, physical and mental energy.
The Disciplines of Hatha Yoga are designed to help manifest the ultimate reality in the finite human body and mind. Hatha Yoga expresses the ideal of Tantra, which is for every individual to live in a world out of the fullness of self-realization rather than for the individual to withdraw from life in order to gain enlightenment. (Feuerstein) Within Hatha Yoga there are different poses which are called asanas. Thus, the purpose of asanas is for strengthening, opening, and cleansing the body of impurities which cause individuals to lose sight of being one with the world. There are eight limbs of Hatha yoga that Feuerstein describes: The first deals with universal ethics and morals (Yama), while, the second limb deals with personal conduct (Niyama). In addition, the third and fourth limbs are positions (Asanas) and breath control (Pranayama). Feuerstein goes on to explain that the fifth, sixth, and seventh limbs deal with controlling senses, concentration, and meditation, (Pratyahara, Dharana, and Dhyana). Finally, Feuerstein illustrates the eighth limb (Samadhi) as a, “culminate with experience of super-consciousness” (Feuerstein). Hatha Yoga focuses on maintaining balance between all eight limbs to create a balanced reality in one’s life.
Regrettably, in today’s society people seem to push meditation to the side because they are too busy to stop, breathe, and relax. People, who talk about how meditation is the key to an environment free of stress and tension, only push others further away from the practice of mediation. People know being stress-free completely is nearly impossible, so why many refuse to try it. N.D. Srivastava defines meditation as, “a state of ‘mental silence’ characterized by the elimination of unnecessary thought, effortless attention on the present and alert awareness” (Srivastava). Meditation requires the individuals to listen to their breathe, or detach their mind from thought process to focuses attention and bring self awareness to themselves. A huge part of Hatha Yoga mediation is “continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation” (Meditation). The act of becoming one with yourself is the continued goal for yogis. Hatha Yoga focuses on body’s breath in order to gain total control of pure meditation for each individual. The art of meditation is to form a coherent view of one’s own life and purpose for the world. Author of many books on meditation, Sri Swami Venkatesananda explains that, “Happiness in life comes not by manipulating what you want to achieve but by paying attention to something seemingly totally unconnected with it” (Venkatesananda). Meditation is not a goal to reach but yet instead it is a state of mind to achieve.
The thought of adding writing to yoga makes me stop and ponder of all the possibilities that could help broaden and intensify a yoga classroom. Not only would adding writing to a classroom help with mediation, writing in a yoga classroom would also encourage individuals to practice personal writing. Unfortunately, many people find writing boring, difficult, un-connecting, or confusing. James Berlin describes the pedagogical theories of writing courses as, “grounded in rhetorical theories, and rhetorical theories do not differ in the simple undue emphasis of writer or audience or reality or language or some combination of these” (J. A. Berlin). Yoga and writing can be intertwined to form a unique relationship, from which many individuals would benefit. To demonstrate, Peter Elbow came up with a theory of writing called Expressivism. Expressivism can be defined as, “the view that creating text involves exploring personal experience and voice” (Stephen and Lucille). Expressivists believe that writing should be an individual’s expression of thoughts and feelings. Subsequently, “Expressionist” textbooks refer to the ‘truth’ as, “… conceived as the result of a private vision that must be constantly consulted in writing” (J. A. Berlin). With this in mind, all writing is personal, whether it is an abstract paper or personal letter. These truths that Expressivism emphasizes are, “[writers] must be true to the feelings and experiences” (J. A. Berlin).
Furthermore, individuals, according to Peter Elbow, create their own ideas of ‘good writing’ depending on their level of self-expression. In addition, Berlin discusses Peter Elbow’s work as, “It is, after all, only the individual acting alone and apart from others, who can determine the existent, the good, and the possible” (Stephen and Lucille). Expressionists view writing as “the way that writer, reality, audience, and language are defined and related so as to form a distinct world construct with distinct rules for discovering and communicating knowledge” (J. A. Berlin). Unfortunately, Expressivism began to die out in the mid 1990s and constructivism emerged. Constructionism incorporates, “the views that good writers must master and accepted practices of a discourse community” (Stephen and Lucille). Expressivists hoped that through self-writing and exploration of personal ideas writing would allow people to connect on new levels. Yoga teachers should incorporate Peter Elbow’s idea of Expressivism in their yoga classrooms by having students do creative self-exploration of writing as a form of mediation. Writing is not supposed to focus only on perfection. Yet, writing is about exploration. Berlin describes writing as a path to a greater understanding. (J. Berlin)
Now that I have established exactly what Hatha Yoga focuses on, I would like to explain how yoga has been incorporated in Physical Therapy sessions, people dealing with Multiple Sclerosis, and children with ADHD. If yoga is used beneficially in these three different fields, then it stands to reason that the inclusion of writing in a yoga classroom will broaden with these challenges understanding of English composition by students.
