Weekly Reflection #2

 It’s hard to believe the second week of senior project is over and we only have two more days until it’s all over. This has been another successful week for me. I’ve really enjoyed learning about the mind-body connection and having the freedom and flexibility of working on a project like this alone. My exploration into the importance of physical health and how it affects your mental health has continued with many of the same topics like diet and sleep schedule, but also explored some new topics like yoga. I continued to gain a better perspective each day on the mind-body connection and the many approaches that people take to feel like the best versions of themselves. I found yoga to be a very interesting topic than I expected that had so many layers to it that I didn’t know about. I knew that for an exercise to stay around for thousands of years then people must really be benefiting from it. I was also interested to learn more about it because from my experience the people I know that regularly practice yoga, are some of the most grounded and aware humans. I explored the many different kinds of yoga and found Ashtanga yoga to be my favorite because not only did I find it relaxing but it always left me feeling like I just got a workout in. I also continued to learn about gut health and the way your diet affects your mood and I learned a lot from a doctor named Mark Hyman. He really changed my perspective on processed foods for the first time and made me realize that eating unhealthy food is bad for far more than your physical fitness. The effect that certain foods have on our body is remarkable and can be a major contributor to brain dysfunction and other brain issues. The culture around sugar is very surprising because it acts as a toxin in our body and can lead to a major reduction in brain capability as well as the negative effects on energy levels that come when your blood sugar spikes. Obviously, it’s unrealistic to try not to eat sugar in our society but it is possible to be more aware of what you’re putting in your body and how it affects you as well as limiting intake and avoid really sugary things. I think some people can make the choice to eat unhealthy processed foods because they think if they can’t see any negative effects then there is none at all. 

I enjoyed continuing to learn about mental health and it was cool to get more specific into the yoga culture and the many lifestyle philosophies like ayurvedic that come with it. I liked this week more than the first because now that I’ve been focused on these topics for a longer period of time, I have been able to notice some of the positive effects that come from some of the daily activities I have been doing such as yoga, running/hiking, and journaling. Things went as I would have expected them to this week and the one thing that changed my focus was when I met with Kara and she gave me a list of topics to look into. I think the benefits for me of this second week of senior project were that I continued my learning about mental health and the mind-body connection, but I have started to notice changes in my day-to-day routine and notice things like my mood after eating certain foods or exercising.