Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Blogging revival!

Life update! Since my last post... I have graduated from Boston University with my masters in art education. Before starting my 'masters research project,' I also had made a commitment to myself to be healthier and lose some weight. Last January I started taking yoga classes 2-3 times a week and there was just nothing else like it. It made me feel incredible, and while my peers in my masters class were all freaked out about our papers, I stayed relatively calm. Then a good friend of mine from Knoxville TN suggested I do research on mindful art in the classroom- which led me to think about yoginos, and so I started practicing yoga with my third graders as well as one own. The students love it! I still have am running an after school yoga club this year for my students in second, third, and fourth grades.
My paper was titled, cultivating a mindful art room, and discussed the benefits of yoga practice before the creative process in art making. The experience was so powerful that it inspired me to begin a teacher training yoga to become certified to instruct yoga. My blog will now be dedicated not only to my experiences in the art but also in yoga and holistic practices.
I welcome everyone to follow me on this journey as I have developed some dreams, am setting some goals, and document my progress along the way.

Love, light, & peace

Namaste :)

Here is a funny photo of me at the graduation ceremony, enjoy!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Being a teacher, and keeping calm


After teaching for 7 years, and can honestly say that this job isn't easy! So what kinds of things do you do in your "free" time to relax and maintain your sanity? 
I have had an interest in Buddhism and meditation for several years now, and part of my yoga teacher training is meditating. In the digital age, there is an app for everything. My new favorite app is one that is called breathe. It takes an assessment of how you are currently feeling, and offers you several short guided meditations to meet your present needs. It also keeps track of which meditations you have listened to, and gives you stickers! I don't know about you all, but much like our students, I'm all about little rewards! The app is awesome and I highly recommend it! Here is a screen shot of the app.