To demonstrate, integrating yoga with physical therapy sessions has shown many benefits for patients. Physical Therapist, Laurence Picker talks about his experience with yoga being a PT, “I have been an advocate for Yoga since I was a teenager and recently intergrading yoga positions with my patients have proven to be a huge benefactor. My patients have shown tremendous improvement in flexibility and movements” (Picker) Matt Taylor author of Yoga Therapeutics: An Ancient Practice in a 21st Century Setting expresses, “Yoga slows people down an ask them to look, observe, and see their movements are related to what they’re thinking and feeling and vice versa. It’s the mind-body connection” (Wojciechowski).
In addition, Yoga has shown tremendous benefits for people with MS, “Yoga really can reduce stress, which makes a major contribution to coping with MS” (Crotzer). My yoga instructor Susan Howard has Multiple Sclerosis, after talking with her about her disease and why she does Yoga she explained, “Yoga has decreased my joint pain and stiffness which has helped me relax and improve my balance. I started Yoga eleven years ago when I was diagnosed with MS because my doctor told me the great benefits and luckily the disease has slowed down tremendously because of yoga” (Howard). Today yoga is extremely popular among people with MS. In fact, “Various surveys suggest that 10-30% of people with MS have used yoga” (Bowling and Stewart).
Furthermore, Yoga has also shown benefits for children with ADHD. Today, there are many concerns with children taking prescribed medicines for symptoms of ADHD, such as, possible over-prescription and all the side effects of methylphenidate. (Harrison, Manocha and Rubia) Many parents are seeking alternatives to treat ADHD and many are looking towards meditation and yoga. Meditation and Yoga help, “to relax the sympathetic nervous system by activating parasympathetic-limbic pathways that relax body and mind” (Harrison, Manocha and Rubia). Yoga has helped many children struggling with ADHD and over the past decade has become increasingly more popular as a treatment for people struggling with ADHD.
With this in mind, a yoga classroom should have writing elements: as an alternative to traditional mediation, students should write. In the 1970s Peter Elbow came up with the idea of freewriting, “the most effective way I know to improve your writing is to do freewriting exercises regularly” (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers). Freewriting is sometimes called automatic writing or babbling exercises. The basic idea is to simply write for ten minutes straight without ever lifting your pen or crossing anything out because of a mistake. Freewriting emphasis on ideas and thoughts instead of mistakes and grammar even in nothing comes to your mind never lift your pen instead just write, ‘ I can’t think of anything so say so I will keep repeating this’ and eventually thoughts will cross your mind and you will begin to write them down without even noticing it. In today’s public education system, “schooling makes students obsessed with the “mistakes” we make in writing” (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers). The practice of freewriting allows students to write with emotions and self-exploration of their own creativity. Through the practice of freewriting, over time writing skills increase and lead “the quickest way to get into good writing,” according to Elbow (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers). Subsequently, if yoga classrooms incorporate writing into the classroom setting freewriting could be a great option for students to explore. Since yoga focuses on exploring self, freewriting is a superb way for yoga students to write because the basis of freewriting is a journey of thoughts, not grammar and mistakes.
The question arises as how will yoga classrooms include writing into their sessions. Since Hatha yoga focuses on harmonizing the nervous system, mind and body, physical energy and mental energy and maintaining balance between all eight limbs to create a central reality in one’s life, then adding writing to the yoga classroom would benefit most students. Meditation has proven to help decrease stress and allow individuals to increase their awareness of the mind and body becoming one. Writing could take the place of mental meditation in the classroom. As soon as the yoga session has completed students could do freewriting, as Peter Elbow describes or personal journaling. Elbow also illustrates writing as a path for individuals to find greater understanding about one’s self. (Elbow, Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience) Yoga is also a path for greater understanding; therefore, combining writing and yoga will benefit the student. Even if the student feels they are a ‘bad writer’ or they claim they do not know where to begin, the students could express on paper how their yoga sessions went and the feelings that yoga brings to them after a session. Combining yoga and writing in a classroom can benefit students by allowing the students to express verbally how they feel about yoga, life, and how this meditation state increase awareness of one’s self becomes visual. Yoga classrooms can bring back Expressivism by communicating freedom into writing. According to Berlin, “truth is not brought to man, but man to the truth. A striking corollary of this view is that ultimate truth can be discovered by the individual, but cannot be communicated. Truth can be learned but not taught” (J. A. Berlin). Expressionists believe that interaction in a classroom encourages students to have dialogue with other members who have opposing views. This increases students to learn different perspectives and causes awareness of writing and its elements. This is the same in a yoga classroom while the students are not necessarily discussing in traditional dialogue they are communicating through self understanding and harmonizing their minds and bodies. Writing is something that students must feel in their souls, and that is the same with yoga. To illustrate this idea Berlin describes writing as, “conceives of writing as an unteachable act, a kind of behavior that can be learned but not taught” (J. A. Berlin). Yoga and writing can teach students to be open with their minds, not closed.
