Mindfulness Through Eastern Practices: The Final "Stretch"

This third and final week of J-term has us stepping back from visits to temples and yoga practices. We finished with our final active yoga practice (hatha), in which we simply asked for some clarification or practice on certain poses, such as headstands or handstands. We have yet to do our final restorative class due to the fact that our instructor Hope is sick. Despite this, she taught us Japa, or muttering, meditation.
Arjhong in Flying Pigeon pose

Eleanor shows off her skills!

The group with Hope at Sama Studio! (top center)

In Japa, you make small rosary-like objects known as malas. These have either 27 or 108 beads, and as you pass your finger over each bead, you say a small phrase, called a mantra. One mantra is "May I be filled with loving kindness" or "May I be free from suffering and from harm." Although these in particular are used in Metta meditation, they serve as mantras, and can be used in Japa if you cannot think of one.

Three of our malas
Each time you start a Japa meditation, you start on the bead to the right of your guru bead (the big bead that stands out from the other ones) and go around to your right, saying your mantra each time your finger touches a bead. Because these are pocket malas, they only have 27 beads instead of the typical 108. If you come to the guru bead, you flip the mala around and continue going right without crossing the guru bead. You also hold the mala with your right hand alone because your left hand is considered dirty. Once you finish your 108 mantras, you begin your day. The main objective is to take your time and focus on each word that you say and put a meaning behind it, pouring loving-kindness into each word and filling each bead with spiritual energy.

Speaking of loving-kindness, we treated ourselves to a healthy and delicious meal at Govinda's, a restaurant located in the Hari Krishna Hindu Temple in Garden Oaks. On Wednesday (today), they serve a completely vegan meal, and all of us loved it! The restaurant promotes mindfulness in being aware how much food you take and how much you will actually eat.

Inside of Govinda's
Yum!


To finish up the J-term, each student develops a self care plan for moving forward after J-term. Students use the practices that they both learned and participated in to create a plan that keeps them healthy in 6 different areas. Students begin by listing out healthy (and unhealthy) coping mechanisms in these areas, and then add 1 or 2 things to work on, slowly adding in more over time to get accustomed to their practices. By doing this, students hope to gain a better grasp on their own lives, particularly when it comes to stress management.

The self care plan

Students also need to write an expository essay on a topic of their choice. Some students are going as specific as breathing mindfully, but some are going in a wider scope, looking at Buddhist architecture as a whole. By writing about a topic of the student's choice, they hope to show their mastery and intelligence in certain Eastern philosophies and traditions.

Our topic choices
Now that we're entering the final stretch of J-term and the end of our course, I'm excited to take what we've learned into our everyday lives. 

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