Metta Meditation and Tai-Chi

This week we have delved deep into the practice of Metta meditation. Metta meditation is a kind of meditation that helps us to show loving-kindness to ourselves, our immediate community (family, friends, co-workers, etc.) and all beings everywhere. Emily explained a lot about the meaning and practice of Metta in the last blog, but since then, all of us have delved deeper into our Metta practice and found out what works for us. Personally, the first day we did Metta my mind wandered a lot and I didn't focus on repeating the phrases, but as the week has gone on I have improved a lot on staying focused on being intentional with my practice. For example, the second round of Metta has us say, "May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be peaceful and at ease. May you be free from suffering and from harm." The first few days we did this I often thought of the "you" as my mom, my dog or my best friend, but throughout the week I tried to become more intentional and make my practice more effective, so I started directing my "you" to people that I am currently arguing with or people that I am maybe holding a grudge against. I have noticed a major difference in the "may you" section of my practice.

Yesterday we introduced a new aspect to our J-Term: Mandalas!!! Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle, but as mandala practice has evolved, they have come to taken on many shapes, sizes and colors! In Hinduism and Buddhism, mandalas are a symbolic representation of the universe. So yesterday, the class took some time to create these symbolic art pieces and put their own spin on them!

Zoey's Mandala
Emily's Mandala

Morgann's Mandala


Yesterday afternoon, we went to Hope's studio to do our restorative yoga practice! Our practice was slightly different yesterday because in between our restorative poses, Hope taught us about how we can bring our restorative practice from the studio to our homes.


Morgann's at Home Restorative Practice

We began the class with Hope showing us how we can recreate the props we use in the studio in out homes. For example Hope suggested that instead of a bolster, we could use a couch cushion and instead of a blanket we can use a beach towel. She told us that we can go buy the foam blocks that she uses in the studio at TJ Maxx or Target. We also incorporated a chair into out restorative practice for our first two poses: Stonehenge and wide legged forward fold.

You can see all four of the poses we did and the props needed on the left in Morgann's journal! All four of the poses have a different purpose to help us experience all of the benefits of restorative yoga, like restarting your body and activating your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps conserve energy and to "rest and digest."

Hope's tips and tricks for a successful at home restorative yoga practice were extremely helpful and I, along with the rest of the class are excited to try it at home!


Today we had about six eighth graders come from the middle school to visit our J-Term! They came on a great day because this morning we did a tai-chi class! Greg Illich, a professional tai-chi teacher came in and taught us about the meaning and intention behind tai-chi and lead us in a practice. He told us that tai-chi although a moving meditation, is considered a martial art. He said that tai-chi can help us with so many things from headaches to stress to sleep deprivation. Ive seen tai-chi in movies and in the park, but I have never experienced it for myself so I was excited to do it! He lead us through a 13 step pattern of hand a foot movements that looked very free flowing but were a lot more precise than they look! It was extremely relaxing but I still had a lot of fun!

Tai-Chi Class

Over the past two days, we introduced many new practices and evolved in our practices that we have been doing on a daily basis. I can't wait to see what next week has in store!

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