If students learn to write through dialect, according to Berlin, then in a yoga classroom students learn to write through opening their minds and soul to emotions and the idea that writing must be felt not necessarily only in thought. In Yoga classrooms when dialogue with others is removed, “It is up to the individual to discover ultimate knowledge” (J. A. Berlin). Ann E. Berthoff agrees that, “The relationship between thought and language is dialectical: ideas are conceived by language; language is generated by thought. Rather than truth being prior to language, language is prior to truth and determines what shapes truth can take” (J. A. Berlin). This is interesting because language and dialect do play an important role in the writing process. However, incorporating writing in a yoga classroom can be just as effective because it gets students to use meditation as a form of writing and expressing their own ideas and beliefs. Yoga allows students to form their own worlds in their mind and the amount of creativity that forms during these meditative states of mind can be enormous.
Overall, I submit that, yoga classrooms should have writing elements as an alternative to traditional mediation. Since Hatha yoga focuses on balancing the nervous system, mind and body, physical energy and mental energy and maintaining equilibrium between all eight limbs to create a central reality in one’s life, then adding writing to the yoga classroom would only benefit students. Mixing Hatha Yoga with English Composition would compel students not only open their minds during yoga class but allow students to incorporate meditation and writing into one element. Having students do freewriting as Peter Elbow describes as the, “creative edge” (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers) this allows students to practice new ways of meditation and writing through creative paths and new alternatives for exploration.
Works Cited
Berlin, James A. "Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories." College English Vol. 44. No 8. (Dec 1982): 765-777.
Berlin, James A. "Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Class." College English (1988): 477-494.
Bowling, MD, PHD, Allen C and JD, PA-C, Tom Stewart. "Mind Over Yoga ." EBSCO- Academic Search National MS Society (2006): 54-55.
Crotzer, Shoosh. "Shrewd Moves: Welcome to the Yoga Jungle." Ebsco: National MS Society (2001): 1-2.
Elbow, Peter. "Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience." College English (1987): 294-301.
—. Writing Without Teachers. New York: Oxford , 1973.
Feuerstein, Georg. Yoga Research and Education Center. 2006. 8 April 2009.
Harrison, Linda J, Ramesh Manocha and Katya Rubia. "Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a Family Treatment Programme for Children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder." 2004. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 6 April 2009.
Howard, Susan. Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis Ashley Johson. 18 March 2009.
Mandilk, Vishwas. YogaVille. 2 Janurary 2009. 6 April 2009.
Meditation. 13 April 2009.
Picker, Laurence. Yoga and Physical Therapy Sessions Ashley Johnson. 12 April 2009.
Silber, Lee. Write Like Hemingway. 2009. 12 April 2009.
Srivastava, N.D. Meta Modern Era: New Delhi. Ritana Press, 1997.
Stephen, M. Fishman and Parkinson McCarthy Lucille. "Is Expressivism Dead? Reconsidering Its Romantic Roots and Its Relation to Socail Constructionism." College English Vol. 54 No. 6 (1992): 647-661.
Venkatesananda, Sri Swami. Why Meditate? 17 October 2004. 2 April 2009
Wojciechowski, Michele. "PT Practice Settings: Yoga." American Physical Therapy Association (2008): 1-6.
Genuinely stretched my creativity.
I touched parts of my talent I was not able to reach before.
Ron Seybold
Not very long ago many Americans associated Yoga with wiry old flexible men dressed in white loincloth who could wrap their legs around their heads. Today, everyone from professional athletes, talk show hosts, and the average Joe, is flourishing with excitement about yoga. Yoga with its emphasis on relaxation, breathing and deliberate movements, is a miraculous fitness workout as well as being incredible for relaxation and meditation states. Therefore, with so many different types and forms of yoga, most people can find classes specific for their needs: Hatha, Astanga, Iyengar, Bikriam, Raja, Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Japa, Hot, Flow, Power, and more. Hatha Yoga’s fundamental object is for individuals to transcend their consciousness and to realize their true self in a state of divine reality. Meditation helps increase awareness of one’s self being centered in the world. Being one with yourself and creating a reality of honesty and realization of the world helps decrease stress, promote happiness, and encourage balance in life. Simultaneously, composition is similar to meditation because composition allows people the freedom to write from their hearts. English composition forces people to open up their minds and write their own ideas. Mixing Hatha Yoga with English Composition would allow students not only to open their minds during yoga class but allow students to incorporate meditation and writing into the yoga classroom. Many people dread writing because of the tedious work and hours of composing. Ernest Hemingway states writing as, “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.” A Yoga classroom should have writing elements which could be an alternative to mediation.
The historic and technical terms of Hatha Yoga are as follows: Hatha is made up for Ha + Tha, the Ha means Pingala Nadi, or sun principle and Tha means Ida Nadi, or moon principle. (Mandilk) Mandilk describes the Nadi as, “psychic passage of energy which can be compared with nerves in physical body” (Mandilk). Essentially, Nadi refers to our nervous system. Hatha Yoga is a balance between Ida and Pingala Nadis, the balancing of mental and physical energy within our bodies. Hence, Hatha Yoga focuses on harmonizing the nervous system, mind and body, physical and mental energy.
