Final Reflection

I've learned a lot throughout the 20% project process. At the beginning stages of the project, I went into it with excitement and interest because it is one of my many hobbies. The desire to learn for me heightens when it's about something that I love. The only information I knew about yoga is the information I learned throughout the classes I've taken and the experiences I've had with it. One of the biggest learning takeaways occurred in the beginning stages of this project because we had to come up with a driving question. It incorporated the idea of critical thinking by starting with one thought and advancing that thought into a problem and the critical part comes from developing a solution or an answer. I learned to not focus on myself because we had to make the decision of choosing our target audience. I chose middle-aged adults because that particular age group sparked my interest when I took a class taught by these middle-aged adults who looked extremely fit. How are they so fit? What are the different exercises that strengthen their upper body and lower body? Do they come across any physical problems? These were several questions I asked myself to get to my final driving question. I learned a lot through intense research via search engines, like Google. The most memorable learning experience I had occurred during the moments leading up to the presentation week. It was about analyzing my audience and how to present my topic in the most retainable yet interesting manner in order for my audience to learn from my project. Throughout all my research, it was about using the most straightforward yet interesting information to display on my website. I ended up creating a Weebly which is a website creation tool. Some of my difficulties, like I said previously, occurred at the beginning stages when I was coming up with my driving question. Additionally, I came across a challenge when I was creating my website and figuring out what was important to put on the site in terms of my audience. After the showcase, I think my product was received in a positive way because I felt as though I taught my audience something new which is what I felt was my overall goal for this 20% project. Here is my final product for my 20% project:

http://namasteforall.weebly.com/

Progress Check

(Progress Check) In these past few weeks, I've learned several things about my 20% project topic. As a yoga enthusiast, I have partaken in several classes in the last month or so. One of the biggest takeaways I learned from my instructor is something that benefits all yoga participants. The fact is if you are able to lay in the "corpse pose" for twenty minutes, it is more beneficial for you than a full eight hours worth of sleep. The corpse pose is one of many yoga poses but this one in particular is self explanatory. You lay on the ground with your arms and hands by your side, palms up, eyes looking up to the sky. The trick is to keep your eyes open for the duration of the twenty minutes in order to benefit from it entirely. It's a pose that exercises concentration, focus, and stillness. I would like to incorporate this fun fact within my presentation and work backwards. Basically, I will introduce the idea and then from there, go into the details of the benefits of yoga for middle-aged adults. I document most of my ideas in my mind or in my notebook, but a lot of my sources have stemmed from Twitter. I started following numerous Yogis, fitness groups, and yoga studios, or even yoga enthusiasts like myself. They provide very insightful and helpful information in order to supplement my project. I need to learn more about the specific health advantages yoga has on the specific age group I have chosen. I need to go beyond the information I already have. This relates to what we have learned in class because I'm taking on creativity by stepping outside of the conventional topics and choosing a hobby of mine to then focus my attention solely on yoga and middle-aged adults, but to also use creativity in the presentation itself. 

(Target Audience) Quite frankly, my target audience may be middle aged adults but in actuality, it can affect everyone. I would like to think that yoga would be beneficial for all age groups not just middle aged because I participate in yoga and can immediately feel the effects of it after one class. Imagine dedicating a fitness routine with yoga class at least once a week. The advantages could be long lasting and that is one of the things I still need to figure out. It's an easy hobby to pick up which is why I would like everyone in my audience to benefit from this, not just the middle aged adults. There are plenty of ways to get involved and active in the yoga world. I will provide those resources as well within my presentation. The main characteristics of my focus audience would be middle-aged, average income (since some yoga classes can be expensive), and both male/female are included. I should also consider any possible medical conditions the adult would have that would either hinder or enhance their physical state. 

(Product) I would like to use a display board to effectively show certain poses that are the most advantageous for middle-aged adults. In addition, I was planning on demonstrating the poses as well in order to effectively show the pose and its effects. I would like to use an online poster if I will not be able to use a physical poster. It will contain somewhat of a venn diagram, including the advantages/disadvantages and the ways middle-aged adults can participate in yoga.

Q&A

I'm still feeling as though my driving question is diverting into different paths because there are so many resources, yogis, cultures, etc., that incorporate the art of yoga. Research has found that yoga is beneficial for the human mind, body, and soul, but more importantly in this case, it's about spotlighting middle-aged adults. The biggest key is to spotlight the age range of middle-aged adults and the numerous benefits of yoga towards enhancing a healthy lifestyle. Then from there, it will be key to note the specific advantages of yoga and providing the resources for middle aged adults to start their yoga journey. I think one of the sources I will use to further my research to answer my driving question is this three part article called, "Advice on Practicing Yoga in Middle Age" (New York Times). These articles post Q&A's with inquisitive, middle-aged, yoga practicers. There are topics within the article(s) that break down into topics, i.e., "Aging and Yoga." Additionally, there is an article entitled, "Regular Yoga Practice May Help Middle-Age Spread"(Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center). It connects yoga and its effects on middle-aged obesity. I think this would be a good sub-topic to cover throughout my 20% project.

Look What I Found!

I started to do some research on my driving question: What are the benefits of doing yoga for middle-aged adults? I found a series of articles entitled, Advice on Practicing Yoga in Middle Age. There are three parts to this specific article and it can be found in the New York Times, which I consider to be a credible source and can trust using as part of my research. I simply searched "practicing yoga as a middle aged adult" and it was one of the links to appear. The fact that there were three separate articles to this one topic is what intrigued me as a reader. The format of the article began with a personal anecdote from Dr. Loren Fishman, the author of the article. He then continued by inserting a Q & A portion where adults over 40 were able to ask any yoga-related questions and inquiry. Additionally, I also stumbled upon another blog simply titled, Middle Aged Yoga, written by a 50 + year old man in pursuit of healthy living and lifestyle which includes practicing yoga. I thought his strengths came from his personal stories and pictures of him actually doing some yoga poses to illustrate his success.

The Driving Question

For my driving question, I chose to explore the advantages of yoga for middle-aged adults. Initially, I wanted to look into the benefits of dance for senior citizens but started to come across several barriers before the research even began. I thought the research was going to come to a quick stop because I could only think about the reasons why dance could potentially pose more of a risk to senior citizens than being advantageous. From there, I started thinking about my other passions and hobbies in life that I could spend 20% of the semester researching. Yoga is one of my top five favorite things to do. It's an activity that allows me to demonstrate certain skills I learned from dance including flexibility, grace and strength. Most importantly, yoga is one of the best ways to relieve yourself of stress and worry. I thought to focus on the specific age group of middle-aged adults because of a recent class I took. The class was called acro-yoga which combines acrobatics plus yoga, but the instructors looked as if they were in their late 30's, early 40's. The man and woman were extremely fit and able to do all these poses with ease. There's the origin of my driving question.