Introduction

What do I expect out of this course? I don't know really I guess just reading stuff and then writing about it. I've never read Shakespeare so hopefully that's a little interesting. Maybe I will learn something that I don't know already. I do hope I pass and get the credit though.

What skills do I want to learn? I would like to learn how to write better because I know I make some mistakes when I write like grammar or something. I guess how to write different types of essays would be good to know. I also want to learn stuff about whatever I write about I guess. Whatever the essay or story is about.

What are my strengths in English? I do not know really what my strengths are. I think I’m a good reader and can interpret things really well. I can also write what I think clearly and organize it well. I can write/type fast too. I’m not really proud of anything I’ve written but here is an essay attached from my other English class about Yoga.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means “union” and comes from the root word Yuj which means “to join”. This means in a spiritual sense, the process by which the human spirit is brought into near and conscious communion with, or is merged in, the Divine Spirit, according to the nature of the human spirit which is held to be separate from (Dvaita, Visishtadvaita) or one with (Advaita) the Divine Spirit. It basically means union of mind, body, and soul. Yoga brings enlightenment, peace of mind, and physical vitality to its practitioners. It has been used for thousands of years by many different peoples but it has its roots in the ancient Hindu religion.

There are different types of Yoga, for this essay I will explain Hatha Yoga which is more basic and leads to the higher forms of Yoga. “Hatha is the sanctuary for those suffering every type of pain. It is the foundation for those practicing every type of Yoga”

Yoga is a spiritual exercise in which one become’s aware of one’s soul and can sense and see it. The goal of Yoga is liberation or Moksha The main foundation for the human soul is in the Chakras. They are described in Yoga as lotuses which blossom in a different number of petals when opened. There are seven main Chakras which exist in the human spinal column and many others throughout the body. These chakras are opened when prana (energy) moves through the nadis (ocean currents) and gives life force to the Chakras. The energy is similar to light which is why many claim to be enlightened from Yogic practices. “The Chakras are centres of Sakti as vital force. In other words these are centres of Pranasakti manifested by Pranavayu in the living body, the presiding Devatas of which are names for the Universal Consciousness as It manifests in the form of those centres. The Chakras are not perceptible to the gross senses. Even if they were perceptible in the living body which they help to organise, they disappear with the disintegration of organism at death. Just because post-mortem examination of the body does not reveal these Chakras in the spinal column, some people think that these Chakras do not exist at all, and are merely the fabrication of a fertile brain. This attitude reminds us of a doctor who declared that he had performed many post-mortems and had never yet discovered a soul!” Asanas (poses in yoga) and meditation activate the Chakras by bringing energy into to them. “Asanas are described first because they are the first step of Hatha. They bring steadiness, health, and lightness of the body.”

Here are some testimonials from some people regarding Yoga. This is from Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury, “Hatha yoga, this thousands of years old practice, has been called "the yoga of willpower." Just doing it strengthens our will, an attribute of mind. When we have the positive experience of being able to do more than we expected, our confidence and self-esteem get a boost, fostering a more positive mind. We begin including positive thoughts about ourselves, and allow negative self-talk to fade away. Our practice strengthens our mind.” Here is an experience from a fireman in New York : “I spent twenty years of my life doing something that I felt was important—being a Fireman. I worked at the busiest fire companies on the planet, and I absolutely adored my job. But for the past four years, any time I talked, or even thought about my beloved vocation, I would think of someone I loved who was no longer here and become grief stricken. I resolved to avoid thinking and talking about my past. I tried to bury twenty years of my life.

My experience with Bikram Yoga, especially the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, has brought me to a place of forgiveness and acceptance. Bikram Yoga has given me back my stories.

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Here are some scientific facts about yoga that help in understanding why it works so well. “"The scope of benefits of a regular yoga practice are vast. ... It promotes circulation, energy, detoxification, calmness, and general well-being," he said. "It stimulates glands and the immune system, and overall metabolic conditioning."”

Here is some information about what yoga and meditation do to your brain. It corresponds with enlightenment that yoga and mediation bring to the practitioner. “Probably his most well-known study mapped the brains of employees at a biotech company, more than half of whom completed about three hours of meditation once a week led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. After four months, the meditating subjects noticed a boost in mood and decrease in anxiety, while their immune systems became measurably stronger. What made headlines, though ("The Science of Happiness" sang a January 2005 Time magazine cover), was that Davidson vividly showed that meditation produced a significant increase in activity in the part of the brain responsible for positive emotions and traits like optimism and resilience—the left prefrontal cortex. In meditating monks, he'd separately found, this area lit up like the lights in Times Square, showing activity beyond anything he and his team had ever seen—a neurological circuit board explaining their sunny serenity.”

So overall, Yoga is a powerful ancient exercise that stimulates the Chakras in humans and brings enlightenment and physical vitality to the practitioners. There are many more testimonials, yoga texts, and scientific research which show that Yoga is a good thing for you. It will help activate more parts of your brain and body that you are not used to using and bring health, happiness, and for some people, enlightenment.

Sources: http://www.ledgertranscript.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090303/LEDGERTRANSCRIPT/903030450/1315

http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/200803_omag_happiness

Books: Kundalini Yoga by Swami Swivananda

Hatha Yoga Pradipika Swami Svataramara

What are my weaknesses? I guess I put too much of my opinion in what I write, that is what my other English teacher always says. I also make some grammatical mistakes and I don’t always have sentence fluency in my writings. I don’t really revise my writing either, I just write it and I’m done. When I read I also skim through it because a lot of times what you are reading has a bunch of junk you have to sort through to find the real information. Here is an assignment on King tut I did that isn’t that good.

I do not believe King Tut was murdered, but I honestly think it can go either way. I believe King Tut died in a hunting accident and there is evidence of this, not murder as was previously thought. King Tut died when he was 18.

King Tut is thought to have died from an infection from his left thighbone breaking. The fracture was not fatal but the infection was and I believe this is what killed him. The evidence for this is that CT scans in 2005 showed that his left thighbone was fractured a couple of days before his death.

More evidence that showed that King Tut did not die from murder is the artifacts found in his tomb. There were two chariots that showed signs of being used frequently. King tut came from a family that had a long history of hunting and sportsmanship. I do not think that if he was young fit and active he would have just been killed without defending himself.

It is very likely that King Tut had an accident while on his chariot and he fell and fractured his left leg and received the blow to the back of his head this way as well. The axle of the chariots were greased to make them fast and it is highly possible that while hunting King Tut fell of his chariot and this is what led to his death.

I think the evidence shows that King Tut was not murdered as previously thought but death from an infection of a fractured leg. I think the murder theory is merely speculation and dramatized and there is more evidence that shows he died from an accident.

Citations:

Sanek, Steven “King Tut died in hunting accident, expert says”

National Geographic October 23, 2007

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071023-king-tut.html