The Disciplines of Hatha Yoga are designed to help manifest the ultimate reality in the finite human body and mind. Hatha Yoga expresses the ideal of Tantra, which is for every individual to live in a world out of the fullness of self-realization rather than for the individual to withdraw from life in order to gain enlightenment. (Feuerstein) Within Hatha Yoga there are different poses which are called asanas. Thus, the purpose of asanas is for strengthening, opening, and cleansing the body of impurities which cause individuals to lose sight of being one with the world. There are eight limbs of Hatha yoga that Feuerstein describes: The first deals with universal ethics and morals (Yama), while, the second limb deals with personal conduct (Niyama). In addition, the third and fourth limbs are positions (Asanas) and breath control (Pranayama). Feuerstein goes on to explain that the fifth, sixth, and seventh limbs deal with controlling senses, concentration, and meditation, (Pratyahara, Dharana, and Dhyana). Finally, Feuerstein illustrates the eighth limb (Samadhi) as a, “culminate with experience of super-consciousness” (Feuerstein). Hatha Yoga focuses on maintaining balance between all eight limbs to create a balanced reality in one’s life.
Regrettably, in today’s society people seem to push meditation to the side because they are too busy to stop, breathe, and relax. People, who talk about how meditation is the key to an environment free of stress and tension, only push others further away from the practice of mediation. People know being stress-free completely is nearly impossible, so why many refuse to try it. N.D. Srivastava defines meditation as, “a state of ‘mental silence’ characterized by the elimination of unnecessary thought, effortless attention on the present and alert awareness” (Srivastava). Meditation requires the individuals to listen to their breathe, or detach their mind from thought process to focuses attention and bring self awareness to themselves. A huge part of Hatha Yoga mediation is “continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation” (Meditation). The act of becoming one with yourself is the continued goal for yogis. Hatha Yoga focuses on body’s breath in order to gain total control of pure meditation for each individual. The art of meditation is to form a coherent view of one’s own life and purpose for the world. Author of many books on meditation, Sri Swami Venkatesananda explains that, “Happiness in life comes not by manipulating what you want to achieve but by paying attention to something seemingly totally unconnected with it” (Venkatesananda). Meditation is not a goal to reach but yet instead it is a state of mind to achieve.
The thought of adding writing to yoga makes me stop and ponder of all the possibilities that could help broaden and intensify a yoga classroom. Not only would adding writing to a classroom help with mediation, writing in a yoga classroom would also encourage individuals to practice personal writing. Unfortunately, many people find writing boring, difficult, un-connecting, or confusing. James Berlin describes the pedagogical theories of writing courses as, “grounded in rhetorical theories, and rhetorical theories do not differ in the simple undue emphasis of writer or audience or reality or language or some combination of these” (J. A. Berlin). Yoga and writing can be intertwined to form a unique relationship, from which many individuals would benefit. To demonstrate, Peter Elbow came up with a theory of writing called Expressivism. Expressivism can be defined as, “the view that creating text involves exploring personal experience and voice” (Stephen and Lucille). Expressivists believe that writing should be an individual’s expression of thoughts and feelings. Subsequently, “Expressionist” textbooks refer to the ‘truth’ as, “… conceived as the result of a private vision that must be constantly consulted in writing” (J. A. Berlin). With this in mind, all writing is personal, whether it is an abstract paper or personal letter. These truths that Expressivism emphasizes are, “[writers] must be true to the feelings and experiences” (J. A. Berlin).
Furthermore, individuals, according to Peter Elbow, create their own ideas of ‘good writing’ depending on their level of self-expression. In addition, Berlin discusses Peter Elbow’s work as, “It is, after all, only the individual acting alone and apart from others, who can determine the existent, the good, and the possible” (Stephen and Lucille). Expressionists view writing as “the way that writer, reality, audience, and language are defined and related so as to form a distinct world construct with distinct rules for discovering and communicating knowledge” (J. A. Berlin). Unfortunately, Expressivism began to die out in the mid 1990s and constructivism emerged. Constructionism incorporates, “the views that good writers must master and accepted practices of a discourse community” (Stephen and Lucille). Expressivists hoped that through self-writing and exploration of personal ideas writing would allow people to connect on new levels. Yoga teachers should incorporate Peter Elbow’s idea of Expressivism in their yoga classrooms by having students do creative self-exploration of writing as a form of mediation. Writing is not supposed to focus only on perfection. Yet, writing is about exploration. Berlin describes writing as a path to a greater understanding. (J. Berlin)
Now that I have established exactly what Hatha Yoga focuses on, I would like to explain how yoga has been incorporated in Physical Therapy sessions, people dealing with Multiple Sclerosis, and children with ADHD. If yoga is used beneficially in these three different fields, then it stands to reason that the inclusion of writing in a yoga classroom will broaden with these challenges understanding of English composition by students.
To demonstrate, integrating yoga with physical therapy sessions has shown many benefits for patients. Physical Therapist, Laurence Picker talks about his experience with yoga being a PT, “I have been an advocate for Yoga since I was a teenager and recently intergrading yoga positions with my patients have proven to be a huge benefactor. My patients have shown tremendous improvement in flexibility and movements” (Picker) Matt Taylor author of Yoga Therapeutics: An Ancient Practice in a 21st Century Setting expresses, “Yoga slows people down an ask them to look, observe, and see their movements are related to what they’re thinking and feeling and vice versa. It’s the mind-body connection” (Wojciechowski).
