My mat, a place of prayer, of meditation, of reflection, of peace and calm. My home! Watching my mother meditating on her prayer mat opened my eyes to the wonder of both Salah (or Namaz) and Yoga. She sat up tall, seated cross legged, eyes closed and she looked radiant. She appeared so graceful and yet so powerful! I wanted to feel the same peace and power for myself and that moment became the catalyst that spurred me on to the practice of yoga. … The focus in both Yoga and Salah is the connection between mind, body and soul. …

In an age where the war cries of fatwas and bans seem to drown out the rational and peace loving majority there is a need to recognize and highlight that which binds us, that which is the same! By doing so we can perhaps tolerate and even celebrate that which divides us!

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(Or: “Taking a Break to get out of our Heads and into our Bodies”)

People working eight hour days in an office may not get to move around much. Office culture is governed by pressure to perform and 'get the job done;' and much if not all work is tied to sitting at a desk working on a computer. Individuals may also sit during their commute on a train, bus, or car. When the work day is over, folks may like to 'unwind' from the stressful workday by sitting in front of a TV or playing on their smart device. Unfortunately, the constant sitting, use of technical devices, and a general lack of varied bodily movement creates unhealthy physical patterns and postures in the human body.

Practicing yoga asana (postures) can give office workers ways to discover and explore their bodies thus assisting them in gaining a 'mind-body awareness'. While many people have taken typing or computer classes, many are not familiar with yoga classes. Through yoga, office workers are introduced to their own habitual postural and mental patterns. Further, specific yoga practices can counter the physical and mental effects that office culture places on individuals. This project exposes and aims to change the office worker's daily physical, mental and perhaps spiritual habits. I will give basic information relating to physical postures encountered at the office and further provide accessible yoga exercises to counter them. This project will show that yoga can benefit office workers' posture and well-being.

I work in a small office at a computer forty hours per week. While I personally have implemented yoga into my daily office routine, I knew that my practice would be beneficial to my coworkers. I attest to the physical and mental modifications yoga practice offers, so I envisioned this project as a means to share this with my peers. The overall goal of this project is to guide my coworkers in exploring their own mind-body connections to ultimately make them feel better during the workday. …

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take me back to the project library