In addition, Yoga has shown tremendous benefits for people with MS, “Yoga really can reduce stress, which makes a major contribution to coping with MS” (Crotzer). My yoga instructor Susan Howard has Multiple Sclerosis, after talking with her about her disease and why she does Yoga she explained, “Yoga has decreased my joint pain and stiffness which has helped me relax and improve my balance. I started Yoga eleven years ago when I was diagnosed with MS because my doctor told me the great benefits and luckily the disease has slowed down tremendously because of yoga” (Howard). Today yoga is extremely popular among people with MS. In fact, “Various surveys suggest that 10-30% of people with MS have used yoga” (Bowling and Stewart).
Furthermore, Yoga has also shown benefits for children with ADHD. Today, there are many concerns with children taking prescribed medicines for symptoms of ADHD, such as, possible over-prescription and all the side effects of methylphenidate. (Harrison, Manocha and Rubia) Many parents are seeking alternatives to treat ADHD and many are looking towards meditation and yoga. Meditation and Yoga help, “to relax the sympathetic nervous system by activating parasympathetic-limbic pathways that relax body and mind” (Harrison, Manocha and Rubia). Yoga has helped many children struggling with ADHD and over the past decade has become increasingly more popular as a treatment for people struggling with ADHD.
With this in mind, a yoga classroom should have writing elements: as an alternative to traditional mediation, students should write. In the 1970s Peter Elbow came up with the idea of freewriting, “the most effective way I know to improve your writing is to do freewriting exercises regularly” (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers). Freewriting is sometimes called automatic writing or babbling exercises. The basic idea is to simply write for ten minutes straight without ever lifting your pen or crossing anything out because of a mistake. Freewriting emphasis on ideas and thoughts instead of mistakes and grammar even in nothing comes to your mind never lift your pen instead just write, ‘ I can’t think of anything so say so I will keep repeating this’ and eventually thoughts will cross your mind and you will begin to write them down without even noticing it. In today’s public education system, “schooling makes students obsessed with the “mistakes” we make in writing” (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers). The practice of freewriting allows students to write with emotions and self-exploration of their own creativity. Through the practice of freewriting, over time writing skills increase and lead “the quickest way to get into good writing,” according to Elbow (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers). Subsequently, if yoga classrooms incorporate writing into the classroom setting freewriting could be a great option for students to explore. Since yoga focuses on exploring self, freewriting is a superb way for yoga students to write because the basis of freewriting is a journey of thoughts, not grammar and mistakes.
The question arises as how will yoga classrooms include writing into their sessions. Since Hatha yoga focuses on harmonizing the nervous system, mind and body, physical energy and mental energy and maintaining balance between all eight limbs to create a central reality in one’s life, then adding writing to the yoga classroom would benefit most students. Meditation has proven to help decrease stress and allow individuals to increase their awareness of the mind and body becoming one. Writing could take the place of mental meditation in the classroom. As soon as the yoga session has completed students could do freewriting, as Peter Elbow describes or personal journaling. Elbow also illustrates writing as a path for individuals to find greater understanding about one’s self. (Elbow, Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience) Yoga is also a path for greater understanding; therefore, combining writing and yoga will benefit the student. Even if the student feels they are a ‘bad writer’ or they claim they do not know where to begin, the students could express on paper how their yoga sessions went and the feelings that yoga brings to them after a session. Combining yoga and writing in a classroom can benefit students by allowing the students to express verbally how they feel about yoga, life, and how this meditation state increase awareness of one’s self becomes visual. Yoga classrooms can bring back Expressivism by communicating freedom into writing. According to Berlin, “truth is not brought to man, but man to the truth. A striking corollary of this view is that ultimate truth can be discovered by the individual, but cannot be communicated. Truth can be learned but not taught” (J. A. Berlin). Expressionists believe that interaction in a classroom encourages students to have dialogue with other members who have opposing views. This increases students to learn different perspectives and causes awareness of writing and its elements. This is the same in a yoga classroom while the students are not necessarily discussing in traditional dialogue they are communicating through self understanding and harmonizing their minds and bodies. Writing is something that students must feel in their souls, and that is the same with yoga. To illustrate this idea Berlin describes writing as, “conceives of writing as an unteachable act, a kind of behavior that can be learned but not taught” (J. A. Berlin). Yoga and writing can teach students to be open with their minds, not closed.
If students learn to write through dialect, according to Berlin, then in a yoga classroom students learn to write through opening their minds and soul to emotions and the idea that writing must be felt not necessarily only in thought. In Yoga classrooms when dialogue with others is removed, “It is up to the individual to discover ultimate knowledge” (J. A. Berlin). Ann E. Berthoff agrees that, “The relationship between thought and language is dialectical: ideas are conceived by language; language is generated by thought. Rather than truth being prior to language, language is prior to truth and determines what shapes truth can take” (J. A. Berlin). This is interesting because language and dialect do play an important role in the writing process. However, incorporating writing in a yoga classroom can be just as effective because it gets students to use meditation as a form of writing and expressing their own ideas and beliefs. Yoga allows students to form their own worlds in their mind and the amount of creativity that forms during these meditative states of mind can be enormous.
Overall, I submit that, yoga classrooms should have writing elements as an alternative to traditional mediation. Since Hatha yoga focuses on balancing the nervous system, mind and body, physical energy and mental energy and maintaining equilibrium between all eight limbs to create a central reality in one’s life, then adding writing to the yoga classroom would only benefit students. Mixing Hatha Yoga with English Composition would compel students not only open their minds during yoga class but allow students to incorporate meditation and writing into one element. Having students do freewriting as Peter Elbow describes as the, “creative edge” (Elbow, Writing Without Teachers) this allows students to practice new ways of meditation and writing through creative paths and new alternatives for exploration.
Works Cited
Berlin, James A. "Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories." College English Vol. 44. No 8. (Dec 1982): 765-777.
Berlin, James A. "Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Class." College English (1988): 477-494.
Bowling, MD, PHD, Allen C and JD, PA-C, Tom Stewart. "Mind Over Yoga ." EBSCO- Academic Search National MS Society (2006): 54-55.
Crotzer, Shoosh. "Shrewd Moves: Welcome to the Yoga Jungle." Ebsco: National MS Society (2001): 1-2.
Elbow, Peter. "Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience." College English (1987): 294-301.
—. Writing Without Teachers. New York: Oxford , 1973.
Feuerstein, Georg. Yoga Research and Education Center. 2006. 8 April 2009
Harrison, Linda J, Ramesh Manocha and Katya Rubia. "Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a Family Treatment Programme for Children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder." 2004. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 6 April 2009
Howard, Susan. Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis Ashley Johson. 18 March 2009.
Mandilk, Vishwas. YogaVille. 2 Janurary 2009. 6 April 2009
Meditation. 13 April 2009
Picker, Laurence. Yoga and Physical Therapy Sessions Ashley Johnson. 12 April 2009.
Silber, Lee. Write Like Hemingway. 2009. 12 April 2009
Srivastava, N.D. Meta Modern Era: New Delhi. Ritana Press, 1997.
Stephen, M. Fishman and Parkinson McCarthy Lucille. "Is Expressivism Dead? Reconsidering Its Romantic Roots and Its Relation to Socail Constructionism." College English Vol. 54 No. 6 (1992): 647-661.
Venkatesananda, Sri Swami. Why Meditate? 17 October 2004. 2 April 2009
Wojciechowski, Michele. "PT Practice Settings: Yoga." American Physical Therapy Association (2008): 1-6.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Compostion has a new meaning..
This has been one of my most enjoyable classes as a student at Texas Tech. Unfortunately, I have enrolled in classes in the past which have meant nothing to me, and yet, I still have to waste my time with tedious work where I have learned nothing. This class has opened my eyes to a new idea of a classroom, new ideas on many subjects dealing with education.
All of the subjects we have discussed, while some seemed so vague and disconnected with everything else in the class we, as a class, through language made the connections.
I think I have learned more about what “ENGLISH” actually is in this one semester than I have ever understood in my 21 years of knowing this language and understanding composition.
I also think my definition of what English composition was before this class has challenged me to change. For one, I know that composition is so much more than just written word. It involves human interaction, language, emotions, thinking, technology, written words, letters, history, and so much more….
Personally, this class matters to me because I feel connected to composition in a way that I never would have before. I understand so many different elements that make up composition and our language and how we need language and human interaction. I understand the power or language and composition and how this power is exteremly important and holds great value to our society.
Professionally, well since I really have no idea what I am going to do when I graduate I’m not sure what to say. My mind wants to be down with school so bad, All I want to do is graduate, yet, my mind is still in the student stage… One thing I do know is that this class I will take what I have learned and what we have discussed and will remember and use it forever.
All of the subjects we have discussed, while some seemed so vague and disconnected with everything else in the class we, as a class, through language made the connections.
I think I have learned more about what “ENGLISH” actually is in this one semester than I have ever understood in my 21 years of knowing this language and understanding composition.
I also think my definition of what English composition was before this class has challenged me to change. For one, I know that composition is so much more than just written word. It involves human interaction, language, emotions, thinking, technology, written words, letters, history, and so much more….
Personally, this class matters to me because I feel connected to composition in a way that I never would have before. I understand so many different elements that make up composition and our language and how we need language and human interaction. I understand the power or language and composition and how this power is exteremly important and holds great value to our society.
Professionally, well since I really have no idea what I am going to do when I graduate I’m not sure what to say. My mind wants to be down with school so bad, All I want to do is graduate, yet, my mind is still in the student stage… One thing I do know is that this class I will take what I have learned and what we have discussed and will remember and use it forever.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
YOGA CLASSROOM... COMPOSITION?
I’m really excited about writing our research paper. Although I do believe it will be difficult only because there is lots of planning and organizing. I love that we get to choose our own topics. I think that is the best way to get people excited about writing. When we wrote our Rhetorical Analysis we got to choose our own topics. I thought it was so cool because when I write on topics, ideas, that I find interesting I get excited about the writing process.
My topic is a little out there, similar to my Rhetorical Analysis topic on Wedding Rings. My topic is Yoga Classrooms should have writing elements: An alternative to traditional meditation, students can write.
I believe this is going to be a very exciting topic because I have so many paths I can take this down. My outline for the paper goes as follows:
Introduction
What is Yoga? Specifically Hatha Yoga, breathing techniques, mediation, and other elements, maybe spiritual?
What is Expressivism? Why did it die out? Can I bring it back.
Yoga Intertwined in obstacles in life
a. PT Practice---- Jstor article how teachers incorporate yoga into daily exercises
b. ADHA KIDS--- how these kids and yoga have benefited and changed
c. MS disease--- how Yoga has helped with this disease
Now adding YOGA with COMPOSITION
If yoga works with those different elements/obstacles then what about yoga?
How do we form YOGA and COMPOSTION together?
Yoga sessions---writing
Peter Elbow Free writing
Meditation and writing as one
Conclusion
My audience will be yoga teachers in general. I thought about doing students but I think writing for the teachers… maybe teachers could actually use this practice in their own classroom one day… and I personally would love to have a class where I can add composition and yoga together as a form of meditation.
Yoga a slow down practice to reflect on one’s life
Composition slow down, reflect on one’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, ideology… diction, syntax, morphology, morphemes…
Mediation is reflection: you can reflect in writing and in the mind... We should introduce expressivism within yoga and composition
My topic is a little out there, similar to my Rhetorical Analysis topic on Wedding Rings. My topic is Yoga Classrooms should have writing elements: An alternative to traditional meditation, students can write.
I believe this is going to be a very exciting topic because I have so many paths I can take this down. My outline for the paper goes as follows:
Introduction
What is Yoga? Specifically Hatha Yoga, breathing techniques, mediation, and other elements, maybe spiritual?
What is Expressivism? Why did it die out? Can I bring it back.
Yoga Intertwined in obstacles in life
a. PT Practice---- Jstor article how teachers incorporate yoga into daily exercises
b. ADHA KIDS--- how these kids and yoga have benefited and changed
c. MS disease--- how Yoga has helped with this disease
Now adding YOGA with COMPOSITION
If yoga works with those different elements/obstacles then what about yoga?
How do we form YOGA and COMPOSTION together?
Yoga sessions---writing
Peter Elbow Free writing
Meditation and writing as one
Conclusion
My audience will be yoga teachers in general. I thought about doing students but I think writing for the teachers… maybe teachers could actually use this practice in their own classroom one day… and I personally would love to have a class where I can add composition and yoga together as a form of meditation.
Yoga a slow down practice to reflect on one’s life
Composition slow down, reflect on one’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, ideology… diction, syntax, morphology, morphemes…
Mediation is reflection: you can reflect in writing and in the mind... We should introduce expressivism within yoga and composition
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
iberating classroom moment or a confining
I feel that online distant education takes away from social learning. Learning in a classroom where students and teachers can interact I believe is very important. Students need to learn material presented by the teacher, in the books, or online YES, but there is another kind of learning that is just as important and crucial for the working world and that is social.
Interaction and communication with other people is extremely important and classroom settings allow students to learn these vital skills over the years they are enrolled in school. If all classes were held online than all the interaction with peers and authority figures (teachers) those skills would not be learned.
I believe that classroom settings teach students so much more than just material presented for students to acknowledge and accept. Classrooms are meant for discussion and peer and teacher relationships develop and intimacy happens in classrooms when exploring and discussing one’s own ideas, thoughts, and ideology. Take away the classroom, teacher, students, and replace it with a monitor that you can only type to… well a lot is lost.
Using TOPIC, MOO’s IM’s or Second Life as a teaching tool and strategy I do not find helpful, especially for student s who already have trouble focusing in a classroom due to a learning disability. People need interaction and connection to other humans and I believe these tools for learning provide the opposite. I think those specific tools should be used for free time and adolescent development on their own and not the teacher’s involvement.
Did I find the MOO liberating from the classroom or more confining… more confining. I was one of the few who were not goofing off and I actually tried to put good ideas and information out there and I felt that no one was even reading my responses. In a classroom setting when I am talking it would be considered rude for others to carry on conversations while I was expressing my ideas and beliefs, but in the MOO there is a completely different set of rules and procedures that develop. I felt disconnected to Mr. Garrison and everyone else in the classroom.
Interaction and communication with other people is extremely important and classroom settings allow students to learn these vital skills over the years they are enrolled in school. If all classes were held online than all the interaction with peers and authority figures (teachers) those skills would not be learned.
I believe that classroom settings teach students so much more than just material presented for students to acknowledge and accept. Classrooms are meant for discussion and peer and teacher relationships develop and intimacy happens in classrooms when exploring and discussing one’s own ideas, thoughts, and ideology. Take away the classroom, teacher, students, and replace it with a monitor that you can only type to… well a lot is lost.
Using TOPIC, MOO’s IM’s or Second Life as a teaching tool and strategy I do not find helpful, especially for student s who already have trouble focusing in a classroom due to a learning disability. People need interaction and connection to other humans and I believe these tools for learning provide the opposite. I think those specific tools should be used for free time and adolescent development on their own and not the teacher’s involvement.
Did I find the MOO liberating from the classroom or more confining… more confining. I was one of the few who were not goofing off and I actually tried to put good ideas and information out there and I felt that no one was even reading my responses. In a classroom setting when I am talking it would be considered rude for others to carry on conversations while I was expressing my ideas and beliefs, but in the MOO there is a completely different set of rules and procedures that develop. I felt disconnected to Mr. Garrison and everyone else in the classroom.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Skeptical About the Internet!
I am exceptionally skeptical about the internet in general but then to think about the internet and its potential for modern technology to revitalize the rhetorical education of composition seems interesting yet unconvincing to me.
More over, I am not a fan of the cell phones, chat rooms and other devices on the internet that are similar. However, I am a fan of the internet with the 2.0 capabilities. For example, like I talked about in class when I was in Europe and we went day by day finding a new place to stay. We used Hostelworld.com where people go on line from all over the world that have stayed at different hostels and they write reviews. This was tremendously helpful for us because for one we didn’t have cell phones to call and find a place. Secondly, we based where we stayed from the internet and mostly by what other travelers old us.
The reason that I am not a fan of cell phones, chat rooms and things of that nature is mostly because I like to be intimate with my friends and family. Cell phones take away all the emotions, excitement, and small details that show up in peoples faces. Example: think about a time when you were extremely excited to give someone a present because you knew it was perfect for them and they would love it. The best part about giving the gift is seeing their reaction. What if everything we did we did over the phone, or chat rooms? We would miss all the details that I love.
Another reason I do not like cell phones and chat rooms is they are completely un-personable. I hate text messages because you are completely disconnected from the person and they don’t have thought and feeling. Text messages are so easy to just write a few words, no thoughts or feelings like a phone call or a hand written letter.
When I was in Europe I did not have a cell phone and I loved it!! Now, honestly I probably would have minded it a lot more if my boyfriend would not have been with me. But for four and a half months I was completely cell phone free!! No one calling me, texting me! I have a cell phone and I use it because for one my parents live Las Vegas Nevada and my boyfriend lives in College Station. Cell phones can be good because you can hear the voice of the people you love who are far away but for the most part, I’m not a fan!
More over, I am not a fan of the cell phones, chat rooms and other devices on the internet that are similar. However, I am a fan of the internet with the 2.0 capabilities. For example, like I talked about in class when I was in Europe and we went day by day finding a new place to stay. We used Hostelworld.com where people go on line from all over the world that have stayed at different hostels and they write reviews. This was tremendously helpful for us because for one we didn’t have cell phones to call and find a place. Secondly, we based where we stayed from the internet and mostly by what other travelers old us.
The reason that I am not a fan of cell phones, chat rooms and things of that nature is mostly because I like to be intimate with my friends and family. Cell phones take away all the emotions, excitement, and small details that show up in peoples faces. Example: think about a time when you were extremely excited to give someone a present because you knew it was perfect for them and they would love it. The best part about giving the gift is seeing their reaction. What if everything we did we did over the phone, or chat rooms? We would miss all the details that I love.
Another reason I do not like cell phones and chat rooms is they are completely un-personable. I hate text messages because you are completely disconnected from the person and they don’t have thought and feeling. Text messages are so easy to just write a few words, no thoughts or feelings like a phone call or a hand written letter.
When I was in Europe I did not have a cell phone and I loved it!! Now, honestly I probably would have minded it a lot more if my boyfriend would not have been with me. But for four and a half months I was completely cell phone free!! No one calling me, texting me! I have a cell phone and I use it because for one my parents live Las Vegas Nevada and my boyfriend lives in College Station. Cell phones can be good because you can hear the voice of the people you love who are far away but for the most part, I’m not a fan!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Just a thought..
I have been thinking about the discussion we had in class dealing with Print and Web and I found it so interesting. Right after we had the class my father sent me an e-mail that I believe has something to do with our class because it is you tube video that talks about how the internet and technology has completely changed our world and before we had all the technology and gadgets we have today, we were different people. I like the part of the class dealing with the two different segments of internet, the 1.0 and the 2.0. People don’t seem to read books anymore, well I do because I love books, probably why I am an English Major. But for the most part, the library seems to be a waste, except for the computers and even then people are always sitting around waiting for a computer to get on. I have found that by the time people get things published in books, there is already a new publisher with “new information” our world is changing so fast that we can barely keep up, and thanks to the internet we can in a sense. All of the sites that the young middle school kids get on to dish out the world their hearts and soul of the new crisis in their life can be good. This allows kids to get comfortable with writing, and writing about their feelings and ideas, and little way of publishing their work. The sites such as wikipedia were people can go and change things I believe is so interesting. Like I said in class where they way I found places to stay the night when I was in Europe was from the internet and a site that is a 2.0 because other travelers who had stayed at these hostels wrote references and reviews such as, “I was so scared I couldn’t even close my eyes” or “rats in the showers” or “best place, great people, internet access and cheap” we relied on what other people wrote and stayed their based on not experts, but yet what other people our age told us. I think this whole 2.0 is so neat and I find it quite interesting.
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